Hairy Bikers Christmas pudding vodka steeps dried fruit, cinnamon, cloves and orange zest in a bottle of vodka with just 75g of sugar. Then it needs 3 days in the fridge to make about 500ml, or 20 shots at 65 calories each, from their recipe on BBC Food.
Their BBC recipe page says to “keep this delicious aperitif in the freezer”, so it is meant to be poured ice-cold. And it is far less sweet than most, since the version on Jamie Oliver’s site puts 450g of sugar into a litre.
Use a double layer of fine muslin, since the ground mixed spice and grated nutmeg are fine enough to slip through a plain sieve. Then let it drip through in its own time, as the method asks, rather than pressing the soaked fruit.
Hairy Bikers Christmas Pudding Vodka
Description
A few minutes of zesting and grating at the start, then the fridge does the work while you give it one stir a day. Then it is strained into a sterilised bottle, ready for the festive season.
Ingredients
For the vodka
Instructions
- Mix the fruit and spices: Put the dried fruit, sugar, cinnamon sticks, mixed spice, cloves, grated nutmeg and both zests in a large bowl, then mix well.
- Add the vodka: Pour the vodka over the fruit and spices, then cover the bowl tightly with cling film.
- Steep for 3 days: Put the bowl in the fridge and leave it for 3 days, while giving it a stir once each day.
- Strain: Line a sieve with a double layer of fine muslin and set it over a large, clean jug. Then pour in the fruit and vodka and let it drip through.
- Bottle it: Once it has all dripped through, pour the vodka into a sterilised bottle and seal it.
- Keep it cold: Then keep it in the freezer, as the BBC page suggests, and serve it ice-cold.
FAQs
How long does it need to steep?
The BBC listing says overnight, but the method itself asks for 3 days, so start it well before you need it. And Google’s recipe box repeats that short figure as 12 hours, so go by the method.
The recipe comes from their Christmas Party special, shown on BBC Two in December 2011. And it isn’t in any of the 16 books of theirs I own, which is why the BBC page is the only source.
Why do I only get 500ml, and what about the leftover fruit?
The BBC page promises about 500ml from a 750ml bottle, so a shortfall is expected. And the likely reason is the 300g of dried fruit soaking up vodka, plus what the muslin holds back.
They don’t say what to do with the boozy fruit left behind, though BBC Good Food’s version suggests fruit cake, pudding or mincemeat. And if mincemeat is the plan, their mince pies in Perfect Pies simmer dried fruit in 125ml brandy for a same-day filling.
Is it the same as the BBC Good Food or Jamie Oliver version?
No, because the BBC Good Food one is by Miriam Nice, with prunes, cherries, vanilla, brandy and amaretto in a litre of vodka. And it sits in a cool, dark place for 2 to 3 weeks, while theirs is ready from the fridge in 3 days.
Jamie Oliver’s website has one by Cara Hobday that warms its spices in a dry pan first and adds blade mace. Then it chills for 3 to 4 days, so it lands closer to theirs on time.
How do I sterilise the bottle, and how long does it keep?
The BBC method only says a sterilised bottle, but they spell out their way in Chicken & Egg for their pickled eggs. And they run the jar through the hottest dishwasher cycle, or wash it in plenty of hot, soapy water and rinse it well. Then it dries in a low oven at 140°C, 120°C fan, Gas 1.
Their only storage note is to keep it in the freezer, and they give no shelf life. So I won’t invent one for them.
Can I flambé the Christmas pudding with it?
In British Classics they say their Christmas pudding can be flambéed with “brandy, rum or even vodka”, heating 100ml in a small pan first. So the 100ml could just as well be this spiced vodka, though that is my suggestion rather than theirs. And they pour it at the table, making sure everyone is well clear of the flames.
And for vodka in a cold pudding, their vodka strawberry cheesecake soaks the strawberries in plain vodka, then uses the pink juice as the glaze.