Vegan Christmas Pudding

Vegan Christmas pudding - this vegan version of the classic British steamed Christmas pudding is rich, moist, fruity and boozy but not overly dense or heavy. It is easy to make and can be cooked in advance and matured for up to six months or eaten right away instead.

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword pudding

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 5

Soaking Time: 12

Servings 8 people

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

150 g (5.3oz) raisins
100 g (3.5oz) currants
100 g (3.5oz) chopped dried dates
100 g (3.5oz) chopped dried apricots
4 Tbsp brandy/rum/sherry
finely grated zest and juice of 1 medium orange
1 medium cooking apple (about 220g unpeeled weight) (Bramley is best) peeled, cored and grated
100 g (¾ cup + 2Tbsp) self-raising flour
70 g (1 cup) fresh breadcrumbs*
100 g (½ cup + 1 Tbsp) light brown soft sugar
1 tsp mixed spice (pumpkin spice)
75 g (¼ cup + 2 Tbsp) melted refined coconut oil (or sunflower oil or melted vegan block butter)
3 Tbsp aquafaba (the liquid drained from a tin of chickpeas)
2 Tbsp non-dairy milk
40 g (1.4oz) chopped almonds (optional)

Instructions

You need to start making this vegan Christmas pudding the day before you want to steam it as the fruit needs to soak overnight. Mix together the raisins, currants and chopped dried dates and apricots with the rum/brandy/sherry and the orange zest and juice. Cover and leave to soak overnight. I give it a stir every now and again to ensure that the fruit is equally coated.
The next day, stir the peeled, cored and grated cooking apple into the fruit mixture.
Next, stir in the self-raising flour, fresh breadcrumbs, light brown soft sugar and mixed spice followed by the aquafaba, melted refined coconut oil, non-dairy milk and chopped almonds.
Grease a 1.2 - 1.4 litre pudding basin and place a disc of baking parchment in the bottom to prevent the top of the pudding from sticking. Put the kettle on.
Spoon the pudding mixture into the greased basin and pack it down firmly then level the top. It is ok if the mixture comes almost all the way up to the top of the basin as it doesn't rise much but make sure that there is at least a centimetre gap at the top.
Make a fold in the middle of a square of baking parchment and the same again in a square of tin foil. Place the baking parchment on top of the pudding basin with the fold in the middle, followed by the tin foil. Press the foil over the edge of the pudding basin.
Tie a length of string very tightly around the foil – there should be a lip on the pudding basin; tie the string just under that. Tie a length of string across the top of the basin to make a handle. Trim off the excess foil and parchment, leaving at least a centimeter below the string.
Place a saucer upside down in a large saucepan to act as a trivet and place the pudding basin on top. Pour boiling water into the pan so that it comes about halfway up the pudding basin, don't let it touch the foil.
Place the lid on the pan and place over a low heat. Cook at a gentle simmer for five hours (it will do the pudding no harm to leave it to cook for a bit longer than that). Check every now and again to see if the water needs topping up but resist the urge to take the lid off the pan too often.
When it is cooked, the pudding should be a deep brown colour and be firm to the touch with a little bit of bounce. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.
Once the pudding is done steaming, remove it from the pan and leave it to cool then remove the baking parchment and tin foil and replace them with fresh ones. Store in a cool, dry place for up to six months, feeding it occasionally with rum or brandy.
On Christmas day, steam the pudding in the same way for 1-2 hours before serving it. See instructions in the post above for how to flame it.

Notes

For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely and read the post above for all of the tips and information. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
*To make fresh breadcrumbs simply remove the crusts from a couple of slices of slightly stale white bread, weigh out 70g worth and blend them in a food processor until finely chopped.
You can vary the dried fruit to suit you as long as you keep the same overall weight (450g). Dried cranberries, cherries and blueberries and chopped dried figs would be great options.
To make this pudding gluten-free, swap the plain flour for 80g plain gluten-free flour blend, 20g chickpea (gram) flour, 1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Swap the breadcrumbs for 70g ground almonds (or fresh gluten-free breadcrumbs).