Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting

These beautiful Christmas pudding muffins are a gorgeous, festive treat to get you in the Christmas spirit, with plenty of fruit in the light, flavourful sponge, and a delicious spiced rum flavour to the creamy frosting.

They're wonderfully fruity and just a little bit naughty - adapted slightly from a recipe sent in by the amazing Helen from The Crazy Kitchen.

Here's what to do to make twelve delicious Christmas pudding muffins.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C/355F (160C/320F fan). In a large bowl, add the sugar, cherries, sultanas, raisins, orange zest and lemon zest.

Add the oil, eggs, apple and rum and mix well.

Add the flour, almonds, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice and cinnamon to the bowl and mix through.

Line a 12 hole muffin pan with muffin cases and share the batter evenly between them.

Bake for approx 20 minutes, until spongy to touch. Turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Meanwhile, in a bowl beat the butter, icing sugar, rum, cinnamon, vanilla and mixed spice together until pale, smooth and creamy.

Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.

Finish off with sprinkles, if you like.

Enjoy!

Pointers, tricks and troubleshooting tips for the perfect Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting

Are Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting easy to make?

Yes, these delightful Christmas muffins are simple to make, packed with festive flavours.

All the rich and fruity yumminess of Christmas pudding without the long cooking time, and topped off with beautifully spiced rum frosting which adds a luxurious finish to these festive muffins. 

Will I need any special equipment for this recipe?

All the equipment you need should be easy to find in most kitchens. An electric whisk will make this recipe a little easier but is by no means necessary. You can find the full list of equipment on the recipe card below. 

Where can I buy dried cherries?

Dried cherries are pretty easy to pick up in most supermarkets, or health food stores. You could use glace cherries instead if you like.

Are Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting suitable for vegetarians?

Yes, these delicious Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting are suitable for vegetarians as they contain no meat or fish products.

Remember to check any decorative elements you might be using as some food colourings and other ingredients in sprinkles are not always suitable for vegetarians. 

Are Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting suitable for vegans?

The recipe for the Christmas pudding muffins is dairy-free as it uses oil for the fat element, though does still contain eggs, and there is dairy butter in the frosting so as is, this recipe is not suitable for vegans. 

You can easily use an egg replacer instead if you want to try and make these Christmas pudding muffins vegan. Give one of these options a go and let me know how you get on! (each = 1 egg, so multiply as needed for any given recipe):

• 1 tablespoon of crushed chia seeds or flax seeds mixed with 2 tablespoons of water and left for 10 minutes in the fridge.
• 3 tablespoons of aquafaba (the water you get in a tin of chickpeas).
• 3 tablespoons of applesauce (bear in mind this will add sweetness).

You will also need to use a plant-based alternative to butter in the frosting too. Do make sure to check any decorative elements you might be adding like sprinkles or festive toppers as they may not all be suitable for vegans. 

Are Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting gluten-free?

For these Christmas pudding muffins I’m using wheat-based self-raising flour, so no they are not gluten-free.

I haven’t tried this recipe with gluten-free flour yet but go ahead and give it a try! I always recommend using a good quality brand, which will usually be made from a blend of different flours such as rice flour, and oat flour, raising agents, of course, and usually a binding agent such as xanthan gum.

Make sure to check all ingredients to make sure they are gluten-free, even decorative elements and flavourings too. 

Are Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting safe to eat while pregnant?

These Christmas pudding muffins with rum frosting contain alcohol in the cake batter, and in the frosting which you may well be avoiding whilst pregnant. Please see the NHS website for information on alcohol and pregnancy. See below on how to make these muffins alcohol free.

There isn’t anything else in these Christmas pudding muffins that would usually pose a risk to a pregnant woman. The advice regarding egg safety during pregnancy varies depending on what country you're in as production and handling methods are different so please check information local to you. 

A Mummy Too does not give medical advice, if you have any questions or concerns please speak to a health professional. 

Can I make this recipe without alcohol?

Yes, if someone who will be eating these needs to avoid alcohol for whatever reason then you can of course make them without the rum.

The liquid element that the rum brings will need to be replaced. I haven’t tried this recipe alcohol-free yet but I would recommend using milk or even apple juice if you have some for the muffins. For the frosting, you can try making it without any extra liquid, and add a little milk if it's too stiff, and you can also use alcohol-free vanilla extract if this concerns you. 

I haven’t got dark soft brown sugar, can I use caster sugar?

Dark brown sugar contains molasses which give its distinctive colour, as well as bringing a lovely rich caramel flavour. Caster sugar is fine sugar that has had its molasses removed so only really brings sweetness to recipes.

To recreate that traditional Christmas pudding richness it’s important to use the darkest sugar you have, light brown sugar would work, or muscovado sugar can be used instead too. 

Can I add extra fruit to this recipe?

This Christmas pudding muffin recipe is perfectly balanced with the right amount of fruit for the cake batter to be able to bake into lovely muffins.

I wouldn’t recommend trying to add more fruit as the cake mixture will be overwhelmed and won’t bake properly. You can play around with the types of dried fruit you use, but make sure to keep the total amount the same as this recipe. 

How should I store Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting?

Once cooled and decorated I find it best to keep these Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting in the fridge as the frosting contains fresh butter.

You can pop them into containers in a single layer to keep the frosting intact. If you’ve decided to miss off the frosting, the cakes can be kept at room temperature, in a sealed container. 

How long do Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting keep?

These Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, and in the freezer for up to a month.

Can I leave Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting out on the counter?

No, these festive muffins need to be kept in a sealed container, in the fridge other than when they are out for serving. This helps reduce the risk of bacteria spreading on the food.

Can I make Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting ahead?

Yes, if you like you can make the muffins a day ahead, and once cooled keep them in a sealed container in the pantry.

