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Christmas pudding made with beer

Name: Christmas pudding made with beer
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 3 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h 60 min
Yield: Serves 6-8
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: 75g prunes, chopped; 80g soft dried figs, chopped; 50g glacé cherries, halved; 75g dates, stoned and chopped; 100g mixed dried fruit; 1 small eating apple, cored and grated; 1 small carrot, grated; 2 tbsp bitter orange marmalade; 1⁄2 tsp ground nutmeg; 1⁄2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tbsp ground mixed spice; 1 tbsp golden syrup; 75ml dark beer such as stout or porter; 115g butter, softened; 115g light soft brown sugar; 2 medium free-range eggs; 55g self-raising flour; 55g plain flour; 1⁄2 tsp salt; 65g fresh breadcrumbs; 40g flaked almonds; 50ml whisky; Brandy butter, brandy sauce, cream or ice cream to serve; Specialist kit; 20cm pudding basin; Kitchen string

By: Big Mamma Group

Published: 27 Oct 22
Updated: 25 Mar 24

This recipe from food writer Olivia Potts came from her friend Kate’s great-granny. Packed with plump, moist fruit, it’s a fragrant, complex winner, only made better by Olivia’s addition of dark beer, prunes, figs and dates.

Get ready for stir-up Sunday with over 20 Christmas pudding recipes.

Easy
November 2022

Test kitchen approved

Serves 6-8
Hands-on time 30 min, plus cooling and infusing, simmering time 3 hours, plus 2 1⁄2 hours

Get ready for stir-up Sunday with over 20 Christmas pudding recipes.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 448kcals
Fat: 16.9g (8.3g saturated)
Protein: 6.8g
Carbohydrates: 61g (40.3g sugars)
Fibre: 3.8g
Salt: 1g

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Ingredients

75g prunes, chopped
80g soft dried figs, chopped
50g glacé cherries, halved
75g dates, stoned and chopped
100g mixed dried fruit
1 small eating apple, cored and grated
1 small carrot, grated
2 tbsp bitter orange marmalade
1⁄2 tsp ground nutmeg
1⁄2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground mixed spice
1 tbsp golden syrup
75ml dark beer such as stout or porter
115g butter, softened
115g light soft brown sugar
2 medium free-range eggs
55g self-raising flour
55g plain flour
1⁄2 tsp salt
65g fresh breadcrumbs
40g flaked almonds
50ml whisky
Brandy butter, brandy sauce, cream or ice cream to serve

Specialist kit

20cm pudding basin
Kitchen string

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Method

Mix all the dried fruits, grated apple and carrot, marmalade, spices and golden syrup with the stout or porter in a saucepan. Stir, bring to the boil, turn off the heat and leave for 1 hour.
In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale brown and fluffy in texture. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, completely combining with the mixture before adding the next. Stir in both flours, the salt and breadcrumbs. Stir in the flaked almonds, soaked fruit, any residual stout or porter and the whisky until combined. Spoon the mixture into the pudding basin.
Put a piece of baking paper on top of a piece of foil and fold both along the middle to create a pleat (this is so when the pudding expands, it doesn’t burst out of the paper). Place these two folded sheets over the top of the pudding basin, centring the pleat. Fold the edges down and tie tightly with kitchen string.

To steam, put a clean tea towel in the base of a large saucepan. Fill the pan halfway up with boiling water. Lower the prepared pudding into the pan: the water should come about two thirds of the way up the pudding basin. Put the pan over a very low heat and cover the pan with a lid. Steam for 3 hours. Keep an eye on the water level, checking every 30 minutes or so: it’s dangerous for the pan to boil dry, so top up with boiling water from the kettle, if needed.
When your pudding is cooked, take it out of the pan, remove the tin foil and baking paper and leave it to cool and dry out. Once dry and cool, place a new, clean covering of baking paper and tin foil on top in the same way as before, and store the pud in a cool, dry place (see Make Ahead).
When you’re ready to eat, steam the pudding as in step 4 for 21⁄2 hours. Once the time is up, remove the covering and run a knife around the edge of the basin: the pudding should slip right out. Serve it flaming (see deliciousmagazine.co.uk for a how-to guide to flaming) with brandy butter, brandy sauce, cream or ice cream.

Recipe from November 2022 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 448kcals
Fat: 16.9g (8.3g saturated)
Protein: 6.8g
Carbohydrates: 61g (40.3g sugars)
Fibre: 3.8g
Salt: 1g

delicious. tips

You can easily double or SCALE treble the recipe to make multiple puddings to give to family and friends.
After the initial steam, the pudding can be (and benefits from being) stored in a cool, dry place for several months. It doesn’t need to be kept in the fridge or freezer.