This Malteser Christmas pudding is a festive twist on no-bake chocolate biscuit cake and it's the perfect addition to your party table. It's a simple yet show-stopping Christmas tiffin that combines dark chocolate, digestive biscuits, mini marshmallows and of course, Maltesers!
If you love the idea of making a Christmas pudding but don't like the taste of the traditional kind, this Christmas Malteser pudding might be the recipe for you! It's a classic chocolate fridge cake but it's moulded into a dome shape and decorated with Maltesers, white chocolate and decorative holly. Think of it as a Christmas pudding tiffin.
This is a super easy, no-bake dessert that's great for beginners (and even kids) to make. All you need is a few simple ingredients and about 20 minutes of prep time. Apart from that, the fridge will do the rest of the work for you!
For those who like a slow and steady, step-by-step tutorial, you'll find everything you need to know about this recipe in the post below. This includes detailed ingredient and equipment notes, top tips, process images, FAQs and more. I hope you find it helpful! If you'd prefer the short, condensed version of the recipe, you can find it in the recipe card at the end of the post. Either way, I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Ingredient Notes
Here's everything you need to make this Christmas pudding chocolate fridge cake.
- Dark Chocolate: Dark chocolate is the star of this rocky road Christmas pudding. I usually go for Bournville or cheaper dark chocolate with around 40-50% cocoa solids as I like mine on the sweeter side, but most types of dark chocolate will work well. The higher the cocoa percentage, the more intense and bitter the flavour will be.
- Butter: Butter adds richness and helps to bind everything together. Salted butter gives a nice contrast to the super sweet pudding but you can use unsalted if you prefer.
- Golden Syrup: This gives a subtle sweetness and helps to make the biscuit cake easier to cut into after it's set. If you don't mind a slightly different flavour, this can be substituted for maple syrup or honey.
- Digestive biscuits: We can't make a chocolate biscuit Christmas pudding without digestives now, can we?! If you can't find digestives or prefer not to use them, rich tea biscuits or shortbread will work well too. Just remember not to crush the biscuits too finely, you want some chunks and a few crumbs in there for the best texture.
- Mini Marshmallows: I used pink and white ones for a more interesting look but any colour will be fine! You can use veggie marshmallows too if you like.
- Chocolate frosting: This acts as a 'glue' for the Maltesers and adds an extra layer of chocolatey goodness. I like using a ready-made frosting from the tub for quickness but homemade chocolate buttercream will work too. Chocolate spreads such as Nutella can also be used.
- Maltesers: We'll use these to decorate the outside of our Christmas pudding fridge cake- you'll need around 300g of them if you use a 1-litre bowl. If you're feeling fancy, you can also pop a few Maltesers in the bowl while you're making the rocky road mixture.
- White Chocolate: White chocolate will act as our 'brandy sauce', making this dessert look more like a traditional Christmas pudding. It also adds extra sweetness to help balance out the dark chocolate.
- Fondant: If you prefer to use an edible holly decoration instead of the real thing, you can use red and green fondant to make it. If you're not confident with fondant, you could also use jelly sweets or buttercream.
Equipment
To make Christmas pudding tiffin you'll also need the following equipment...
- 1 litre bowl: This will act as a mould to shape your pudding, much like a rocky road bombe. Either glass or plastic will work, as long as it fits roughly 1 litre of liquid inside. Don't use a different-sized bowl without adjusting the ingredient quantities too, otherwise, you'll end up with a very small pudding.
- Clingfilm: Make sure to line the inside of your bowl well with clingfilm, to make it easy to remove the pudding after it's done setting. I recommend leaving a bit hanging over the edges.
- Saucepan: For melting chocolate, butter, and syrup together. You can also do this in the microwave- just make sure to use a heatproof bowl and stir the mixture every 30 seconds to prevent burning.
- Mixing bowl: A large one for mixing all of the ingredients together, and a smaller heatproof one to melt the white chocolate topping.
- Utensils: A wooden spoon for mixing, a spatula for pressing the mixture tightly into the bowl, and if you're making fondant holly, a rolling pin and a small knife. You'll also need a large sharp knife to cut the pudding into slices before serving.
