Will someone please post me some very very simple xmas pud instructions

[lucysmam]

I'm a bit confused by the 1 I've found, it says steam it & wrap it to keep until xmas, & then steam again for 3 1/2 hours I think it was before serving it.

I only want to make some simple little puds with my dd & am really struggling to find something that's not hard work or going to take up valuable cooker space when I've got xmas dinner in there

TIA for any help, it's much appreciated

my tip is to go to M&S

However I am sure that someone else will be along soon with more suitable advice. :)

Get theeself to Tesco, buy a finest christmas pudding, stop worrying.

delia's recipe is a goodun. you do need to steam it for years though. although i think you can bung it in the microwave if desperate for space.

Cherry you naughty thing! At least suggest Waitrose or M&S!

Onepieceoflollipop, are you being a snob?

Think that's the one I have written down Eccentrica & was struggling to get my head around

Thanks for the tips about M&S and Tesco but it's more for an activity I'm doing it. Thought it'd be something nice for us all to do together

Just teasing. The poor op asked for genuine suggestions and the first 2 replies were you and me telling her to buy them!

I was kind of thinking that in my house if mil found the wrapping it had better be upmarket!

top tip - after yeras of searching -

barley wine does not come in a bottle - it comes in a can

and you can chuck in a few nuts, extra cherries and whatever booze you happen to have in the cupboard.

Good luck with it lucysmam. I can bake but have never had any luck with steamed puddings so daren't risk a Christmas pudding. :)

thanks onepiece, I've never attempted one either & my 3.9yo dd will be involved so will be saying a quiet prayer that it works

Our family always have pudding in the evening so don't have the hob space problem - the pudding goes on after lunch. We're so stuffed after Christmas dinner that its hours until we are ready for pudding.

Delia's recipe is easier than it looks. I always make a list of ingredients so I can cross out things as I go and weigh things out before I start. All you are doing is stirring things into the mixture in stages, putting in a basin and steaming for 8 hours.

I might scale it down to half or quarter when I find some pudding basins & give it a go in advance so I have a vague idea what I'm doing

How do I steam it though? Oven or hob? That bit's confusing me too

(I'm having a very dense time with xmas pud planning for some reason!!!!!!)

I've got a recipe for Christmas pudding muffins in one of my cookbooks I was reading through today. I think you use crumbled up Christmas pudding in them. So you could make those with your DD but using a shop-bought pudding. I can post the recipe here if you'd like it.

Please EightiesChick, might stop me pulling my hair out over something so bloody simple!

I steam on top but I do have a big hob-top steamer. If you don't have one use a big saucepan with a saucer or something on the bottom so that your pudding basin is not in direct contact with bottom of your saucepan. The water should be about half-way up the side of your pudding basin.

I did think about doing something similar in my slow cooker. I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work.

lucysmam, you will be fine making a pudding. Honestly, its really easy and your daughter will have a whale of a time helping you. Don't worry about making one before hand, trust in Delia. There's a reason the recipe has been in print for donkeys years.

That's steam on hob, btw

thanks ant3nna, I'm glad someone has some faith! I will do it on the hob, that way I can see what it's doing..... & I will stop fretting so much....honest

Here you go lucysmam

Christmas pudding muffins ? 30 minutes

2tbsp brandy
200g Christmas pudding, broken into lumps
250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
100g caster sugar
200ml milk
1 egg
75 unsalted butter, softened
Icing sugar for dusting
Redcurrants or glace cherries for decoration

Heat the oven to 180C / fan 160C / gas mark 4. Pour the brandy over the Christmas pud. Sift together the flour and baking powder, add the rest of the ingredients (except the icing sugar and cherries) and mix into a lumpy batter.

Pour into a lined 16-hole mini-tin and bake for 10-15 minutes. Cool. Dust with icing sugar and top with a redcurrant or glace cherry.

Makes 36 mini-muffins or 12 normal-size muffins.

fab, thanks EightiesChick, probably invest in a lidl pudding tomorrow to give them a trial run