For Delia Smith Christmas pudding, you mix dried fruit, suet, dark brown sugar, barley wine, stout and rum the day before. It steams for 8 hours, then 2¼ hours more on Christmas Day, and serves 10 to 12.
Delia’s Happy Christmas (2009) is the source, and it matches the version on her website. Plum pudding and xmas pudding are other names for the same dish.
Barley wine and stout give it a deep, dark flavour. The mixture soaks overnight before the flour goes in, and the long steaming does the rest.
Make it on Stir-up Sunday, 22 November 2026, then store it somewhere cool and dark while her Christmas cake waits in its tin. Delia’s tip is under the bed in an unheated bedroom, and for a chocolate alternative, see her Christmas log.
Delia Smith Traditional Christmas Pudding
A dark, fruity pudding with ale and rum, mixed the night before and steamed for 8 hours.
12
servings30
minutes10
hours15
minutes360
kcalIngredients
- For the pudding:
110g shredded suet
110g white breadcrumbs
1 level teaspoon ground mixed spice
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
a good pinch of ground cinnamon
110g sultanas
110g raisins
275g currants
25g whole candied peel, finely chopped
25g whole almonds, chopped (skin on is fine)
1 small cooking apple, cored and finely chopped (no need to peel)
grated zest of ½ large navel orange
grated zest of ½ large lemon
2 tablespoons rum
75ml barley wine
75ml stout
2 eggs
50g self-raising flour, sifted
Directions
- Dry mix: The day before steaming, put the suet, breadcrumbs, spices and sugar in your biggest mixing bowl and mix them together very well.
- Fruit: Work in the sultanas, raisins, currants, peel and almonds a little at a time, then the apple and both zests. Tick each item off the list as it goes in.
- Liquid: Beat the rum, barley wine, stout and eggs together in a smaller basin, pour them over the fruit and mix very thoroughly. Invite everyone to stir and make a wish.
- Rest: The mixture should be loose enough to drop straight off a spoon tapped on the bowl, so add a splash more stout if needed. Cover and leave it overnight.
- Basin: Next day, stir in the sifted flour thoroughly and pack the mixture into a lightly greased 1.2 litre pudding basin.
- Cover: Top it with a double layer of baking parchment and a sheet of foil, then tie them on tightly with string. Add a string handle across the top.
- Steam: Set the basin in a steamer over a pan of simmering water and steam for 8 hours. Check the water often and top it up with boiling water from the kettle.
- Store: Let the pudding go completely cold, then swap the parchment and foil for fresh ones with a new handle. Keep it cool and dark until Christmas Day.
- Christmas Day: Bring a full pan of water back to the boil, set the steamer on top and turn it to a gentle simmer. Steam the pudding for 2¼ hours, topping up the water as needed.
- Serve: Unwrap the pudding, turn it out onto a warm plate and serve it with rum sauce or brandy butter.
Notes
- Tying the string is far easier with a helper's finger holding the knot.
- Buy whole candied peel and chop it finely yourself, as the recipe asks.
FAQs
What can I use instead of barley wine?
Use extra stout instead of barley wine, as Delia suggests, which makes 150ml of stout in all. She notes that pubs usually sell barley wine if you want the original.
Can I make it gluten free?
Yes, her website explains how to make this pudding gluten free. Swap the suet for a gluten-free or gluten-free vegetarian suet, and use gluten-free flour plus breadcrumbs made from gluten-free bread.
The stout and barley wine need gluten-free versions as well.
How do I make smaller Christmas puddings?
For two smaller Christmas puddings, divide this mixture between two 570ml basins and steam them for the same 8 hours. To make gifts, it fills eight 175ml basins, which need 3 hours of steaming and 1 more hour before serving.
Her website also has a Classic Christmas Pudding with Brandy Sauce for 6, made the same way in a 1½ pint basin. Her little sticky toffee pudding recipe makes 8 individual puddings too, and they freeze well.
Is there a quick last-minute version?
Yes, her Mini Christmas Puddings from the Last-minute Christmas chapter of Happy Christmas are ready in under an hour and serve 4. They use 200g of mincemeat with currants, apple, stout, rum and black treacle.
Bake the 4 small basins in a roasting tin with 2.5cm of boiling water at 180°C until springy, which takes 45 to 50 minutes. They have a light texture and freeze well, like the individual puddings from her treacle sponge pudding recipe.
How do I reheat it on Christmas Day?
On Christmas Day, reheat the pudding with 2¼ more hours in the steamer over gently simmering water. Any leftovers reheat well the next day, wrapped in foil, in the oven.
To flame it, warm a ladle of brandy, ask someone to light it and pour it over the pudding at the table.
How do I make her rum sauce?
Her Christmas Rum Sauce serves 8 and takes about 15 minutes. Whisk 60g of butter, 60g of plain flour and 570ml of whole milk over a medium heat until the sauce simmers and thickens.
Turn the heat right down, stir in 50g of caster sugar and let it cook for 10 minutes. Add 4 to 5 tablespoons of dark rum and 1 tablespoon of double cream. After that, dot the last 15g of butter on top and cover the sauce with clingfilm, so it stays warm until the pudding is ready.
