Christmas is the perfect time to try something new. While we love the rich, comforting, spiced taste of the classic Christmas pudding, there are plenty of quirky variations and twists available in the supermarkets this year.

A selection of gin-soaked puds, sticky toffee variants and plum, ginger and honey treats are all vying for space on the Christmas table but can they really be as good as the original?

Spoon at the ready, we tasted 15 alternative puds to find out which is the best Christmas pudding with a twist.

Our winning Christmas alternative pudding scored an impressive 81/100 – higher than the winner of the traditional Christmas pudding category. But don’t be in too much of hurry to ditch the classic – we suggest having both!

GHI tip

Don’t waste time steaming your pud for hours – stick it in the microwave for a few minutes and the results will be just as good. This frees up your hob for other Christmas essentials too. For a flaming extravaganza warm the brandy slightly before pouring it over the pudding so that it will definitely ignite when you put a flame to it.