Christmas Pudding Ice Cream
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This festive ice cream is an excellent use for leftover Christmas Pudding. It’s made using the traditional churned custard method for the creamiest ice cream with soft velvety mouthfeel.
This is the first recipe I turn to after Christmas when I need to make use of my leftover Christmas pudding. It’s even worth buying a small shop bought Christmas pudding for an alternative dessert choice if a full Christmas Pudding feels a bit rich and heavy after your festive feast. Plus it’s ice cream so you can make ahead and stash it in the freezer for an easy pudding.
You may be tempted for a no-churn recipe but I guarantee using a traditionally churned custard base for Christmas pudding ice cream has a vastly superior mouthfeel. The texture is light, soft and creamy rather than the more chalky feel of the no-churn recipes. I’ve given instructions for any ice cream machine – whether you have a cheaper freeze-first machine or a more expensive self-freezing machine.
Why You’ll Love This Christmas Pudding Ice Cream
- Transforms your leftover Christmas Pudding into a light and creamy but still incredibly festive dessert.
- Alternative festive dessert if a traditional Christmas Pudding feels too heavy after a large Christmas lunch.
- Make-ahead dessert. When there’s so much cooking going on over the festive period then this easy freezer dessert is essential for no fuss festive eating or entertaining.
- This is a traditionally churned ice cream made using an egg custard base and uses an ice cream machine. Very easy to make if you have the right equipment (which we'll discuss below) with a much better flavour and texture than the quicker no-churn versions.
Watch the Video
Sometimes it helps to see a visual of what I'm talking about. So watch the video to see what it looks like to make your Christmas Pudding Ice Cream.
Ingredients Needed
Double cream. You can substitute for heavy cream. Using a combination of double cream and whole milk is the perfect balance. Don’t substitute for single cream. You could use just whipping cream instead of both the double cream and whole milk but I can’t always find it in the supermarkets. Double cream is much more reliable.
Whole milk. This is a dairy ice cream and I will post a separate recipe for a dairy-free ice cream at some point. But for this recipe I can’t recommend a plant-based substitute. And make sure to use whole milk, not semi-skimmed or skimmed – it will affect the finished texture of the ice cream.
Salt. You only need a small pinch and I used kosher salt (like I do for most of my baking recipes). It helps to keep the flavours all balanced.
Caster sugar. This is a fine white baking sugar available in the UK. If you want to use granulated sugar then I would just recommend giving it a quick whizz in the food processor to grind those sugar crystals a bit further. I don’t recommend reducing the amount or swapping for a non-refined sweetener as the caster sugar helps prevent the formation of ice crystals which sweetener does not.
Egg yolks. Better egg yolks (by that I mean free-range or if you have access to great eggs from your farmer’s market or home chickens then even better!) will produce a more richly flavoured ice cream. You need about 3 egg yolks of medium eggs. This weighs up in total between 45-50g egg yolks.
Christmas Pudding. This recipe has been tested with all of my Christmas Puddings over the years and actually traditional Christmas Cake too. Either work. You can use shop bought or homemade and you can use a regular Christmas pudding or a gluten-free version. If you are in the market for some excellent Christmas Pudding recipes then try my Traditional Gluten-Free Christmas Pudding, or Sticky Toffee Christmas Pudding or Chocolate Orange Christmas Pudding.
Brandy. This is used to flavour the ice cream but also makes for a slightly softer end result, as alcohol lowers the freezing point of ice cream, so it’s easier to scoop. If you like a really boozy finish then use 2 tablespoons. Don’t use too much brandy though as it will make the ice cream too soft. You could also omit to make a non-alcohol version.
How To Make Leftover Christmas Pudding Ice Cream
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
Prepare the ice cream machine. If you are using a freeze-first machine you need to put the bowl in the freezer for 24 hours before you start churning the ice cream.
Just before you start to make your ice cream prepare your ice bath for the initial chill. Half fill a large pot with ice and top with cold water to just about cover the ice.
Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together in a large bowl until thick and creamy then set aside whilst you warm the cream and milk.
Pour the cream and milk into a large saucepan along with the cinnamon stick and salt. Warm the ingredients at a medium heat until it reaches 60-65°C (140-149°F). Remove from the heat.
