There’s no better way to celebrate the holidays across the pond than with a classic festive English dessert–Christmas pudding. Surprisingly, although the dessert bears the name pudding, it contains no pudding at all. Instead, the festive pudding resembles a dense, rich fruit cake that is filled with raisins, figs, and other seasonal dried fruits. Moreover, as opposed to being baked, Christmas puddings are steamed, boiled, or made in an instant pot if you’re pressed for time.
While the humble Christmas pudding is beloved in many English homes, it’s also a holiday staple on the royal table every December. To recreate this royal treat at home, Buckingham Palace’s chefs revealed their official Christmas pudding recipe. And while it’s not your usual instant pot Christmas pudding, it’s definitely worth the extra effort!
In fact, Prince George prepared this Christmas pudding together with Queen Elizabeth for the Royal British Legion’s Together at Christmas Initiative, demonstrating how special this family recipe truly is. So, why not treat yourself to a dessert from her majesty’s kitchen this holiday season? See how to prepare the recipe below.
How To Make The Royal Family’s Christmas Pudding
Ingredients
- 250g raisins
- 250g currants
- 185g sultanas
- 150g mixed peel
- 250g suet or vegetarian suet
- 250g breadcrumbs
- 90g flour
- 12g mixed spice
- 2 whole eggs
- 180g demerara sugar
- 275ml beer
- 40ml dark rum
- 40ml brandy
Notes
- In place of alcohol, orange juice or cold tea can be substituted.
- Suet is the raw, hard fat of beef and mutton that can be found at your local grocer’s meat counter, particularly around the holidays. However, if you prefer, a vegetarian substitute may be purchased on Amazon.
- Pudding basins are specifically used for steaming puddings. An alternative would be to use a Pyrex bowl, or similar heatproof glass bowl.
- This recipe will make two 1kg servings puddings.
Instructions
- Blend the raisins, currants, sultanas, mixed peel, suet, bread crumbs, flour, mixed spice and demerara sugar in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the eggs, beer, dark rum, and brandy to the dry mixture. Stir until well combined.
- Grease a pudding basin or a heatproof glass bowl using butter or shortening. Next, fill the bowls about half full with the Christmas pudding batter, allowing room for expansion. Next, cut a disc of wax or parchment paper that is approximately the size of the top of the bowls. Place the discs with the butter side down on top of the pudding mixtures.
- Wrap the basins in muslin or foil and secure with twine before placing them in a deep saucepan. Pour water into the saucepan up to 3/4 inch the height of the pudding basins, then wrap the foil around the top of the saucepan. Steam for approximately six hours, refilling the water as necessary.
- Finally, once the puddings are cooled, wrap and store them in a cool, dry and dark place until Christmas Day.
- Reheat your pudding in a bain-marie (heated bath) for 3-4 hours on Christmas Day. Use a rounded or palette knife to remove from the basin, flip out onto a plate, garnish or flambé, and serve with brandy sauce and cream.
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