This is a fairly straightforward recipe for British Christmas plum pudding, however unlike other recipes, it really allows for the use of plums. It is unfortunately difficult to prepare it in quantities less than industrial due to the lengthy component list! If you want, you can swap out the plums for a combination of fresh and dried apricots, peaches, etc., and the ale for milk. With brandy or rum butter, serve.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 5 hrs |
| Total Time: | 5 hrs 30 mins |
| Servings: | 20 |
| Yield: | 20 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 ½ cups fresh bread crumbs
- 4 ounces shredded suet
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 small carrot, grated
- 1 apple – peeled, cored and shredded
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup chopped blanched almonds
- 2 ounces preserved stem ginger in syrup, chopped
- ⅛ cup ground almonds
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ⅜ cup halved candied cherries
- ⅓ cup raisins
- ⅜ cup dried currants
- ⅜ cup golden raisins
- 4 ounces candied mixed fruit peel, chopped
- 4 plums, pitted and chopped
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested
- 1 ½ teaspoons mixed spice
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup ale
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine flour, bread crumbs, suet, eggs, carrot, apple, brown sugar, chopped blanched almonds, stem ginger, ground almonds, cherries, raisins, currants, golden raisins, mixed peel, plums, lemon juice and zest, mixed spice, baking powder and ale. Let each family member take a turn stirring and make a wish. If you have used more dry fruit than fresh, add a little extra ale to make the mixture less stiff.
- Grease 2 large or 4 small pudding basins. Fill with pudding mixture about 7/8 full. Cover tightly with greased waxed paper, then foil; secure with string. Stand pudding on a trivet in a large pot of boiling water that reaches halfway up the sides of the pudding basin. Steam puddings over medium-low heat in boiling water 10 hours for large puddings, 5 hours for small puddings, topping off water regularly until quite firm and set.
- If not serving immediately, let cool completely, then replace covers with fresh waxed paper and foil and store in a cool, dry place, basting from time to time with rum or brandy, for up to 3 months. To serve, reheat by steaming 2 to 3 hours.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 228 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 32 g |
| Cholesterol | 32 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 69 mg |
| Sugars | 15 g |
| Fat | 10 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I love plum pudding & I must say this is one of the best recipes I have found. Thank you for sharing yours 🙂
The flavor of the pudding was good when I tasted the batter, but I steamed the pudding for 9.5 hrs, checked it, and it was very dark and the entire outside of the pudding seems burnt. I have never burnt anything while steaming before and didn’t even know that was possible. 🙁
I made this one last year, I found it very much to my taste, but my children and family found it too nutty. . .
I presented this pudding at the Christmas dinner table last year and my family were amazed – to this day the think I’m a culinary genius!
Just the recipe I wanted!
Great!
Great!