Summary
This is a traditional Christmas Plum Pudding made from fresh suet, stale bread crumbs, plenty of spices, and whiskey. Serve it with hard sauce for an exceptional holiday dinner.
What's on Your Plate
Christmas Plum Pudding is a dense, spiced English dessert made from suet, breadcrumbs, eggs, brown sugar, raisins, and citron. It steams for four hours and comes to the table flaming, with a bowl of cold whiskey hard sauce on the side. Equal parts suet, eggs, and sugar make the formula easy to remember, and the flavor only improves as the pudding rests.
Christmas Plum Pudding with Hard Sauce turns a holiday dinner into a celebration. The dark, fragrant pudding arrives wreathed in blue flame, and a bowl of cold hard sauce waits beside it. This pudding belongs to the Dickens Christmas Dinner Menu, right after a roast goose from the electric roaster, and it follows the old method found in Housekeeping in Old Virginia.
The formula is simple once you see it. Use roughly equal amounts of suet, eggs, and brown sugar; then add breadcrumbs until the mixture looks like moist stuffing. Read the whole method before you begin, because the pudding needs four hours of steaming and at least a day of rest.
Christmas Plum Pudding Has No Plums
Many cooks expect plums in a plum pudding and find none. In 17th century England, "plum" meant any dried fruit, especially raisins, so the name stuck even though the fruit never appeared. The pudding grew out of medieval pottages of meat, grain, and fruit; over time, the meat dropped away and the suet stayed.
By the Victorian era, the pudding had become the crown of Christmas dinner. Charles Dickens sealed its reputation in A Christmas Carol, where the Cratchit family waits anxiously for their pudding to come out of the copper. Many English families still stir theirs together on Stir-up Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent, and let it mature for weeks.
Suet, the firm fat around the kidneys of beef or sheep, is the heart of the recipe. It melts slowly and leaves tiny pockets that keep the pudding tender instead of greasy. Ask your butcher for it, or look for boxed shredded suet such as Atora. If you buy it whole, pull away the papery sinew and grate the fat finely; a rotary grater makes quick work of it.
Why Christmas Plum Pudding Works
Steam cooks the pudding gently and evenly. The water never climbs past boiling, so the outside stays moist while the center sets. Brown sugar adds molasses depth and keeps the crumb soft. Stale bread soaks up the eggs and whiskey without turning gummy. Mix the heavy batter by hand with a wooden spoon; a stand mixer overworks it.
A NESCO roaster oven makes steaming far easier than a pot on the stove. Preheat it to 400°F, set the pudding on the rack, and pour in hot water to about an inch up the side of the mold. Without a roaster, use a large stockpot with a pasta insert, or set the pudding on a clean, upturned tuna can and keep the flame low.
Common Mistakes and Gotchas
A few simple habits keep your pudding from sticking, scorching, or slumping.
- Grease every curve. Rub unsalted butter into the mold with your fingers so the pudding releases cleanly.
- Add breadcrumbs gradually. Too few and the pudding slumps; too many and it turns dry.
- Steam in metal. A metal mold or stainless steel bowl handles hours of steam; glass can crack from thermal shock.
- Plan for extra batter. This recipe often fills more than one mold. Pack the rest into a medium metal bowl, cover it with foil, and tie it with butcher's twine.
- Watch the water. Replenish with hot water only, so the temperature never crashes and the bottom never scorches.
Serving and Storage
Serving
Turn the warm pudding out onto a heatproof platter, preferably glass. To flame it, warm a spoonful of whiskey or brandy, pour it over the top, and light it at the table. The flame lasts only a few seconds; keep a large metal bowl nearby to smother it if it lingers. Then cut wedges and top each one with cold hard sauce, which melts slowly into the warm pudding. For a full holiday dessert table, add a plate of Fruitcake Fudge.
Storing
Let the pudding rest at least 24 hours before serving, because the flavors deepen as it sits. Wrap it well and keep it in a cool, dark place, or refrigerate or freeze it for longer keeping. Steam it again until it is hot all the way through before serving. Store leftover hard sauce covered in the refrigerator.
