The store-bought Christmas pudding can become an impressive table centrepiece if picked judiciously and fancied up with a side of booze and cream.
“It conjures up those wonderful feelings of nostalgia and indulgence,” Choice editor Pru Engel says. “Few desserts say Christmas more powerfully than the … pudding.”
Engel summoned an expert panel of pudding enthusiasts – home economist Jan Boon, food consultant Brigid Treloar and chef Adam Moore – to put 18 premade Christmas puddings to the test. The contenders were judged on nutrition, price, and ease of cutting (“you don’t want it to collapse as soon as you slice your knife through it,” Engel says) as well as more subjective measures like appearance, aroma, moistness, and critically, taste.
Refreshingly, the most expensive of the puddings was also the worst scoring. It “felt really heavy, and gave you a bit of a dry mouthfeel,” Engel says.
Puddings to pick up
When it comes to flavour, Engel says “lots of different things go into it”. First it is a mixture of dried fruits, from raisins to glazed cherries and peels. Then comes depth from fats and spices. And finally, alcohol.
“All the puddings we tested, except one, had brandy,” Engel said. Alongside brandy, the best flavours came from rums, ciders, stouts, sherries and port. “It is that classic Christmas pudding flavour.”
At the top of Choice’s leaderboard was Coles’ fancily named Finest Luxury Christmas Pudding, which retails at $1.33 per 100g.
It was “was rich and generous, with lots of fruit, nuts, and moistness but still remaining doughy,” Engel says. “It looks great as well.”
The Homemade Plum Pudding from specialist pudding producer the Traditional Plum Pudding Co was another standout. Though more expensive at $6 per 100g, its colour and aroma pulled it up to second place.
Third was Newcastle Pudding Lady’s Traditional Christmas Pudding. “It is always a high performer in our test,” Engel says, pointing to a great colour and texture. “A judge said they would be happy to serve this pudding themselves on their own table.” A high compliment.
Puddings to put away
While Coles came in first with one option, their Christmas Festive Matured Pudding did not fare so well, coming in second-last.
Itha’s Puddings’ Traditional Pudding, the most expensive contender at $6.40 per 100g, scored the lowest. To Engel, “the colour and appearance was dark, and didn’t have a lot of different fruits”.
“It is a bit disappointing, because it comes in at quite a high price point.”
How to glam up store-bought pudding
Andy Bowdy, pastry chef and custard connoisseur, says store-bought puddings are “not as terrible as they used to be”.
“Growing up, my nan always said she made the pudding,” he says. “I don’t know if she told the truth, but she always served it at Christmas time, and it was always the best Christmas pudding.”
But a pudding doesn’t need to be fed for months to benefit from a nip of brandy (or more). To make a store-bought pudding richer, Bowdy suggests you “soak it in booze”.
“I would warm the booze up and ladle it over the cake, giving it a booze bath every hour or so, then let it sit in the fridge overnight.”
And for a light show, try flambéing the pudding at the table. “If there is enough booze in the pudding, it can light on fire,” Bowdy says.
“Just make sure it is out before anyone cuts it.”
A good pud also needs to be heavily drowned in custard or cream. Bowdy likes his custard just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. “Kind of a slightly thicker, pouring cream consistency.”
For those making custard from scratch, Bowdy says consistency depends on the temperature at which eggs are cooked, and the ratio of eggs used. In place of milk, he suggests using cream, because it’s richer and “gives a thicker coating”.
If working with a store-bought custard, Bowdy suggests mixing in some pouring cream, to thin out the texture from gloopy to runny. Scraping through vanilla beans will also make it fancier, while a bit of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and orange zest will pair with the flavours of the cake.
It is important to cater for different tastes at the table. For a complete dessert, Bowdy says a vanilla custard, brandy custard, vanilla ice-cream and thickened brandy-flavoured cream are the four staples that should “always be available for choice, just in case”.
“My dad has at least three of those options [all] on his one pudding.”
