Steamed golden syrup pudding (no-fruit Christmas pudding recipe)

This Steamed Golden Syrup Pudding is easy to make & deliciously comforting. It's perfect served with custard, cream or ice cream.

It's also our favourite non-chocolate alternative to traditional Christmas pudding. If you want a Christmas pud without the dried fruit or raisins then this gives you all the warm, special-occasion goodness minus the fruit.

If chocolate is more your thing then you might like to try our Self-Saucing Chocolate Pudding or individual Gluten-Free Chocolate Lava Puddings.

I LOVE Christmas. As soon as December rolls around (not September like some of the shops!), I'm ready for the Christmas music, decorating and all the festive food.

Traditional Christmas pudding though? Nope. I have never been a fan of dried fruit.

That's where this golden syrup pudding comes in. It's simple, family-friendly and special enough to serve as Christmas dessert (although you don't need to save it for December).

Why You'll Love This Golden Syrup Pudding

1. Fruit-free - If you're not a fan of rodent poo (sorry I mean raisins) in your Christmas pudding then this is the recipe for you.
2. Flavour - It's got all the warmth and comforting flavours of Christmas.
3. Family-friendly - There wouldn't be too many kids around who would say no to a portion of this with some vanilla ice-cream or cream.
4. Simple & make-ahead friendly - While the steaming might seem daunting, it's really not difficult and the recipe itself is quick and easy. You can also make it a day ahead and reheat.

Recipe Ingredients

To make this fruit-free Christmas pudding you will need just a few basic ingredients: 

• Sugar - we used caster sugar but raw would also work. I am yet to try it with rapadura or brown sugar. 
• Eggs - preferably free-range eggs. 
• Butter - pure butter that comes wrapped in foil/paper
• Plain flour - also called all purpose flour (not self-rising flour)
• Milk - full fat or whole milk
• Vanilla extract - we use homemade vanilla in our baking
• Golden syrup 

How To Make Steamed Golden Syrup Pudding

Golden syrup steamed puddings are really simple to make. They're best served freshly steamed, but you can also make this pudding a day ahead and reheat it using the instructions below.

Step 1 - Measure out all the ingredients.

Step 2 - Start by beating the eggs and the sugar together until it is thick and creamy using an electric mixer. 

Step 3 - Add the butter and the milk and beat them into the sugary eggs.

Step 4 - Fold the dry ingredients and the vanilla into the sponge mixture using a spatula.

Step 5 - Grease the pudding bowl generously with butter or oil and then top in the golden syrup.

Step 6 - Pour the batter into the tin and spread it out so the top is flat. Secure the lid on top of the basin.

Step 7 - Use a large saucepan - you will need one tall enough to place the pudding tin in so you can still put the lid on the pot. The original recipe said to place an upturned saucer or a small trivet on the bottom.

I would recommend using a trivet instead of the saucer – it clattered away for the whole hour and a half and was very annoying. Cover the saucer with water and then bring the water to the boil.

Step 8 - Put the pudding in the pot, put the lid on and reduce the heat to low heat then leave it to steam away for 1 ½ hours.

Be sure to check it every once in a while to make sure the water level doesn’t drop too much. You want it to always come up the sides of the basin.

Step 9 - Remove the pudding from the basin. The tricky part is getting the lid off the steamer tin while it’s still warm. I recommend using oven mitts.

Step 10 - Once you’ve done that, place your serving plate over the top and flip it all over to invert the pudding onto the plate.

Keep your fingers crossed that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pudding basin.

It's not the prettiest looking pudding but it sure is tasty.

Serve the pudding warm with ice-cream or cream.

You will find more Delicious Simple Christmas Desserts here.