Temper the egg yolk mixture by pouring the warm cream mixture slowly into the eggs, whisking all the time to produce a thin custard (leave the cinnamon stick in but watch out for it when you’re whisking).
Pour the thin custard back into the saucepan and slowly heat, bringing it up to 80°C (176°F) whisking all the time.
Remove the custard from the heat. You need to cool it as quickly as possible. You can achieve this by transferring the custard to a food storage bag that you will submerge in your prepared ice water bath. The temperature needs to reduce to 4°C (39°F) within 90 minutes to avoid bacteria forming. It should only take about an hour to get to that temperature so keep checking it with a digital thermometer and replenish the ice every so often to keep it as cold as possible.
Transfer the chilled custard to the fridge to rest for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight. You can leave in the ziplock bag or transfer to a jug and place cling film on the surface (this will make it easier to pour into your ice cream machine later).
After its resting period, strain the custard then pour into your ice cream machine along with the crumbled Christmas pudding and pour in the brandy.
Churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If you are using the Cusinart ICE then it will take about 40 minutes. The ice cream will be the consistency of soft serve immediately after churning but store in the freezer for at least 3-4 hours to achieve a more scoopable consistency.
Tips and Troubleshooting
For an in-depth look in how to make a traditional churned ice cream then all my best tips and tricks can be found over on my Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream recipe including tools and equipment advice.
Using a digital thermometer is the safest way to ensure a fully cooked custard to kill any potential bacteria and also means you have control over the temperature to avoid any curdling after the eggs have been added.
You don’t want the cream/milk to boil when you heat them initially. Watch the saucepan carefully so that you remove the cream/milk from the heat just as it starts to shimmer with bubbles forming under the surface. If you have a digital thermometre you want the temperature to be between 60-65°C (140-149°F). Remove off the heat immediately when you think it's ready, it can boil over very quickly.
Transfer the cream/milk to a large 2 litre measuring jug for when you add it to the eggs and sugar as this will give you the best control when pouring it in so it can stream in slowly and consistently. You can remove the cinnamon stick when you are whisking but add it back in after as ideally you want it to remain in the custard throughout the process and remove until just before churning.
Crumble your Christmas Pudding into bite sized pieces (not too small as it will break up more during the churn) beforehand and chill before adding into the ice cream. Chilling the Christmas pudding means it won’t raise the temperature of the custard so it churns effectively.
Allow at least 4-6 hours of freezer firming time after the churning process for a more scoopable texture.
After 24 hours your ice cream will have hardened significantly more and then make sure you remove it from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. This will soften it and make it easier to scoop.
Recommended Equipment: Digital thermometer, large casserole dish or sink (for the icebath), food storage bag, food storage bags clip stand, 1.5lt airtight containers.
FAQs
I recommend long airtight container which creates a large surface area to drag your ice cream scoop across so you get a lovely round scoop.
Ice cream can’t be stored indefinitely as more ice crystals will form the longer it’s in the freezer. This ice cream can be stored up to three months.
Crumble the Christmas pudding into bite-sized pieces (about 2-3cm chunks). It depends on which ice cream machine you are using. Some have a hole in them so you can add in your mix-ins during the churn. The Cuisinart one doesn’t so you will need to stop the machine to open the lid and add them in if you want to add them in near the end. To avoid this I simply make the pieces a little bigger (so they are not decimated) and add them in along with the custard right at the start.
You can add up to 2 tablespoons of brandy for this 1.5 litre recipe but any more and it will create a very slushy result.
Keep the custard cold before and freeze immediately after churning to avoid ice crystals building up. Then ice crystals will form the longer the ice cream is in the freezer, so make sure to consume within 3 months.
More Christmas dessert recipes you’ll love
Festive Sticky Toffee Christmas Pudding has all the flavour of your traditional Christmas Pudding but with inspiration borrowed from your favourite classic pub dessert. The final touch is the luxurious pouring of rich toffee sauce which can be done showmanship style at the table in front of your guests for extra wow factor.
Christmas Cranberry Tart is tangy and fruity with a buttery gluten-free biscuit crust which you can easily make with gluten-free biscuits, filled with a rich Cranberry Curd and topped with whipped cream clouds.
Gingerbread Ice Cream is warmly spiced, intense with dark sugar and treacle and thickened with double cream for rich creaminess.
