Figgy Pudding
A crowd-pleasing vegetarian built around dried figs, apples and vegetable shortening — roughly 70 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. Below: the ingredients split into pantry staples and a quick shopping list, a built-in serving scaler, and the method in 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 (4)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Stem the dried figs and chop them finely, then place in a bowl and pour over just enough boiling water to cover; let them soak for 15 minutes to soften, then drain well.
- Peel and core the apples and grate them coarsely, then generously butter a 1.2 litre pudding basin and have ready a pan of water for steaming.
- Beat the butter, shortening and sugar together until light and creamy, then beat in the egg yolks one at a time followed by the rum extract.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, then fold the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk to make a thick, soft batter.
- Fold in the drained figs and grated apple until evenly distributed, then spoon the batter into the prepared basin and smooth the top, leaving room for the pudding to rise.
- Cover the basin with a pleated round of buttered parchment and foil, tie securely, then lower into the pan of simmering water that reaches halfway up the sides and steam gently for 1 hour and 45 minutes, topping up with boiling water as needed.
- Check that a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, then rest the pudding for 5 minutes, turn out onto a plate and serve warm with custard or brandy sauce.
You'll use: Pan · Saucepan · Steamer
Ingredient substitutions
- Butter
- olive oil (¾ the amount) · coconut oil · margarine
- Milk
- any unsweetened plant milk · ½ cup evaporated milk + ½ cup water
Tips & common questions
How long does Figgy Pudding take to make?
About 70 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 7 steps and 12 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of butter?
Try olive oil (¾ the amount). 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 Figgy Pudding 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
Figgy Pudding is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Figgy Pudding with flaming brandy.jpg by Ted Kerwin, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top — how we source recipes.