How to Cook Christmas Pudding in an Aga Cooker

Aga cookers are great for their versatility and are known to be a cut above the rest when it comes to cooking a range of your all time favourite meals throughout the year. An Aga cooker brings that comfort of home cooking to a new level at Christmas time, especially when it comes to cooking your Christmas pudding. In this article, we go into detail with how you can cook your Christmas pudding in an Aga cooker, and how to get the best results by doing so. We’ll also look at how an Aga cooker can be useful with other festive foods.

So, how do I cook Christmas pudding in an Aga cooker? To do so, put the basin in a pan, then pour water halfway up the side of the basin. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes on the simmering plate, then transfer it to the back of the simmering oven for 2 hours. To finish, turn out and serve with your preference of either brandy butter or sauce.

Read on to learn in more detail how to cook your Christmas pudding in an Aga cooker.

HOW DO YOU COOK CHRISTMAS PUDDING IN AN AGA COOKER?

So, you are wondering how you cook your Christmas pudding in an Aga cooker and we totally understand why. We believe that this is the best way to truly appreciate a great Christmas pudding on Christmas day.

Make sure to have all the correct ingredients ready for your Christmas pudding. This serves 10 – 12 people, so be sure to change the ingredient measurements where necessary:

Christmas Pudding Ingredients

• 175g of raisins
• 75g of currants
• 75g of sultanas
• 50g of candied peel, chopped
• 50g of blanched almonds, chopped
• 75g of self-raising flour
• 2 large eggs
• 100g of fresh white breadcrumbs
• 100g of shredded suet
• 125ml Guinness (¼ pint)
• 1 cooking apple, peeled, cored and diced
• grated rind and juice of 1 orange
• grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons black treacle
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground mixed spice

How to Cook a Christmas Pudding in an Aga Cooker

1. Firstly, you are going to grease a 1 litre pudding basin. Then place all the pudding ingredients in a large bowl and take your time to mix together very thoroughly.
2. Pour the well-combined pudding mixture into the greased basin. Then you are going to cover with a greased greaseproof paper foil lid and carefully lift into a pan.
3. Once you have completed these steps, pour water halfway up the side of the basin, then cover and bring to the boil.
4. Once boiling, you are going to simmer on the simmering plate for 30 minutes exactly.
5. Once the 30 minutes have passed, transfer the pan with the water and the pudding to the oven for 12 hours, or overnight.
6. The next day (which we recommend would be Christmas day for best results) remove from the pan to cool, then cover with fresh foil to store.
7. On Christmas Day: stand in a pan and pour water halfway up the side of the basin.
8. Bring to the boil and once boiling, cover and let it simmer for 30 minutes on the simmering plate, then transfer to the back of the simmering oven for 2 hours exactly.
9. Carefully turn out and serve with a brandy butter or sauce, totally your preference.

It’s a relatively simple process to cook your Christmas pudding in an Aga cooker but we understand this is a whole new world of cooking. You can learn more about how Aga cookers work to help you with your other festive cooking, in our blog How Does an Aga Cooker Work?.

WHAT OTHER FESTIVE TREATS CAN I COOK IN AN AGA COOKER?

We’re guessing if you’re cooking Christmas pudding in an Aga cooker, it may be useful to know how to cook another festive Christmas treat which is adored by so many. With the versatility of the Aga cooker, baking festive treats are a must through the festive season. Below we have an example of how you can bake classic gingerbread.

Gingerbread Ingredients

• 225g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2-3 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon or mixed spice
• 50g unsalted butter
• 100g soft brown sugar
• 100g golden syrup
• (For preference) Ready-made writing icing and cake decorations or sweets to decorate

Gingerbread Method

1. Line the Aga cooker baking trays first, then sieve flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon together into a large bowl.
2. Then heat the butter, sugar and syrup in a heavy based saucepan on the simmering plate or induction hob on your Aga cooker, on low, until it is dissolved.
3. Make sure to leave the mixture to cool slightly, then mix into the dry ingredients to form a dough and gently knead into a ball.
4. You need to then wrap the dough in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes exactly.
5. Once the time has passed, lightly dust the work surface with flour so you can roll out the dough to a 3-4 mm thickness. This is to cut out the gingerbread men shapes with a cutter.
6. Place the gingerbread on the lined trays once all the dough is used, allowing space for them to spread.
7. Bake on the grid shelf on the floor of the Aga cooker baking oven for 10-15 minutes until they start to colour and then leave to cool.

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO WITH AN AGA COOKER AT CHRISTMAS?

The Aga cooker excels itself at Christmas. The versatility means that it can cook a wide range of foods exceptionally well, making it the perfect little helper for cooking Christmas dinner and other festive treats. From roasting your roast potatoes, carrots and parsnips, to festive baking, simmering sprouts and slow cooking your boxing day gammon. So as well as serving your Christmas pudding, the Aga cooker can help you make other perfect festive dishes.

Here’s a tip when it comes to using your aga cooker for Christmas day – we recommend you do not cook your turkey straight from the fridge. A massive chilled bird will take most of your Aga cooker heat to cook the turkey, before you’ve even started cooking your sprouts or carrots. By letting the turkey stand in a cool room to come up to room temperature slowly, you are minimising this long cooking process in your Aga cooker.

For a great in-depth process on how to cook your Christmas turkey, read our blog “How Do You Cook a Christmas Turkey in an Aga Cooker?”

RECONDITIONED AGA COOKERS AT RANGE EXCHANGE

If you are wanting to say goodbye to your standard oven and welcome the Aga cooker into your life, then look no further. Range Exchange is the home of showroom-quality reconditioned Aga cookers. We offer a wide range of models that are all more than capable of cooking the perfect Christmas pudding in an Aga and all the other festive dishes. Take a look at our traditional oil or gas models, or New Gen models like eControl and Total Control.

Take a look at our range online today, or get in touch with us for more information.