It has its origins in medieval England, with early recipes making use of dried fruit, suet, breadcrumbs, flour, eggs and spice, along with liquid such as milk or fortified wine.

Essentially the recipe brings together what traditionally were expensive or luxurious ingredients — notably the sweet spices that are so important in developing its distinctive rich aroma, and usually made with suet.

The mixture can be moistened with the juice of citrus fruits, brandy and other alcohol (some recipes call for dark beers such as mild, stout or porter).

[1] The Victorian era fashion involved putting the mixture into a basin and then steaming it, followed by unwrapping the pudding, placing it on a platter, and decorating the top with a sprig of holly.

One of the earliest plum pudding recipes is given by Mary Kettilby in her 1714 book A Collection of above Three Hundred Receipts in Cookery, Physick and Surgery.

[13] As techniques for meat preserving improved in the 18th century, the savoury element of both the mince pie and the plum pottage diminished as the sweet content increased.

It makes numerous appearances in 18th century satire as a symbol of Britishness, including the Gilray cartoon, The Plumb-pudding in danger.

It was not until the 1830s that a boiled cake of flour, fruits, suet, sugar and spices, all topped with holly, made a definite appearance, becoming more and more associated with Christmas.

In her bestselling 1845 book Modern Cookery for Private Families,[14] the East Sussex cook Eliza Acton was the first to refer to it as "Christmas Pudding".

[citation needed] Throughout the colonial period, the pudding was a symbol of unity throughout the British Empire, which the message was widely promoted through the media.

Brandy from Cyprus and nutmeg from the West Indies, which had been inadvertently forgotten in previous recipes, made special appearances.

The final recipe included Australian currants, South African stoned raisins, Canadian apples, Jamaican rum and English Beer, among other ingredients all sourced from somewhere in the Empire.

The collect this Sunday in the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer begins with the words "Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works...".

Other tokens are also known to have been included, such as a tiny wishbone (to bring good luck), a silver thimble (for thrift) or an anchor (to symbolise safe harbour).

[1] Once turned out of its basin, decorated with holly, doused in brandy (or occasionally rum), and flamed (or "fired"), the pudding is traditionally brought to the table ceremoniously, and greeted with a round of applause.

In 1843, Charles Dickens describes the scene in A Christmas Carol: Mrs. Cratchit left the room alone – too nervous to bear witnesses – to take the pudding up and bring it in... Hallo!