Christmas | Nigella's Recipes | Nigella Lawson (2024)

FAQs

Is Christmas pudding the same as fruitcake? ›

You're forgiven if you think Christmas Pudding is the round English version of an American fruitcake. While it has similarities, they are altogether different. Both improve with age and include dried fruits, chopped nuts, hearty spices, and steep in a cold dark spot for weeks, but that is where the similarities end.

Yes! With the right recipe, you can save heaps of time and effort by cooking your pudding in the microwave. Cooking traditional Christmas puddings involves hours and hours of boiling (at least 6 hours, and sometimes much more), which not everyone has time for in the busy festive season.

Use gluten-free white flour and breadcrumbs made from gluten-free bread, and replace the stout and barley wine with the same amount of sherry.

This steak sarnie recipe remains one of Jamie Oliver's most famous dishes.

For me, the weekend cries out for American Breakfast Pancakes – and if you want to make your life even easier, try my Home Made Instant Pancake Mix – or French toast (either Orange French Toast or Doughnut French Toast, you choose).

“Figgy pudding is a specific type of Christmas or plum pudding that contains figs as a primary ingredient along with other dried fruits,” Heron says.

Figgy pudding is a pudding in the British sense of the word, which means it is a steamed cakelike dessert. This particular Christmas version is traditionally made with suet (which is raw beef or mutton fat), eggs, brown sugar, breadcrumbs, spices, dried fruits and, last -- but certainly not least --- brandy.

Christmas Pudding (also known as plum pudding or figgy pudding) is a dish as famous as it is misunderstood.

As for all puddings, it should be stored in a cool, dry place until Christmas Day. For the US our preference would be to use Pyrex mixing bowls for steaming Christmas puddings.

Long steaming times also seem to help to develop the flavour and colour of the pudding.

What to serve with Christmas pudding? ›

Although the pud is undoubtedly the star, all that rich, fruity filling needs a dollop of something creamy and cool to serve alongside. Pour over double cream, spoon on thick clotted cream or serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a quick win, or whip up your own boozy brandy butter for ultimate indulgence.

Food for thought

It is a mark of France's civilisation that the nation has never embraced the Christmas pudding. The French prefer a fancy log – of ice cream or sponge and chocolate.

Douse the pudding

Pour the lit brandy over the top of your Christmas pudding – the flames will transfer and – voilà! – a spectacularly festive flaming pud.

Nigella seeds, also known as black caraway, black cumin, black onion seeds, and roman coriander, come from the pods of an annual flowering plant (Nigella sativa) native to south and southwest Asia.

Nigella is using a metal spatula made by Wusthof. It is the "4435" spatula and is 12cm/4 1/2 inches long and is available from several sources on-line. The measuring spoons used by Nigella are Amco Professional Performance stainless steel measuring spoons.

Nigella Lucy Lawson (born 6 January 1960) is an English food writer and television cook.