Christmas Pudding Mistakes

Our answer

There are low fat versions of Christmas puddings available and it may not be a huge problem if the puddings have less fat, but they probably will not keep as well as one made ith the correct amount of fat. A low fat version of a Christmas pudding usually keeps for 4 to 5 weeks. If this is a concern then you can always freeze the puddings (they will freeze for up to a year) and thaw them for 24 hours before steaming.

There is also a slight risk that the puddings may be a little dry in comaprison with the regular Christmas pudding. As steaming is a gentle, humid method of cooking this may be less of a concern but you could try "feeding" the puddings with a little alcohol (if freezing, before you freeze them) to help them along. And maybe make a generous abount of brandy butter (or another "hard sauce") to give with the puddings so that there is something to douse them with. Nigella has a particularly good Salted Caramel Brandy Butter recipe on her website.

As an alternative, you could always make the puddings into Nigella's Christmas Puddini Bonbons (from Christmas, p 247) instead. These truffles are made with freshly cooked and cooled or leftover Christmas pudding and will keep for up to two weeks.

The baking powder in the recipe is there to give the pudding a little lift. Bicarboante of soda will also act as a leavening agent if there are acidic ingredients in the mixture (in this case the green apple) and will act more quickly than the baking powder. We suspect that the texture of the pudding will be fine. There is a small risk that the bicarbonate of soda will leave a bitter taste, though as it is a small quantity we suspect it won't affect the pudding. If you want to be sure then scoop a teaspoonful from the top of the pudding (where no-one will see once the pudding has been turned out as it will become the base), microwave for a few seconds to reheat it, then cool slightly and taste.