No Christmas is complete without an authentic Christmas pudding. This is quite possibly the BEST EVER Christmas pudding you’ll ever try! Vegan Christmas Pudding filled with all the spices of Christmas, concealing a traditional sixpence and topped with a simple brandy cream. How incredible does that sound!? Vegan, no-egg, no-dairy, easy to make.
This recipe has been made in collaboration with The Royal Mint. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. (For more information along with affiliated links, check out my disclosure policy.)
What is Christmas Pudding?
If you’re not familiar with a Christmas pudding, let me tell you about it. The Christmas pudding has been around for centuries, originating in the Medieval England, United Kingdom. It’s a dried, sweet fruit cake soaked in either rum or brandy, and served as a dessert for Christmas.
Christmas pudding for me is definitely a family Christmas tradition. It’s may dads favourite part of the Christmas meal, as it’s his job to make the pudding and serve it with either custard, ice cream or brandy sauce.
There’s something comforting about winding down after an exciting christmas morning and following a hearty vegan main to a bowl of the delicious, warm spiced pudding.
Looking for more Christmas recipes, check out my Mini Gluten-Free Vegan Yule Logs, Vegan Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls, Easy Vegan Christmas Tree Cupcakes and Giant Vegan Mince Pie.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- It’s vegan friendly – This recipe doesn’t contain any animal derived ingredients.
- Easy to make – Despite the long steaming time, the process of actually making the pudding mixture is pretty straight forward, easy and fun for all to get involved in making.
- Tastes like the real deal – Whoever you serve this to won’t be able to tell that this dessert is actually vegan, trust me! I shared it with my non-vegan neighbours and they were completely shocked that it was vegan, with one stating ‘it was the best christmas pudding they’d ever tried’! Now thats saying something!
- Rich and moist – The taste and texture of this pudding just screams Christmas. It’s spiced to perfection from the ground spices and super moist fruit, figs, dates and brandy.
- Great to make in advance – The best thing about this pudding is it can be made ahead of time and because of the fruits and alcohol, it will grow in flavour over time! Make sure it’s wrapped up tightly and stored in a seal container!
Keeping the tradition alive (sixpence addition)
There’s been a tradition since medieval times to add a sixpence to the Christmas pudding before its steamed. Traditionally, on the Sunday before Advent, families gathered in the kitchen to help make the Christmas pudding. A silver sixpence was placed into the pudding mix, then every member of the household gives the mix a stir. Whoever found the sixpence in their slice of the pudding on Christmas Day would see it as a sign that they will enjoy wealth and good luck in the year to come! I am so excited to have partnered with The Royal Mint, the UK’s official maker of British coins. They have just released their brand new Sixpence for 2023, honouring the year of His Majesty King Charles III’s coronation.
It’s the perfect addition to your Christmas pudding, makes for an amazing collectable christmas gift or wedding gift, symbolising luck and good fortune and is extremely good fun! Make sure to check out the 2023 Sixpence here.
How to make a Vegan Christmas Pudding?
You are going to go crazy for this scrumptious pudding! You want to start making the christmas pudding the day before to allow the fruits and brandy to soak. For best results, I highly suggest you follow the recipe very closely. As always, I recommend using a set of kitchen scales and gram measurements, rather than the US cup conversions. Using cups simply isn’t as accurate as using grams and scales. You’ll definitely see best results with grams! You can also find the written recipe in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Prep the basin
Grease the basin with vegan butter and line the bottom of the basin with grease-proof paper. Mix all of the dried fruit with the brandy and allow to soak.
- Mix the pudding
In a bowl add in all of the ingredients along with the soaked fruit, stir to combine then pour into the prepared basin. Smooth out the top and insert the sixpence. Add a sheet of grease-proof paper on top then over with foil and tighten with some string.
- Steam
Lower the pudding into a large saucepan, add water to half way up the basin, boil then turn the heat down, add on a lid to steam for 4 hours.
- Cool
Allow the pudding to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes then flip on a plate. Serve with some whipped dairy-free cream with the addition of brandy inside.
- Serve and enjoy
Use a shark knife to cut the pudding into servings. Disclaimer- make sure everyone finds the sixpence before eating the pudding!
Vegan Christmas Pudding tips and tricks
- Soak the fruit : This will make all the difference in taste and texture to your homemade vegan Christmas pudding. Simply place the dried fruit in a bowl and pour in the brandy. Cover with a tea towel and allow to sit overnight to soak.
- Alcohol-free alternative : If you don’t want to use alcohol such simply switch to orange juice. It adds a delicious zesty flavour to the pudding and doesn’t compromise the texture or taste at all! It’s really delicious with the fruity twist.
- Add cloves : Cloves add a spicy warmth to the pudding, and compliment the mixed spices and fruits perfectly. It’s a great addition!
- Serving the pudding : Christmas pudding is traditionally made on Stir Up Sunday, which is the last Sunday before the season of Advent (26th November 2023), but it can be made up to a month in advance or as little as a few of days beforehand if needed.
- Left over pudding : Any leftover Christmas pudding can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks and can be reheated if needed. Just make sure it’s well wrapped!
