Delia Smith Christmas Pudding​ Recipe

Delia Smith’s christmas pudding steams for eight hours, which sounds mad until you realise you do nothing for seven hours and fifty of them. Shredded suet, breadcrumbs, 225g (8 oz) dark brown sugar, a full 495g (just over 1 lb) of dried fruit, candied peel, almonds, rum, barley wine, and stout go into a basin the day before, then steam slowly on Christmas Eve to produce a dark, dense, spiced pudding that serves 10 to 12.

I put this off for years because I thought eight hours of steaming meant eight hours of watching a pot. It does not. You check the water level twice, maybe three times, and the rest of the day is yours. Delia explains this in Happy Christmas, and she is right: the long, slow steam is what gives a traditional christmas pudding its deep flavour and dark colour. This is also what people used to call a plum pudding, though it has no actual plums in it.

Try More Pudding Recipes:

• All Pudding Recipes
• Sticky Toffee Pudding
• Eve’s Pudding
• Bread and Butter Pudding

Why Start the Day Before?

The dried fruit needs time to soak up the rum, stout, and barley wine. If you mix and steam on the same day, the liquid sits at the bottom and the fruit stays dry.

Delia’s method is to mix everything except the flour the night before, cover the bowl, and leave it overnight. The flour goes in the next morning just before you pack the basin. By then the fruit is swollen and the mixture is dark and sloppy, which is exactly what you want.

Christmas Pudding Ingredients

The Dry Mix:

• 110g (4 oz) shredded suet
• 110g (4 oz) white breadcrumbs
• 1 level tsp ground mixed spice
• ¼ level tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• A good pinch of ground cinnamon
• 225g (8 oz) soft dark brown sugar

The Fruit:

• 110g (4 oz) sultanas
• 110g (4 oz) raisins
• 275g (10 oz) currants
• 25g (1 oz) whole candied peel, finely chopped
• 25g (1 oz) almonds, chopped (skin on is fine)
• 1 small cooking apple, cored and finely chopped
• Grated zest of ½ large orange
• Grated zest of ½ large lemon

The Liquid:

• 2 tbsp rum
• 75ml barley wine (or extra stout if you cannot find it)
• 75ml stout
• 2 large eggs

The Final Mix:

• 50g (2 oz) self-raising flour, sifted

How To Make Delia Smith Christmas Pudding

1. Mix the dry base (day before): Put the suet, breadcrumbs, spices, and dark brown sugar into your largest mixing bowl. Stir until everything is well combined.
2. Add the fruit: Mix in the sultanas, raisins, currants, candied peel, and almonds. Stir in the chopped apple and the grated orange and lemon zests.
3. Add the liquid: In a separate jug, measure the rum, barley wine, and stout. Beat in the eggs. Pour this over the dry mixture and stir thoroughly. The mixture should be sloppy and fall from the spoon when you tap it on the side of the bowl. Add a splash more stout if it looks too stiff.
4. Rest overnight: Cover the bowl and leave it at room temperature until the next day.
5. Add the flour: The next morning, stir in the sifted self-raising flour until fully mixed in.
6. Pack the basin: Lightly grease a 1.2 litre (2 pint) pudding basin. Spoon the mixture in and press it down firmly. Cover with a double layer of baking parchment and a sheet of foil. Tie securely with string and make a string handle across the top for lifting.
7. Steam for 8 hours: Set the basin in a steamer over a pan of simmering water. Steam for 8 hours, checking the water level every couple of hours and topping up with boiling water from the kettle.
8. Cool and store: Let it cool completely. Replace the parchment and foil with fresh ones. Store in a cool, dark place until Christmas Day. Under the bed in an unheated room is ideal.
9. Reheat on Christmas Day: Steam for 2 hours 15 minutes. Turn out onto a warm plate, add a sprig of holly, warm a ladleful of brandy, set it alight, and pour over the pudding at the table.

When Should I Make It?

Late October or early November is the traditional time. Stir-up Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent, is when most families make theirs. The pudding needs at least four to six weeks to mature, and the flavour deepens the longer it sits.

I have made it as late as the first week of December and it was still good, just not as rich as the ones I made in October. If you are reading this in December and panicking, make it anyway. A two-week-old pudding is still ten times better than a shop-bought one.

Can I Steam It in a Slow Cooker?

Yes. Put the basin in the slow cooker and pour boiling water around it until it comes halfway up the sides. Cook on high for 8 hours. The result is the same as a stovetop steamer, but you do not need to check the water level.

On Christmas Day, reheat in the slow cooker on high for 2 to 3 hours with boiling water halfway up the basin. I switched to the slow cooker two years ago and have not gone back. The sticky toffee pudding is another one that works well when the oven is full on Christmas Day.

Storing and Reheating

The pudding keeps for months in a cool, dark place. Some people make theirs a full year ahead and it only gets better. Once steamed on Christmas Day, any leftover portions keep in the fridge for a week.

To reheat leftover slices, wrap them in foil and warm in the oven at 160°C (320°F) for 15 minutes. Microwave works too, about 45 seconds per slice. Serve with the chocolate bread and butter pudding on Boxing Day if you want a change from cold leftovers.

FAQs

More Recipes To Try:

• Rice Pudding
• Summer Fruit Pudding
• Apple and Almond Pudding

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 380 kcal
• Fat: 12g
• Carbohydrates: 62g
• Protein: 5g
• Dietary Fibre: 2g

Nutrition information is estimated per serving (serves 10).