Salted caramel Christmas pudding recipe

Stem ginger, dates, and walnuts make for a deliciously moist salted caramel Christmas pudding. Topped with a perfectly balanced, not too sweet salted caramel sauce, flavoured with a dash of rum.

Not a fan of traditional Christmas pudding but still want a showstopping festive dessert to serve on the big day? This salted caramel Christmas pudding ticks all the boxes. Best of all, this pudding takes a total of two hours to prepare and bake, a fraction of the time of a classic figgy pudding. It also doesn’t need to be made months in advance.

Ingredients

For the Christmas pudding:

• 175g unsalted butter
• 175g light muscovado sugar
• 90g stem ginger, drained and chopped
• 100ml milk
• 100g ready-to-eat dates, chopped
• 175g plain flour
• ½tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2tsp ground ginger
• 30g walnuts, chopped
• 2 eggs

For the salted caramel sauce:

• 75g unsalted butter
• 60g light muscovado sugar
• 150ml double cream
• ¼tsp sea salt
• 2tbsp rum

You will need:

• 1kg greased spherical pudding mould
• 900g pudding basin, greased and lined
• 30cm square clean muslin dipped in 60g melted butter

Method

1. Put the butter and sugar for the pudding in a large non-stick pan with the ginger, milk and dates. Stir until the butter has melted, then let the mixture cool for 5 mins.
2. Tip the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, walnuts and eggs into the cooled mixture and stir together until smooth.
3. Stand the base of the pudding mould in the base of the large pudding basin and arrange the muslin square in the base of the mould with edges overhanging the pudding basin. Spoon in half the mixture.
4. Hold the edges of the muslin as you spoon in the remaining mixture. Tie up tightly to secure. Trim the string and any excess muslin. Secure the top mould and clip in place, removing from the pudding basin.
5. Steam for 1½ hours, topping up the water regularly.
6. Meanwhile, make the salted caramel sauce. Put the butter in a pan with the light muscovado sugar and warm gently, to melt, then stir in the cream, sea salt and rum.
7. Unclip the pudding mould, cut away the string and turn out on to a serving dish. Drizzle over the warmed salted caramel sauce and finish off with lit indoor sparklers (optional). Eat your salted caramel Christmas pudding within 2 days.

Top tips for making this salted caramel Christmas pudding...

This pudding can't be lit like a classic Christmas pudding but looks just as festive topped with a few cake sparklers.

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