Muscat Christmas Pudding: The Only Recipe You Will Ever Need
There are two kinds of Christmas pudding. The kind that comes out of a box and sits there being dutifully eaten. And the kind that becomes the thing everyone talks about, the one people request by name, the recipe that gets handed down.
Rutherglen Muscat is what puts this pudding in the second category. It soaks into the dried fruit overnight with the brandy, plumping every raisin and fig and sultana until they are deeply, extraordinarily flavoured. During the long steam it keeps the pudding moist in a way that brandy alone cannot manage. And the spice and raisin depth it brings to the finished pudding is something that genuinely cannot be replicated by any other ingredient.
The other secret is time. Make this pudding as early as you can and feed it with a tablespoon of Muscat every week or two. It improves significantly over weeks and months. A pudding made in October and fed through November is a fundamentally different and better thing than one made the week before Christmas.
Serve it with Muscat cream: whipped double cream folded through with Muscat and a pinch of cinnamon. Two minutes to make and the perfect companion.
Makes one large pudding. Serves 10 to 12. Steaming time: 6 hours plus 2 hours on the day.
Ingredients
● 250g raisins
● 250g sultanas
● 150g dried currants
● 100g dried figs, roughly chopped
● 100g dried dates, roughly chopped
● 150ml NV Classic Muscat, plus extra for feeding the pudding
● 60ml brandy
● 150g butter, softened
● 150g dark brown sugar
● 3 eggs
● 150g plain flour
● 150g fresh breadcrumbs
● 1 teaspoon mixed spice
● 1 teaspoon cinnamon
● 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
● 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
● Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
● 50g blanched almonds, roughly chopped
For the Muscat cream
● 300ml double cream
● 2 tablespoons NV Classic Muscat
● Pinch of cinnamon
Method
1. The night before: combine all the dried fruit in a large bowl with the Muscat and brandy. Stir well, cover and leave to soak overnight. The fruit will absorb most of the liquid and become plump and deeply flavoured.
2. The next day: beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Fold in the flour, breadcrumbs, spices, zests and almonds. Add the soaked fruit and any remaining liquid. Stir until everything is well combined.
4. Grease a 1.5 litre pudding basin and line the base with a circle of baking paper. Spoon in the mixture and press down firmly. Cover with a double layer of greased baking paper and foil, pleated in the centre to allow for expansion. Tie securely with kitchen string.
5. Place in a large saucepan with enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the basin. Cover and steam for 6 hours, checking and topping up the water every hour. The pudding is ready when it is firm and dark.
6. Remove from the pan and cool completely, then re-wrap tightly in fresh baking paper and foil. Store in a cool, dark place. Feed with a tablespoon of Muscat every week or two until Christmas.
7. On the day: steam for a further 2 hours to reheat. Turn out onto a plate, pour over a little warmed brandy and light it if the occasion calls for it.
8. For the Muscat cream: whip the double cream to soft peaks. Fold in the Muscat and cinnamon. Serve alongside the pudding.
Tip: Classic Muscat is ideal for this recipe, but if you have a bottle of Grand you are feeling generous with, use it in the fruit soak. The extra depth and complexity it adds to the pudding is extraordinary and absolutely worth it.
What to Drink With It
A small glass of NV Grand Muscat or, for a very special occasion, NV Rare Muscat alongside this pudding is one of the great food and wine combinations in the Australian Christmas repertoire. The wine mirrors every flavour in the pudding and makes the whole thing feel like a genuinely considered celebration. Shop the full Muscat range at stantonandkilleen.com.au.
