Suet in Ultimate Christmas Pudding

Our answer

Nigella's Ultimate Christmas Pudding (from Christmas and on the Nigella website) contains suet (or grated vegetable shortening). After the first steaming the pudding may look a little lighter than a regular Christmas pudding, but it darkens and mellows on the second steaming. Usually the suet disappears into the pudding on the first steaming but we have noted that if a very gentle heat is used (such as a slow cooker/crockpot) then the suet is not always absorbed on the first steaming and you can see some flecks in the pudding.

When steaming a pudding over water (in a steamer) the water underneath should be boiling merrily so that it can produce enough steam to cook the pudding. If the pudding is sitting in water then it should be a good simmer (and you can sit the basin on a folded-up tea towel in the bottom of the pan to reduce the risk of damage to the basin). In both cases check regularly to make sure that the water levels do not get too low. When you steam the pudding for the second time then try to follow the guidelines above. This should be enough to completely melt the suet, but if you are unsure then you cal also increase the second steaming time to 5 hours (instead of 3 hours).