Advice please on Christmas Pudding timings....

[HuevosRancheros]

I am making my first Christmas pudding this Sunday.

Looked at Delia, she mixes it all, leaves it overnight, then steams it the next day for 8 hours.

Dan Lepard doesn't leave it overnight, and only steams it for 3 hours.

Does it improve with a longer steaming? Such a vast difference in cooking time, I don't know what to do!

Thanks :)

I always do a Delia recipe. The overnight soak is just the fruit in booze (rather than the finished mixture) which definitely plumps everything up. Eight hours vs three hours.... no idea what difference that makes really but they always turn out lovely

Thanks :)

The Delia recipe I'm looking at doing is in her "Complete Illustrated Cookery Course", and it's not just the fruit soaked in booze overnight, you make the whole mixture, leave it overnight and then put it in basins and steam.

So does yours have a lengthy (i.e. in the region of 8 hours) steam? Seems a very very long time!

I soak fruit overnight in rum (Mount Gay) and a bit of cold tea. I think it plumps up the fruit. My DMum (83) has always done it this way (only she uses Navy Rum). Then steam next day for about 5-6 hours. On Christmas Day I steam for about an hour but I am wondering if this year I can do this in the slow cooker so that the kitchen is not awash with condensation.

Yes it's an 8 hour steam. Then again, I make two or three at a time and I keep the spares for the following year, so I want them good and boiled!

When a kid, my gran always used to steam it, then bring it round, and my mam would put it in the slow cooker in the garage to avoid excess kitchen steam

Sorry if this has added nothing to the discussion, but thanks for the memory : )

I use the Delia recipe which has all the ingredients stirred in and left overnight.It results in a plump mix as opposed to slightly sloppy.I didn't fancy the 8 hours worth of steaming it and topping up the water etc this year so cooked it in the slow cooker.
A 2 pint pud cooked on high for 10 hours and didn't need any attention.I plan to reheat it on Xmas Day for approx 4 hours on high.