We held our Stir Up Sunday a little earlier than usual so we could share how our Christmas pudding turned out. It was a lovely family activity and a great way to get the children involved in a traditional recipe.
In the video you can see that we initially slipped a sixpence into the pudding. For safety, I removed it afterwards without the children noticing — we’ll place the coin on a clearly visible portion of the pudding at Christmas lunch so no one risks choking. That slice will probably go to the youngest family member, who tends to get her way anyway. A quick note: Tara jokes about loving brandy during the clip, but she has never actually tasted it. Working with kids can be unpredictable, but it’s also lots of fun. If you want a reliable recipe, we recommend following the Royal Mint’s Christmas pudding recipe.
Violet and Tara really threw themselves into mixing the pudding. It’s not necessary to use every bowl in the kitchen when measuring ingredients, but doing so helped the children see each component as it went in. They grated apple, lemon and orange zest, grated chocolate, and chopped cherries. Even the youngest helper could whisk an egg — it’s a recipe that suits all ages.
The trickiest part for us was steaming the pudding. It’s an ideal recipe for involving kids, but for the actual steaming I found these steps work best:
- Place a rectangle of baking parchment on top of a matching rectangle of tin foil.
- Create a fold in the parchment and foil — this allows room for expansion as steam builds during cooking.
- Fold the foil and parchment over the lidded bowl and secure with ribbon or string. We used ribbon because it looked nicer. Tuck the end of the ribbon under to form a handle, which makes lifting the bowl from the pan much easier.
- Steam the pudding for at least four hours in a pan of gently boiling water. The water should come halfway up the sides of the bowl and must be kept topped up. The pudding is cooked when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean; be prepared to remove the foil lid briefly to test.
We also enjoyed reading how other bloggers used the Royal Mint Christmas pudding recipe and included a sixpence in theirs. It’s lovely to see families keeping this tradition alive, sharing tips and adaptations, and encouraging children to join in the kitchen.