Steaming Christmas Pudding: Slow Cooker Style

Christmas pudding is a festive staple in many households, and making it in a slow cooker is an easy way to free up oven space and avoid a steamy kitchen. This method also consumes less energy than traditional stovetop steaming. The slow cooker is perfect for making Christmas pudding ahead of time, as it can be made, stored, and then reheated in the slow cooker on the day you plan to serve it.

Preparing the ingredients

• Dried fruits: 400 grams of a mixture of raisins, currants, sultanas, dried cranberries, apricots, dried prunes, and dates. Alternatively, you can use 500 grams of mixed dried fruit, including glace fruit, dried figs, and a fruit medley.
• Apple: One medium-sized apple, preferably a Bramley or a sharper eating apple, peeled, and grated.
• Orange: Zest of half an orange, or one medium orange if you prefer a stronger citrus flavor. Lemon zest can also be added.
• Suet: 75 grams of suet, preferably vegetarian.
• Breadcrumbs: 75 grams of fresh white breadcrumbs.
• Flour: 40 grams of plain flour.
• Sugar: 200 grams of dark brown sugar.
• Alcohol: 110 milliliters of Guinness or stout, and 5 tablespoons of brandy or any other liquor of your choice.
• Spices: 1 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, mixed spice, and ground nutmeg.
• Butter: A small amount for greasing the pudding basin and bowl.
• Eggs: Two medium eggs, lightly beaten.
• Nuts: 50 grams of blanched almonds, roughly chopped.
• Baking parchment and foil: For lining the pudding basin and creating a lid.

Once you have gathered all the ingredients, you are ready to start preparing the Christmas pudding mixture. It is recommended to soak the dried fruits in the alcohol the night before to infuse them with flavor and make them plump and juicy.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients, except for the butter, eggs, and nuts. Mix them thoroughly until well combined. Then, add the butter, eggs, and nuts, and mix again until everything is incorporated. Your Christmas pudding mixture is now ready to be cooked in your slow cooker!

Mixing the ingredients

On the day of making the pudding, simply add all of the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl. This includes suet, flour, spices, salt, mixed peel, breadcrumbs, almonds, and sugar. Grated apple and lemon rind can also be added for extra flavour and moisture. Stir all of the dry ingredients together, ensuring they are well combined.

Next, add the wet ingredients to the bowl. This includes beaten egg, citrus juice, alcohol, and, if using, melted butter. Mix everything together to create the pudding batter. The batter should be well combined, but be careful not to overbeat the mixture.

Finally, spoon the mixture into a prepared pudding basin. Press it down well, getting rid of any gaps, and smooth the top. The pudding basin should be greased with butter and lined with a circle of baking parchment. The mixture should come up to about 1 cm below the lip of the bowl, leaving room for the pudding to rise slightly during cooking.

Preparing the slow cooker

First, make sure your pudding basin fits your slow cooker. You can use a 1-litre ceramic pudding basin or a Pyrex bowl. Grease the basin with butter and line the base with a circle of baking paper. Cut a square of baking paper and a square of foil, both about 30cm, and place the foil shiny-side down on a clean surface. Lay the baking paper on top of the foil and grease it well with butter. Keeping the two together, fold a 3cm pleat into the middle. This allows for expansion during cooking.

Next, lower the basin into the slow cooker and fill it with water so that it comes halfway up the sides of the basin. The amount of water you need may vary depending on the size of your slow cooker and basin, but it should be roughly 2-3cm deep.

Now, place the lid on the slow cooker and set it to low. The temperature and cooking time may vary depending on your slow cooker model, but most recipes recommend cooking the pudding on low for 8-12 hours. Do not open the lid during cooking, as this will release the steam and slow down the cooking process.

Once the pudding is cooked, carefully remove the basin from the slow cooker and leave it to cool completely. Then, remove the paper and foil and replace them with fresh wrappings to store until you are ready to re-steam and serve.

Cooking the pudding

The great thing about making a Christmas pudding in a slow cooker is that you can leave it to cook without having to worry about the water boiling over or dry. It also means you avoid a hot and sticky kitchen from a pan boiling away for hours.

First, make sure your pudding basin fits your slow cooker. Then, butter the pudding basin and line the base with a circle of baking parchment.

Next, spoon the pudding mixture into the basin, pressing it down well, then make a gap in the middle using the back of the spoon. Cover the surface with another circle of baking parchment, then stack a sheet of parchment over a sheet of foil, fold a pleat in the middle and use this to cover the basin. Secure at the rim with kitchen string and add a looped handle.

Carefully lower the basin into the slow cooker, then fill with water so it comes halfway up the sides of the basin.

Now, you can leave it to cook for 8-12 hours, depending on the recipe you are following. Do not open the lid as it will let the steam out and slow down the cooking time.

Once cooked, remove the basin from the slow cooker and leave to cool completely before storing in a cool, dark place.

Reheating the pudding

You can also reheat individual portions in the microwave if that suits you better. Simply cut the pudding into portions and microwave until heated through.

If you are reheating the pudding on the same day it was cooked, leave it in the slow cooker and fill with water as before. Reheat for 4 hours, then turn out onto a serving plate.

Frequently asked questions