The ‘best-ever’ Christmas dish you should start making now

It’s never too early to think about Christmas.

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While the biggest day of the year is still a few months away, we’re already thinking about what we’re making for our Christmas spread. (Will it be a succulent roast turkey or a glazed ham this year? Probably both.)

That may seem a bit OTT for some of you, but if there’s one Christmas classic you should already be thinking about preparation for, it’s the humble Christmas pudding (and/or fruit cakes!) 

When to start making your Christmas pudding

“When it comes to having a Christmas pudding/cake that packs a punch, it’s important to start preparing the dried fruit months before you need it,” explains taste.com.au’s Food Director, Michelle Southan. 

Michelle simply puts dried fruit in an air-tight container along with some rum, brandy or even a tad bit of Frangelico (if she has some leftover from making affogatos). She stores this container in the fridge and, over time, she gives it a top-up with more fruit (whenever she has some) and more alcohol to keep the fruit moist. 

Michelle says: “You will see over months of adding fruit and the occasional drink of alcohol, the fruit becomes plump and juicy. The boozy liquid becomes like a thick syrup. THIS is the secret to the best-ever Christmas pud.”

When it’s time to make your cakes or puds, you simply measure out the amount of fruit the recipe needs and there is no need to add any extra booze.  

This fruit can be used for puddings and fruit cake of course, but also truffles, rum balls, and fruit mince pies. The Christmas opportunities are endless when you’ve got boozy dried fruit on hand.

Plus, this is a great solution for avoiding leftover dried fruit from crystalising in its original packaging. 

The best Christmas pudding and fruit cake recipes to make ahead

Traditional plum pudding

‘Oh, bring us a figgy pudding, Oh, bring us a figgy pudding’ – except it’s Michelle’s go-to plum pudding recipe. Michelle uses raisins, sultanas and currants macerated in rum to make this moist, flavoursome steamed pud. Plus, if you’re reading this in December, no worries – you only have to soak the fruit for a minimum of 6 hours. 

Michelle’s traditional plum pudding recipe

Traditional fruit cake

To make this classic Chrissy cake, Michelle soaks sultanas, raisins, currants and cherries in brandy for a minimum of 6 hours (but as we know now, longer is better). After baking, the cake is soaked with extra brandy for an extra hit of pizzaz – because it’s Christmas after all. 

Michelle’s traditional fruit cake recipe

More classic Christmas recipes: 

• Trifle
• The best roast potatoes
• Gingerbread men

Originally published as The ‘best-ever’ Christmas dish you should start making now