Three ways to make your Christmas pudding go out with a bang

Christmas is the season of overindulgence. So instead of one dessert, why not three?

In the gateau: Make this triple-choc pud six weeks in advance to allow the flavours to mature

Three-chocolate Christmas pudding by Paul A Young

This chocolate Christmas pudding recipe is a great twist on the traditional festive dessert, with the inclusion of three forms of chocolate.

50g 70 per cent dark chocolate, broken into chunks
50g white chocolate, broken into chunks
25g cocoa powder
50g dried apricots
100g dried figs
100g dates
25ml brandy, plus extra for feeding the pudding
25ml port
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp ground nutmeg
75g butter, soft
100g light muscovado sugar
2 eggs
200g plain flour
250ml Guinness
1 orange, juice and zest

The day before you wish to make the pudding, place the brandy, port, dried fruits and spices in a large bowl and leave to soak overnight​. The next day, add the sugar and butter to a large mixing bowl and cream together. Add one egg at a time, mixing well after each addition. Slowly stir in the flour, cocoa powder and chocolate.

Once the dry ingredients are nicely incorporated, stir in the Guinness, orange juice and zest and the soaked fruits. Grease the pudding basin and sprinkle with flour to coat. Pour the cake mixture into the basin and lay a greased circle of parchment on top. Place a foil lid over the top of the basin, securing it tightly with a large elastic band or some string.

Place the pudding in a steamer and set over simmering water. Cover the pan and steam for three hours, making sure you keep the water in the steamer topped up. Once the pudding is cooked, remove from the steamer and leave to cool overnight in the basin, keeping the parchment and foil lid in place.

The following day, wrap the pudding in a clean tea towel. Store the pudding in a cool, dark place, feeding it once a week by carefully removing the foil and parchment and drizzling the brandy over the pudding.

Return the lid and re-wrap in the tea towel once the brandy has soaked into the pudding. To serve, simply steam for 90 minutes to heat through and serve with brandy butter, cream or ice cream.

Christmas pudding with brandy butter by Dominic Chapman

Christmas wouldn’t be the same without the feeling of having totally overindulged. This Christmas pudding with brandy butter recipe will make sure you and your guests will be full of Christmas cheer – with Guinness, rum and brandy in the mix.

Christmas pudding

115g self-raising flour
110g white breadcrumbs
250g soft brown sugar
½ tsp ground mixed spice
¼  tsp nutmeg, grated
¼  tsp cinnamon
50g nibbed almonds
90g dates, stones removed
125g raisins
125g sultanas
125g currants
25g mixed peel
1 Bramley apple, peeled and grated
1 orange, juice and zest
1 lemon, juice and zest
3 eggs
75ml rum
75ml brandy
75ml Guinness
100g golden syrup

Brandy butter

brandy to taste
100g unsalted butter, softened
225g icing sugar

To plate

200ml double cream
brandy

To prepare the pudding mix, sift the flour into a bowl and combine with the breadcrumbs, suet, almonds, sugar and spices​. Remove the stones from the dates, chop the flesh and combine with the remaining fruits. Add to the flour mixture and mix well​.

Whisk the eggs together and add to the pudding mixture with the rum, brandy, Guinness and golden syrup. Stir thoroughly to combine. Leave the mix in the fridge for one week to develop its flavour. During this time, taste the mixture occasionally – more spices or alcohol can be added if required.

To cook the pudding, butter and flour a pudding basin, then fill it ¾ of the way up the side with the mixture. Place a circle of parchment paper on top of the mixture, cover the basin with tin foil and seal tightly.

Place in a steamer and steam the pudding for four hours. Once cooked, allow to cool and store tightly wrapped in the fridge or a cool place until required. To reheat the puddings, return to the steamer and steam for a further 2 hours. To prepare the brandy butter, add the butter to a large bowl and allow to soften. Once soft enough to beat, whisk the butter until light and creamy​.

Add the icing sugar and beat again until all of the sugar is mixed in, then whisk in the brandy, tasting to achieve the right balance of sweetness and alcohol. Store the butter in the fridge until required. Serve the reheated Christmas pudding with a good dollop of brandy butter or some cream. If desired, turn down the lights, splash some more brandy over the hot pudding and set it alight!

Gluten-free chocolate Christmas pudding by Victoria Glass

Think it’s too late to make your own Christmas pudding? Think again. Victoria's gluten-free chocolate Christmas pudding recipe takes minutes to stir up and you can get on with wrapping your presents while it gently steams.

100g light muscovado sugar
100g butter, chopped
100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
120g sour cherries, dried
40g raisins
40g sultanas
75g currants
25g dried cranberries
150g pitted prunes, chopped
stem ginger, 2 balls, finely chopped
150ml brandy
100ml port
50ml Cointreau
2 oranges, zest and juice
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
1 large egg, beaten
50g hazelnuts, blanched roughly chopped
100g rice flour
50g cocoa powder
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
1 pinch of salt

Put the sugar, butter, chocolate, dried fruits, stem ginger and alcohol in a saucepan and stir over a gentle heat until the chocolate and butter have melted. Bring to the boil and immediately turn off the heat. Stir in the orange zest and juice and vanilla seeds and leave to cool.

Once cool, mix in the beaten egg and hazelnuts before sifting over the flour, cocoa, spices and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until thoroughly incorporated. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pudding bowl and smooth over the top.

Cut out a 13in baking parchment circle. Pleat the circles and place over the pudding. Cover the pudding with a lid made from a pleated circle of tin foil. Wrap string twice around the basin and tie to secure the paper. Use more string to wrap over and under the bowl and tie a knot to make a handle.

Put the basin in the top of a steamer of simmering water for three hours, topping up with boiling water every hour to prevent the pan from boiling dry. Once cooked, remove from the steamer and leave to cool. Once cool, unwrap the pudding and re-wrap to ensure that no water has got inside. Cover the cold pudding tightly with foil and store in a cool, dark place, preferably for at least a month, until ready to reheat.

On Christmas day, steam the pudding for one and a half hours to reheat, before turning the pudding out and pouring flaming brandy over the top and serving with generous lashings of brandy butter, cream, ice cream or all three.

Recipes courtesy of Great British Chefs. Visit their site for more Christmas pudding recipes