Slow Cooker Christmas Pudding

This slow cooker Christmas pudding is a game changer if you normally steam your pudding on the hob.

Packed full of vine fruits, glacé cherries, apples, citrus peel, spices, nuts and rum, this recipe is based on a traditional plum pudding with a few modern twists.

It's an easy pudding to make, where the ingredients are simply mixed together then popped in the slow cooker.

Easy peasy and tasty too.

Enjoy.

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you will love this recipe
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Slow Cooking Time
• 🥗 Serve with
• 🥙 Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• 🍣Storage
• 🍱 Prepare in Advance
• 📋 Recipe
• Desserts
• 💬 Comments

🤔FAQs

Rather than steaming a pan, and checking the water for hours on end, it makes much more sense to pop it in the slow cooker and forget about it. Much safer than an unattended pan in the kitchen, and it means you can go out and leave it to work its magic.

I've added my own choices to this pudding and it's easy to swap some of the ingredients if you would like to.

And, if you think that my slow cooker Christmas pudding is pale compared to its supermarket counterparts, it is. However, in one Mrs Beaton recipe I notice that they added gravy browning. This one is just natural!

It's a great time to use up all of those half opened bags in your pantry too.

❤️ Why you will love this recipe

• No special skills, the ingredients are just mixed together.
• Perfect for making in advance.
• Just leave the pud in the slow cooker until it's done - no checking or topping up required.
• Easy to change some ingredients if you wish.
• Heat in the microwave to serve on the day.

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🥘 Ingredients

This is a long list of ingredients, but they are mainly pantry staples.

• Flour - self raising flour for ease or use plain or all purpose flour and add a teaspoon of baking powder.
• Cinnamon - ground cinnamon.
• Nutmeg - ground nutmeg.
• Mixed spice - this is a mix containing cinnamon, coriander, cloves, ginger, pepper and nutmeg.
• Suet - traditionally this would be beef suet, but I've used vegetable suet which is readily available.
• Breadcrumbs - fresh white breadcrumbs.
• Sugar - soft brown sugar.
• Almonds - whole blanched almonds. This is not traditional but I love the crunch of nuts with the fruit.
• Raisins
• Currants
• Sultanas
• Mixed peel - mixed dried citrus peel.
• Cherries - candied or glacé cherries. These are not traditional but a personal favourite.
• Treacle - black treacle.
• Rum - rum is traditionally used but brandy is also good.
• Stout - this is a dark beer, traditionally used in plum puddings.
• Eggs
• Apple - medium eating apple.
• Orange - zest and juice of an orange.
• Butter - for greasing the pudding basin.

The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post.

🍽 Equipment

• 2 pint pudding basin (approximately 1.2 litres)
• large mixing bowl
• small saucepan
• wooden spoon
• whisk
• baking parchment
• kitchen string
• large slow cooker approximately 3.5 litre / 5.3 pint capacity
• sharp knife
• chopping board
• pastry brush

🔪 Instructions

Chop the almonds into pieces.

If you prefer, use a food processor but just pulse the nuts until they have your preferred size.

I like plenty of crunch so I've left small and big pieces.

Peel and cut the apple into 1 centimetre cubes.

Put the flour and spices into a large mixing bowl and combine.

Add the breadcrumbs, suet, sugar, almonds, apple cubes and all the dried fruits.

Stir the mixture together.

💭 Top Tip

• To make fresh breadcrumbs cut the crusts off the bread first. Break the slices into quarters and use a blade in the food processor.

Place the treacle in a small saucepan over a low heat to loosen it then pour in the rum, stout and orange juice and zest.

When the mixture has combined, turn off the heat.

Beat the eggs together and whisk into the liquid.

Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Cover the bowl with cling film and leave overnight ideally for the flavours to develop.

Grease the base and sides of the pudding basin with butter and line the base with a circle of baking parchment.

Spoon the Christmas pudding mixture into the basin.

Cut a large circle of parchment paper about 30 centimetres diameter.

Make a pleat in the middle then tie it around the rim of the basin.

It's helpful to have another pair of hands to help with this or use a couple of pieces of tape temprorarily to hold the paper in place while you tie it.

This will allow the pudding to rise slightly.

💭 Top Tip

• It's a good idea to tie a piece of string around the basin like a parcel as this makes it easier to remove from the slow cooker later.

⏲️ Slow Cooking Time

Place the basin in the slow cooker and pour boiling water from a kettle to come two thirds up the sides.

Cook for 13 hours on high.

If you want to steam it traditionally, like cabinet pudding, place the basin in a saucepan and pour boiling water halfway up the sides.

Put the lid on the pan and simmer for 8 hours. Check the water level every hour and top up if required.

Remove the pudding and leave for a few minutes before turning out onto a plate to serve.

Rich, fruity and delicious.

🥗 Serve with

Serve slow cooker Christmas pudding with:

• custard
• cream
• brandy butter
• brandy sauce
• ice cream

And, there is always someone at the table that just doesn't like dried fruit!

See if you can tempt them with one of these traditional desserts instead.

• Eve's Pudding
• Microwave Sponge Pudding
• Raspberry Cranachan
• Butterscotch Tart
• Flummery
• Lemon Syllabub

🥙 Substitutions

• Rum - use brandy, sherry madeira or replace with extra orange juice if you prefer.
• Treacle - use molasses

📖 Variations

Swap the nut or fruit quantities for some of these ingredients.

• dried cranberries
• chopped macadamias
• dried apricots
• dried chopped dates
• prunes

🍣Storage

• Refrigerator - cover and store for 7 days.
• Freezer - freeze for up to a year. Defrost overnight at room temperature.
• Reheat - in the slow cooker for an hour or on the hob in a water bath. Individual portions can be reheated in the microwave.

🍱 Prepare in Advance

• Make in advance and store in the freezer for up to a year. It can also be left in a cool dry place for 6 weeks.

🤔 FAQs

More slow cooker recipes

• Slow Cooker Brisket and Gravy
• Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole
• Slow Cooker Beef Cheeks
• Slow Cooker Oxtail Soup
• Slow Cooker Turkey Crown
• Slow Cooker Corned Beef Hash
• Slow Cooker Chocolate Rice Pudding
• Slow Cooker Pea Pottage
• Slow Cooker Venison Stew

📋 Recipe

Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

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