Traditional Christmas Pudding Recipe (2024)

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The making of Christmas Pudding is a British tradition that goes back hundreds of years. In my own house growing up, Christmas dinner would not have been complete without a bowl of steamy hot pudding to finish the meal.

Traditional Christmas Pudding Recipe (1)

There are several types of Christmas puddings. Rich plum puddings are full of dried fruit, but oddly enough never plums, as in Old English many dried fruits went by the name of “plum.”

Figgy puddings are another Christmas treat, made popular as one of the verses of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Unlike their plum cousins, they live up to their name and are actually made with figs.

Traditional Christmas pudding is often served with something known as “hard sauce.” This is a cold mixture consisting mainly of butter, sugar, cream, and vanilla, although I have seen at least one recipe incorporating egg yolk as well. The cold sauce would melt over the hot pudding to create a delectable sweet treat.

Traditional Christmas Pudding Recipe (2)

Our family Christmas Pudding is actually a carrot pudding. This is another popular variation, especially among British Canadians. Unlike its cousins above, it is most often served with a brown sugar sauce.

Although I did not find the original recipe among my great-grandmother’s collection, I do have the recipe for “Christmas Pudding” written in my grandmother’s hand with the word “Mother” inscribed in the corner. Unfortunately, the recipe for the brown sugar sauce of my childhood was lost when my grandmother passed on, as no one seems to have ever written it down. I attempted several recipes trying to recreate the flavor of my childhood and the recipe included below is the closest.

The recipe makes enough for two small puddings, or one large pudding. It freezes extremely well and is easy to reheat simply be re-steaming. I have changed the recipe only slightly from the original to incorporate butter instead of suet.

Resources:

Traditional Christmas Pudding Recipe (3)

Speaking of old-fashioned and Great Depression Era wisdom, recipes, and tutorials, my new book Hand Made: The Modern Guide to Made-from-Scratch Living is packed with them and so is all of the bonus items and 3 bonus teaching videos you get with it on how to make homemade doughnuts, sourdough starter and more, check it out here.

Instant pot-I am officially in love with my Instant Pot, like right up there with my Mason jars and Pressure Canner! If you don't have an Instant Pot you can make this on the stove but seriously, the Instant Pot is amazing. And you can make steamed puddings in it, score!

  • softened butter
  • brown sugar
  • raisins
  • grated carrot
  • peeled and grated potato
  • egg
  • flour (This works just as well with gluten-free flour. Learn more about gluten free baking in Successful Gluten-Free Baking That Tastes Good)
  • baking soda

Easy Christmas Pudding Recipe Instructions:

Cream butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add in raisins, carrot, potato and egg. Stir in flour and baking soda.

Grease 2 small glass bowls or one large bowl. Fill with pudding. Leave about an inch between the top of the pudding and the top of the bowl to give it room to rise.

Cover the bowl with a piece of parchment, followed by a piece of tin foil, secured with string. My grandmother used a clean piece of muslin instead of the parchment.

The pudding can be steamed in a double boiler, or you can place the pudding in a large pot, placing the pudding bowl on a small ramekin or mason jar ring to keep it off the bottom of the pot. Pour water in the bottom to no more than 1/3 of the way up the sides of the bowl.

Steam the pudding for 2 – 3 hours, or until a toothpick comes out clean. My small puddings are usually done at 2 hours, with a large pudding taking the full three. Add additional hot water to your pot as necessary to keep your pot from boiling dry.

Turn the pudding out onto a plate and serve hot with brown sugar sauce.

How to Make Traditional Christmas Pudding in an Instant Pot:

Pour 2 cups of water into the insert. Place the trivet in the insert, and put the uncovered bowl on the trivet. Create a foil sling to easily pull out the pudding from inside the Instant Pot.

Cover with lid, leaving the sealing valve open so it can vent and set to Saute function.

Once cooker starts to steam, if using an electric cooker, set to “Less Heat” Saute function. (If using Instant Pot, the “Adjust” button allows you to change Saute setting.)

Then steam the pudding for 15 minutes. After steaming, seal the release valve of cooker and turn off from Saute cycle, then set to high pressure for 35 minutes.

