All hail the Christmas pud!

Tradition reigns over taste buds this Christmas, as 71 per cent of households plan to serve Christmas pudding on December 25th, yet only 33 per cent of people rank it as their favourite festive dessert.

The ‘Traditional Treats’ survey by Waitrose.com polled 1,000 members of the British public to discover the nations’ favourite Christmas desserts and baked gifts and the results show what a traditional bunch we are. Also in the top five puddings are chocolate Yule log (18 per cent), mince pies (12 per cent), trifle (12 per cent) and Christmas cake (9 per cent).

East Anglia tops the poll for being the biggest follower of Christmas tradition with a massive 92% of households serving the traditional pudding as their main Christmas dessert.

Interestingly, age is a factor on our relationship with the Christmas pudding. The over 35s choose it as their top Christmas dessert, but those aged 18-34 would rather finish their meal with a chocolate Yule log.

Of those who choose not to have a traditional sweet on December 25th, 7 per cent preferred desserts such as ice cream, cheesecake, fruit and trifle. Specialist diets and food intolerances can mean that some people opt out of the traditional puddings (1 per cent), those who don’t eat gluten opt for mousses and panna cotta, while diabetics look to sugar-free puddings, for example.

Continental desserts are also popular amongst the younger consumer; 15 per cent of people aged 34 or under will serve Stollen cake at Christmas versus 10 per cent aged over 35, and nine per cent of people aged under 34 will serve Panettone versus four per cent aged over 35.

A huge 63 per cent of people agree that being given a homemade dessert or baked goods as a gift shows a lot of thought and effort, yet only 26 per cent of people have ever given a homemade dessert themselves.

While a personal touch is seen to be the most important reason to give home baked gifts amongst both women (85 per cent) and men (60 per cent), the second motivator for men to do this is to save money (men 47 per cent vs. women 40 per cent), while women do it to show off their baking skills (women 23 per cent vs. men 10 per cent).

To help with inspiration for those considering baking their own gifts, Waitrose Groceries has compiled a page of the perfect gift recipes at:

waitrose.com/home/recipes/christmas_recipes/christmas_gifts_to_make.html, as well as tempting dessert, cake and pudding recipes at:

waitrose.com/content/waitrose/en/home/recipes/christmas_recipes/christmas_desserts.html