Traditional Figgy Pudding Recipe (2024)

History

Figgy pudding dates back to medieval England. During this time, it was popular to make a variety of sweet and savory dishes using figs. By the 15th century, a mixture of figs boiled in wine was combined with bread, more wine, spices, and raisins.

By the Victorian era, it had morphed into a steamed suet pudding, according to Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management. In modern times, figgy pudding is made with a variety of dried fruit, and can be made using butter in place of suet, which is often hard to find.

Why This Recipe Works

• The fruit is soaked in brandy. This adds juiciness to the dried fruit, and the alcohol helps preserve the pudding.
• It's steamed for 4 hours. This is long enough to cook the pudding and caramelize the sugars in the batter, turning it brown.
• It's aged for 4 weeks before serving. Storing the figgy pudding away in a cool, dark place allows the flavors to develop and mature, making the pudding rich and flavorful.

Ingredients

Figgy pudding contains a number of ingredients, but most of them are easy to find at your local grocery store. Let's talk about the most important ingredients.

• Butter: Traditionally, suet would have been used instead of butter, but since this is very hard to find and expensive here in the US, I used butter in this recipe.
• Breadcrumbs: This unconventional ingredient lightens the texture of the pudding and absorbs melted fat from the butter (or suet).
• Baking Powder: Although not a traditional addition, a touch of baking powder lightens the texture, keeping the pudding from being overly dense and stodgy.
• Fruit: Any mixture of dried fruit, as long as it consists largely of raisins, will be perfect. I use a mixture of raisins, sultanas, figs, and currants, but you can add apricots, cranberries, or other fruits as well.
• Alcohol: The usual choice is brandy, but feel free to use rum if you prefer.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How to Make

1. Toss the dried fruit and brandy together until well mixed, then let stand for at least 1 hour, or preferably overnight. (image 1)
2. Beat the butter until pale, about 2 minutes. (image 2)

3. Add the brown sugar and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute. Pour in the molasses, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Add a spoonful of flour with each egg to prevent the batter from curdling. (image 3)
4. Sprinkle on the flour, spices, baking powder, orange zest, and breadcrumbs, then fold everything together until well blended. (image 4)

5. Dump in the walnuts and the soaked fruit mixture along with any liquid, then mix until evenly combined. (image 5)
6. Grease the pudding basin and line the base with parchment paper, then pack the mixture into the basin. (image 6)

7. Cover with the parchment and foil, tying it tightly with string under the lip of the basin to secure. Tie a string handle onto the rim so you can easily remove it from the pot of boiling water later. (image 7)
8. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Meanwhile, place a metal jam jar lid in a large Dutch oven. (image 8)

9. Place the figgy pudding on top of the jam jar lid. Pour boiling water halfway up the side of the basin, cover, and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 4-5 hours. Check it every hour or so, and add more water to keep the level halfway up the basin. (image 9)
10. The pudding is done when it is a rich, dark brown. A skewer inserted into the center should come out clean. (image 10)

11. Let it cool completely, then re-cover it with fresh parchment and foil and let it age for at least 4 weeks before serving. Steam it for 1 ½ hours before serving to warm it.
12. Flame the hot pudding with flaming brandy or rum if desired, then serve with brandy butter.

Recipe FAQs

Serve

Flaming the pudding right before serving is optional, but definitely makes for an awe-inspiring experience at Christmas dinner! Here's how to do it.

• Pour 2 tablespoons of brandy into a metal soup ladle.
• Hold the ladle of brandy over three lit tealights until it begins to steam and swirl in the ladle. The heat from the candles will warm the brandy.
• Carefully tip the ladle towards one of the flames to catch the brandy on fire.
• Pour the flaming brandy over the warmed figgy pudding and enjoy the blue flames. Be sure to have the lights off so you can see the flames.
• Once the flames have completely burned out, serve and enjoy.

Expert Tips

• Make it at least 4 weeks in advance. It will not taste good if you eat it right away.
• Soak the dried fruit for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. This softens the fruit and improves the flavor.
• Place a metal jam jar lid in the bottom of the pot before putting it in the pot for steaming. This raises it off of the bottom of the pot.
• Keep the water level halfway up the side of the basin. You'll need to top up the pot with boiling water throughout the steaming process.
• The figgy pudding is done when a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

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