Once cycle is complete, if using an electric cooker, press Cancel and let naturally release for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

Carefully lift out the pudding using the foil sling (be careful, the sides of the pot will still be hot).

Run a knife around the top edge to help the pudding release from the sides of the bowl before inverting on a plate.

If you wish to freeze the pudding, leave it in its bowl and wrap well with plastic wrap. Thaw in the fridge and steam to reheat. We have had puddings survive in the freezer up to a year.

Traditional Christmas Pudding Recipe (4)

Traditional Christmas Pudding Recipe (5)

Historical Recipe: Christmas Pudding

Andrea Sabean

4.16 from 40 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Servings 8

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup softened butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar I find this very sweet and personally use only ¾ cup
  • 2 cups raisins
  • 1 cup grated carrot
  • 1 cup peeled and grated potato
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups flour this works just as well with gluten-free flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • Brown Sugar Sauce
  • ½ cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup milk or cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

  • Cream butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add in raisins, carrot, potato and egg. Stir in flour and baking soda.

  • Grease 2 small glass bowls or one large bowl. Fill with pudding. Leave about an inch between the top of the pudding and the top of the bowl to give it room to rise.

  • Cover the bowl with a piece of parchment, followed by a piece of tin foil, secured with string. My grandmother used a clean piece of muslin instead of the parchment.

  • The pudding can be steamed in a double boiler, or you can place the pudding in a large pot, placing the pudding bowl on a small ramekin or mason jar ring to keep it off the bottom of the pot. Pour water in the bottom to no more than 1/3 of the way up the sides of the bowl.

  • Steam the pudding for 2 – 3 hours, or until a toothpick comes out clean. My small puddings are usually done at 2 hours, with a large pudding taking the full three. Add additional hot water to your pot as necessary to keep your pot from boiling dry.

  • Turn the pudding out onto a plate and serve hot with brown sugar sauce.

  • Brown Sugar Sauce Instructions

  • Melt butter in a saucepan. Whisk in brown sugar and continue to stir constantly until boiling. Boil for two minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in milk and vanilla. Return to the heat and stir constantly until the mixture once again comes to the boil. Thin with more milk or cream if necessary. Serve warm.

How to Make Traditional Christmas Pudding in an Instant Pot:

  • Pour 2 cups of water into the insert. Place the trivet in the insert, and put the uncovered bowl on the trivet. Create a foil sling to easily pull out the pudding from inside the Instant Pot.

  • Cover with lid, leaving the sealing valve open so it can vent and set to Saute function.

  • Once cooker starts to steam, if using an electric cooker, set to “Less Heat” Saute function. (If using Instant Pot, the “Adjust” button allows you to change Saute setting.)

  • Then steam the pudding for 15 minutes. After steaming, seal the release valve of cooker and turn off from Saute cycle, then set to high pressure for 35 minutes.

  • Once cycle is complete, if using an electric cooker, press Cancel and let naturally release for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

  • Carefully lift out the pudding using the foil sling (be careful, the sides of the pot will still be hot).

  • If there are water droplets on the pudding when you remove it from the Instant Pot, gently dab with a paper towel or clean cloth.

  • Run a knife around the top edge to help the pudding release from the sides of the bowl before inverting on a plate.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

What's your favorite traditional Christmas recipe? Try this Christmas Stovetop Potpourri to have your home smelling amazing this holiday.

Traditional Christmas Pudding Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What was the original Christmas pudding? ›

The pudding we know today began life as a pottage. This was a kind of broth, including raisins and other dried fruit, spices and wine. It was thickened with breadcrumbs or ground almonds. Not dissimilar to the mince pies of yesteryear, it often included meat or at least meat stock.

What is inside the traditional Christmas pudding you can find? ›

For a long time it's been common practice to include silver Christmas pudding coins, charms or tokens into Christmas pudding. Finding a Christmas coin in your slice of pudding is believed to bring good luck and especially wealth in the coming year.

What alcohol is best for Christmas pudding? ›

Brandy works wonderfully well and we've added more punch by infusing it with fantastically festive flavourings.

