Christmas pudding

Ingredients:

* 110g of date purée
* Mix of dried fruits: raisins, sultanas, prunes, apricots, figs, cranberries …
Ex: 125g dried sultanas, 25g dried prunes, 25g dried apricots, 25g dried figs, 10g dried blackberries
* Mix of spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, … About 1 tsps
* 1 big orange rind grated & juice
* 50ml Oil or fat: olive oil, coconut oil, butter, ghee… depending on your food intolerances
* 1 apple, grated
* If you can tolerate eggs and some kind of flour, then it will taste better if you add one egg and some flour:
100g Flour: rice flour, chestnut flour, tapioca flour, potato starch flour, coconut flour, almond meal, carob… depending on your intolerances and taste preferences.
1 large egg

Others (optional, depending on intolerances)

* 200g pureed sweet potato or mashed pumpkin or 1 avocado
* 50 gr mix of nuts: pine nuts, chopped almonds, chopped nuts, etc.
* 1 carrot, grated
* Coconut cream in the top
* The original recipe contains 100g of sugar, but I recommend avoiding sugar in order to make it healthier. Instead of sugar, better you may use 50g honey, or even better, just avoid all sugars and sweeteners. The pudding is already very sweet without any kind of sugary thing.
* The original recipe also contains also some kind of liquor such as brandy, rhum, port, sherry, etc., but better avoid it.

Instructions:

Make a date purée.

Mix together the mix of dried fruit and spice (and sugar or honey if ever) in a big bowl.

Chop the prunes, figs, apricots and the rest of dried fruit and stir these into the bowl.

Add in the grated orange rinds & juice.

Stir well and leave to stand for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Add the date purée, the oil, and grated apple to the mixture in the bowl.

Place the egg whites (if any) in the bowl of a kitchen stand mixer with a whisk attachment and whisk the egg whites (if any) on medium/high until medium peaks form.

Add the egg yolks and whisk for 1 minute.

Mix the mixture of dried fruits with the eggs.

Add the flour (rice, chestnut, tapioca, almond, etc.), if any, to the mixture.

Add the rest of ingredients (pureed sweet potato, carrot, nuts, etc.), if any, to the mixture and stir well.

Take a pudding bowl and grease the sides of the bowl.

Pour the mixture into the pudding bowl, smoothing the top for a flat surface.

Cover the top of the puddings with baking paper folded with a pleat in the centre, as the puddings will expand slightly as they cook, and secure with rubber bands or string.


Place the pudding bowl inside a large saucepan, sitting it on top of a trivet or small plate.


Pour hot water into the saucepan to come halfway up of the way up the edge of the pudding bowl.


Bring the water to the boil and simmer on medium/high, with lid on, for 3 hours. Make sure the water is bubbling around the pudding.


Check the water levels regularly to ensure that they are half of the way up the edge of the pudding bowl. 

When it's done, let the pudding bowl to cool down some minutes until you can remove it from the saucepan.

Remove the baking paper and Invert pudding onto a serving tray. You can run a knife around the edge of the pudding if it has sticked and you can’t remove it easily.

Pour whipped coconut cream if you want over the top of the pudding, allowing it to drip down the edges of the pudding.

Pudding can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days and then reheated. Reheat the pudding by placing the pudding back into a greased/lined (as above) pudding bowl and simmering in a large saucepan (as above) for 1 hour.