Dumb question about heating a Christmas pudding/cake

[velosam]

My mother would like to have Christmas cake/pudding.  The problem is that she has no microwave and mine is in storage.  Cake instructions say microwave for 3 minutes or steam for 2 hour, some are less.

My Google-fu suggests no oven alternatives. Does anyone know of an alternative?

No one to ask locally either!

[Tim Hall]

I've never heard of a heated Christmas cake. Do you mean a Christmas pudding?

[Mrs Pingu]

Assuming it's a pudding and not a cake, pressure cooker.

[velosam]

I've never heard of a heated Christmas cake. Do you mean a Christmas pudding?

Yes if you mean pudding as the stuff full of dried fruits and stuff soaked in rum

[velosam]

Assuming it's a pudding and not a cake, pressure cooker.

Good idea, do I simply some water in a pressure cooker, pudding on a plate till it has a whistle or two?

[Wowbagger]

THe pudding is vastly superior if you steam it. Microwaving it is OK if you eat it at one sitting, but it makes the pudding go like toffee if you later want to eat it cold.

[sparklyfish]

Assuming you mean pre-cooked Christmas pudding rather than cake, Team Nigella has some suggestions on using a bain marie in the oven: https://www.nigella.com/ask/heating-christmas-pudding

Looks a bit of a faff though! If it's a small pudding (the type in a little plastic bowl), do you have a tub with a lid large enough to put it in?? I'd try putting some just-off-the-boil kettle water in the bottom of a big tub, put in the pudding (with the foil lid up), put the tub lid on and leave for half an hour or so. Probably enough water to be half to three-quarters of the way up the little plastic bowl. Might not be warmed all the way through, but might be warm enough especially if served with hot custard.

[citoyen]

Yeah, by the time it comes up to pressure, it should be ready. Use a thermapen/meat thermometer to be sure, if you have such a thing.

You’re only reheating it, not cooking a raw pudding, right? So the aim is simply to make sure it’s hot all the way through.

You could do it in the oven but you risk drying it out.

Eta: crossposted with sparklyfish, but I agree with everything they say.

[Regulator]

Slice it.  Fry it in butter.  Eating with clotted cream and brandy butter.   

[Jaded]

I completely agree with Reg.

[Jurek]

I completely agree with Reg.

You sound like Clarion.

[Tim Hall]

Slice it.  Fry it in butter.  Eating with clotted cream and brandy butter.   

In the absence of brandy butter, try vodka margarine.

[rafletcher]

Slicing and frying is the traditional way with left-over pud, but no reason to not do it with a “fresh” one. Or you could slice it, put it in a shallow baking tray and cover with foil, and heat through in the oven using residual heat after the main dinner.

[Paul H]

How big a pudding takes 2 hours?  The individual supermarket ones I've tried take about 30 min and the size big enough for 3-4 take an hour.   Providing the base of the pan is big enough, there's nothing to stop you steaming more than one at a time.

[lissotriton]

Pour brandy on top, and set it alight.

[citoyen]

Pour brandy on top, and set it alight.

For best pyrotechnic results you need to warm the brandy and light it *before* pouring it over the pud.

[Wowbagger]

I've never had a problem tipping the brandy over a steaming pud. That vaporises enough of the alcohol to give a decent blue flame.

[citoyen]

Amateur.

[velosam]

Its true I am.

Usually just micro wave everything.

Let's see how it goes, thanks all

[citoyen]

Usually just micro wave everything.

I find microwaving works really well for Christmas pud. Steaming always seems too much faff. I've never experienced the left overs turning to toffee that Wow mentioned earlier. No idea why that would be - could be vagaries of technique or particular pudding recipe. Who knows? Always so many variables involved in this kind of thing.

[velosam]

Well it's sort of worked but still took 40 minutes.  Next time its the microwave lol.

Thanks all

[ian]

Slice it.  Fry it in butter.  Eating with clotted cream and brandy butter.   

In the absence of brandy butter, try vodka margarine.

Drambuie lard.