Christmas Pudding 1843 English Classic Recipe

Traditional Christmas pudding recipes are said to contain thirteen ingredients to represent Jesus and His twelve apostles. 
What's more, the pudding is made on "Stir-up Sunday" which is the twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity, the Sunday next before Advent, when each family member takes his or her turn stirring the pudding mixture from east to west to illustrate the journey of the Magi as they followed the Star.

And the pudding must be stirred with a spoon made of wood in remembrance that the Christ Child lay in a simple wooden manger. The traditional sprig of holly garnish represents His Crown of Thorns and healing, and the flaming of the brandy symbolizes the Passion of the Christ.

Once the Christmas pudding recipe is made, each family develops their own tradition surrounding the serving of the pudding on Christmas day. Charles Dickens describes a typical early-Victorian family's presentation of the Christmas pudding in his 1843 English classic:

This traditional English Christmas pudding recipe is taken from "The Book Of Household Management" published in England by Mrs. Isabella Beeton, in 1861.

Did you know that plum pudding recipes don't call for plums? Apparently, in nineteenth-century England, the raisins used in puddings were commonly called "plums" since medieval puddings often contained dried plums.


Ingredients: 1-1/2 lb of raisins, 1/2 lb of currants, 1/2 lb of mixed peel, 3/4 lb of bread crumbs, 3/4 lb of suet, 8 eggs, 1 wineglassful of brandy.

Mode: Stone and cut the raisins in halves, but do not chop them; wash, pick, and dry the currants, and mince the suet finely; cut the candied peel into thin slices, and grate down the bread into fine crumbs. When all these dry ingredients are prepared, mix them well together; then moisten the mixture with the eggs, which should be well beaten, and the brandy; stir well, that everything may be very thoroughly blended, and press the pudding into a buttered mold; tie it down tightly with a floured cloth, and boil for 5 or 6 hours. It may be boiled in a cloth without a mold, and will require the same time allowed for cooking.

As Christmas pudding recipes are usually made a few days before they are required for table, when the pudding is taken out of the pot, hang it up immediately, and put a plate or saucer underneath to catch the water that may drain from it. The day it is to be eaten, plunge it into boiling water, and keep it boiling for at least 2 hours; then turn it out of the mold, and serve with brandy sauce.

On Christmas day a sprig of holly is usually placed in the middle of the pudding, and about a wineglassful of brandy poured round it, which, at the moment of serving, is lighted, and the pudding thus brought to table encircled in flame.

Preparation Time for Christmas Pudding Recipe: 5 or 6 hours the first time of boiling; 2 hours the day it is to be served. Sufficient for a quart mold for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable on the 25th of December, and on various festive occasions till March.

Note: Five or six of these puddings should be made at one time, as they will keep good for many weeks, and in cases where unexpected guests arrive, will be found an acceptable, and, as it only requires warming through, a quickly prepared dish. Molds of every shape and size are manufactured for these puddings.