serves / makes 6
20 prep time
240 mins cooking time

Description

My mum has always cooked us an amazing Christmas dinner for the last 33 years of my life – breaking with tradition this year I’m going to cook the family Christmas dinner – so the pressure is on! One of the first things I decided to think about was how to make a gluten and dairy free Christmas pudding. This simple recipe can be prepared in advance and stored for up to 3 months.

Enjoy!

Fx

Ingredients

• 100g sultanas
• 50g dried cherries
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1 orange, juiced and zested
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 50ml brandy
• 90g brown sugar
• 1 granny smith apple, peeled and grated
• 1 carrot, peeled and grated
• 125g ground almonds
• 25g cornflor
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 25ml vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon treacle

Method

1. Place the sultanas, cherries, lemon zest and juice, orange zest and juice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and brandy in large bowl
2. Cover and leave to soak for 24 hours
3. Stir in the brown sugar, grated apple and grated carrot
4. Stir in the egg, oil and treacle
5. Mix in the ground almonds, cornflour and baking powder
6. Grease a 1 litre pudding basin and line the bottom with a disc of grease proof paper
7. Pour in the pudding mixture
8. Cover the top with grease proof paper and kitchen foil
9. Tie securely with string
10. Place the pudding in a large saucepan
11. Gently pour in boiling water until it comes half way up the pudding basin
12. Cover with a lid and steam on a low heat for 4 hours – periodically checking if the water needs topped up
13. Leave to cool and store in a cool dark place for up to three months
14. When you wish to serve you can either steam for another 2 hours or remove the foil and microwave for 4 minutes
15. Invert onto a serving platter where you can flame the pudding by heating ip a ladle of brandy, pouring over the pudding and then lighting
16. Serve with dairy free custard or cream