For years, Michele Norris has wondered what exactly figgy pudding is.

To find out more about the Christmas treat that generations of carolers have demanded, she invited Dorie Greenspan, baking expert and author of Baking: From My Home to Yours, to her kitchen.

Greenspan describes figgy pudding as being "a little bit like fruitcake."

"I was afraid to say it because fruitcake has such a bad reputation, but [figgy pudding] is steamed; it's chockablock with dried fruits; it's so boozy. ... It's delicious," she says.

Figgy pudding is also known as Christmas pudding or plum pudding. It's a traditional English dessert that's actually more cake-ish than pudding-ish.

It's also a tradition that's starting to die out in modern Britain. A magazine survey found that 30 percent of respondents did not like Christmas pudding.

But Greenspan says, "I would love to be responsible with you for rehabilitating the figgy pudding."

Greenspan and Norris team up to prepare a figgy pudding.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.