Get Your Christmas Pudding Ready Now Says Mary Berry
With Christmas fast approaching, baking icon Mary Berry has issued an urgent reminder to all festive food lovers about one crucial task that needs completing this week. The celebrated chef, whose career spans decades, insists that the secret to a perfect Christmas Day lies in early preparation - specifically when it comes to the traditional Christmas pudding.
The 90-year-old culinary expert emphasises that timing is everything for this beloved British dessert. "Stir-up Sunday", which falls on the first Sunday before Advent in late November, is the traditional date for making Christmas pudding, and this year's deadline is rapidly approaching.
Why Christmas Pudding Needs Advance Preparation
The reason for this early preparation is all about flavour development. According to Berry and other culinary experts, making your Christmas pudding a month in advance allows the rich flavours to mature and deepen. This extended resting period enables all the ingredients to meld together perfectly, while any alcohol used for "feeding" the pudding has adequate time to soak in and enhance both texture and taste.
Mary Berry specifically advises: "Feed it with a little more brandy or rum once it is cooked and cold, and keep in a cool place until Christmas Day." This simple step transforms a good pudding into an exceptional one that she promises "will win over the harshest critics."
Mary Berry's Foolproof Christmas Pudding Recipe
For those seeking culinary inspiration, the baking legend has shared her crowd-pleasing Christmas pudding recipe that serves 8-10 people. The ingredients list includes:
- 75g softened butter plus extra for greasing
- 450g mixed dried fruit (sultanas, raisins and snipped apricots)
- 1 small cooking apple, peeled and roughly chopped
- Finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange
- 50ml brandy or rum plus extra for feeding and flaming
- 100g light muscovado sugar
- 2 eggs
- 100g self-raising flour
- 1 level teaspoon ground mixed spice
- 40g fresh white breadcrumbs
- 40g whole shelled almonds, roughly chopped
The method involves marinating the fruits in orange juice and alcohol for about an hour, then creaming together butter, sugar and orange rind before gradually adding eggs. The dry ingredients are then folded in, followed by the marinated fruits and nuts. The mixture is spooned into a prepared basin and steamed for approximately 8 hours.
Berry provides useful tips including using a see-through bowl to monitor colour during cooking and preparing the pudding up to the end of step 5 the day before to make the process more manageable.
Perfect Accompaniments for Your Christmas Pudding
No Christmas pudding is complete without delicious sauces, and Mary Berry includes recipes for three classic accompaniments:
Rum Sauce: A traditional favourite made with butter, flour, milk, caster sugar and 4-6 tablespoons of rum. This rich, creamy sauce is particularly popular with older generations according to Berry.
Boozy Cream: A versatile whipped cream enhanced with your choice of liqueur - Bailey's, rum, brandy, Grand Marnier or Cointreau all work wonderfully. Berry suggests that while 1 tablespoon of alcohol is good, 2 tablespoons is even better, and 3 tablespoons creates a real "wow" factor.
Brandy Butter: The classic Christmas companion made from unsalted butter, sieved icing sugar and 3-5 tablespoons of brandy or Cognac. This can be prepared up to two weeks in advance and even frozen for up to a month.
All recipes are taken from Mary Berry's "Christmas Collection" published by Headline Home. With Stir-up Sunday nearly here, now is the time to gather your ingredients and create a Christmas pudding that will make your festive celebrations truly memorable.