You can also make the frosting the day before, but I would recommend frosting the cakes on the day. Make up your frosting and get it into the piping bag ready, keeping it in the fridge until you’re ready to decorate. 

If you want to make these muffins really far ahead they also freeze well, with or without the frosting and will keep in the freezer for up to a month.

Can I keep Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting in the refrigerator?

Yes, once frosted these cakes need to be kept in the fridge as the frosting contains fresh butter. 

Can I freeze Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting?

Yes, these Christmas pudding muffins freeze well. Pop them into a suitable container in a single layer to keep the frosting intact, label your box with the date and type of cake so you know what's inside.

These will keep in the freezer for up to a month. Make sure to freeze any muffins on the day you made them so they are being kept at their best. 

What is the best way to defrost this recipe?

Any frozen Christmas pudding muffins need to be defrosted in the fridge, it’s important to keep them at a low temperature as they are not being reheated and the constant low temperature will help reduce the risk of bacterial spread.

Simple take out the number of muffins you want to thaw out and pop them on a plate in the fridge to defrost overnight. Once thawed, consume within 24 hours. 

Can I make Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting in a different quantity?

You can make these Christmas pudding muffins in whatever quantity you like, if you have a big festive bake sale and need to make more, or perhaps a low-key family gathering where you’ll only need say six servings it couldn't be simpler.

Head down to the recipe card below where you’ll find the servings is set to 12, click on this and a slider will pop up that you can move up and down to get to the number of muffins you want to make. All the ingredients will update automatically so you’re ready to get baking. 

Can I make this recipe in a different tin/tray?

If you wanted to you could use a mini muffin tray to make tiny Christmas pudding muffins which would be really cute for a festive party.

Simply divide the batter into mini cupcake cases lining a mini muffin tray. The baking time may be a little shorter as these cakes are smaller, so check how they are getting on after about 12 minutes. 

Can I make Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting in a stand mixer such as a KitchenAid or Kenwood Mixer?

Yes if you like you can use a stand mixer to make both the cake batter and the frosting. 

Firstly to make the batter, fit on the paddle attachment, put the sugar, dried fruits, orange, and lemon zest into the mixer bowl. Add the oil, eggs, rum, and grated apple and mix well on low - medium speed.

You may need to scrape the sides down as you go to make sure everything is well incorporated.

Add the flour, ground almonds, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice, and cinnamon, mix well, starting slow so the flour doesn’t fly out of the bowl!

Once everything is mix remove the bowl from the mixer and give everything one last stir with a spatula to make sure there are no clumps of flour at the bottom of the bowl. Your cake batter is ready to divide into the lined muffin tin, and bake!

Whilst the muffins are baking you can prepare the frosting, in the cleaned out mixer bowl add the butter, icing sugar, rum, vanilla, cinnamon, and mixed spice.

Using the whisk attachment, on slow to start, beat until you have a pale and creamy frosting. You can keep the frosting in the fridge until the cakes are thoroughly cooled before decorating. 

Can I make Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting dairy-free?

The only dairy in this recipe is in the frosting, so you can easily switch this out for a plant-based alternative to butter, or good quality dairy-free margarine.

Check the sprinkles or decorative elements you’re using are milk free too.

Bear in mind this will make this recipe dairy-free, but it still wouldn't be suitable for vegans as the muffins contain eggs. 

How can I make sure Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting are perfectly cooked?

These lovely little muffins bake in no time and should be lovely and springing after about 20 minutes in the oven.

To check they are done you can use a metal skewer to test the middle of one of the central muffins, if it comes out clean your muffins are cooked.

Make sure to allow the muffins to completely cool on the wire rack before you add the frosting so it doesn’t melt and slip off. 

Why did my Christmas pudding muffins turn out dry and burnt?

This cake mix is quite a moist one so unless it's been in the oven for much too long you shouldn’t have any problem with it being dry.

This recipe uses dark sugar and has quite a bit of dried fruit in it so will look much darker than a classic sponge you might be more used to baking.

When baking it's always a good idea to set a timer so you remember to check on your cakes, you can keep an eye on them through the oven door too.

If you find bakes are often burning it may be that your oven runs hot, some temperature dials on ovens aren’t an accurate measure of the actual temperature in the oven, so try setting the oven 10-20 degrees lower next time. 

Why did my Christmas pudding muffins turn out wet and undercooked?

This could be because the oven wasn’t preheated so the cakes haven’t had long enough to bake thoroughly.

Don’t be tempted to open the oven too early in the cooking time as this will fluctuate the oven temperature, keep an eye on your cakes through the door.

When the time is up you can check the cakes using a metal skewer, poke it into the middle of one of the muffins, if it comes out with wet cake batter on they need to go back into the oven for 5 or so more minutes, until the skewer comes out clean. 

Why didn’t my Christmas pudding muffins rise?

This bake doesn’t rise dramatically into large domes, the muffins gently rise but as with most fruit cakes it's not very much so don’t worry if your cakes only rise slightly. 

Why did my Christmas pudding muffins with spiced rum frosting taste bland?

This bake has so many levels of flavour with the different fruits, lemon and orange zest, and rum.

Did you use dark brown sugar? This really helps with the richness and adds a caramel flavour to the muffins.

If the cakes seem bland to you try adding a little more spice next time, or use a different combination of dried fruits. 

How can I add/change the flavours in this dish?

You could use different alcohol like whisky or brandy if you prefer, and how about playing around with the dried fruit combinations, figs and dates are lovely too. Make sure to keep the quantities the same to not overload the mix, and chop any larger fruits into smaller pieces.

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I'm off to eat some more - purely for research purposes, you understand. Are you tempted to try these delicious Christmas pudding muffins at home?

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