FAQ
Why is it called plum pudding if it has no plums?
In 17th century England, "plum" meant any dried fruit, usually raisins. The name stayed with the pudding long after the word changed meaning.
Can I make Christmas Plum Pudding without suet?
Very cold grated unsalted butter works in a pinch. Expect a denser, richer pudding, since butter melts faster than suet and leaves fewer air pockets.
How far ahead can I make it?
Make it at least a day ahead. Many families make theirs weeks before Christmas on Stir-up Sunday. Keep it wrapped and cool, then steam it again to reheat.
Can I change the fruit or the spirit?
Yes. Brandy works in place of whiskey, you can use all citron instead of the candied peel mix, and chopped nuts make a nice addition.
What is hard sauce?
Hard sauce is unsalted butter beaten with powdered sugar and a little whiskey or brandy. Chilling firms it up, which is how it earns the name "hard."
Step by Step Photos
Christmas Plum Pudding with Hard Sauce Recipe
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Christmas Pudding with Hard Sauce
Tips from the Chef
All the ingredients here are approximate. This is a real "eyeball it" recipe. Basically, you want to have the same amount of suet, eggs, and sugar. Just add enough breadcrumbs to come up with a stuffing like consistency. Although it may seem complicated, this is actually a very simple dessert to make.
Variations
You may use brandy instead of whiskey. You may also use all citron instead of the mix. You may add nuts if desired.
Equipment
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Ingredients
Pudding
- 2 cups suet, grated
- 1 loaf stale bread, crumbled
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 6 eggs
- 1 tablespoon Saigon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Mace
- 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon Allspice
- 2 cups citron, or candied citrus peel mix
- 2 cups raisins
- 1/3 cup whiskey
Hard Sauce
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- 1/2 box powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon whiskey
Instructions
Pudding
- 2 cups suetGrate the suet. A rotary grater does a great job, or use a grinder attachment on your KitchenAid mix.
- 2 cups brown sugar, 6 eggs, 1 tablespoon Saigon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon Mace, 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg, 1/3 cup whiskey, 1/2 teaspoon AllspiceBeat the eggs. Add the sugar, spices, and whiskey. Mix together well.
- 1 loaf stale breadAdd half of the breadcrumbs, and mix. Keep on adding breadcrumbs until you have a consistency a little moister than stuffing.
- 2 cups raisinsAdd the suet and raisins. Mix well. If you still need more breadcrumbs, add them now.
- 2 cups citronAdd the citron and mix well.
- Put water in a four-quart saucepan and set it to boil. if you are using a 4-6 quart Nesco, preheat it to 400.
- If you have a metal steamer, then fill it with the mixture. Otherwise, fill a medium-sized metal bowl with the mixture. Top with foil and secure with butcher’s twine.
- If you don’t have a Nesco, then use a large stockpot with a pasta insert. If you don’t have that, then use a large stockpot, and put a cleaned out tuna can upside down to hold the pudding.
- Put the pudding on the rack, and fill the vessel one inch up the pudding with the hot water.
- If you are not using the Nesco, put the flame on low. You don’t want it to boil away too fast.
- Check the water level every hour, replenishing with hot water as needed. Steam for 4 hours.
- Remove from the heat and let sit at least 15 minutes before serving. Best to wait at least 24 hours. Store your pudding in a dark, cool place. Under a bed, in an unheated bedroom is best.
Hard Sauce
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter, 1/2 box powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon whiskeyBeat the sugar, whiskey and powdered sugar together. Chill.
- To serve your pudding, put it on a nice flame retardant plate, preferably glass.
- Put the hard sauce in a nice serving bowl.
- Have ready a match. Also have ready a large metal bowl, larger than the pudding and platter.
- Present the pudding by lighting it with the match. It should only flame for a few seconds. If it does not, you may suffocate the flames with the large bowl.
- Encourage guests to have a little hard sauce with their pudding and enjoy!