- Serving board: A flat plate, board or cake stand, to tip the pudding onto.
How to make Malteser Christmas pudding
Step 1: Line a 1-litre bowl with clingfilm, leaving some hanging over the edges.
Step 2: Place 200g of digestive biscuits into a large mixing bowl. Crush them into small chunks then stir in 150g of mini marshmallows.
Step 3: In a saucepan, melt together 350g of dark chocolate, 120g of butter and 4 tablespoons of golden syrup. Pour this into the bowl with the biscuits and marshmallows and mix well until everything is evenly coated.
Step 4: Transfer the mixture into your clingfilm-lined bowl and press it firmly into place. Refrigerate 3 hours to set.
Step 5: Once your chocolate biscuit Christmas pudding has set, remove it from the bowl using the clingfilm overhang and tip it upside down onto a serving plate. You may need to give the bowl a few taps to get the pudding out.
Step 6: Melt your chocolate frosting or chocolate spread in the microwave for about 20 seconds to make it easier to spread. Cover the pudding with it then use it as 'glue' to stick Maltesers all over. Try to get them as close together as possible.
Step 7: Melt 150g of white chocolate, let it cool for 5 minutes then carefully spread it over the top of your chocolate biscuit cake. Top with holly or homemade fondant 'holly' then cut into slices and enjoy!
Top Tips
- To prevent breakage, warm the chocolate frosting before spreading it over the pudding. This makes it easier to apply without bits falling off, and it helps the Maltesers to stick better.
- If you're short on time, pop your Christmas pudding fridge cake into the freezer for a while instead.
- Use a warm knife to cut the pudding. This will ensure you get nice clean slices without any crumbling.
- For a more festive touch, dust the finished pudding with a bit of edible gold lustre dust.
FAQs
Yes, but it's not quite as simple as making a 1:1 substitution. Milk chocolate has less fat than dark so we need to make a few adjustments. Use the following quantities to prevent seizing the mixture: 350g milk chocolate, 240g butter and 7 tablespoons of golden syrup.
You can make this Christmas pudding fridge cake up to 1 week in advance, as long as you keep it in an airtight container. I'd also recommend adding the white chocolate and holly decorations on the day you plan to serve it.
Yes, this can be frozen for up to 3 months, either in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in clingfilm. You can also freeze individual slices of it. To defrost it, simply transfer it to the fridge overnight or let it sit out at room temperature for an hour or two.
More no-bake Christmas treats:
- Oreo pinecones
- Candy cane fudge
- Christmas smores bark
- Pink Christmas tree cupcakes
- White Christmas snowflake cupcakes
I hope you like my Malteser Christmas pudding recipe. If you make it at home, please leave a comment and rating below to let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Christmas Malteser Pudding
Ingredients
- 350 g Dark Chocolate (12.3 oz)
- 120 g Butter (½ cup)
- 4 Tablespoons Golden Syrup
- 200 g Digestive biscuits (7 oz)
- 150 g Mini Marshmallows (5.3 oz)
- ~½ Tub Chocolate frosting or chocolate spread
- 300 g Maltesers (10.5 oz)
- 150 g White Chocolate (5.3oz)
To top:
- Holly (real or homemade from green and red fondant)
Instructions
- Line a 1 litre bowl with clingfilm, leaving some excess around the sides for easy removal later. Set aside.
- Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup together in a saucepan.
- Add the digestive biscuits to a large mixing bowl and crush them into small chunks. Then stir in the marshmallows.
- Pour in the melted chocolate and mix well until everything is evenly coated. Transfer it to your clingfilm-lined bowl and press it down firmly into place.
- Refrigerate for 3 hours to set.
- Remove the pudding from the bowl and turn it upside down onto a plate or serving board. You might need to tap firmly on the bottom of the bowl a few times to get it out.
- Put your frosting or chocolate spread in the microwave for 20 seconds to loosen it then cover the pudding with it. Stick the Maltesers all over.
- Melt the white chocolate, let it cool for 5 minutes then gently spread it over the top of the pudding.
- Top with holly then use a warm knife to cut the pudding into slices and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
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