Sago Plum Pudding | A Lovely, Light Christmas Pudding

This Sago Plum Pudding is one of my favourite Christmas puddings. It has a beautifully light, moist, almost melt-in-your-mouth texture, so even after a big Christmas dinner, you can still manage a lovely slice.

It’s an old fashioned steamed pudding that’s cooked gently on the stovetop, with no added flour and no need to make it weeks in advance to mature. And if you can’t find sago, small tapioca pearls work beautifully too.

I love serving it with my homemade custard sauce, warm or cold. You can make the pudding ahead and keep it in its basin in the fridge, then gently reheat it when you’re ready to serve.

Sago or Tapioca?

Sago can be difficult to find these days, so I often make this pudding with small tapioca pearls instead. Although sago and tapioca come from different plants, tapioca works beautifully in this recipe and gives the pudding that lovely soft texture.

Make It Ahead for Christmas

There’s no need to make this pudding weeks ahead and leave it to mature, but you can certainly prepare it in advance. Once cooled, turn it out of the basin and store it covered in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, simply slice and gently reheat individual portions in the microwave.

A Note About the Pudding Basin
I use a 2-litre pudding basin for this recipe. If you don’t have one, I’ve found a similar 2 litre stainless steel pudding basin with foldable clasps on Amazon.

Sago Plum Pudding

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 3 hours hours

Resting Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 12 servings

This old-fashioned Sago Plum Pudding is beautifully light and moist, with raisins, warm spices and a lovely soft texture. Steamed gently on the stovetop, there’s no added flour and no need to make it weeks ahead. If you can’t find sago, tapioca pearls work beautifully too. Serve it warm or cold with homemade custard for a wonderful Christmas pudding.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

 

Sago Plum Pudding

• 2 cups whole milk, warm, (500 ml)
• 2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs, approximately 120 g (see notes)
• 4 tablespoons sago or tapioca pearls, 55 g
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened, 80 g
• 1 cup caster sugar, 200 g
• 2 cups raisins or other dried fruit, approximately 300 g
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 2 teaspoons cold water
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• butter for greasing

Homemade Custard Sauce

• 600 ml whole milk
• 4 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

 

Prepare the Pudding Mixture

• Combine the fresh breadcrumbs, sago or tapioca pearls and softened butter in a large bowl. Pour over the warm milk and stir well. Set aside for 30 minutes, allowing the breadcrumbs to absorb the milk, the tapioca to begin softening and the butter to melt.
• Grease a 2 litre pudding basin and the inside of the lid well with butter.
• After 30 minutes, stir the caster sugar, raisins, nutmeg and cinnamon into the breadcrumb mixture. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the cold water and stir it through. Add the lightly beaten eggs and mix lightly but thoroughly.

Fill and Steam the Pudding

• Pour the mixture into the prepared pudding basin, leaving at least 2.5 cm (1 inch) between the mixture and the top. Secure the lid.
• Place a small, folded tea towel in the base of a large pot and sit the pudding basin on top. Carefully pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the basin. Bring the water to a gentle, steady boil, then cover the pot with the lid. Once the lid is on, start your timer and steam the pudding for 3 hours.
• Check the water level approximately every hour, adding more boiling water as necessary to keep it about halfway up the sides of the basin.

Make the Custard

• Towards the end of the pudding’s cooking time, heat the milk in a saucepan until just below boiling point.
• Whisk the eggs and caster sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Whisking continuously, gradually pour in the hot milk, adding just a little at first.
• Place the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir continuously until the custard begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon. Do not allow the custard to boil. This can take anywhere from 7 to 15 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Taste the custard and, if you prefer it sweeter, whisk in a little extra caster sugar while the custard is still hot, until dissolved. Strain into a clean bowl and cover the surface directly with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming.

Rest and Turn Out the Pudding

• After 3 hours, remove the lid from the pot and leave the pudding basin standing in the hot water for 30 minutes.
• Carefully lift the basin from the water and leave it to rest for another 30 minutes before removing the lid and turning the pudding out onto a serving plate.
• The pudding will still be quite delicate at this stage, but it is ready to eat. For easier slicing, leave it to stand for another 20–30 minutes.
• Serve warm or cold with the homemade custard, whipped cream, ice cream or your favourite Christmas pudding sauce.

Video

Notes

Sago or tapioca: If you can’t find sago, small tapioca pearls work beautifully in this pudding.

Eggs: Use large eggs rather than extra large. As this is a soft, moist pudding, extra large eggs may make the mixture a little too wet.

Storage & reheating: Turn the pudding out of its basin and store it covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Serve it cold or gently reheat individual slices in the microwave. The pudding can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving or reheating.

Spices: Feel free to adjust the spices to suit your taste. A little extra cinnamon, nutmeg or your favourite Christmas spices can be added.

Gluten free: I make mine with gluten free white bread. Simply use gluten free fresh breadcrumbs in place of regular breadcrumbs.

Dried fruit: I love this pudding made with raisins, but you can substitute sultanas, currants or your favourite mixed dried fruit.

Fresh breadcrumbs: I make fresh breadcrumbs by blitzing slices of white bread in a blender or food processor until they form coarse crumbs. I usually make a larger batch and freeze the extra breadcrumbs so they’re ready for another recipe. The weight of fresh breadcrumbs can vary depending on the type of bread you use, so for this recipe I recommend measuring the breadcrumbs by volume rather than relying solely on the gram measurement.

Custard sauce: I find custard made with custard powder can become lumpy as it sits, whereas this egg custard sauce stays beautifully smooth, even when cold, without tasting eggy. If you prefer, replace the vanilla with 1–2 tablespoons of brandy for a brandy custard. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.