Bramley Apple Mincemeat Pudding is a must at this time of year. It's one of my favourite recipes using leftover mincemeat and is also very popular as a lighter alternative to Christmas Pudding.
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Christmas Pudding Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 550 g double cream
- 180 g whole milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 100 g caster sugar
- 3 egg yolks - about 45-50g
- 200 g leftover Christmas pudding
- 1 tablespoon brandy
Instructions
- If you are using an ice cream maker which requires you to pre-freeze the bowl then place in the freezer 24 hours prior to making your custard. The bowl will need at least 24 hours to properly chill.
- If you are using an ice cream maker which doesn’t require you to pre-freeze the bowl then position it on a flat work surface ready for churning. These kinds of ice cream makers require 24 hours in the correct position so they churn effectively.
- First prepare your ice bath which you’ll need for cooling your custard prior to refrigeration. You will need a large deep casserole dish / crockpot (you could use the sink but I find the casserole dish easier to keep cold as it’s smaller). Fill halfway up with ice then top up with a little cold water.
- Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together in a large bowl until thick and creamy then set aside whilst you warm the cream and milk.
- Pour the cream and milk into a large saucepan along with the cinnamon stick and salt. Warm the ingredients at a medium heat until it reaches 60-65°C (140-149°F). Remove from the heat.
- Temper the egg yolk mixture by pouring the warm cream mixture slowly into the eggs, whisking all the time to produce a thin custard (leave the cinnamon stick in but watch out for it when you’re whisking).
- Pour the custard back into the original saucepan and heat to 80°C (176°F), stirring all the time. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and keep at this temperature for 2-4 minutes if you can so you can ensure it’s at a stable temperature. If it starts to increase in temperature remove from the heat.
- Remove the custard from the heat. You need to cool it as quickly as possible. You can achieve this by transferring the custard to a food storage bag that you will submerge in your prepared ice water bath. The temperature needs to reduce to 4°C (39°F) within 90 minutes to avoid bacteria forming. It should only take about an hour to get to that temperature so keep checking it with a digital thermometer and replenish the ice every so often to keep it as cold as possible.
- Transfer the chilled custard to the fridge to rest for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight. You can leave in the ziplock bag or transfer to a jug and place cling film on the surface (this will make it easier to pour into your ice cream machine later).
- Crumble the Christmas pudding into 2-3cm pieces and chill.
- After its resting period, strain the custard, removing the cinnamon stick. Then pour into your ice cream machine and add the crumbled in the Christmas pudding and pour in the brandy. Churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If you are using the Cusinart Ice Cream & Gelato Professional ICE100BCU then set the timer to 40 minutes. The ice cream is ready when it has thickened considerably and looks like ice cream. It will be the consistency of soft serve immediately after churning but store in the freezer for at least 4 hours to achieve a more scoopable consistency.
- Ice cream can be stored in a home freezer for up to 1 month. After about 24 hours in the freezer the ice cream will be quite hard so allow to rest for 10-15 minutes at room temperature before scooping and serving.
Video
Notes
Self-freezing. Those which you can just plug and play. You can just pour your pre-chilled custard into its inner bowl and it freezes as it churns. This recipe was tested using a Cusinart Ice Cream & Gelato Professional ICE100BCU. For this recipe you need an ice cream machine which will 1.5lt ice cream in the freezing bowl. Egg yolks. The eggs used in this recipe are British medium sized. I used 3 egg yolks which weigh between 45-50g in total. This recipe has not been tested using plant-based ingredients. Christmas pudding/cake recipes: Traditional Gluten-Free Christmas Pudding, Sticky Toffee Christmas Pudding, Chocolate Orange Christmas Pudding, Gluten-Free Christmas Cake.
- Crumble your Christmas pudding into 2-3cm pieces and chill before adding into the ice cream machine.
- I do recommend using a digital thermometer to ensure your custard is at the correct temperatures throughout this process. This will ensure no harmful bacteria is formed and your custard reaches stable temperatures which will benefit the end result.
- Transfer the cream/milk to a large 2 litre measuring jug for when you add it to the eggs and sugar as this will give you the best control when pouring it in so it can stream in slowly and consistently.
- Chill your airtight container before pouring your churned ice cream into it so it doesn’t immediately start melting.