Why is there 13 ingredients in a Christmas pudding? ›

There is a popular myth that plum pudding's association with Christmas goes back to a custom in medieval England that the "pudding should be made on the 25th Sunday after Trinity, that it be prepared with 13 ingredients to represent Christ and the 12 apostles, and that every family member stir it in turn from east to ...

When was Christmas pudding banned? ›

It wasn't until the mid-seventeenth century that this pudding became associated with Christmas which led to it being banned in 1647 by Oliver Cromwell who believed that it and other festive traditions led to drunken revelry instead of sombre reflection.

How old is the oldest Christmas pudding? ›

Although it is highly unlikely the dessert would still be edible after 120 years – despite “high-class ingredients only” inside – the tin still features instructions for preparation, as well as a message which reads: “For the Naval Brigade, In the Front, With Miss Weston's Best Christmas & New Year, 1900, Wishes.”

Why do Christians eat Christmas pudding? ›

Religious significance

It is believed that a Christmas pudding must contain thirteen ingredients. These ingredients each represent Jesus and each of his twelve disciples. Traditionally, brandy is poured over the Christmas pudding and set aflame before serving. The flames are believed to represent Christ's passion.

Is figgy pudding the same as Christmas pudding? ›

It's made with alcohol and dried fruit and is a traditional English dessert. It's more like a cake than what Americans think of as a soft, custard-like pudding. Figgy pudding is also known as Christmas pudding or plum pudding. It can also be affectionately called “pud.”

Can you eat Christmas pudding straight away? ›

After the puddings are steamed you can either serve them straight away or, if Christmas is still a while off, cool the puddings in their basins, change the baking paper covers for clean ones and tie up.

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

If you or someone in your family is a vegetarian and doesn't want to eat suet, look for a recipe that uses butter or margarine instead, such as this recipe for individual Christmas puddings.

Does alcohol burn off in Christmas pudding? ›

Conclusion: Christmas puddings contain ethanol that does not all evaporate during the cooking process. However, the rise in BAC after ingestion of a typical slice of Christmas pudding was negligible and unlikely to affect work performance or safety or impair a health care worker's ability to make complex decisions.

Why did my Christmas pudding go Mouldy? ›

The pudding should be stored in a cool, dark and dry place. If the pudding is in a warm and humid environment (such as a steamy kitchen) then there is a risk that some mould will develop on the pudding. If you live in a warm or humid climate then it may be better to store the pudding in the fridge or to freeze it.

Why do you put a penny in a Christmas pudding? ›

A silver sixpence was placed into the pudding mix and every member of the household gave the mix a stir. Whoever found the sixpence in their own piece of the pudding on Christmas Day would see it as a sign that they would enjoy wealth and good luck in the year to come.

What is the thimble in Christmas pudding? ›

If you're old enough you will remember Christmas puddings containing coins that were said to bring the finder good luck. Before coins, charms were put inside Christmas puddings including a silver coin for wealth, a wishbone for luck, a thimble for thrift, a ring for marriage and an anchor for safe harbour.

Why is my Christmas pudding not dark? ›

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.

What is Christmas pudding called in the USA? ›

Christmas Pudding (also known as plum pudding or figgy pudding) is a dish as famous as it is misunderstood.

What is the famous British Christmas pudding? ›

Known initially as Pottage, it has also been called Plum Pudding, Figgy Pudding, and Frumenty. Traditionally, Christmas Pudding is served with a healthy drizzle of thick, delicious brandy sauce, which makes this dessert even more indulgent.

What's the difference between Christmas pudding and figgy pudding? ›

Figgy pudding is a specific type of Christmas or plum pudding that contains figs as a primary ingredient along with other dried fruits,” Heron says. “However, the name 'figgy pudding' doesn't always mean it exclusively contains figs. It could contain a variety of dried fruits in addition to or alongside figs.

What do Americans call Christmas pudding? ›

First off, the English term “pudding” can refer to just about any “dessert”, though “Christmas pudding” is a specific type of dessert, that an American is more likely to call an extreme variant of a “soaked cake” or “brandy cake”.

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