- Suet alternative : Traditional Christmas pudding contains suet which obviously isn’t vegan as it’s made from the raw hard fat of animal loins and kidneys. A cruelty-free vegan alternative is Vegetable Fat. I used the brand Trex, but soo many brands have their own vegan friendly vegetable fat so make sure to hunt one down! They’re great for baking treats such as this pudding.
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you & happy baking! Make sure to tag me in your photos on Instagram , TikTok and Facebook! And if you want to pin this recipe for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, above or below this post, or on any of the photos. Happy baking all!
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BEST EVER Vegan Christmas Pudding
- Total Time: Overnight
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
How to make THE BEST EVER Vegan Christmas Pudding which is spiced, moist and filled with all the flavour of Christmas! Topped with a whipped brandy cream, this is the ultimate festive dessert which is sure to have your guests WOWED, especially if you conceal the silver sixpence!
Ingredients
Ingredients for the pudding
- 220g of mixed fruit
- 40g of glacé cherries
- 400g of dried cranberries
- 100g of figs (chopped)
- 100g of pitted dates (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon of almond extract
- 120ml of brandy (or orange juice)
- 100g of trex (see notes)
- 80g of light brown sugar
- Zest of 1 large orange
- 90g of plain / all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of ground mixed spice
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon of black treacle
- 40g of breadcrumbs
- 50g of mixed peel
Ingredients for the brandy cream
- 200ml of dairy-free whipping / double cream
- 3 teaspoons of brandy
Instructions
Method (christmas pudding)
- Grease a 1 litre pudding basin with dairy-free butter and place a circle of grease-proof paper to the bottom of the basin, this will prevent the top of the pudding sticking to the dish.
- In a bowl, combine the mixed fruit, cherries, cranberries, dates, figs and almond extract with the alcohol (or orange juice) and leave to soak for 3 hours, stirring occasionally, to allow the fruit to soften. Alternatively this can be covered with a tea towel and allowed to soak overnight.
- In a large sized mixing bowl, cream together the trex with the sugar and orange zest using a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, spices, stir to combine.
- Add in the black treacle, breadcrumbs and mixed peel and all of the soaked fruit along with any liquid. Mix to combine.
- Transfer the mixture into the pudding basin, making sure its compact, pushing it down with a spoon. Smooth the top of the mixture. Before you’re ready to cook, insert the sixpence.
- Place a circle of grease-proof paper on top then cover the entire top of the pudding with a few layers of foil. Double up to make it thicker to allow to pudding to expand. Tie string around the basin to prevent any water from entering the pudding (this can ruin the dessert). You want to make sure it’s tight. Its helpful to make a loop of string to use as a little handle to easily lift the pudding out of the pan once ready.
- Place a trivet or star shaped cookie cutter in the bottom of a large saucepan, you want it large enough for the basin to fit snugly at the bottom. Carefully stand the pudding basin on the cutter or trivet. Carefully pour boiling water into the pan so it comes about halfway up the basin, making sure not to splash any water on the basin. You want to make sure the water doesn’t come close to or touch the foil as it may seep into the pudding.
- Bring the water to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer and cover the pan with a lid and allow the pudding to steam. If the lid to your pan doesn’t fit on tightly, it’s not ideal as you need to keep the steam in to cook the pudding. Steam the christmas pudding for 4 hours, checking occasionally to see if the water needs topping up.
- Once cooked, carefully lift the pudding out of the pan, cut away the string and remove the foil and grease-proof paper. Allow this to cool for 20 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the basin. Place a plate or serving place on-top of the pudding and flip it, remove the dish. This can be cut into slices and served right away or serve with some delicious brandy cream.
Method (brandy cream)
- In a stand mixer, whip up some dairy-free whipping or double cream to soft peaks then whip in some brandy. You want to use a good quality vegan cream such as The Coconut Collaborative Double Cream for this so it doesn’t just run off the sides of the pudding.
- Pour the brandy cream over the top of the pudding, using a spoon to help it drip down the edges.
- Serve with a decorative sprig of holly and some edible berries; cranberries are good for this.
- Serve and enjoy! It’s imperative that you let your guests know that there is a coin hidden in the pudding and not to eat the dessert until one lucky person has found it.
Notes
To store: Keep the pudding fresh by storing in an air-tight container at room temperature. Store without the cream, add the cream before serving.
Suet alternative: Traditional Christmas pudding contains suet which obviously isn’t vegan as it’s made from the raw hard fat of animal loins and kidneys. A cruelty-free vegan alternative is Vegetable Fat. I used the brand Trex, but soo many brands have their own vegan friendly vegetable fat so make sure to hunt one down! They’re great for baking treats such as this pudding.
Gently heat the pudding in the oven on a low setting to serve warm, great with dairy-free ice-cream or custard.
- Prep Time: Overnight
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Pudding
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: British
Hi there, your recipe looks delicious. Thank you for sharing this. I have never seen vegan suet anywhere, so I was thinking of using Becel margarine. It comes in either a soft or a hard type. Have you tried a vegan margarine for a steamed pudding? Many thanks.