Christmas pudding is a traditional dessert served with Christmas dinner here in the UK and originated in medieval times. It is a dessert made with dried fruits soaked in brandy.
Traditionally the puddings is made on stir up Sunday which is the Sunday before advent where families would mix the pudding, make a wish and add a silver sixpence to the mixture. The person who found the coin in their pudding was said to enjoy wealth and luck for the year to come!
I love Christmas puddings but none of my family do so I always make mini ones so that I can enjoy a bit of Christmas pudding with my dinner. Making smaller ones cuts down on the baking time and easy to re-heat on Christmas Day.
I always have my mini puddings with brandy sauce but you can also use brandy butter if you prefer.
The day before baking the puddings: In a medium sized bowl weigh the dried mixed fruit, prunes, cherries, stem ginger, grated apple, orange zest, orange juice and brandy .
Stir and cover with cling film and leave overnight to soak.
The following day: Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (160 fan).
Place 12 pudding dishes in a large roasting tray(s). My foil pudding dishes measure 8.5cm diameter x 6cm high.
Cut 12 circles of baking parchment the diameter of the top of the pudding dishes and 12 squares of foil a few centimetres larger than the dishes.
In a large bowl put the flour, sugar, all-spice, mixed spice, vegetable suet and black treacle.
Melt the butter and add to the bowl with the eggs.
Add the soaked fruit and mix until everything is fully combined.
Divide between the pudding basins and top with the circle of parchment and make a pleat in the foil and place on the top of the puddings.
Boil the kettle and with the puddings in the roasting tin fill so the water is half way up the basins. Do this in the oven or you may spill the boiling water.
Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Take the foil & parchment off one of the puddings and test with a skewer- it should come out clean.
Remove the puddings from the water bath and leave to cool.
Re-heat in a water bath or cook individually in the microwave (when removed from the metal tins) for approximately 1 minute.
Mini Christmas Puddings
Sarah's servings: 12
Sarah's skill: Easy
Baking time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Ingredients
450g Dried mixed fruit
150g Chopped dried prunes
50g Quartered glacé cherries
40g Finely chopped stem ginger
1 Grated cooking apple (pealed)
1 Orange (zest & juice)
100ml Brandy
100g Self Raising flour
150g Light brown sugar
1/2 tsp Ground all spice
1 tsp Mixed spice
240g Vegetable suet
75g Black treacle
100g Melted butter
3 Large eggs
Method
The day before baking the puddings: In a medium sized bowl weigh the dried mixed fruit, prunes, cherries, stem ginger, grated apple, orange zest, orange juice and brandy . Stir and cover with cling film and leave overnight to soak.
The following day: Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (160 fan).
Place 12 pudding dishes in a large roasting tray(s). My foil pudding dishes measure 8.5cm diameter x 6cm high.
Cut 12 circles of baking parchment the diameter of the top of the pudding dishes and 12 squares of foil a few centimetres larger than the dishes.
In a large bowl put the flour, sugar, all-spice, mixed spice, vegetable suet and black treacle.
Melt the butter and add to the bowl with the eggs.
Add the soaked fruit and mix until everything is fully combined.
Divide between the pudding basins and top with the circle of parchment and make a pleat in the foil and place on the top of the puddings.
Boil the kettle and with the puddings in the roasting tin fill so the water is half way up the basins. Do this in the oven to avoid spillage.
Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Take the foil & parchment off one of the puddings and test with a skewer- it should come out clean.
Remove the puddings from the water bath and leave to cool.
Tie string around the top of the puddings when cool and store until ready to eat. Eat within a month or to keep longer feed with brandy a week after baking.
Re-heat in a water bath or cook individually in the microwave (when removed from the metal tins) for approximately 1 minute.
Equipment Used
Sarah's extra slice.......
My foil pudding dishes measure 8.5cm diameter x 6cm high.
Eat within a month or to keep longer feed with brandy a week after baking.
To test they are cooked you'll need a cake tester