Spiced pear and chai pudding

Spiced pear and chai pudding

Full of spice and laden with caramel sauce, Georgina Hayden’s sticky pear and chai pud is a welcome twist on traditional Christmas pudding.

Spiced pear and chai pudding

Get ready for Dec 25th with our make-ahead Christmas dessert recipes.

  • Serves icon Serves 6-8
  • Time icon Hands-on time 30 min, plus overnight soaking. Simmering time 3½ hours, plus resting

Full of spice and laden with caramel sauce, Georgina Hayden’s sticky pear and chai pud is a welcome twist on traditional Christmas pudding.

Get ready for Dec 25th with our make-ahead Christmas dessert recipes.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
324kcals
Fat
10.2g fat (6g saturated)
Protein
4g
Carbohydrates
50.4g (35.4g sugars)
Fibre
1.8g
Salt
0.3g

Ingredients

  • 200g raisins and sultanas
  • 75g dried pear, finely chopped
  • 125ml hot English breakfast tea
  • 75ml sweet sherry
  • 80g cold butter, plus extra to grease
  • 8 cardamom pods
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ⅛ tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 pears, peeled
  • 2 tbsp salted caramel sauce (we used Joe + Seph’s) – plus extra to serve
  • 100g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 60g fresh white breadcrumbs, (about 1 thick slice, whizzed in a food processor or grated)
  • 125g light soft brown sugar
  • 1 large free-range egg, beaten
  • Cream and/or custard to serve

You’ll also need

  • 1.25 litre pudding basin
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Method

  1. The night before you make your pudding, put the raisins, sultanas and chopped dried pear in a large mixing bowl and cover with the hot tea and sweet sherry. Cover and leave overnight to soak.
  2. The next day, grease a 1.25 litre pudding basin with butter and line the base with a small circle of baking paper. Lightly crush the cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar, then remove the pods and grind the seeds to a fine powder. Mix in the ground cinnamon, cloves and ginger until well combined. Measure 1 tsp of the spice blend into a small mixing bowl. Quarter and core 1 of the peeled pears, then cut into 1cm thick slices. Put in the bowl with the spice mix and toss together. Spoon the salted caramel sauce into the bottom of the pudding basin and top with the spiced pear.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the plain flour, baking powder, breadcrumbs, light soft brown sugar and remaining ground spice blend. Coarsely grate in the cold butter and the remaining peeled pear. Add the soaked dried fruit, plus any remaining sherry at the bottom of the bowl, and the beaten egg. Mix everything together and spoon into the pudding basin.
  4. Cut a 30cm square each of baking paper and foil. Put the foil on top of the baking paper and fold a pleat around 4cm wide down the middle. Lay this on top of the basin, foil side up, then scrunch it down around the sides, tucking the paper into the foil. Secure with string tied tightly around the lip of the basin, then use the string to create a handle over the top to help lift the basin out of the cooking pan. Put a trivet or upturned heatproof saucer in a large pan, then set the basin on top so it doesn’t touch the bottom. Pour in enough water around the side to come halfway up the basin. Cover the pan, bring the water to the boil over a high heat, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook for 3½ hours, checking the water level from time to time and topping it up as necessary.
  5. Remove the basin from the pan, set aside for 10 minutes, then turn out the pudding onto a serving plate. Serve with the remaining salted caramel sauce to drizzle over and a jug of cream and/or custard.

Nutrition

Calories
324kcals
Fat
10.2g fat (6g saturated)
Protein
4g
Carbohydrates
50.4g (35.4g sugars)
Fibre
1.8g
Salt
0.3g

delicious. tips

  1. Don’t waste it: Leftover pudding will keep covered in the fridge for 3-4 days.

    Learn how to wrap a pudding for steaming below…

Buy ingredients online

Recipe By

Georgina Hayden

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