This award-winning Christmas pudding is available for UK-wide delivery for the first time

If making your own Christmas pudding feels too much like hard work (especially this year) you can now buy an award-winning pud online, and have it delivered straight to your door.

For the last 16 years, the family-owned company behind the festive desserts has relied on markets and Christmas fairs to sell puddings throughout the season, and has become a popular stall at London’s Borough Market.

As with all businesses this year, McLaren’s has had to re-think its business model and evolve rapidly. After months of work, the puddings now have new branding and are for sale online for the first time.

Over the years, the McLaren’s Christmas pudding has won a Great Taste Gold Star award in 2018 and 2020 and has been called one of the ‘best Christmas puddings on the planet’ by the Financial Times.

Reinventing the Christmas pudding

Eloise McLaren of McLaren's said, “Our story began with Sandra McLaren, our mother. A brilliant confectioner and award-winning baker herself, Sandra noticed that not one of her four children would eat the Christmas pudding she served.

“Glancing around the candlelit table, she realised that barely an adult had touched it either. Already renowned for her outstanding carrot cake, one day Sandra decided to take on the humble Christmas pudding.

“After much experimentation, she discovered she could cut out all the stodgy suet - and remove a lot of the dense flour. Instead, she added a very generous dollop of butter, some zesty oranges, lemons, prunes and flaked almonds.

“She drenched it all in fine French Brandy and Guinness Stout, steamed it for eight hours - then then let the pudding mature to perfection for six months.

“Having won over family and friends, she launched the McLaren’s Christmas pudding company in 2004 and became a best-seller at Borough Market and other Christmas fairs around the country attracting a growing number of Christmas pudding aficionados and convertees.”

How to order

Orders for UK delivery can be placed online, and there’s a range of products available, from the original to mini version, if you’re having a smaller Christmas this year.

A version of this article first appeared on The Scotsman

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