Steamed Cranberry Pudding: EASY Christmas Pudding in the Instant Pot

I didn't grow up in Britain, but Christmas pudding is one of my absolute favorite Christmastime food traditions, bar none. What's not to love about cake that's stuffed with dried fruit, nuts, and topped with a boozy-toffee-esque sauce?

“Would you like more Christmas pudding?” “Why, yes, please!”

Christmas pudding has a long history far beyond its iconic use in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and other Victorian literature. If you like to geek out about history like I do, definitely read this article about the history of Christmas pudding.

However, knowing about the history of Christmas pudding is more than just “interesting,” in our case. It's actually crucial to knowing why this recipe is so fantastically good. (Not that I'm biased at all…)

First of all, what IS Christmas Pudding?

Christmas pudding began back in the Middle Ages as a blend of spiced meat, fruit, and fat, as spices, sugar, and fat were effective ways to preserve meat.

As the dish progressed through the years, it morphed into new versions of itself as preservation methods and flavor preferences evolved – the addition of alcohol, for example, became the standard for preserving the dish sometime in mid-nineteenth century, which is also – I presume – about the time the tradition of dousing the cake with extra alcohol and lighting it on fire arose. 🙂

But even as the dish became more cake-like and more sweet than savory, one meat-based ingredient remained constant: SUET.

If you will remember from my article on Christmas foods in Victorian times, suet is the unique type of fat that surrounds the kidneys on ruminants, such as sheep and cattle. On pork, this fat is called “leaf lard” and is prized because it produces superior pastries and doesn't need to be rendered before use.

The particular reason suet has been a prized ingredient in Christmas puddings is that it is firm at room temperature AND has a much higher melting point than other fats. The result is that the cake-y portion of the dish has a chance to bake and set before the fat melts, which leaves behind little air pockets in the batter, producing a light, airy texture, even though it's a very moist, dense cake. When other fats are substituted, such as butter, coconut oil, or even hydrogenized vegetable oils, they tend to melt before the cake is set, which makes the final result heavy and greasy.

Thus, suet is actually a rather important ingredient for creating the correct TEXTURE of the pudding, not just the flavor.

The problem with suet, however, is two-fold:

1. Modern palates – mine included – aren't always crazy about the flavor suet contributes, particularly in batches when the suet tastes quite beefy.
2. Suet isn't a common ingredient anymore, which means it can be difficult to find – and even when it is found, it's sometimes expensive.

And traditional Christmas puddings have another problem – well, it's not so much a “problem” as an inconvenience:

1. Christmas puddings have to steam or boil for hours on end. This requires babysitting the pot to refill water (even when you use a slow cooker) – but most importantly, what if I want to make Christmas pudding so we can actually eat it today?

Thus, I set out to create a Christmas pudding that would replicate the flavor and texture of a traditional Christmas pudding WITHOUT using suet AND that could be cooked quickly.

Thus, I am *super* happy to share this Christmas Pudding recipe with you, as I believe it to be a perfect blend of traditional flavor and modern technique. 🙂

Enter: Christmas Pudding (aka Plum Pudding) in the Instant Pot

First, finding a suet alternative. I knew I couldn't rely on any substitute fat for suet, as truly nothing replaces how suet works in a Christmas pud. Thus, I looked to other methods to create a texture and mouth-feel that wasn't heavy, dense, or cloying. Surprisingly, fresh cranberries suited the bill beautifully. They provide a fresh, airy lift without taking over other flavors – they're present, but not overly so. They also lighten the texture quite well.

Second, how to cook a Christmas pudding quickly. After some experimentation, I realized that the Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker) cooks a Christmas pudding EXTREMELY well – even better than traditional boiling, in my estimation. That's partially because of the pressure that's used, but also because you can use it to cook in multiple methods. The method below starts by steaming the pudding without pressure, which I find is key to being able to release the pudding nicely from the mold, and then cooks the pudding through by steaming it under pressure.

So, in short:

If you want Christmas pudding but don't have suet…. this is a great recipe.

If you're wanting a quick, day-of recipe for Christmas pudding…. this is a great recipe.

If you're simply wanting a delicious, Christmas-y Christmas Pudding…. this is a great recipe.

It's Cranberry Christmas Pudding in the Instant Pot, your new favorite Christmas pudding recipe. 🙂

Happy noshing and a very merry Christmas to you!

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5 from 5 votes

Cranberry Christmas Pudding: EASY Christmas Pudding in the Instant Pot

A traditional-yet-modern take on the classic Christmas pudding – made simple and utterly delicious.

