Christmas Pudding Recipe for Stir-up Sunday: Dark, Fruity and Steamed for Eight Hours

Sunday 22 November is Stir-up Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent, when British households traditionally mix their Christmas puddings. National Today's calendar entry gives the 2026 date and explains the name: it comes from the collect in the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, which opens with "Stir-up, we beseech thee, O Lord". Making the pudding now gives it a month to mature.

The pudding is still being sold as a seasonal event. British Baker's Christmas roundup of 30 October reports that McLaren's has launched its first gluten-free Christmas pudding, matured in brandy for six months, 450 g, serving four, at 20 pounds. A homemade pudding costs a fraction of that and tastes of what you put in it.

The ritual is part of the appeal. Leiths' guide to Stir-up Sunday traces it to the Victorian era, when each family member took a turn stirring from east to west and made a wish, echoing the wise men's journey. Its traditional pudding has 13 ingredients, for Christ and his twelve disciples, and some cooks hide a silver coin or other charm in the mix.

Ingredients

Serves 10 to 12. One 1.5 litre pudding. Active time about 45 minutes, plus an overnight soak and 8 hours of steaming.

• 175 g raisins
• 125 g sultanas
• 125 g currants
• 50 g mixed peel
• 50 g pitted dates, chopped
• Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon, and the juice of the orange
• 100 ml stout or brown ale
• 50 ml brandy, plus extra to flame and to feed
• 100 g shredded suet (or cold unsalted butter, grated)
• 100 g dark muscovado sugar
• 100 g fresh white breadcrumbs
• 50 g plain flour
• 50 g flaked almonds
• 1 small eating apple, peeled and grated
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of salt
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon black treacle
• Butter, greaseproof paper, foil and string, for the basin

Method

1. The night before, mix the raisins, sultanas, currants, peel, dates, citrus zest and juice, stout and 50 ml brandy in a large bowl. Cover and leave overnight so the fruit plumps up.
2. Butter a 1.5 litre pudding basin generously and line the base with a disc of greaseproof paper.
3. In a very large bowl, mix the suet, sugar, breadcrumbs, flour, almonds, grated apple, spices and salt. Tip in the soaked fruit with all its liquid, then add the beaten eggs and treacle.
4. Stir everything thoroughly, with each person in the house taking a turn from east to west and making a wish if you like. The mixture should be soft and slightly sloppy, not stiff.
5. Spoon the mixture into the basin, pressing it down to remove air pockets, and stop about 2 cm below the rim to leave room for it to rise.
6. Cover with a double layer of greaseproof paper and a layer of foil, each with a central pleat so it can expand. Tie firmly under the rim with string, making a loop handle across the top.
7. Stand the basin on a trivet or upturned saucer in a deep pan. Pour in boiling water to come halfway up the sides, without touching the foil. Cover the pan and steam at a steady simmer for 8 hours, topping up with boiling water so it never dries out.
8. Lift out the basin, let it cool completely, then remove the wet covers. Re-cover with fresh paper and foil and store in a cool, dark cupboard until Christmas, feeding it with a tablespoon of brandy every week or two if you like.
9. On Christmas Day, steam the pudding again for about 2 hours until piping hot. Turn it out onto a warm plate. Warm 3 tablespoons of brandy in a small pan, light it away from the pudding, and pour it flaming over the top. Serve with brandy butter, custard or cream.

Tips, storage and flaming safely

Check the water level every hour or so, and keep a kettle hot. A pan that boils dry can scorch the basin and ruin the pudding.

After steaming, Lakeland's Stir-up Sunday guide recommends wrapping the pudding tightly in fresh baking paper and foil and keeping it in a cool, dark cupboard until Christmas Day, then giving it a final steam before serving. If your cupboard is warm or damp, keep it in the fridge instead, and use it within the month.

When flaming, keep long sleeves and hair away, pour the warm brandy in a steady stream, and have a lid or damp cloth to hand. For a pudding without alcohol, replace the stout and brandy with strong black tea and orange juice, and skip the flame. Then put a reminder in your diary: the pudding is made, and Christmas can arrive.