Christmas pudding with brandy cream
- Published: 30 Nov 08
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
Rachel Allen’s fruit-packed, whiskey-laced Christmas pudding is the real deal – especially drizzled with her irresistible brandy cream.
Or, this traditional Christmas pudding recipe can be made into 12 individual puddings.
- 2 puddings serve 16-24 in total
- Hands-on time 25 minutes, cooking time 3 hours 10 minutes, plus soaking, cooling and reheating
Ingredients
- 100g raisins
- 100g sultanas
- 100g dried cranberries
- 100g currants
- 100g stoned dates, halved
- 100g candied peel, chopped
- 100ml Irish whiskey, plus extra for serving
- 100g ground almonds
- 2 cooking apples, unpeeled and grated
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 6 tbsp golden syrup
- 10 blanched almonds
- 200g butter, chilled and grated
- 180g soft dark brown sugar
- 4 large free-range eggs, beaten
- 230g gluten-free flour or 250g self-raising flour, sifted
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
For the brandy cream
- 100ml double cream
- 1-2 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
- 2 tbsp brandy (or another liqueur such as rum or Cointreau)
Method
- Put the dried fruit, dates, candied peel and whiskey in a pan and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and leave to soak for at least 1 hour.
- Mix the ground almonds, apples and lemon zest and juice in a bowl. Divide the golden syrup and almonds between 2 x 1-litre pudding basins.
- Mix the butter, sugar and eggs in a bowl until combined. Mix in the flour and cinnamon, then stir in the soaked fruit and almond and apple mixture.
- Spoon into the pudding basins. Gently bang the bowls on the work surface to release any air bubbles. Cut 2 rounds of baking paper to fit over the top, then cut 2 more rounds wider than the rim of the basin. Fold a crease into the paper and place over the basin and tie with a long piece of string under the lip of the bowl and over the top again. Tie at the other side to make a handle.
- Place upturned saucers in 2 large pans, place the basins on top and pour hot water around to come to three-quarters of the way up the sides of the puddings. Cover and steam for 3 hours, keeping the water topped up. Insert a skewer into the centre, it’s ready if it comes out clean.
- Remove from the pans and cool. Remove the top paper lid and cover with a new one. Store in a cool place for up to 6 weeks. Reheat by steaming for 1 hour in the same way, then turn out, pour over hot whiskey and ignite.
- For the brandy cream, whip the cream until just stiff and fold in the sifted icing sugar and brandy. Serve alongside the Christmas pudding.
- Recipe from December 2008 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 427kcals
- Fat
- 20g (10.5g saturated)
- Protein
- 4.4g
- Carbohydrates
- 54.6g (44.3g sugar)
- Salt
- 0.4g
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