When should you start making a Christmas pudding? (2024)

FAQs

When should you start making a Christmas pudding? ›

Traditional Christmas pudding is the original make-ahead dessert. It is meant to be made on the last Sunday before Advent, or five weeks before Christmas. The pudding should be stored in a cool, dry place until Christmas day. All you need to do is reheat it before serving.

Most Christmas Pudding recipes will require starting a few weeks before Christmas, usually between four and six weeks ahead of the actual day. Christmas puddings and fruit cakes benefit from being made way in advance because it allows the flavours to intensify and the colour deepen over time.

No, but having made them, they improve with age. A good pud might have 6 months or a year to mature. No: it takes about an hour - if you're an old hand at it - to mix and about eight hours to steam (the exact time depends on the size of the pudding). Puddings, like rich fruitcakes, do improve and mature, over time.

It was in the late Victorian era that 'Stir up Sunday' (the fifth Sunday before Christmas) began to be associated with the making of Christmas pudding.

Freeze It: Store the pudding in the freezer. It can last up to a year if properly frozen. Thaw Slowly: When you're ready to enjoy it, thaw the pudding in the refrigerator. Slow thawing helps maintain the pudding's moisture.

You'll find that most of your favorite Christmas cookie recipes can be made anywhere from a month to six months before the 25th of December. (Consult this handy how-to guide to the matter.) Generally, most recipes will be best if baked and then frozen.

The pudding should be stirred from east to west, in honour of the Magi (Wise Men) who came from the east to visit the baby Jesus. It's also a good excuse to enjoy a wee dram or a cup of festive mulled wine! On Christmas Day the pudding has its own ritual.

Some Christmas puddings, made with dried fruit in the traditional way, are fine to be eaten as much as two years after they were made. "Bear in mind if the pudding is alcohol-free, of course, it will last a good while with the sugar content, but it will not last as long without alcohol to preserve it," stresses Juliet.

To feed the pudding, poke some holes in the top of the pudding and pour in 1-2 tablespoons of brandy every week, until Christmas Day. To serve, steam the pudding again for about two hours to reheat it.

Most Christmas puddings are made with suet (shredded beef fat) and this tends to take longer to melt than butter, so the pudding needs a long cooking time to make sure that the fat has melted and combined properly with the other ingredients.

What is the superstition about Christmas pudding? ›

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.

You'll no doubt be familiar with the act of adding silver coins into Christmas pudding. This tradition came from the notion that whoever finds the coin in their pudding serve can keep the coin, AND has the added bonus of “good luck” for the new year ahead.

We would also mention that after the first steaming the pudding may look a little lighter in colour than you may expect. On the second steaming the pudding will darken in colour. As it re-heats it will also become slightly softer in texture and should be easy to cut once it has been turned out from its basin.

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.

According to tradition, Christmas Pudding is made from a total of 13 ingredients: raisins, currants, flour, suet, eggs, brown sugar, bread crumbs, citron, lemon peel, orange peel, mixed spices, milk, and brandy.

Check the pudding is cooked by inserting a skewer through the foil and parchment lid into the centre of the pudding. If the skewer still has some wet mixture on it, return the pudding to the steamer for a further 15-20 mins, then check again.

Set the bowl, uncovered, in the refrigerator. After 15 minutes, cover the pudding with a sheet of plastic wrap pressed against the surface and refrigerate until fully thickened, about 2 hours. To serve: Whip the thickened pudding with a hand or stand mixer for a full minute to restore its creamy texture.

The Christmas pudding originated in the 14th-century as a sort of porridge, originally known as “frumenty”, which bears little resemblance to the dessert we know today. It was originally made with hulled wheat, boiled in milk, seasoned with cinnamon and coloured with saffron.

After the puddings are steamed you can either serve them straight away or, if Christmas is still a while off, cool the puddings in their basins, change the baking paper covers for clean ones and tie up.