Figgy Pudding

Submitted by Chef James Thomas

"I have always wondered what they were talking about in that Christmas carol. Well here it is; a recipe for Figgy Pudding. I always pictured a traditional pudding like we know it, but the English mean something different. It's actually more bread or cake-like. The taste may be a little strange to some, but to me it smells and tastes like Christmas. The figgy pudding should always be served warm. If you can't serve it fresh out of the oven, it will taste just fine to warm it in the microwave for a few seconds."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Yields: 1 Cake
• Serves: 15

ingredients

• 16 ounces dried figs
• 1 3⁄4 cups milk
• 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1⁄2 cup melted butter
• 1 1⁄2 cups breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a a medium saucepan, heat milk and chopped figs over medium-low heat but do NOT bring to a boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally. The the milk will soften the figs.
3. In a medium bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
4. In a large bowl, beat eggs one minute on high. Reduce speed to low and add butter, bread crumbs, orange peel, and warm fig mixture.
5. Slowly incorporate flour mixture. Beat until just blended.
6. Pour the mix into the greased bundt pan. Level top as much as possible. Cover the mold with a piece of aluminum foil greased on one side, greased side down.
7. Place the mold in a roasting pan and place on oven rack. fIll with hot tap water 2 inches up the side of the mold. Bake for 2 hours or until the pudding is firm and it is pulling away from the side of the bundt pan.
8. Remove the pudding from the water bath. Remove the foil and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before unmolding. Invert bundt pan onto a serving plate and remove mold. It should come away easily.
9. Serve with a hard sauce.

Reviews

[Elaine C.]

Absolutely delicious! Having never made - or know what it was - a figgy pudding, yesterday was spent making this amazing post-Xmas dessert. I work as Activities Programmer in a long-term care facility and during the Xmas season the age old question of "what does 'Bring us a figgy pudding' mean?" kept popping up. One quick search and this recipe was found! The residents (and staff) watched all morning as I prepared, then back they came after lunch to enjoy our Figgy Pudding with a dollop of Orange Hard Sauce. So warm and sweet, with a nice bit of crunch (fig seeds) and a hint of orange (peel). The orange hard sauce was the perfect topping. Everyone gave their own personal review, with "two-thumbs up" repeated by all ... plus requests to be on next year's Xmas menu! Thanx again Chef James Thomas and Food.com!!!

 

[David L.]

First time out the gate made a brilliant figgy pudding using this recipe. I didn't have 16 0z of dried figs, so I made up the balance with some stoned and chopped dates and cranberry raisins. I made one mistake otherwise and I let the milk get too hot and it curdled. Made no difference in the long run. A lovely pudding, I'll eat it tomorrow warmed up with Creme Anglais, otherwise known as Birds Custard.

 

[Cindy B.]

This recipe is amazing, I had every intention of using it but accidentally printed out another one and it contained buttermilk which curdled even on very low heat was also very dry. THIS recipe I had used a few Christmas's ago and was excellent. Bookmarking it to be sure to use it in the future as the cake was denser and more moist---my family definitely liked this recipe the best

 

[Leaceae]

I was inspired to make this after watching A Christmas Carol. I've always wondered what it was, and I had all the ingredients on hand - including a stoneware pudding mold that I've never known what to do with. It was also our first year to have a Christmas goose for the main course, so what could be better as a sweet finish to the evening? What a great decision it turned out to be! This pudding was moist and flavorful, and the texture was perfect. I ended up using panko instead of regular breadcrumbs, and tangerine zest instead of orange. This will be a new Christmas staple in our home. Thank you, Chef James Thomas!

 

[MonsterMaha]

I didn't care for this cake, mainly because the figs to me tasted too much like raisins and I don't like raisins, but I can't fault the recipe for my personal likes and dislikes. So my review is based on what others said about this cake. Everyone who ate it really liked it a lot. My 8-year old, the one who begged me since Christmas '09 to make it, thought it was perfect and has already put in a request that I make it each year. My husband LOVED it and devoured left overs. Others who had it complimented it a lot. I also made the hard sauce suggested in the first review. I liked steam cooking the cake, which followed the way it would have been baked before we had modern ovens. On behalf of everyone who ate this, thank you for a great recipe and keeping some history alive!