This Christmas pudding recipe is a dark steamed pudding packed with raisins, dates and dried figs, soaked in orange juice and boukha. It steams for 6 hours in a 1.2 litre basin and serves 8.
I built it after reading both of Mary Berry’s puddings side by side. Her classic version lets you swap suet for “grated chilled butter”, which matters because suet isn’t easy to buy everywhere. So I kept her structure and changed the fruit.
The step that decides the texture is the butter. Freeze it for 30 minutes, then grate it coarsely so it stays in flakes through the mixture. Those flakes melt slowly during the long steam, which keeps the pudding moist rather than heavy.
Christmas Pudding Recipe
Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy8
servings30
minutes6
hours300
kcal6
hours30
minutesA make-ahead pudding from our own kitchen, with Deglet Nour dates, dried figs and a splash of fig brandy, finished with a hint of orange blossom.
Ingredients
- For the fruit:
200g (7oz) raisins
120g (4oz) sultanas
120g (4oz) Deglet Nour dates, stoned and chopped
60g (2oz) dried figs, chopped
finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
60ml (2fl oz) boukha or brandy, plus 2 tbsp for feeding
- For the pudding:
100g (3½oz) self-raising flour
100g (3½oz) fresh white breadcrumbs
100g (3½oz) light muscovado sugar
1 small eating apple, peeled and grated
40g (1½oz) whole almonds, roughly chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp orange blossom water
Directions
- Soak: Mix the raisins, sultanas, dates, figs, orange zest, juice and boukha in a bowl. Cover and leave for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
- Mix the dry: Combine the flour, breadcrumbs, sugar, spices and almonds in a large bowl. Stir in the grated butter, keeping it in separate flakes.
- Combine: Add the soaked fruit with all its liquid, the apple, eggs and orange blossom water. Stir until well combined.
- Fill: Butter the basin, spoon in the mixture, press it down and level the top.
- Cover: Cover with greaseproof paper and foil, both pleated across the middle. Tie string tightly under the rim.
- Steam: Stand the basin in a pan of simmering water that comes halfway up the sides. Cover and steam for 6 hours, topping up with boiling water as needed.
- Feed and store: Leave to cool, then prick all over with a fine skewer and spoon over 2 tbsp boukha. Re-cover with fresh greaseproof paper and foil and store in a cool place.
- Serve: Steam for 2 hours to reheat, then turn out on to a plate.
FAQs
What is boukha, and can I use brandy instead?
Boukha is a clear brandy distilled from figs, which is why I paired it with dried figs and dates in this pudding. It gives a softer, fruitier warmth than brandy, so the spices don’t have to fight it.
Brandy or rum work just as well, because Berry uses either in both her versions. I wouldn’t leave the alcohol out if you plan to store the pudding for weeks, since that feeding step from the method is what helps it keep.
When should I make my Christmas pudding?
Berry notes that pudding is traditionally made on Stir-up Sunday at the end of November, which falls on 22 November this year. That gives this pudding about a month to mature before Christmas Day.
You can go earlier, too. Her Christmas Collection suggests making it 6 to 8 weeks ahead, and her Complete Cookbook says the pudding keeps for up to 3 months in a cool place.
How do I know when it’s cooked?
Colour is the best guide, because a finished pudding turns a deep, dark brown all the way through. Berry’s tip in her Christmas Collection is to use a see-through basin, so you can check the colour without unwrapping it.
If yours still looks pale at 6 hours, give it another 30 minutes and check again. The dates and muscovado sugar help it darken, so it should get there.
Can I make Christmas pudding without suet?
Yes, and Berry shows two ways. Her classic recipe in the Complete Cookbook gives grated chilled butter as a straight swap, while her Christmas Collection version creams softened butter with sugar like a cake.
I chose the grated method because it keeps the dense, crumbly texture of a traditional pudding. Creaming makes something closer to a fruit cake, which is lovely, but it’s a different pudding.
Can I freeze Christmas pudding?
You can, but Berry says it stores so well that freezing hardly seems worth it. If freezing really helps your planning, she suggests letting the pudding mature for a month first.
For leftovers on Boxing Day, Berry wraps slices in foil and reheats them in a medium oven for about 30 minutes. That’s far easier than setting up the steamer again.
What should I serve with it?
Brandy butter is the classic, and Berry’s Complete Cookbook version creams 250g unsalted butter with 250g caster or icing sugar and 90ml brandy. Swap the brandy for boukha and it matches this pudding perfectly.
For something cold against the hot pudding, try Delia’s cinnamon ice cream for Christmas. And if steaming for 6 hours isn’t for you this year, Nigella’s no-bake Italian Christmas pudding cake or Berry’s mincemeat and marzipan tart are much quicker.
