Get ready for Christmas Day with this foolproof to make and delicious to eat festive recipe from baking legend Mary Berry
Mary Berry’s Christmas Pudding is a real crowdpleaser(Image: Martin Poole)
It’s almost the most wonderful time of the year. And with Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to get prepping for The Big Day. Experts agree that the first thing on everyone’s list should be the good old Christmas pud.
Traditionally, Christmas pudding is made on ‘Stir-up Sunday’, the first Sunday before Advent, right at the end of November. And with the date fast approaching, now is the time to get your ingredients in.
Christmas pudding is traditionally made a month early to allow its flavours to mature and develop a richer taste. This process lets the ingredients meld together, and the alcohol used for “feeding” the pudding can soak in and improve the texture and flavour even further.
If you’re in need of some culinary inspiration, baking legend Mary Berry is here to help, sharing with us her delicious Christmas pudding recipe. It’s a real crowd pleaser.
Mary Berry is a baking legend
“It will win over the harshest critics,” says Mary, 90.
“Feed it with a little more brandy or rum once it is cooked and cold, and keep in a cool place until Christmas Day.”
Happy cooking!
Mary Berry’s Christmas Pudding
Serves 8-10
You’ll need…
75g butter (3oz), softened, plus extra for greasing450g (1lb) dried fruit (use a mixture of sultanas, raisins and snipped apricots)1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and roughly chopped(about 175g/6oz) finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange50ml (2 fl oz) brandy or rum, plus extra for feeding and flaming100g (4oz) light muscovado sugar2 eggs100g (4oz) self-raising flour1 level teaspoon ground mixed spice40g (1 ½ oz) fresh white breadcrumbs40g (1 ½ oz) whole shelled almonds, roughly chopped
METHOD
Lightly butter a 1.4 litre pudding basin. Cut a small square of foil and press into the base of the basin.Measure the sultanas, raisins, apricots and apple into a bowl with the orange juice. Add the measured brandy or rum and leave to marinate for about 1 hour.Put the measured butter, sugar and grated orange rind into a large bowl and cream together with a wooden spoon or a hand-held electric whisk until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little flour if the mixture starts to curdle.Sift together the flour and mixed spice, then fold into the creamed mixture with the breadcrumbs and the nuts. Add the dried fruits, apple and liquid and stir well.Spoon into the prepared pudding basin, pressing the mixture down, and level the top with the back of a spoon. Cover the pudding with a layer of greaseproof paper and foil, both pleated across the middle to allow for expansion. Tie securely with string and trim off excess paper and foil with scissors.To steam, put the pudding in the top of a steamer filled with simmering water, cover with a lid and steam for about 8 hours, topping up the water as necessary. To boil the pudding, put a metal jam-jar lid into the base of a large pan to act as a trivet. Put the pudding on to this and pour in enough boiling water to come one-third of the way up the bowl. Cover with a lid, bring the water back to the boil, then simmer for about 7 hours, until the pudding is a glorious deep brown colour, topping up the water as necessary.Remove the pudding from the steamer or pan and cool completely. Make holes in the pudding with a fine skewer and pour in a little more brandy or rum to feed. Discard the paper and foil and replace with fresh. Store in a cool, dry place.On Christmas Day, steam or boil the pudding for about an hour to reheat. Turn the pudding on to a serving plate. To flame, warm 3–4 tablespoons brandy or rum in a small pan, pour it over the hot pudding and set light to it. Serve with rum sauce, boozy cream or brandy butter.
AGA: To cook, bring to the boil on the Boiling Plate, cover with a lid and transfer to the Simmering Oven for about 12 hours. To reheat, tightly wrap the cooked pudding, in its bowl, in a double layer of foil and sit it next to the turkey in the Simmering Oven, from early morning. Leave it for several hours and it will slowly reheat and be piping hot at the end of the meal.
TIP: It is quite useful to use a see-through bowl for the pudding as you can then check the colour as it is cooking. Any leftover Christmas pudding can be wrapped in foil and reheated in a medium oven for about 30 minutes.
PREPARING AHEAD: Make and cook the pudding 6–8 weeks before Christmas. As it does take a fair time to steam, make things easier for yourself by preparing the pudding up to the end of step 5 the day before. Keep the pudding in a cool place overnight, and steam as directed the next day. Cover the cold pudding with fresh greaseproof paper and foil and store in a cool place until Christmas. You can also freeze Christmas pudding, but as it stores so well it doesn’t seem worth it! If it really helps you to freeze it, then allow it to mature for a month before freezing.
Mary Berry’s Christmas Pudding – easy to make and delicious to eat(Image: Martin Poole)Finishing touches… Rum Sauce
This is quite old fashioned but often popular with the older generation.
Serves 8
75g (3oz) butter40g (1 ½ oz) plain flour900ml (1 ½ pints) milk50g (2 oz) caster sugar4-6 tablespoons rumMelt the butter in a small pan then stir in the flour. Gradually add the milk, stirring occasionally. Bring to the boil.Stir in the sugar and simmer very gently for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.Add the rum to taste, pour into a warmed serving jug and serve hot with the Christmas pudding.
AGA: Make on the Simmering Plate.
PREPARING AHEAD: This is best served freshly made, so cut out and keep this recipe for Christmas Day.
TIP: If you prefer brandy sauce, add brandy instead of rum.
Go big on the booze to make your boozy cream a taste sensation (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)Finishing touches… Boozy Cream
This is wonderful with Christmas pudding, mince pies or chocolate roulade, and is delicious with fruit salad too! Indulge in your favourite tipple – Bailey’s, rum, brandy, Grand Marnier or Cointreau.
Serves 8
300ml (½ pint) pouring double cream25g (1 oz) caster sugar or icing sugar1-3 tablespoons liqueur of choiceWhip the cream with the sugar to form soft peaks.Fold in your chosen booze to taste: 1 tablespoon is good, 2 tablespoons even better, and 3 tablespoons – wow!
PREPARING AHEAD: Prepare up to 4 hours ahead, and keep covered in the fridge.
TIP: If you are using an orange-based liqueur such as Grand Marnier or Cointreau, then add the finely grated rind of an orange to the cream for extra flavour.
Brandy butter is a match made in heaven with mince pies and Christmas pudding(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)Finishing touches… Brandy Butter
Brandy butter is delicious with mince pies and Christmas pudding, or even spread on crumpets.
Serves 8-12
100g (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened225g (8 oz) icing sugar, sieved3-5 tablespoons brandy or CognacMeasure the butter into a bowl. Beat well with a wooden spoon until soft – or for speed use an electric whisk or processor). Beat in the sieved icing sugar until smooth, then add the brandy or Cognac to taste.Spoon into a serving dish, cover and keep in the fridge.
PREPARING AHEAD: Brandy butter keeps well, up to 2 weeks in the fridge. It also freezes. Spoon into a freezeproof container and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight at cool room temperature.
TIP: If you are making brandy butter in the processor, you don’t need to sieve the icing sugar. Just mix the butter and sugar, then add the brandy at the end. Another very worthwhile tip is that if you use hard butter, then you can use more brandy, although you must use a processor. But if you are over-generous with the brandy, the mixture will curdle: simply beat in more sieved icing sugar and it will come smooth again.
*Recipe taken from Christmas Collection by Mary Berry, published by Headline Home (£30)
Dining and Cooking