Do you like brandy? Does anyone actually like brandy? 

OK, we don’t want to offend anyone (particularly at this time of year – we’ll save the family arguments for Christmas Day!), and we’re sure there’s someone, somewhere, who likes brandy. 

But if you’ve headed here, we’re guessing you prefer the taste of freshly roasted speciality coffee. 

That’s why we’ve swapped the more traditional spirits for Kahlua and vodka and put together a simple yet delicious recipe for the perfect espresso martini Christmas pudding.

And, new for 2023, we’ve tinkered with the recipe to add a dash of chocolatey fun.

So, roll up your sleeves and get ready to wow the family.

Ingredients

For the pudding

50ml Kahlua 

50ml brewed Fruit & Nut Espresso 

25ml vodka 

¾ of a whole nutmeg 

450g dried fruit (we recommend raisins and currants)

2 eggs

75g butter or alternative spread (plus some for greasing)

100g brown sugar

110g self-raising flour 

50g fresh white breadcrumbs 

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tbsp cocoa powder

For the butter

300ml double cream 

75ml brewed Fruit & Nut Espresso

2 tbsp icing sugar

Method

Pudding

1. Add your dried fruit to a bowl and steep it in a mixture of the espresso, Kahlua and vodka for at least an hour. 
2. Add your butter and sugar to a separate bowl and mix together. Then, beat your eggs into this mixture.
3. Add your flour, cocoa powder, and mixed spice into this bowl, and fold them into this creamy mixture.
4. Pour in your espresso martini-covered fruit and stir well.
5. Grease a pudding bowl, pour in your mixture, close it with a lid, and wrap the basin in foil. Tie the foil with some string to keep it secure. 
6. Put your pudding, in its secure bowl, into a pan and steam it for six-to-eight hours. Make sure you keep the pan topped up with water. 
7. Remove your pudding from the pan and unwrap. Keep it in an airtight container in a fridge until you’re ready to serve it.

Coffee butter 

1. Mix your brewed espresso with the double cream. 
2. Stir in the sugar.