A Christmas pudding completes the traditional Christmas feast. NEFF’s FullSteam oven makes cooking a steamed pudding easy and we give you three ways for cooking your pudding. Don’t forget to serve cream, ice-cream or custard, or all three!
Function: FullSteam (100% steam)
150 g mixed dried fruit
150 sultanas
100 g currants
100 g cranberries
50 g glace cherries
50 g mixed peel
100 ml boiling water
1 tsp bi-carbonate of soda
3 tbsp brandy
150 g butter
150 g brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp grated orange rind
75 g plain flour
75 g SR flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
½ tsp cardamom
¼ tsp allspice
Place all the fruit in a medium bowl with the boiling water, bi-carb and brandy. Cover and let stand overnight.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, add the butter and sugar, and beat until light in colour. Add the eggs one at a time and then the orange rind. With a large metal spoon, mix in the flours and spices and the fruit mixture. Stir until well combined.
There are three ways to cook the puddings. To make individual puddings, grease 12 (1 cup) muffin pans and line the base with a small circle of baking paper. Spoon pudding mixture evenly into pans. Top puddings with a sheet of baking paper and then loosely crimp a sheet of aluminium foil over the muffin tray. Place puddings in oven, select Steam at 100 ⁰C and set cooking time to 45 minutes.
To cook the pudding in a pudding basin, grease an 8 cup pudding basin and line base with a circle of baking paper. Spoon in the pudding mixture and smooth top. Place a sheet of baking paper over the top of pudding basin and secure with a locking lid. If a lid is not available, cover with a piece of baking paper that has been pleated to allow for expansion and then a piece of aluminium foil. Secure with string. Place pudding in oven, select Steam at 100 ⁰C and set cooking time for 3 hours. Fill water tank as requested.
To cook the pudding in a cloth, wet an 80 cm square piece of calico, place in oven, select Steam at 100⁰C and set cooking time for 3 minutes. Wearing rubber gloves, remove calico from oven, lay out on a flat surface and rub the extra plain flour in a thin layer to cover a 50 cm circle. Spoon pudding mixture onto the circle of calico, gather up the ends and secure with string. Leave enough string to hang the pudding. Place the wire rack on the highest shelf position in the oven. Securely tie the pudding to hang from the circle of the wire. Select Steam at 100⁰C and set cooking time for 3 hours. Fill water tank as requested. When cooked, allow the pudding to hang to cool and dry completely.
Puddings can be made in advance. Individual pudding will keep in the refrigerator for 1 week or in the freezer for 1 month. Reheat individual puddings on Steam at 100⁰C for 20 minutes. A whole pudding will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 months, ensure cloth pudding is placed in a plastic bag. Reheat a whole pudding on Steam at 100⁰C for 1 hour.
Warren is a chef with over 20 years of cooking experience, ranging from Michelin Star Restaurants to 5 star Hotels. He is highly passionate about embracing technology to create food that is visually stunning, tasty and packed with a whole lot of nutritional goodness.