Steamed Christmas pudding recipe

Here’s a Christmas classic, packed full of festive flavours like brandy, mixed spice, and dried fruit. Christmas pudding has been served in the UK since medieval times, and there’s a reason it’s still on the menu today.

If you’ve blown your budget on turkey and trimmings, you can still enjoy this steamed Christmas pudding – this purse-friendly recipe makes two large puds and works out at just 35p per serving.  Steaming is the best way to keep the pudding moist while giving it that classic texture and flavour. Serve with plenty of brandy butter or vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

• 2 x 500g bags mixed dried fruit (including mixed peel and glace cherries)
• 125ml brandy
• 1 large Bramley apple, peeled, cored and grated
• Zest and juice of 2 oranges
• 250g dark muscovado sugar
• 5 large free-range eggs, beaten
• 225g shredded suet
• 225g fresh breadcrumbs
• 150g self-raising flour
• 1tsp ground mixed spice
• 1tsp ground cinnamon

Method

1. Soak dried fruit in the brandy overnight. Add the apple, orange zest and juice and sugar and mix well. Stir in the eggs.
2. Mix the suet, breadcrumbs, flour and spices with a pinch of salt. Add to the fruit and stir well. Spoon into a greased basin, cover with pleated baking parchment. Top with pleated foil and secure with string.
3. Steam for 5-6 hours and cool.
4. To reheat your pud, put it in a steamer for 2-2 1/2 hours until hot through.

Top tips for making this steamed Christmas pudding

As this recipe makes two large puddings, why not make one for the family and one as a gift for a friend or neighbor? The perfect time to make your Christmas pudding is on Stir-Up Sunday (26th November), but it can be made up to three months in advance.

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