Christmas Pudding I
This vegetarian builds fresh breadcrumbs, shredded suet and raisins into a weeknight-friendly meal you can have ready in about 70 minutes. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 7 steps.
You'll mainly reach for pan and saucepan. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's meat-free.
What you'll need
Shopping list (8)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, breadcrumbs, suet, raisins, currants, candied peel, muscovado sugar and mixed spice.
- Peel, core and grate the cooking apple, then add it to the bowl along with the grated zest and juice of the orange and lemon halves.
- Beat the egg with the brandy or milk and stir into the mixture until everything is evenly combined and at a soft dropping consistency; cover and leave to stand overnight if you have time.
- Spoon the mixture into a well-greased 600 ml pudding basin, pressing it down, and level the top.
- Cover the basin with a pleated layer of greased baking paper and foil, securing tightly with string under the rim.
- Stand the basin on a trivet or upturned saucer in a large pan, pour in boiling water to come halfway up the sides, and steam, covered, for about 3 hours, topping up with boiling water as needed.
- Lift out the pudding, cool completely, then re-cover with fresh paper and foil and store in a cool place; steam for a further 1 hour on the day of serving and turn out onto a plate.
You'll use: Pan · Saucepan · Steamer
Ingredient substitutions
- Lemon
- lime · 1 tbsp white wine vinegar per lemon
- Milk
- any unsweetened plant milk · ½ cup evaporated milk + ½ cup water
Tips & common questions
How long does Christmas Pudding I take to make?
About 70 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 7 steps and 13 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of lemon?
Try lime. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Christmas Pudding I vegetarian?
Its ingredients contain no meat or fish, so it's suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheeses for animal rennet if that matters to you.
Related recipes
Christmas Pudding I is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Christmas pudding (Heston from Waitrose) flaming.jpg by Ed g2s, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top — how we source recipes.