Bring Us a Figgy Pudding: The Old English Christmas Dessert Behind the Carol
What the heck is figgy pudding, anyway, and is it really worth getting all pushy about? We explain.
“Bring us a figgy pudding, bring us a figgy pudding, bring us a figgy pudding, and a cup of good cheer.” Most people who sing it have never seen one. Figgy pudding is the medieval English Christmas dessert that the carol is asking for. The recipe goes back at least 500 years, and a properly made one, steamed, dense, fruit-packed, set on fire at the table, is one of the most theatrical desserts in any cuisine.
Quick Reference
- What it is: a steamed pudding (more cake-like than American pudding) made with dried figs, breadcrumbs, suet, brandy, and spices.
- Origin: medieval England. Recipes appear in cookbooks from the 1500s.
- Famous from: “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” The carol’s “bring us a figgy pudding” line dates to 16th-century England.
- Modern descendant: Christmas pudding, the version most modern British households still serve.
- Traditional flame: served warm with warmed brandy poured over and lit on fire at the table.
- Best eaten: Christmas Day, after the main meal, with brandy butter or hard sauce.
The Proof is in the Pudding?
The phrase “the proof is in the pudding” comes from this dish. Medieval and Renaissance puddings were a mixed-ingredient steamed concoction that could go badly wrong; the proof of the cook’s skill was in the actual eating. The dish itself predates the phrase by centuries. Recipes for fig-based steamed puddings appear in English cookbooks from the 1500s, well before “pudding” came to mean anything dessert-shaped or custard-textured.
The History of Figgy Pudding
Figgy puddings were originally a winter dish made with whatever dried fruit was available, plus suet (rendered beef fat), breadcrumbs, eggs, spices, and brandy or sherry. The pudding was packed into a cloth (the “pudding cloth”), tied, and steamed for hours over a pot of boiling water. The result was dense, fruit-heavy, and shelf-stable: a single pudding could be aged for weeks and held its shape long enough to ship across the country.
The figs came from southern Europe and were a luxury ingredient. By the 1600s, mixed dried fruit (currants, raisins, prunes, candied citron) joined the figs in most recipes. By the Victorian era, the dish had evolved into what is now known as Christmas pudding, the version Dickens describes in A Christmas Carol.
Figgy Pudding
A traditional recipe. Makes one 1.5-quart pudding.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups dried figs, chopped
- 1 cup dried currants or raisins
- 1 cup brandy or sherry (plus more for flaming)
- 1½ cups fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup suet (or unsalted butter, frozen and grated)
- 2 teaspoons mixed spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 eggs, beaten
- ¼ cup molasses
- Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Instructions:
- Soak figs and currants in 1 cup of brandy overnight.
- In a large bowl, combine breadcrumbs, flour, brown sugar, suet, mixed spice, salt, and baking powder. Stir well.
- Add soaked fruit and any leftover brandy.
- Stir in eggs, molasses, orange zest, lemon zest, and orange juice. Mix thoroughly.
- Butter a 1.5-quart pudding basin (or a heatproof bowl). Spoon the batter in, smoothing the top.
- Cover with a circle of buttered parchment paper, then a layer of foil pleated in the middle (for steam expansion). Tie with kitchen string under the rim.
- Place a trivet in a large pot. Set the basin on the trivet. Pour boiling water around the basin to come halfway up.
- Cover the pot and steam over low heat for 4 hours. Check the water level every 30 minutes and top up as needed.
- Cool the pudding in the basin. Re-cover with fresh foil and store in a cool, dark spot for at least 1 week (up to 3 months) to mature.
- To serve: steam again for 1 hour to reheat. Turn out onto a serving plate. Warm 2 tablespoons of brandy in a small pot, pour over the pudding, light with a long match, and bring to the table flaming.
- Serve with brandy butter or hard sauce.
Brandy Butter to Serve
Cream 1 stick of softened butter with 1 cup of powdered sugar. Beat in 3 tablespoons of brandy and a pinch of nutmeg. Refrigerate. The butter melts gently over the warm pudding and is the traditional accompaniment.
Why Modern Figgy Pudding Is Hard to Find
Few American kitchens stock suet. Few have a pudding basin or the patience to steam for four hours. Christmas pudding (the descendant) is more common in the UK, while American Christmas tables have largely moved on to fruitcake, gingerbread, or chocolate yule log. The figgy version survives mostly in carol lyrics and in the occasional brave home cook’s December project. The result is worth the effort: dense, spice-laden, brandy-perfumed, deeply Christmas.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is figgy pudding?
A steamed dessert pudding from medieval England, made with dried figs, breadcrumbs, suet, brandy, and spices. The modern Christmas pudding is its direct descendant.
Why is it called ‘pudding’ if it’s a cake?
Medieval and Renaissance “pudding” referred to any mixed-ingredient dish steamed in a cloth or skin. The word covered both sweet and savory dishes. The custard-and-dessert meaning of “pudding” is American and developed centuries later.
Can I make figgy pudding without suet?
Yes. Substitute frozen unsalted butter, grated on the large holes of a box grater, for the suet. The texture is slightly less rich but very close.
Why do you make figgy pudding weeks ahead?
The flavor improves dramatically over time. The brandy mellows, the fruit fully hydrates, and the spices distribute. A pudding made on Stir-Up Sunday (the Sunday before Advent) is the British tradition, ready for Christmas Day.
How do you flame a pudding?
Warm 2 tablespoons of brandy gently in a small pot until it just shimmers (do not boil off the alcohol). Pour over the warm pudding at the table. Touch with a long match. The brandy lights with a blue flame and burns out in 30 seconds. Spectacular and harmless.
Jaime McLeod
Jaime McLeod is a longtime journalist who has written for a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including MTV.com. She enjoys the outdoors, growing and eating organic food, and is interested in all aspects of natural wellness.
- Jaime McLeod
- Jaime McLeod
- Jaime McLeod
- Jaime McLeod
Jody, are you willing to share your fig pudding and hard sauce recipe?
My Mom sleays had Figgy Pudding at Christmas….I have her recipe, and yes, it calls for suet. Delicious………I have the recipe for the Hard Sauce slso.
I’m going to try this figgy pudding. I have heard this song all my life but never knew there was an actual recipe. Thanks y’all
My moms best friend would collect ther fruits from her bushes -red and black currents, goosebrries rasberries and straw berries dry them and make her christmas pudding with those and of course black walnuts gathered from the tree out back of the house. everyone had to have one. best I ever tasted only molasses no sugar added
My mom used to make ‘plum pudding’ for my father’s birthday which was at Christmas. She made it with dried fruits and brought it to the table with liquor poured over it and flaming. A liquor-laced ‘hard sauce’ was served with it.
Looks like the suet pudding with brandy sauce that my late Mother used to make
it was so good but it didnt last long
I have made a Christmas pudding with suet, and it was too rich for me. The in-laws took it home with them. My old Joy of Cooking said that the small particles of suet melted slowly and made the flour around them puff up, IIRC without going to look. Bear in mind that you can buy Atora suet products online, some of which are vegetable.
I love all the tidbit facts that I find with you!!!!!
My grandmother always made this,served it with a white hard sauce. Her recipe made huge amounts.
Thank you!
I may get my spouse to try this. I didn’t know what figgy pudding was either!
The ingredients look good.