Mini Christmas Puddings

The title of this post really should be “Mini Christmas Puddings: am I crazy?”. I admit that as I greased the 22nd pudding mould, I started to doubt my plan. What was I thinking?

How was I ever going to steam them all?

Do I really have to cut out 22 pieces of foil and parchment paper? And 22 lengths of string?

Turns out that, though a bit time-consuming, it was all quite straightforward really.

This is my first time making Christmas puddings. My friend, Catherine, and I are putting some yummy Christmas foodie hampers again this year: chilli jam, lemon curd, mince pies, plum puddings, and a few more surprises. After last year’s success, we are the ultimate Christmas hamper team! I put these puddings together a few weeks ago, but don’t panic, it’s still not too late for you to get cracking. This Sunday (Nov 21) is Stir-up Sunday – the day you get your puddings ready and everyone around the house gets a chance to stir the mix and make a wish. I did all the stirring for these little puddings, so I’m expecting alot of luck to come my way

The recipe I used is based on a Delia Smith tried-and-tested one. I despise candied peel, so I swapped in some crystalized ginger. The quantities below make one large pudding (about 2 pint) or 11 small puddings. You could make two 1 pint puddings if you wish.  I doubled the quantities for the 22 mini ones…

What You Need:

110g shredded suet (I used Atora light suet, but some day I will bite the bullet and go the butcher for some real suet)

50g self-raising flour, sifted

110g white breadcrumbs

1 level tsp mixed spice

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

good pinch ground cinnamon

225g soft dark brown sugar

110g sultanas

110g raisins

275g currants

25g (or a little less if you’re not that into it) crystalized ginger, finely chopped

25g almonds, skinned and chopped

1 small cooking apple, peeled and finely chopped

grated zest of 1/2 orange

grated zest of 1/2 lemon

2 tbsp dark rum

150ml Guinness

2 large eggs

You’ll also need lots of parchment paper, aluminium foil, string and butter to grease whatever dish(es) you are using. And a big pot to do the steaming.

What To Do:

Start the process the day before you plan to steam the puddings, as you want to let the mixture sit overnight.

First things first, you need to gather all the ingredients together. This will take a surprisingly long time.  Grab a large bowl, and put the ingredients in following the order of the list above. This is a good way to stop you leaving anything out.

Start with the suet:

Next, the flour and breadcrumbs:

Next the mixed spice, nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar:

Mix everything together:

If you’re using the ginger, chop it up

and add it to the bowl along with all the dried fruit. If the almonds have their skins on, pop them into a pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes. Drain and the skins will just fall off when rubbed. Chop them up and throw into the bowl too. Add the apple, and the orange and lemon zests. Give it all a good stir. In a separate bowl, mix together the stout, eggs and rum. Pour this over the dry ingredients and start stirring!

This is when everyone gets a chance to have a bit of a stir and make a wish.

The consistency of the mixture should be fairly sloppy. It should fall instantly from a spoon that’s tapped lightly on the side of the bowl. Add a little more stout if you think it needs it. Once you’re satisfied that it’s all mixed well, and everyone has had a go, cover with a tea towel and leave overnight. In the morning, you will be greeted by this:

It will look essentially the same, but less sloppy as the fruit will have plumped up and absorbed some of the liquid. Now get your container(s) ready.

Grease each container well with some butter. Prepare a circle of parchment paper that will sit into the container – something the size of the top of the container, or a little bigger. Also cut a large square of aluminum foil to cover the container – it will be tied on with string. Spoon the mixture into the containers. Fill them about 2/3 or 3/4  full. Press the filling down to make sure that they are packed evenly.

Lightly grease each circle of parchment paper, and place on top of the filling.

Grab the square of aluminium foil and fold a pleat along the centre of the square. This will give space for the expansion going on in there during the steaming process.

Tie securely with string. Don’t use a rubber band as it can snap while steaming. If you’re feeling fancy, fashion a string handle to help with lift in and out of the steaming pot.

Next, get the pot ready. I used the largest pot I have and poured about an inch or so of water into the bottom. If you are just steaming one large pudding, use more water  - starting with a water level 1/3 – 1/2 way  up the side of the container is fine.  Pop on the lid and heat up the water. When the water is boiling, pop the pudding in.

Note: fancy string handle.

With these mini puddings, I steamed 12 in one batch, and 10 in the second batch. If your pot is deep enough, you should get two layers in. I placed a doubled-over sheet of aluminum foil between the layers to help with balancing.

Layer one:

Layer two:

Pop the lid on and leave it to steam! Keep the heat low, and watch the level of the water. Don’t let the pot boil dry!  Steam a 1 pint or 2 pint pudding for about 8 hours. The small puddings need 4 hours steaming. After two hours, I swapped the layers around so the top puddings got a chance to sit down in the water and I topped up the water level then. It needed to be topped up again after about 3.5 hours.

When they’re done, remove from the pot and leave to cool completely.

When completely cool, you need to change the parchment and foil. This gives you a chance to have a peek at the puddings!

Cover with fresh parchment circles (no need to grease) and foil. Leave in a cool place until Christmas!

Catherine did a sneaky taste test last week. Verdict: “Christmas in a bowl!”. I think that means they’re good

Enjoy!

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