christmas pud

This microwave Christmas pud, which uses shop-bought mincemeat, takes just 35 mins - simply combine the ingredients and cook on the day.

Last-Minute Christmas Pudding

mincemeat

fine shred orange marmalade

molasses cane sugar

tbsp treacle

eggs, beaten

tbsp whisky

butter, frozen and coarsely grated

self-raising flour

Last-minute Christmas pudding

Butter and line the base of a 1.5-litre pudding basin with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl, stir the ingredients together, adding them one at a time in the order they are listed, until everything is completely mixed.

Tip the pudding mix into the basin and cover with a circle of greaseproof paper. Place the pudding on a plate and microwave on Medium for 20-25 mins until cooked and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave to stand for 5 mins, then turn out and serve with brandy butter and cream.

Rich, dark and spicy - prepare enough mixture for two basins, one for Christmas day and the other to give as a gift

Guinness, treacle & ginger pudding

mixed dried fruit

stoned date

stem ginger

oranges

Guinness

butter

whole almond

suet

apples

dark muscovado sugar

tbsp black treacle

soft white breadcrumb

ground almond

tbsp mixed spice

ginger

½ tsp ground cloves

eggs

brandy (optional)

Mix together the dried fruit, ginger, orange zest and juice, and Guinness in a bowl. Cover and leave to soak overnight.

Grease 2 x 1.2-litre pudding basins. Boil a kettle of water. To prepare your steamers, put a snug-fitting upturned bowl or plate in the base of 2 large, deep saucepans, big enough to hold your pudding basins. Add the remaining ingredients (except brandy) to the fruit mixture and stir well, making sure there are no pockets of flour. Divide between your prepared basins and cover with buttered baking parchment and a foil lid. Tie with string to secure and make a handle for easy lifting.

Stand the puddings on the upturned bowls or plates in your saucepans. Pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the basins, cover with a tight-fitting lid and steam for 6 hrs, topping up with water if necessary. If your lids start to rattle as the puddings cook, place a couple of heavy cans on top to hold them down. Once cooked, the puddings can mature for up to 1 year in a cool dark place, so if you only eat one this year, that’s fine.

To serve, reheat in a steamer for 1 hr until piping hot all the way through. Flame with brandy, if you like, as you bring it to the table.

A classic that every Christmas table should have. Make ahead and simply steam the puds to reheat on the big day

Figgy Christmas pudding

pack butter, softened, plus extra for the bowls and paper

dried figs

brandy

mixed sultanas and raisins

eating apples, peeled,

light muscovado sugar

dark brown soft sugar

breadcrumbs

allspice

Butter a 500ml, a 1-litre and a 2-litre pudding bowl, then line the base of each with a circle of baking parchment. Butter 3 large sheets of greaseproof paper, lay each on a large sheet of foil butter side up, and fold a pleat in the middle of each.

Roughly chop 250g of the figs and set aside. Put the remaining figs, butter and brandy into a food processor and whizz until smooth-ish, then scrape into your largest mixing bowl. Tip in the chopped figs, mixed vine fruits, grated apple, sugars, breadcrumbs, flour and allspice. Stir everything together, allowing as many helpers to give a stir and adding as many wishes as you like. Divide between the pudding bowls and smooth the surfaces.

Cover the puds with the buttered paper-foil sheets, tie with string and trim. Lower the puds into separate saucepans with upturned saucers or scrunched up bits of foil in the bottom (so the puds don’t touch the bottom), then fill each pan with enough boiling water from the kettle to come halfway up the sides of the bowl. Cover with a lid and simmer the small pud for 1-1½ hrs, medium for 2-2½ hrs and large for 3 hrs, topping up the water as needed. Remove and leave to cool. If giving as a gift, put a new piece of parchment on top. Will keep in a cool, dry cupboard for up to a year.

Top 3 christmas pud recipes from across the web

The most viewed christmas pud recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

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Last-Minute Christmas Pudding

Guinness, treacle & ginger pudding

Figgy Christmas pudding

Top 3 christmas pud recipes from across the web

The most viewed christmas pud recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Last-Minute Christmas Pudding

Guinness, treacle & ginger pudding

Figgy Christmas pudding

The most viewed christmas pud recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine