I wound't use panko in a Christmas pudding. Regular bread crumbs made yourself form bread are best.

It's impossible to say without trying it. The recipe will have been developed to work with the suet and will probably need some adjustments to work with coconut oil which would be adding extra liquid to the batter. It also behaves differently to suet when cooking. Christmas puddings are a bit too expensive (and time consuming) to take a gamble on in my opinion. Why not just make this one and then you know it will work. This is a very tried and true recipe and so popular every Christmas. No-one will have a clue it's vegan if you don't mention it.

I am so glad you did all the work in trying and testing alternatives to make the pud “work” and keep it yummie.
I have made my first pudding last year, according to a traditional recipe. Since I am intolerant to animal fats I could only have very little of it. But I have to admit, it was sooooo delicious!
So, do you think I could use this traditional recipe (with eggs) and replace the suet with coconut oil 1:1?

I’m sorry I’m not a full vegan (yet), but once I do consume animal products, they are always organic. So I hope for your and the other readers’ mercy 😌

Many thanks in advance and lots of love
Tanja

Aquafaba replaces the eggs that would otherwise be used. It contains albumins and globulins etc which are also present in eggs, hence the reason it works so well. It binds, tenderizes and keeps sponge light, unlike other egg replacers which can give a heavier result. It's what worked best when testing this recipe. I wouldn't want to suggest anything else as I wouldn't be 100% sure about how it would turn out and it's such an expensive and time-consuming recipe that I realy wouldn't want it to fail for anyone.

Rice flour on its own won't work well in this recipe. You can easily make your own oat flour. Just put oats in a blender or food processor until processed finely, then sift it. Discard the bigger pieces (or use in porridge) and use the flour. A good all purpose 1 for 1 baking flour should work just fine too. Hope that helps!

I'd still wrap it just to be safe but you won't need to be so thorough. You won't need the parchment paper as there is a lid. If you've got some cling-wrap you could just use that, or use some foil.
As for the coconut oil, I use whichever I have at the time. Usually I'd say not to use unrefined in baking etc because the coconut flavour might come through, but in this recipe the other flavours are so powerful that I personally don't think you can taste coconut at all, and even if you could it kind of compliments it anyway. If you're someone who doesn't really like coconut, use refined (I know some people are really sensitive to it), but if you don't mind it's totally up to you. I don't think it makes a difference. Just use whatever you've got at home.
I hope that helps and that you enjoy it!