Anna Jones’ alternative Christmas pudding recipe | Food (2024)

A lighter Christmas pudding

This is a lighter version of Christmas pudding, with a golden crumb, the fresh zing of zest and the brightness of ginger. You will need greaseproof paper, foil and string. And I can vouch, after using up the leftovers from several tests, that it is even better fried in a little butter (or coconut oil for vegans) the next day.

Prep 20 min
Cook 3 hr
Serves At least 8

Using a piece of kitchen paper, rub the oil evenly around the inside of a 1.5-litre heatproof pudding bowl.

Mix together the stem ginger, apricots, prunes, sultanas and marzipan in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients apart from the oat milk, and mix together with a wooden spoon.

Next, stir through the oat milk until you have a thick batter, then spoon it all into the greased bowl.

Put a small plate (one that you don’t particularly mind about) in the bottom of a large saucepan, and put the pudding bowl on top. Pour cold water into the pan until it comes halfway up the side of the bowl.

Bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and simmer on a low heat for three hours. Check the water regularly, so it doesn’t dry out – top up to halfway again, if necessary.

Carefully lift the pudding bowl out of the pan – at this point, you can turn it out and serve it at once, or leave it to cool in its foil package. When cooled, replace the greaseproof and foil with fresh layers and tie again with string; this way, you can steam it to heat through again for 30 minutes when ready to serve. Put in the fridge or in a cool, dry place until needed.

Candied citrus, honey and almond lebkuchen

This year I consulted the queen of German cooking, Anja Dunk, for some lebkuchen tips, and I think I’ve just made the best batch yet. These little biscuits are traditionally made at the end of November, then stored until Christmas (they have no butter, so they keep). But I am never that organised, so I make them in the days before Christmas Eve. The authentic recipe for lebkuchen suggests chilling the dough for at least eight hours before baking, to ferment it slightly, but if you don’t have time, these work well after 30 minutes.

For the biscuits
1 egg
100g light brown sugar
1 tbsp dark honey
125g ground almonds
65g mixed peel, finely chopped
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp mixed spice
3 cloves, ground
Zest of 1 orange
½ tsp baking powder
2 sheets filo or rice paper, cut into 3cm circles (you can do this with the end of a cookie cutter)

Beat the egg and sugar with an electric whisk until the mixture is pale and thickened. Add the remaining ingredients, apart from the filo or rice paper, (measure out the honey on a lightly oiled spoon to make it easier to handle). Mix to combine, then wrap the mixture and chill for at least half an hour – preferably eight hours.

When ready to bake, heat the oven to 160C (140C fan)/325F/gas 3.

Divide the filo or rice paper circles between two baking sheets. Measure out spoonfuls of dough, about 15g each, roll between your hands to form balls, then press them down flat to fit the circles. Bake in the middle of the oven for 12 minutes, until just golden.

Once golden, remove the biscuits from the oven and paint the tops with the glaze right away; you want to cover the top of the biscuit. Leave to cool on the tray, then serve or store in an airtight tin for up to a week.