BBC Good Food

You either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Flash Player installed. Please turn JavaScript on or update your Flash Player.

Steaming a pudding

How to wrap and steam your pudding - perfect for a Christmas or winter-warming pud!

Points to remember

• Take a large sheet of aluminium foil and a piece of buttered greaseproof paper about the same size. Make a pleat by folding a crease in the centre of both the paper and the foil.
• Turn the buttered sheet over so the foil's on top and press it around the bowl with the fold on top. Tie the foil tightly around the bowl using a long piece of string.
• Trim away excess foil and greaseproof paper. Leave about two inches or 10 cm of foil and paper around the sides of the bowl.
• Tuck the paper in and fold the foil around it to totally encase the paper and give the pudding a water-tight seal.
• Make a handle for bowl by threading a double length of string through the string already tied around the pudding. Pull it through to the other side and secure. The pudding is now ready to go into the pan.
• Place the pudding into the steamer set over a saucepan of simmering water, or use a large saucepan with a saucer in the bottom.
• Steam for several hours, or as recipe indicates. Top up water when necessary.
• When the pudding is steamed, cut the string around the bowl. Gently ease away the paper and foil.
• Before storing the pudding ready for re-steaming, recover with a fresh sheet of foil and paper as before. Tie a handle around it for ease of removing.

Useful tips

• The water needs to be halfway up the side of the bowl when it is in the saucepan for steaming, otherwise, it will not cook through properly.

• Plum pudding
• Classic Christmas pudding
• Cranberry Christmas pudding

More steamed pudding recipes

• Rhubarb steamed pudding
• Apple steamed pudding with a sticky toffee sauce
• Steamed syrup pudding

Your binder

• Register
• Sign in
• More info

Sign up or sign in to receive a £40 wine voucher, and to save, rate and comment on recipes. Plus, get our newsletter.

Search Good Food

Keywords

Refine your recipe search

Search filter options

Search by cooking times Less than 10 minutes 10-30 minutes 35-60 minutes Over an hour Search by difficulty Easy Moderately easy For the keen cook Search by cuisine American British Cajun & Creole Caribbean French German Greek Indian Italian Mediterranean Mexican Moroccan Scottish Spanish Swiss Thai Vietnamese Search by course Warm starter Cold starter Main course Side dish Pudding Search by calorie range Less than 200 200-400 400-600 600-800 Over 800 Search by occasion Midweek meal Dinner party Family favourite Birthdays Christmas New Year Mother's Day Chinese New Year Easter Search by chef Good Food Team olive Angela Nilsen Annabel Karmel Anthony Worral Thompson Gary Rhodes Gordon Ramsay James Martin John Torode Ken Hom Lesley Waters Mary Cadogan Merrilees Parker Nick Nairn Orlando Murrin Ruth Watson Silvana Franco Thane Prince Tony Tobin Search by diet Vegetarian Vegan Gluten-free Dairy-free Nut-free Egg-free Low-fat Low in salt Suitable for diabetics Search by magazine BBC Good food olive Search by servings 1 2 4 6 8 For a crowd

• Baking(18)
• Basics(10)
• Desserts(6)
• Fish(8)
• Fruit & veg(14)
• Meat(8)
• Sauces(7)

Recipes from the new TV channel and celebrity chefs. goodfoodchannel.co.uk