Traditional Christmas Pudding (Figgy Pudding)

A thoroughly authentic Christmas Pudding recipe, also known as Plum Pudding or Figgy Pudding!  It’s the perfect make-ahead dessert as the flavors only get better over time.  A household favorite for centuries, no traditional Christmas is complete without a Christmas Pudding!

What is Figgy Pudding?  

If you’re familiar with the figgy pudding Christmas carol, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, you may have asked yourself at some point, “what is a figgy pudding anyway?”

All three of these names refer to a traditional English steamed cake-like dessert comprised of breadcrumbs, flour, suet, sugar, eggs, brandy, lemon zest, candied citrus peel, spices, and dried fruits (specifically raisins, currants, and golden raisins). With respect to the different names, the short answer is that figgy pudding can be considered a much earlier precursor of plum pudding and they’ve both come to be referred to as Christmas pudding.

Figgy pudding dates back to the 14th century and was a much different dish than what we refer to as figgy pudding today.  It was more of a wet, sticky, thick porridge consisting of boiled figs, water, wine, ground almonds, raisins and honey.  It later evolved into incorporating ground meat and grains and then later still evolved into a steamed pudding that was made with raisins.

Where does the term “plum” pudding come from?  Plums were what the pre-Victorians called raisins, and dried fruits in general, and the name stuck.

It wasn’t until 1845 when it first came to be called “Christmas Pudding” in Eliza Acton’s bestselling cookbook, Modern Cookery for Private Families.

And so we have three names that are still used in different regions of the English-speaking world.  In the U.S. it is more commonly called Figgy Pudding whereas in the UK and Ireland it is more commonly known as Christmas Pudding (or simply “pud”), or Plum Pudding.

As with many traditional Christmas desserts, plum pudding incorporates symbolism reflective of Christ such as the holly (representing the crown of thorns), and setting the pudding on fire (representing the passion of Christ).

How Far in Advance Should I Make Christmas Pudding?

As with other Christmas goodies that are meant to be made in advance in order to allow their flavors to develop (e.g., Stollen, Printen, Springerle, Speculoos, etc), Christmas pudding was traditionally made several weeks before Christmas.  The brandy acts as both a preservative and draws out more flavor from the other ingredients.  So generally the longer the pudding matures, the more flavorful it will be.

In the UK, Christmas pudding was traditionally prepared on what is known as “Stir-up Sunday” (“stir-up” being a reference from the Book of Common Prayer), the last Sunday before Advent (typically the last Sunday in November, or 5 weeks before Christmas).  This was day the pudding ingredients would be assembled and the whole family would be involved “stirring up” the ingredients and then steam the pudding in pudding basins.  A popular tradition was to add a silver coin (six pence) to the pudding batter and whoever found the coin in their serving would have good luck.  Once cooked and cooled down, the puddings would be carefully wrapped and stored in the basement until ready for serving on Christmas.

Can I Omit the Alcohol?  

The brandy serves as a preservative for prolonging the shelf life of the pudding and also draws out more flavor from the ingredients as the pudding matures.  You can omit the brandy if you prefer but the pudding will need to be stored in the fridge (wrapped extremely well to prevent drying out) and consumed within a week.

How Long Should You Steam Figgy Pudding?

You’ll see different recipes recommending different times – anything from 3 hours to 8 hours.  There’s really no right or wrong to this but if you are using suet, which is traditional and what we recommend for the best texture, you’ll need to steam it for at least 4 hours, preferably longer as it takes suet a long time to break down (longer than butter) and to create the air pockets that gives desserts like this their characteristically soft texture.

The longer you steam the pudding the darker it will become, more closely resembling the pictures of traditional plum pudding you’ve seen.  If you want that traditional dark brown color, steam it for closer to 8 hours.

It is very difficult to over-steam a pudding so if you’re uncertain, just keep steaming until your pudding is a rich, dark color.

How Long Does Christmas Pudding Keep?

Three elements are key to a lengthy storage time:  The alcohol and sugar content (preservatives) and proper storage.  The pudding needs to be wrapped very tightly and stored in a cool place that is fairly dry but with enough humidity to keep the pudding from drying out.  The ideal, and traditional, storage space is a basement or cellar.  As long as it is cool but not freezing, a balcony or sheltered area outside out of sunlight will work too.   If you do not have a cool, dark environment in your home you can keep it in the fridge but make sure it is tightly wrapped in two layers of plastic wrap and some aluminum foil to prevent it from drying out.

