These little fruit cake balls are Christmas dessert on easy mode.
They're the first thing I make for my Christmas food hampers every year, and they vanish faster than my rum balls at any Christmas party.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Mini Christmas Puddings
🕒 Ready In: 15 minutes (plus 1 hour chilling)
👨👩👧 Serves: 24
🔥 Calories: 217kcal per serve
🍫 Main Ingredients: fruit cake, dark chocolate, brandy, white chocolate
🌿 Dietary: vegetarian, alcohol-free option, freezer-friendly (contains dairy & gluten)
⭐ Why You'll Love It: No oven, just 6 ingredients, and they look way fancier than the 15 minutes of effort they actually take.
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If you love an easy no-bake Christmas treat, my Chocolate Christmas Puddings are just as quick, and my Christmas Mint Slice Balls use the exact same rolling method with a completely different flavour. Both freeze brilliantly too, so you can knock them out well before the silly season actually hits.
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Why You're Going To Love This Recipe
- No-bake - whether you're a confident cook or you can barely boil an egg, no-bake recipes are loved by everyone for how ridiculously easy they are.
- Just 6 ingredients - no huge shopping list required, and there's a good chance half of it is already in your pantry.
- The perfect way to use up leftover Christmas cake - got a fruit cake or pudding sitting around that nobody's touching? This is exactly what it's for.
- Perfect for gifts or dessert - I make a few batches every year to give to family, neighbours and teachers, and they're just as good served up after Christmas lunch.
- Make-ahead friendly - they freeze beautifully, so you can tick this one off the list weeks before Christmas Day.
- Quick & easy - just 15 minutes of hands-on time, start to finish.
Mini Pudding Ingredients
Just 6 ingredients is all it takes to make these. Please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for ingredient quantities and the full detailed method.
- Fruit cake or Christmas pudding - any type works, I usually grab a light fruit cake from the bakery section. If it's on the moist side it'll be harder to roll, so pop the mixture in the fridge for 20-30 minutes first, or wet your hands slightly as you go.
- Dark & white chocolate melts - use proper melting chocolate rather than eating chocolate blocks, it melts smoother and sets better on top. See my tips below if it ever goes grainy on you.
- Brandy - sherry, spiced rum or even port all work as a swap. For a kid-friendly, alcohol-free version, use orange juice instead.
- Spearmint leaves & glace cherries - spearmint leaves are the soft green jelly lollies you'll find in the confectionery aisle around Christmas time. No luck finding them? Any soft green lolly or snake cut into leaf shapes does the job.
Variations
- Extra easy version - skip the decorating altogether and just dust the balls with icing sugar instead. Just as tasty, half the fuss.
- Add some texture - stir a handful of crushed biscuits or chopped nuts through the mixture before rolling.
- Colour the chocolate - split the melted white chocolate in two and add a couple of drops of red and green food colouring for a proper festive look.
- Swap the topping - red and green M&Ms work just as well as the spearmint leaves and cherries if that's what you've got in the cupboard.
- Short on time? - whiz the fruit cake into crumbs in a food processor instead of using your hands, it's even quicker. If you love a good short cut, my 3 Ingredient Christmas Cake is another one worth bookmarking.
How To Make Mini Christmas Puddings
Just 4 easy steps and these are done.
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredient quantities and full detailed method (plus the Thermomix version).
- Step 1: Crumble the cake. Use your hands (or a Thermomix) to crumble the fruit cake or pudding into a large bowl.
- Step 2: Add the liquids. Add the brandy (or orange juice) and the melted dark chocolate to the crumbled cake and mix with a spoon until completely combined.
- Step 3: Roll into balls. Take tablespoonfuls of the mixture, roll into balls and place onto a lined flat baking tray.
- Step 4: Decorate. Drizzle melted white chocolate over the top of each ball, then add two spearmint leaf halves and half a glace cherry to look like holly.
Recipe Tips
- Keep them chilled if it's a hot one - we all know an Aussie Christmas can be a scorcher. Keep these in the fridge until right before serving or the chocolate will start to slide right off.
- If your chocolate goes grainy or seizes - this happens if it overheats while melting. Stir through a teaspoon of warmed cream or milk to loosen it back up, and next time melt it in shorter bursts, stirring in between.
- Mixture too sticky to roll? - pop it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to firm up, or wet your hands slightly before rolling so it doesn't stick.
- Serve them in mini patty pans - it makes them so much easier for little hands (or party guests) to grab without getting chocolate everywhere.
Mini Christmas Puddings FAQs
Definitely, and it's actually a good idea to. They keep in the fridge for up to a week, so you can make them well before Christmas Day and just pull them out when you need them.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. To freeze, place them in an airtight container for up to 1 month and defrost in the fridge before eating.
Yes, simply swap the brandy for orange juice. They'll taste just as good and are completely kid-friendly.
It's almost always from overheating. Melt it in short bursts in the microwave, stirring in between, rather than one long blast. If it's already gone grainy, stir through a teaspoon of warmed cream or milk to bring it back together.
Any soft green jelly lolly or gummy works, including pieces cut from a green lolly snake. Red and green M&Ms are another easy swap.
More Christmas Recipes
These Mini Christmas Puddings are always a favourite over the festive season. Here's some more of my most popular Christmas dessert recipes and Baileys Truffles if you're after more no-bake treats for the silly season.
Mini Christmas Puddings
Ingredients
- 750 g fruit cake or Christmas pudding
- 250 g dark chocolate melts or block
- 60 g brandy or substitute (see notes)
- 200 g white chocolate melts or block
- 12 glace cherries halved
- 24 spearmint leaf lollies halved
Instructions
Conventional Method
- Crumble the fruit cake into small pieces and place into a large bowl.
- Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave on 50% power for 3 minutes (or until melted), stirring every 30 seconds.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the crumbled fruit cake.
- Add the brandy (or substitute) and mix together until completely combined.
- Line a large flat baking tray with baking paper.
- Roll tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls and place onto the prepared tray.
- Melt the white chocolate in the microwave on 50% power for 3 minutes (or until melted), stirring every 30 seconds.
- Use a teaspoon to drizzle a small amount of the white chocolate over the pudding balls, one at a time. Use enough white chocolate so that it covers the top and starts to drizzle down the sides of the balls.
- Add two of the halved spearmint leaves on top of the white chocolate and add half a glacé cherry to the middle.
- Repeat the process with the remaining Christmas pudding balls.
- Chill in the fridge for 1 hour or until the chocolate has set.
Thermomix Method
- Break the Christmas cake or pudding into pieces and place into the Thermomix bowl. Mix for 10 seconds, Speed 8. Set aside in a separate bowl.
- Place the dark chocolate (broken into pieces) into the Thermomix bowl. Melt for 4 minutes, 80 degrees, Speed 2.
- Add the chopped Christmas fruit cake and the brandy (or substitute) to the bowl and mix for 20 seconds, Speed 5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for a further 15 seconds or until completely combined.
- Line a large flat baking tray with baking paper.
- Roll tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls and place onto the prepared tray.
- In a clean and dry Thermomix bowl, melt the white chocolate for 4 minutes, 80 degrees, Speed 2.
- Use a teaspoon to drizzle a small amount of the white chocolate over the pudding balls, one at a time. Use enough white chocolate so that it covers the top and starts to drizzle down the sides of the balls.
- Add two of the halved spearmint leaves on top of the white chocolate and add half a glacé cherry to the middle.
- Repeat the process with the remaining Christmas pudding balls.
- Chill in the fridge for 1 hour or until the chocolate has set.
Notes
- Store - in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week
- Freeze - in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Allow to defrost in the fridge before consuming.
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