Can I Cook The Ultimate Christmas Pudding In An AGA?

Our answer

Nigella's Ultimate Christmas Pudding (from NIGELLA CHRISTMAS) is steamed initially for 8 hours and then again on Christmas Day for 3 hours. We believe that it is possible to cook the pudding using an AGA. You could cook the pudding in a steamer or saucepan on the simmering plate, but most bpoiling and simmering plates on an AGA lose heat if the plates are used with the cover open for an extended time, so this may not be practical.

To cook in an AGA oven you need a saucepan that the pudding basin will fit into, that has a tightly fitting lid and will fit into the simmering oven. Put a trivet in the bottom of the saucepan so that the bottom of the pudding basin is not in direct contact with the bottom of the saucepan. Put your sealed pudding basin on the trivet and pour in enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the pudding basin. Put the lid on the saucepan, put it on the boiling plate and bring the water to the boil, then slide the saucepan onto the simmering plate and simmer for 30 minutes. After this check the level of the water in the pan (topping up with water from a freshly-boiled kettle, if necessary) and transfer it to the bottom of the simmering oven. Cook for 12 hours, or you could leave it overnight. The simmering oven tends to be slightly gentler than having the saucepan simmering on a hob, so a longer cooking time is advisable. On Christmas Day put the pudding on the trivet in the saucepan, add hot water to come halfway up the side of the pudding basin, put on the lid and put the saucepan on the boiling plate. Bring to the boil then transfer the saucepan to the simmering oven for 3 hours, though it can stay in there a little longer if necessary. Please note that as we have not tried this method ourselves, we are unable to guarantee the results. Christmas puddings are traditionally cooked on Stir-Up Sunday, which this year is Sunday 20th November, 2022.