Stir-up Sunday Christmas pudding (and cake) recipes
The last Sunday before Advent means stirring up your sweet treats. Check out our recipes.
This Sunday (20th November) is Stir-up Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent and the traditional preparation date for Christmas puddings. It's also a good day to make your Christmas cake.
If you haven't got the time or inclination to make your own pudding, stay tuned for our taste test in which we'll be pitting shop-bought puds against each other to find the best.
Christmas puddings
If you haven't got a tried and tested (and probably much loved) recipe of your own, don't fret. We've got a couple of excellent recipes for you to try out.
Mary Berry's Christmas pudding
Who better to teach you how to make Christmas Pudding than the doyen of baking herself – Mary Berry?
Mary's Christmas pudding recipe calls for candied peel, almonds, and plenty of dried fruit, plus a cheeky splash of rum or brandy.
It keeps for up to three months, and you need to steam it to reheat it on the big day.
To top off the festive cheer, serve with a very generous dollop of brandy butter.
A less traditional Christmas pudding
If you'd rather try something a bit less traditional, Linda Collister's recipe involves dark chocolate and a glug of stout.
Despite the twists, there's still plenty of well-known Christmas flavours: figs, dried fruit and lovely mixed spices.
This keeps for up to a month, so it would be best timed if made just before the end of November.
Christmas cakes
As for Christmas cakes, we've got these three beauties. The simple cinnamon cake is probably best made closer to the 25th, although you could definitely get away with a 'practice' round now if you just want an excuse to eat more cake.
A classic Christmas cake recipe. Loads of fruit, butter and brown sugar for a rich flavour, topped off with almond paste that has been dosed with whiskey or brandy.
Everything about this cake just screams over-the-top Christmas indulgence, and we love it.
Add a layer of snow-white icing and it becomes even more irresistible!
Fig, port and star anise Christmas cake
This one is a bit more 'out there', but hear us out. There's loads of fruit, lots of port and plenty of nuts, so you're not missing out on any of the classic Christmas ingredients.
However, you also get the more exotic flavour of star anise, and the decoration on top of the cake is stunning.
An ideal pick if you're not too keen on icing.
Simple cinnamon Christmas cake
If rich cakes aren't your thing but you're determined to enjoy dessert this Christmas, Mat Follas may have the solution.
His cinnamon cake is a much lighter option that also takes much less time to prepare than the other two, and only 40 minutes to bake.
It's not wholly traditional, but it at least includes mixed spice, cinnamon and mace to give it a Christmassy flavour.
When will you be making yours? Let us know in the Comments below.
You might also like:
All of our Christmas recipes and features
Traditional Christmas dinner recipes
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