Christmas Carrot Pudding (Festive Steamed Recipe) - Around The Nook (2024)

FAQs

How long should I steam a Christmas pudding? ›

Boil or oven steam the puddings for 8 hrs, topping up with water as necessary. Remove from the pans and leave to cool overnight. When cold, discard the messy wrappings and re-wrap in new baking parchment, foil and string. Store in a cool, dry place until Christmas.

Ideally we would suggest that when the pudding is made it is steamed for 8 hours (the combined time of the first and second steamings) as the steaming is important for the flavour of the pudding. The pudding can then be microwaved to reheat it on Christmas Day.

If you can't find suet then we have found that grated vegetable shortening (such as Trex, Crisco or Copha) is a good substitute. To grate the shortening firstly freeze a stick or block of it until firm but not solid (this usually takes about 30 minutes).

It's best not to. Suet is a very hard fat, which melts slowly through a mixture during the cooking, whereas butter melts very easily and quickly through a mixture. They are different types of fats and shouldn't be substituted for each other.

Steaming a smaller pudding for longer is not going to spoil it. We have steamed 1lb puddings for 8 hours many times. If the foil and parchment hasn't split, again your pudding will not be spoilt.

Check the pudding is cooked by inserting a skewer through the foil and parchment lid into the centre of the pudding. If the skewer still has some wet mixture on it, return the pudding to the steamer for a further 15-20 mins, then check again.

The pudding basin itself should be tightly covered. The pan or steamer attachment should be covered with a lid as this creates the steamy enviroment in which the pudding cooks, as well as trying to limit the evaporation of water from the pan and the condensation that will build up in the kitchen.

-Lay a sheet of aluminium foil over a sheet of greaseproof paper (these need to be large enough to wrap generously around the pudding bowl). Pick up both and fold a vertical pleat down the centre. Wrap the pudding bowl in the foil and paper, positioning the pleat down the centre of the mouth of the bowl.

The best tool for checking your Christmas pudding is perfectly cooked is an instant-read food thermometer like the Thermapen ONE.

Our answer. It is possible to make Nigella's Ultimate Christmas Pudding using vegetable shortening (such as Crisco, Trex, Flora White, Cookeen or Copha) instead of suet (which is made from beef fat). You use exactly the same quantity in vegetable shortening but it needs to be coarsely grated before you use it.

What can I use if I don't have suet? ›

Alternatives to Suet in Your Cooking

Some recipes recommend using frozen butter as a substitute for suet, but this is risky as the butter melts much faster than suet and your dish will become greasy and heavy. If you can't find suet or you just don't want to use it, try shortening instead.

Elevate sunday dinners with Atora The Original Beef Shredded Suet. Made with real beef fats, this suet has an authentic flavour and a classic crumbly texture making it suitable for baking.

The pudding should be stored in a cool, dark and dry place. If the pudding is in a warm and humid environment (such as a steamy kitchen) then there is a risk that some mould will develop on the pudding. If you live in a warm or humid climate then it may be better to store the pudding in the fridge or to freeze it.

There is also a slight risk that the puddings may be a little dry in comaprison with the regular Christmas pudding. As steaming is a gentle, humid method of cooking this may be less of a concern but you could try "feeding" the puddings with a little alcohol (if freezing, before you freeze them) to help them along.

If it is only a little then the pudding should be fine and once the pudding is cold you can blot any excess water that you see from the surface of the pudding or carefully invert the pudding basin onto a plate and let any water drain out, blot this away and then turn the basin, with the plate still in place, back the ...

A Christmas pudding is quite a dense mixture and needs long gentle cooking to prevent the outside burning before the inside is cooked. The same theory holds for reheating a pudding as it will take some time for the pudding to heat right through to the centre.

Carefully lower your pudding into the boiling water. Place the lid on your saucepan adjust the heat so that the water is only just boiling. Follow your recipes instructions for cooking length being careful to regularly check the water level is adequate.

Unfortunately, if you want to serve the pudding after storing it for a long time, you have to remove the foil and reheat the pudding by steaming or microwaving it all the way through.

Steaming is the best way to re-heat a homemade pudding and the only way we recommend re-heating Delia's Christmas pudding. Microwaved puddings are frequently ruined. They tend to overheat and get tough & sticky.