Properly stored, plum pudding will keep for several weeks.  (Traditionally it would even be stored for several months, even as long as a year or more, though that makes me a bit nervous.)  You can also freeze the pudding for up to a year.  Make sure it is well wrapped in two layers of plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, then place it in a freezer bag or airtight container.

How to Reheat and Serve Christmas Pudding

After your pudding is done maturing and you’re ready to serve it, unwrap it, place it back in the pudding mold, cover and re-steam it for 30-60 minutes or until heated through.  Alternatively you can cover and microwave the pudding.

The traditional way to serve the pudding is to pour some more brandy over it and set it on fire, letting the fire burn down and then serve it with Hard Sauce, also known as Brandy Butter in the UK.  Though hard sauce is traditional you can also serve it with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar, some whipped cream, brandy sauce, English custard, ice cream, or lemon sauce.

How to Light a Christmas Pudding

To set your Christmas pudding on fire pour some brandy, 3-4 tablespoons, into a soup ladle.  Hold the ladle over a flame, tipping it slightly to allow the brandy to catch the flame.  Once the brandy is on fire, slowly pour the flaming ladle over the top of the pudding; the fire will transfer to the pudding.  Wait for the fire to naturally extinguish and then serve the pudding.

Traditionally the pudding is brought to the table, the lights are turned off, and the pudding is set aflame for everyone to see.  It’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser that will elicit “oohs” and “ahhs”!

Christmas Pudding Recipe

Let’s get started!

Place the raisins, sultanas, currants, almonds, and candied citrus peel in a bowl.  Pour the brandy over and stir to combine the mixture.  Cover and let sit overnight to allow the brandy to fully penetrate the fruit.

The next day, place the breadcrumbs, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a bowl and stir to combine.

In another bowl add the soaked dried fruit mixture, grated apple, suet, lemon and orange zest, black treacle, and egg.  Stir to combine.

Add the dry mixture to the fruit mixture and stir to thoroughly combine it.  It will be thick and sticky.

Generously butter your 2 liter pudding mold and scoop the batter into the mold, pressing down and smoothing the top.

Cut a circle out of parchment paper the same diameter as the top of the pudding mold.  Lightly butter the paper and place it, butter side down, on top of the batter.  Next tear off two more pieces of parchment paper large enough to cover the to of the pudding mold and partially down the sides of the mold.  If your pudding mold is small and the batter comes to the top of it, fold a pleat in the center of the parchment papers to allow room for expansion as the pudding cooks.  Trim off excess paper.

Secure the paper by folding down the sides and tying securely with a string (to make it easier you can secure it first with a rubber band while you’re tying it and then remove the rubber band).

Note:  If your mold comes with a lid as mine does, I still like to add a layer of parchment paper before securing the lid.

Bring a large pot of water to a very low simmer.  Place a folded cloth on the bottom of the pot to prevent the pudding mold from coming in direct contact with the pot in order to prevent scorching.

Lower the pudding mold down into the water on top of the folded cloth.  The water level should come up to the halfway point of the pudding mold.  Cover the pot with the lid.

Steam the pudding over very low heat for approximately 8 hours.  Check periodically to ensure the water level is still at the halfway point and add more water as needed.

The longer the pudding steams the darker in color it will become.

When the pudding is done steaming, carefully lift out the pudding mold and let it sit for 5 minutes.  Then invert the pudding on a plate.  Let it sit until the pudding slides out onto the plate.  Let the pudding cool completely.

To store, if you are freezing it wrap it tightly in at least two layers of plastic wrap, then wrap with foil, and place it in a ziplock freezer bag.  remove the parchment paper and wrap the pudding with clean parchment paper followed by aluminum foil.  Wrap tightly.  Store it in a cool, dark place, preferably a basement.  If you don’t have a cool, dark place you can store it in the fridge but first butter the parchment paper before wrapping the pudding to help retain moisture.  See storing guidelines section of blog post for more info.

When you’re ready to serve the pudding you will need to reheat it either by re-steaming it for 30-60 minutes or until heated through or you can also microwave it in a microwave safe container to keep the moisture in.

You can light the pudding just before serving (see blog post section on how to light a pudding) and then serve with  Hard Sauce, also known as Brandy Butter in the UK.  Alternatively you can serve it with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar, some whipped cream, brandy sauce, English custard, ice cream, or lemon sauce.

Enjoy!

For more traditional British favorites, be sure to try our:

• Mincemeat
• Mince Pies
• Eccles Cakes
• Sticky Toffee Pudding
• Spotted Dick
• Treacle Tart
• Parkin

Originally published on The Daring Gourmet December 15, 2020