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individual christmas pudding with custard
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4.72 from 7 votes

Individual Steam Oven Christmas Puddings

Steamed Christmas puddings are a British classic. These small versions have the same traditional fruity taste but cook faster. They make a pretty dessert or a lovely food gift.  
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Soaking Time1 day
Total Time1 day 2 hours
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Australian, English
Keyword: Christmas pudding with fig, apricot and orange, steamed christmas pudding, steamed pudding
Servings: 12 puddings
Calories: 590kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • A day before you want to cook the puddings: put the fruit and almonds into a bowl and pour the brandy over the top, mixing to coat everything with the alcohol. Cover and leave overnight. 
  • The next day, grease a 12 hole standard muffin pan. Line the base of each greased muffin hole with a small piece of parchment paper and set aside. If you have small individual metal or ceramic molds feel free to use those instead.
  • Cream the butter, sugar, orange rind and juice until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate each one before adding the next. If the mixture curdles when the last couple of eggs are added don’t worry.
  • Add the flour and spices to the butter mixture and mix just to combine, then add the breadcrumbs and soaked fruit and mix until well combined.
  • Divide the mixture evenly into the prepared pan, then cover the puddings with parchment paper to fit (you’ll need a single large piece of paper for a muffin pan, or single pieces for individual molds).
  • Put the puddings into your steam oven and set to 212°F/100°C, steam only (100% humidity). Cook for 1 ½ hours, then remove and cool puddings before turning out of the pan.
  • Store the puddings wrapped in wax paper inside an airtight container, in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Brush with extra brandy every few days during this time (optional). If you’d like to store them longer, freeze the puddings until the day of serving.Reheat puddings at 212°F/100°C, steam only (100% humidity) for 30 minutes (45 minutes from frozen). Serve with brandy butter or custard.

Notes

  1. You’ll need to soak the fruit and nuts overnight before making your puddings. Ideally, puddings should be cooked and then aged in the fridge (or a cool pantry, if you live somewhere cold) for a few weeks, but they’ll be good to eat anywhere from a few days after cooking.
  2. Use a combination of your choice when it comes to dried fruit. I like to make sure it’s at least half vine fruits (raisins, sultanas and currants), but I always add a little candied ginger because I love it, as well as some candied orange slices and whatever other glace or candied fruit I have on hand for Christmas baking. Some stores sell pre-packaged mixed dried fruit; I really dislike it. The pre-packaged stuff generally contains candied peel with artificial citrus essence added to it, which smells and tastes awful.
  3. This recipe makes a dozen half-cup puddings. If you’d like to make it as one large pudding instead, you’ll need a bowl/basin around 1.8qt/1.7l, and it will need to be steamed for 6 hours.

Nutrition

Calories: 590kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 168mg | Potassium: 641mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 57g | Vitamin A: 584IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 204mg | Iron: 4mg