The further in advance you make your Christmas pud the better because the flavours develop and become richer and deeper with age. However, there’s no need to panic if you’re not that organised, as a few easy shortcuts can still save the day.
Get the best ingredients
This is a dish where quality ingredients really make a difference, especially if you’re doing a last-minute cheat’s pud. Don’t buy old packets of dried fruit from the local supermarket and expect it to taste incredible. Splash out on top quality dried fruit and citrus peel. Using premium liquor, and plenty of it, also goes a long way, as does best quality unsalted butter and dark muscovado sugar.
Soak your fruit properly
Soak your fruit for as long as possible, at least overnight, ideally a few days. Rum and brandy are traditional but you could also try sherry. Don’t soak your fruit in a metal bowl as this can taint the flavour; use a Tupperware container or a ceramic or plastic bowl covered in plastic wrap.
Add a touch of tradition
Place a lucky coin in the centre of your pudding before cooking it. Traditionally, the person who finds it is thought to receive a year of good luck. Just be sure to sterilise the coin first using boiling water or vodka and warn eaters in advance so no one breaks a tooth!
After you have steamed and cooled your pudding, replace the foil with a freshly buttered piece to keep it moist and store in a cool, dark place, or the fridge, until you are ready to reheat it on Christmas day.
Reheating your pudding
To reheat your pudding, remove all wrapping, and then use one of the following methods:
Wrap in foil and reheat in the oven for one hour or until hot at 150°C.
Wrap tightly in foil, place on a trivet in a saucepan over simmering water and steam gently for 45 minutes to one hour or until hot.
Wrap pudding in plastic wrap, poking a couple of holes in the top to release steam, then microwave on medium power for approximately 15 minutes depending on the size of the pudding and the strength of your microwave.
Let stand for five minutes before serving.
Decorating with flair
Add the traditional sprig of holly on top or try miniature Christmas ornaments, decorations made from marzipan, or tie festive ribbon all around the pudding’s edges.
Serving suggestions
There are many delicious accompaniments to your pudding that can help make up for any lack of richness caused by last minute preparation. These include homemade or store-bought custard, ice cream, brandy butter, eggnog cream, hard sauce and lemon butter. Or, flame the turned out pudding with brandy or other liqueur for dramatic effect.
Christmas pudding recipes
From the traditional to the cheat’s, try these recipes for a lovely end to your festive feast:
“If I could work my will," said Scrooge indignantly, "every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' upon his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.He should!”
If the puddings are waterlogged then they may be difficult to rescue though you may be able blot them with kitchen paper (paper towels) to remove as much water as possible and use the puddings to make Nigella's Christmas Puddini Bonbons (from Christmas and on the Nigella website) instead.
Ideally we would suggest that when the pudding is made it is steamed for 8 hours (the combined time of the first and second steamings) as the steaming is important for the flavour of the pudding. The pudding can then be microwaved to reheat it on Christmas Day.
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.
The proof is in the pudding is an expression that means the value, quality, or truth of something must be judged based on direct experience with it—or on its results. The expression is an alteration of an older saying that makes the meaning a bit clearer: the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Can you over-steam a Christmas pudding? While the pudding won't dry out if it's steamed for too long, some of the ingredients inside may be spoiled by being overcooked.
A Christmas pudding is quite a dense mixture and needs long gentle cooking to prevent the outside burning before the inside is cooked. The same theory holds for reheating a pudding as it will take some time for the pudding to heat right through to the centre.
Resist lifting the lid of the steaming pan for the first 30 minutes; like baking a cake, the drop in temperature could cause the pudding to collapse. However after this time, do check on the pudding regularly to make sure that the pan does not boil dry.
Use a mixture of flour and breadcrumbs, not just flour. 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.
After you have steamed and cooled your pudding, replace the foil with a freshly buttered piece to keep it moist and store in a cool, dark place, or the fridge, until you are ready to reheat it on Christmas day.
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.
It's said that Christmas pudding needs to be prepared with 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and his twelve disciples. Every family member stirs it in turn from east to west to honour their journey. Historically, Christmas pudding wasn't even considered to be a dessert.
He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. Nothing says holidays, like a cheese log. Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart. The two most joyous times of the year are Christmas morning and the end of school.
The idea of plum pudding as a Christmas dish rose to prominence during the Victorian period, as seen in A Christmas Carol (published in 1843) shown in this illustration of the Ghost of Christmas Present from the first edition.
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