Prep Time30 minutes

Cook Time2 hours

Depressurizing Time1 hour

Total Time3 hours 30 minutes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Servings: 6

Author: Kresha Faber

Equipment

• Pressure cooker, such as an Instant Pot (this recipe was created using a 6-qt Instant Pot)
• Small stainless steel mold (even a mixing bowl can do)
• Parchment paper
• Twine
• Aluminum foil

Ingredients

Dry Mixture

• 1 300-340 gram bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
• ½ cup raisins or finely-chopped dried figs
• ½ cup dried currants
• ½ cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
• 2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger, optional, but oh so good!
• 1 ½ cups dry breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup unrefined cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

Wet Mixture

• ¼ cup unsulfured (fancy) molasses, NOT blackstrap
• ½ cup orange marmalade or 1/4 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ⅓ cup boiling water

Instructions

Prepare your mold and baking papers.

• Find a 6-cup heat-proof, stainless steel mold that will fit inside your Instant Pot and that you can tie a string around (and have it stay in place!) I was given a set of stainless steel mixing bowls when we got married many years ago, similar to these ones, and the smallest one, which is a 6-cup size, works PERFECTLY. It gives a perfect shape, too. 🙂
• Once you've chosen your mold, cut one circle of parchment paper and two circles of aluminum foil that will fit over the entire surface of the mold with 1-2 inches of overhang. Set aside.
• Generously butter the inside of the mold and set aside.

Prepare the dry mixture

• First, coarsely chop the cranberries. You may do this by hand or pulse them in a food processor. Place in a large mixing bowl.
• Add the remaining dry ingredients and stir well to combine.

Prepare the wet mixture

• Mix the molasses, marmalade, baking soda, and salt in a small mixing bowl.
• Pour the boiling water over and stir briefly.
• Scrape the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir well until the wet mixture has been completely incorporated. The mixture will be very thick and may be somewhat crumbly.

Cook the pudding

• Scoop the mixture into your prepared mold, lightly pressing down on the mixture every once in a while.
• Cover with the prepared parchment paper and the two layers of foil. Crimp tightly and then tie tightly with kitchen string.
• Pour 2 cups water into the Instant Pot, then set in the trivet and lower in the bowl.
  Alternatively, you can make a foil trivet and sling, if necessary. Roll one long piece of foil into a snake and coil into a trivet and place it on the bottom of your Instant Pot. Next, place one piece of foil in the Instant Pot so that each side runs up the side of the Instant Pot, which will allow you to grab the foil ends and lift up the pudding mold at the end of cooking time. A double sling can be helpful with heavy foods, such as this.
• Leave the vent OPEN, and set on "Saute," then press "Adjust" until the "Low" setting is applied. As soon as you see steam coming from the vent, steam the pudding for 15 minutes.
• When the pudding has steamed, close the vent, hit "Cancel" to turn off the saute setting, then choose "Manual" and cook on HIGH pressure for 1 hour 10 minutes.
  If you live at sea level, you might be able to get away with 1 hour, but you want to avoid ending up with a gooey middle and the extra time won't hurt the pudding at all. If you DO end up with a gooey middle, simple return the pudding to cooking at high pressure for an additional 15-20 minutes.
• When the cook time is finished, press "Cancel" to turn off the heat and let the pot de-pressurize naturally for 30-60 minutes.

Serve the Christmas pudding

• To serve, remove the mold from the Instant Pot, remove the covers, and set on a cooling rack to cool for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a serving platter and cut into wedges or spoon onto plates. Spoon the sauce over.
• Place in the refrigerator for up to five days or place in an airtight container and freeze in the deep freeze for up to a year. Reheat before serving by thawing completely and cooking in the Instant Pot following the same instructions and cook times as above.
  

Notes

These directions were made using a 6-quart Instant Pot. For smaller or larger pressure cookers, cook times may vary.

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5 from 5 votes

Rum Butter Sauce

This tastes like pure caramel with the perfect amount of rum.

Cook Time15 minutes

Total Time15 minutes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Servings: 1.25 cups

Author: Kresha Faber

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup heavy cream, 35%-ish
• 2 tablespoons – 1/2 cup dark rum, (Frangelico or Amaretto can be used as alternatives, if desired)

Instructions

• Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.
• Add the brown sugar and continue to cook until bubbly and slightly thickened, 3-4 minutes.
• Pour in cream and rum and continue to cook until the mixture is thick and syrupy, 7-10 minutes.
• Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator up to one week. To reheat, place glass jar in a water bath and simply whisk if the mixture separates.

Notes

The rum in this recipe can be added to taste or omitted completely. The 2 tablespoon measure will provide just a hint of rum, while adding a full 1/2 cup will provide a gorgeously boozy sauce that still isn't overwhelming, since the flavor mellows slightly while a portion of the alcohol evaporates.

Similarly, the rum can be omitted completely for an alcohol-free Caramel Toffee sauce.