Christmas Pudding Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Can I use butter instead of suet in Christmas pudding? ›

It's best not to. Suet is a very hard fat, which melts slowly through a mixture during the cooking, whereas butter melts very easily and quickly through a mixture. They are different types of fats and shouldn't be substituted for each other.

What better or more traditional way to finish off Christmas dinner than with a showstopping flaming Christmas pud? Brandy works wonderfully well and we've added more punch by infusing it with fantastically festive flavourings.

If water has entered the wrapped pudding basin then it is likely that the pan was boiling a little too hard, and may also have been too full of water, meaning the water came up and over the top of the pudding basin which makes it easier for water to enter.

After the first 5 hours of steaming the puddings may not look that dark but do not worry as the colour deepens on the second steaming.

Alternatives to Suet in Your Cooking

Some recipes recommend using frozen butter as a substitute for suet, but this is risky as the butter melts much faster than suet and your dish will become greasy and heavy. If you can't find suet or you just don't want to use it, try shortening instead.

Our answer. It is possible to make Nigella's Ultimate Christmas Pudding using vegetable shortening (such as Crisco, Trex, Flora White, Cookeen or Copha) instead of suet (which is made from beef fat). You use exactly the same quantity in vegetable shortening but it needs to be coarsely grated before you use it.

Though in older times the choice was more to do with economy, breadcrumbs give the pudding a much lighter texture. And again, use just enough flour to hold the mixture gently together. Not too many eggs, and more egg yolk that white if you can.

Once burning, the heat generated warms the liquid alcohol in the pudding, creating more vapour until eventually there is no more alcohol left to vapourise.

For the pudding, the most likely cause of mould is moisture.

Since traditional Christmas pudding is made with a variety of dried fruits and nuts along with eggs and suet (animal fat)- the high content of the liquor helps it taste better and better over time, with no risk of spoiling even two years after they are made!

Can I eat a 10 year old Christmas pudding? ›

Any pudding using fresh fruit for moisture will go off more quickly, whereas a Christmas pudding soaked in booze with high sugar and dried fruit content will last much longer. Some Christmas puddings, made with dried fruit in the traditional way, are fine to be eaten as much as two years after they were made.

Use a large casserole / stew pan with a trivet in the bottom (if you haven't a trivet try a metal plate turned upside down). Place the pudding on top then fill with boiling water so that it comes about 1/3^rd of the way up the basin. Cover the casserole pan with a lid.

Superstitions say that Christmas pudding must be prepared with 13 ingredients, which are said to represent Jesus and his twelve disciples. It is also said that the mixture should be stirred in turn from east to west, by each family member, to honour the disciples' journey.

Follow your recipe for the steaming times of your pudding, but if you do need to check then you can insert a skewer through the foil and parchment to check that it comes out clean. Simply patch up the hole with more foil if your pudding needs more time to steam.

Yes you can use grated butter if you prefer. In the same way as Delia prepares quick flaky pastry, its easier to grate it if its been frozen for 45 minutes first and use a little of the flour to keep the gratings separate.

If you can't find suet then we have found that grated vegetable shortening (such as Trex, Crisco or Copha) is a good substitute.

Suet is the essential fat in many British puddings, both sweet and savoury, as well as stuffings and dumplings, mincemeat at Christmastime and – of – course suet pastry. It makes some of my most favourite British foods. It's role is to enrich and lubricate mixtures, producing a good crust in steamed suet puddings.

Mix the almonds, apples, candied peel, nutmeg, raisins, flour, breadcrumbs, light muscovado sugar, eggs and 2 tbsp brandy or cognac in a large bowl. Holding the butter in its wrapper, grate a quarter of it into the bowl, then stir everything together.