Easy mincemeat Christmas pudding
You know how you’re meant to boil a Christmas pudding for about three months ahead of Christmas? (Put it on at the same time as your gran starts the sprouts…) Yeah, well who amongst us really has time for that? This is an easy microwave Christmas pudding.
This easy microwave Christmas pudding is lighter, quicker and altogether simpler version of the festive favourite. Designed so you can actually eat a slice of it after your Christmas dinner and make it in your busy
One of the things I love so much about this is that it’s done in the microwave instead of hours of a pot on a rolling boil. This means that you can actually make it easily on a lazy Sunday morning, or even on a weeknight after you get back from work. Most of the year my microwave (or the electric plate warmer, as I prefer to call it) is used rarely, but this is the sort of cheat use that we can all get behind.
This is the recipe I’ve used and developed over the last few years, and I’m very much willing to stand by just how delicious it is. A few years back we switched away from using Christmas pudding on Christmas day because it was just too heavy to eat after such a hefty main course. Since using this recipe we’ve talked a few times about switching back as this is much lighter. For now though, the family boozy trifle recipe goes on Christmas Day and the pudding on Boxing day.
My version of this recipe really wouldn’t exist though without one I found years ago on one of my favourite food blogs, Lavender and Lovage. Karen’s recipe was what originally brought me to the idea of using the microwave, and whilst it’s changed quite a bit from there, it’s worth checking out some of her other recipes this Christmas too.
You can make this Christmas pudding the day you need it, should you require, but I would definitely advocate making it a few weeks before. Not only is this one less thing to do in the run up to Christmas, but it letting it sit in the fridge a few weeks will let the flavours grow. Come the big day, all you then need to do it pop it back in the microwave and serve.
Can you get much simpler than this easy microwave Christmas pudding? I don’t think so, but I would love to hear your thoughts. Comment below or tag @theusualsaucepans on social media if you make your own.
Easy microwave Christmas pudding
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 1 Christmas pudding 1x
Description
This is the easiest Christmas pudding recipe and takes under an hour to make. No slaving over boiling pans, and the end result is much lighter and tastier than the traditional version. It’s Christmas pudding for the 21st Century.
Ingredients
- 300g homemade mincemeat (or good quality shop-bought)
- 2 eggs
- 120g self-raising flour
- 220g light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp treacle
- 100g breadcrumbs
- 150g sultanas
- 120ml barrel-aged beer (I use Innis & Gunn’s Rum Finish)
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 4 tbsp rum or brandy
- 120g frozen butter
- 1 small apple (usually a cooking apple, like a Bramley)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- Zest of an orange
Instructions
Take the frozen butter and grate it into a large bowl (this seems like a total faff, but it helps distribute the butter evenly without having more liquid in the bowl by using melted butter). Peel, core and chop your apple into cubes, then add it to the bowl.
Put the rest of the ingredients into the bowl and mix well with a large wooden spoon.
Grease your pudding bowl (I use a 1-litre pudding bowl) and put a circle of greaseproof paper in the bottom. Pour the pudding mixture into the bowl and cover with cling film. Poke a few holes in the top to let the steam out.
Put it in the microwave and cook on a medium to medium-high setting (should be about 500wt) and cook it for 20 minutes. Once the time is up, check it is cooked by sticking a skewer in - if it comes out clean, you’re done. If it comes out sticky, cook for a further 5 minutes. Repeat the process until your pudding is cooked.
Severing straight away: Leave the pudding in the bowl for about five minutes (covered) and then turn out onto a plate and serve with brandy or butter and by dusting with icing sugar and adding decorations like cranberries or holly on top.
Making ahead: Let the bowl cool completely with the lid off. Once cold, cover and keep in the fridge until required. When you’re ready to serve it, microwave for 4 minutes and then allow it to rest for 2 minutes before serving.
Notes
The kind of beer you use will have quite an impact on the final pudding. Avoid using a really fizzy lager or beers that are heavy on the hops, like an IPA. I’ve found Innis & Gunn’s Rum Finish gives me the flavour I’m after, but any barrel-aged beer should work quite nicely. Look for something well-rounded.
If you’re using a larger greaseproof paper circle in the bottom - I use a cake tin liner - cut from one edge to the centre, this will allow you to fit it into the space more easily by overlapping a bit.
- Category: Christmas
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: easy microwave christmas pudding
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