Iced Christmas Pudding with Glace Fruits Recipe Inspired by Delia Smith
I have always trusted Delia Smith with Christmas cooking, and after making her Iced Christmas Pudding with Glace Fruits I understood why this one has stayed in people's festive repertoires. It has the proud basin shape of a traditional pudding, yet it arrives at the table cold, creamy and far lighter in spirit after a generous meal. The base is lush with double cream, egg yolks and creamed coconut, while Greek yoghurt gives it a clean tang. Dark rum runs through the custard and the little pieces of orange, lemon and citron peel, raisins and cherries, so each slice is smooth and fragrant with bright, chewy pockets of fruit. The make-ahead rhythm is the secret to getting it right: soak the fruit overnight, chill the custard fully, then freeze the filled basin only until it reaches a soft-scoop consistency. A very thorough stir at that point breaks up early ice crystals and redistributes the fruit before the final overnight freeze. I loved being able to finish the work before guests arrived. The pudding is designed to be turned out and sliced promptly; if a particularly cold freezer makes it too firm, a short rest is enough. Return any remainder to the freezer immediately rather than leaving this soft ice cream on the table.
Foodmitrecipe
Per 1 slice (1/8 of pudding)
Nutrition for Iced Christmas Pudding with Glace Fruits
- Saturated fat
- 22 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugars
- 25 g
- Sodium
- 40 mg
Estimated values. Nutrition values are approximate. More precise calculations will be added in a future update.
How to make Iced Christmas Pudding with Glace Fruits
Rum-Soaked Fruit
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Step 1
Soak the fruit overnight
Cut the candied peel into small chunks and quarter the cherries. Put them in a bowl with the raisins, pour over all 6 tablespoons of dark rum, and turn the fruit so every piece is coated. Cover and leave overnight; by the next day the fruit should look plump and glossy, with the rum gathered around it ready to go into the ice cream.
Coconut Ice Cream and Assembly
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Step 2
Start the custard
Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together in a bowl until they are evenly combined. Bring the double cream just to simmering point in a small saucepan, watching for the first gentle bubbles rather than letting it boil. Add the grated creamed coconut and stir until it has dissolved completely and the cream looks smooth.
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Step 3
Thicken with the hot cream
Pour the hot cream and coconut mixture onto the yolks and sugar in a steady stream, whisking continuously as you pour. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens to the consistency of a light, pourable egg custard; it should feel slightly fuller on the whisk but should not become stiff.
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Step 4
Cool and add the yoghurt
Let the custard cool slightly, then stir in the Greek yoghurt until no white streaks remain. Leave the mixture until it is completely cold before adding the fruit. This cooling stage matters because the fruit and its rum should go into a cold ice-cream base, not a warm custard.
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Step 5
Fill and partly freeze
Stir the marinated fruit and all of its remaining rum into the cold base, mixing until the pieces are spread throughout. Pour everything into a 1.5 litre (2½ pint) pudding basin, cover closely with clingfilm and freeze until almost set. This can take up to 7 hours; it is ready for the next stage when it has the consistency of soft-scoop ice cream rather than a solid block.
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Step 6
Stir and freeze overnight
Take the basin from the freezer at the soft-scoop stage and stir the mixture very thoroughly, reaching right through the centre and around the sides. Break up any early ice crystals and make sure the fruit is evenly distributed rather than settled in pockets. Cover again and return the pudding to the freezer overnight for its final set.
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Step 7
Turn out and serve
When you are ready to serve, dip the outside of the basin briefly in hot water, taking care that no water reaches the pudding. Run a palette knife around the edge, invert it onto a serving plate and lift away the basin. Cut into slices and serve at once. Put any leftover pudding straight back into the freezer, bringing it out again only for second helpings.
Freezers vary: if the pudding is too firm to cut cleanly, give it only a short rest at room temperature, then return every uneaten portion to the freezer immediately.
Iced Christmas Pudding with Glace Fruits, ready to serve
Serving ideas for Iced Christmas Pudding with Glace Fruits
Choose a presentation that fits the occasion, from relaxed sharing to individual plates.
Classic Christmas Table
Present the whole pudding on a chilled glass or plain ceramic platter so its moulded shape and the fruit visible through the pale ice cream remain the focus. Bring it to the table after Christmas dinner, then cut eight wedges and pass them straight away on cold dessert plates. Keep the basin or a covered freezer container ready nearby, because any portion not being eaten should go back into the freezer promptly.
