The "have it with brandy butter and custard" posts above were a hint ;)

Hah, one just never knows. It seems the British call things puddings that I would not think of as pudding.

People either love or hate it. IME, for a lot of people who dislike it it's because they don't like "cake with fruit". Then again, there's not that many dishes that require alcohol laced butter to mellow soften the flavour a bit.:D

Or if you want to support a small family business instead of a big box store, you might be able to get it from http://ackroydsbakery.com/ but they don't have online ordering. You would have to call.

My grandmother made Christmas pudding with custard sauce when I was a kid. Haven't had it since then. I should probably make a trip to Ackroyds!


Edit: just found their online Christmas store: https://squareup.com/market/ackroyds-christmas-store

Google for recipes to make your own. The stuff can be steamed in various sorts of bowls rather than in a purpose made mold.

The general formula has to do with flour, eggs, sugar, fruit, etc. which is cooked by steaming for a couple of hours or more rather than baking. The product is a heavyish cake not to be confused with either pudding as we Americans know it nor fruit cake. Various versions of hard sauce can go with. Alcohol is optional from the light to the heavy.

Christmas Pudding in the US
 

Christmas puddings definitely aren't for everybody. Picked up one yesterday and served with brandy butter. I thought it was amazing; my wife and kids hated it. My son even spit his out. Sigh. On the plus side, all for me

http://www.amazon.com/Walkers-Shortb...s=xmas+pudding

I'd pick this one off the online options - it seems to be alcohol free, which is not, in my English experience, the norm (most soak the fruit in brandy or similar for moistness / flavor.

Fortnum & Mason make a decent pudding although my favourite is Duchy Originals. I think Neiman Marcus stocked the former in past Christmases.

I'm a bit cautious about puddings from local N. American bakeries as many of them don't actually make a "traditional" Christmas pudding. I've tried several that were described as "traditional" but were more of a cranberry pudding or marzipan covered ginger pudding. They all tasted fine, but when you're in the mood for a certain taste and get something else, it is a bit of a let down.

Either way, serve it with custard or at the very least a rich vanilla ice cream.

If your friend like the flavour of fruitcake, they might enjoy mince pies.

I don't know what you think of as pudding but the OED has two definitions:

1. A cooked sweet dish served after the main course of a meal; and
2. A sweet or savoury steamed dish made with suet and flour.