Steamed pudding recipes (2024)

FAQs

Should water be boiling when steaming a pudding? ›

Grab a large lidded saucepan and place an upturned saucer or plate in the bottom (if you have a suitable trivet then use that). Fill the saucepan with enough water to reach halfway up the pudding basin and heat to boiling.

Check the pudding is cooked by inserting a skewer through the foil and parchment lid into the centre of the pudding. If the skewer still has some wet mixture on it, return the pudding to the steamer for a further 15-20 mins, then check again.

If the pudding has a very big dip in the centre then it could be that it was not cooked quite thoroughly enough and this could happen if the water was not kept at a brisk simmer or if the pan was allowed to boil dry at any point.

As for all puddings, it should be stored in a cool, dry place until Christmas Day. For the US our preference would be to use Pyrex mixing bowls for steaming Christmas puddings.

If you've got a pudding bowl and a decent sized saucepan with a lid, you're good to go. But if steaming is your thing, you can invest in a steamer – it has holes in the bottom and fits over the pan with the water steaming in the pan below. There are electric steamers too.

Ideally we would suggest that when the pudding is made it is steamed for 8 hours (the combined time of the first and second steamings) as the steaming is important for the flavour of the pudding. The pudding can then be microwaved to reheat it on Christmas Day.

Line the base of the basin with the small round of baking paper before adding the filling, then cover the surface of the pudding with the large round to prevent direct contact with the aluminium foil. 3. Measure a double thickness of foil to cover the pudding bowl and extend half way down the sides.

Grease the inside of the pudding basin with butter. Cut a round disc of greaseproof paper to fit the base of the pudding basin and place inside.

After you have steamed and cooled your pudding, replace the foil with a freshly buttered piece to keep it moist and store in a cool, dark place, or the fridge, until you are ready to reheat it on Christmas day.

Steamed puddings need to be properly sealed before cooking to prevent them from going soggy. This is possible even if you don't have a special pudding dish with a dedicated lid. -Lay a sheet of aluminium foil over a sheet of greaseproof paper (these need to be large enough to wrap generously around the pudding bowl).

Can I microwave a pudding instead of steaming? ›

Yes, you can microwave your Christmas pudding with the right recipe! Save time and effort - learn how to microwave instead of steaming or boiling your pudding. In partnership with and featuring recipes from Fairy.

Delia Smith says, “Don't let the water under the steamer ever come off the boil — this can make a pudding heavy. You must make sure the water is topped up out of a boiling kettle.

Place the pudding into the steamer set over a saucepan of simmering water, or use a large saucepan with a saucer in the bottom. Steam for several hours, or as recipe indicates. Top up water when necessary. When the pudding is steamed, cut the string around the bowl.

What can I use instead of a pudding steamer? You can use stainless steel or china mixing bowls to steam your pudding, but check that they will fit into your boiler. They also need to have a lip or rim of some sort to hold the pudding's covering in place, whether it's cloth or foil.

For her Ultimate Christmas Pudding (from NIGELLA CHRISTMAS), Nigella suggests steaming the pudding in a plastic basin with a tightly fitting lid.

It may be a cake-like dessert made with a mixture of flour and suet, liquor, dried fruit and molasses (“black treacle” in British English), which is packed in a pudding cloth and steamed until baked firm; i.e., a “Christmas pudding” or “plum pudding”.

-Add enough water to reach halfway up the sides of the pudding bowl. -Cover the pan tightly with the lid. Steam the pudding according to the recipe instructions.

Our answer. It is possible to make Nigella's Ultimate Christmas Pudding using vegetable shortening (such as Crisco, Trex, Flora White, Cookeen or Copha) instead of suet (which is made from beef fat). You use exactly the same quantity in vegetable shortening but it needs to be coarsely grated before you use it.

Finding a Christmas coin in your slice of pudding is believed to bring good luck and especially wealth in the coming year. This lovely tradition may date back as early as the 1300s when a dried pea or sometimes a small silver ring or crown was baked into a Twelfth Night Cake.

Our answer

After cooking, Christmas Cakes and Christmas Puddings are best stored in a cool dark place as warm environments tend to increase the risk of deterioration, particularly if the temperature fluctuates a lot or is very warm.

Why can't you reheat Christmas pudding? ›

Our answer. It is possible to reheat the Christmas pudding in a microwave. Ideally you would make the pudding in a plastic bowl and give it its full steaming (of 8 hours) first time around. You can then wrap the pudding and store it for reheating on Christmas day following the microwave instructions below.

Simply add water to any pot, bring to a boil, lower in the basket with vegetables and steam until the vegetables are the desired texture.

To make pudding: Combine 2 cups of milk with ½ cup of the instant pudding mix in a medium saucepan over high heat, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil, and then immediately reduce the heat to a simmer and continue whisking until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon (about 3 to 5 minutes).

Steaming is a method of cooking that requires moist heat. The heat is created by boiling water which vaporizes into steam. The steam brings heat to the food and cooks it. Unlike boiling, the food is separate from the water and only comes into direct contact with the team.