
Ingredients
- For Christmas Pudding:
- 150 g (5-1/2 oz/1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 nutmeg, freshly grated (or 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg)
- 30 g (1 oz) dried breadcrumbs
- 30 g (1 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 70 g ( 2-1/2 oz) soft light brown sugar
- 20 g (1/2 oz) ground almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 100 g (3-1/2 oz) sultanas (golden raisins)
- 40 g (1-1/2 oz) currants
- 100 g (3-1/2 oz) raisins
- 45 g (1-1/2 oz) dried cranberries
- 30 g (1 oz) dried pears, chopped
- 50 g (1-3/4 oz) dried apricots, chopped
- 100 g (3-1/2 oz) mixed peel (mixed candied citrus peel), chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and coarsely grated
- 1 apple, peeled and coarsely grated
- 50 g (1-3/4 oz) glacé ginger, cut into 5 mm (1/4 in) dice
- 50 g (1-3/4 oz/ 1/3 cup) blanched almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
- finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
- finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 egg
- 25 ml (3/4 fl oz) cognac
- 25 ml (3/4 fl oz) whisky
- 25 ml (3/4 fl oz) rum
- 50 ml (1-3/4 fl oz) pedro ximénez
- 25 ml (3/4 fl oz) muscat
- 75 ml (2-1/2 fl oz) port
- 100 ml (3-1/2 fl oz) Guinness
- 75 ml (2-1/2 fl oz) brandy (to flambé)
For French Toast Variation:
- 300 ml (10 fl oz) full-cream (whole) milk
- 3 eggs
- 200 g (7 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
- 3 tablespoons brandy, plus a splash extra to serve
- 4 slices leftover Christmas Pudding (see recipe below), 2 cm (3/4 in) thick
- 80 g (2-3/4 oz) unsalted butter
- ice cream, to serve
Directions
- For Christmas Pudding:
- Sieve the flour and spices together into a large mixing bowl. Add the breadcrumbs and rub in the butter using your fingertips until all the butter has been incorporated. Add the brown sugar, ground almonds and salt and mix well.
- Add all the remaining ingredients in the order they appear above, except the brandy, and mix well with a spatula.
- Grease a 1.2 litre (41 fl oz) pudding basin (mould) and pour in the batter. Push down to completely fill the bowl and eliminate any air bubbles. Cut a disc of baking paper to fit the diameter of the base of the pudding and lightly grease it. Place the paper, greased side down, to cover the pudding, then wrap the entire pudding in aluminum foil
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the pudding basin in a cast-iron pot. Fill the pot with enough hot water to come halfway up the side of the pudding. Cover the pot with a lid and cook in the oven for 5 hours, checking the water level every hour and topping it up as needed. Alternatively, cook the pudding in an oven that has a steam function. Cook in a 200 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 5 hours.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool. You can leave the pudding in the basin and cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store in the fridge until needed – it will keep for up to one year!
- To reheat on the day, repeat one of the cooking methods above, leaving it in the oven for a good 1-1/2 hours.
- Heat the brandy in a microwave for 10 seconds. Turn the pudding out onto a serving dish, remove the disc of baking paper, and pour over the brandy. Set it alight and take a bow.
- For French Toast Variation:
- Pour the milk into a bowl and add the eggs, 50 g (1-3/4 oz) of the sugar and the brandy. Mix well and then strain through a sieve into a jug.
- Place the slices of Christmas pudding in a shallow dish and pour over the custard mix. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. After 1 hour, flip all the slices over to get maximum coverage. Drain the slices on a wire rack set over a tray to catch the drips.
- Heat the remaining sugar in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat until just melted and starting to turn golden brown. Reduce the heat to low and add the butter, swirling it around in the pan until fully mixed in.
- Add the drained slices of Christmas pudding and cook them for a couple of minutes until brown and caramelised. Flip them over with a spatula and cook for the same amount of time on the other side. Remove from the pan and serve with ice cream and a splash of brandy.
Indulge in this classic Christmas Pudding Recipe and then use the leftovers to make a decadent take on French toast.
I make the Christmas Pudding recipe for my shop around July and store them in the fridge. Then, when I reheat by steaming them in the oven for a couple of hours on the day I make the French Toast Variation.
More from Chefs Host Christmas Too

Excerpted with permission from Chefs Host Christmas Too by Darren Purchese, published by Hardie Grant September 2019.
250 TREASURED COUNTRY DESSERTS
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