Plated Festive Slices
For a quieter finish to a meal, slice the pudding in the kitchen and set one wedge slightly off-centre on each chilled white plate. The simple plating makes the amber peel, dark raisins and red cherry pieces easy to see, while a small dessert fork or spoon is all that is needed. Serve the plates immediately with hot, unsweetened coffee or tea alongside; either drink provides a pleasant contrast to the sweet rum and rich cream.
Holiday Party Centrepiece
Use a compact footed cake stand to give the pudding height on a holiday dessert table, but keep it in the freezer until guests are ready for it. Place the stand where you can slice to order rather than leaving the soft ice cream under warm room lights. This arrangement preserves the clean basin silhouette for its entrance, gives everyone a freshly cut wedge and makes it easy to move the remaining pudding back to the freezer between rounds.
Let’s cook Iced Christmas Pudding with Glace Fruits together
Check off your ingredients, follow each step, and start the timers when you are ready.
Get everything ready
Rum-Soaked Fruit
Coconut Ice Cream and Assembly
Step-by-step with timers
Rum-Soaked Fruit
Soak the fruit overnight
Cut the candied peel into small chunks and quarter the cherries. Put them in a bowl with the raisins, pour over all 6 tablespoons of dark rum, and turn the fruit so every piece is coated. Cover and leave overnight; by the next day the fruit should look plump and glossy, with the rum gathered around it ready to go into the ice cream.
Coconut Ice Cream and Assembly
Start the custard
Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together in a bowl until they are evenly combined. Bring the double cream just to simmering point in a small saucepan, watching for the first gentle bubbles rather than letting it boil. Add the grated creamed coconut and stir until it has dissolved completely and the cream looks smooth.
Thicken with the hot cream
Pour the hot cream and coconut mixture onto the yolks and sugar in a steady stream, whisking continuously as you pour. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens to the consistency of a light, pourable egg custard; it should feel slightly fuller on the whisk but should not become stiff.
Cool and add the yoghurt
Let the custard cool slightly, then stir in the Greek yoghurt until no white streaks remain. Leave the mixture until it is completely cold before adding the fruit. This cooling stage matters because the fruit and its rum should go into a cold ice-cream base, not a warm custard.
Fill and partly freeze
Stir the marinated fruit and all of its remaining rum into the cold base, mixing until the pieces are spread throughout. Pour everything into a 1.5 litre (2½ pint) pudding basin, cover closely with clingfilm and freeze until almost set. This can take up to 7 hours; it is ready for the next stage when it has the consistency of soft-scoop ice cream rather than a solid block.
Stir and freeze overnight
Take the basin from the freezer at the soft-scoop stage and stir the mixture very thoroughly, reaching right through the centre and around the sides. Break up any early ice crystals and make sure the fruit is evenly distributed rather than settled in pockets. Cover again and return the pudding to the freezer overnight for its final set.
Turn out and serve
When you are ready to serve, dip the outside of the basin briefly in hot water, taking care that no water reaches the pudding. Run a palette knife around the edge, invert it onto a serving plate and lift away the basin. Cut into slices and serve at once. Put any leftover pudding straight back into the freezer, bringing it out again only for second helpings.
The story behind Iced Christmas Pudding with Glace Fruits
Recipe notes by Emily
The Frozen Pudding That Won Me Over
I am a long-time admirer of Delia Smith's calm, dependable approach to Christmas food, so the idea of her frozen alternative to a traditional steamed pudding immediately appealed to me. After cooking it myself, I loved how familiar the basin shape looked while the first spoonful felt entirely different: cold and creamy, with rum-soaked fruit appearing in every slice. It is rich, certainly, but the yoghurt tang and citrus peel keep that richness from becoming dull.
The Custard Moment I Watched Closely
The part I paid most attention to was pouring the simmering cream and dissolved coconut onto the whisked yolks and sugar. Keeping the whisk moving gave me a smooth, lightly thickened custard rather than bits of egg, and I waited until it had cooled before stirring in the yoghurt. That patience made the mixture look cohesive and silky. I also scraped all the soaking rum in with the fruit, since that liquid carries so much of the dessert's character.
Why the Mid-Freeze Stir Matters
I was tempted to fill the basin and forget about it, but the return visit at the soft-scoop stage is the clever part of this recipe. A determined stir broke up the small ice crystals and brought fruit from the bottom back through the cream, so the finished slices had an even scatter instead of one dense layer. My freezer runs cold, so I checked the texture before serving and allowed only the brief rest it needed to cut cleanly, then returned the remainder straight to the freezer.