Aimee’s Fig, Date, & Orange Blossom Christmas Pudding Recipe

Ingredients

50g Cotswold Self Raising Flour or Organic Self-Raising

180g dried figs finely chopped

175g dates chopped

85g candied peel chopped

80g golden sultanas

juice and zest of one navel orange

100ml Cointreau or orange liqueur

1 and a half tsp orange blossom water

1 small ball or stem ginger in syrup chopped

100g unsalted butter at room temp

1/2 tsp salt

65g blanched whole or flaked almonds chopped

1 tsp ground cardamom or 8 cardamom pods ground with a pestle and mortar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

100g dark muscovado sugar

85g brioche breadcrumbs

2 large eggs

3/4 large figs and a large navel orange to line the basin - optional, add 15g more breadcrumbs if adding this

Buy the flour:

Organic self raising flour, super fine
Organic Self Raising Flour
Self Raising Flour
QUICKSHOP
Self Raising Flour
£1.95 - £9.50
Matthews Rollright Self Raising Cotswold Flour

“If you, like you me, are not a fan of a heavy alcoholic Christmas pudding then this one might convert you. It's lighter in colour and texture and has delicious fragrant flavours of citrus, orange blossom and cardamom. It's really delicious served with some warm custard. The basin is lined with slices of fresh orange and fig, but it's fine to just use orange if you can't find any figs, or to make it without.”

Fig, Date, & Orange Blossom Christmas Pudding Method

  1. Lightly grease your pudding basin and add a disk of baking paper at the bottom, you will need a 1.75 Litre/20 cm basin, or a slightly smaller one will also work (1.3 litre at least)​
  2. In a pan add the chopped figs, dates, mixed peel, golden sultanas and the chopped stem ginger. Add the zest of one orange and the juice and then add the orange blossom water and orange liqueur. Gently simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until the liquid has absorbed into the fruits and it has become sticky. Leave to cool.​
  3. Cut the crusts off some brioche bread and discard them, then make breadcrumbs in a food processor with the rest until fine and weigh out 85g.
  4. Roughly chop the almonds into small chunks and add to a bowl with the breadcrumbs and put to one side.​
  5. In a bowl whisk the butter for a minute to soften it then add the sugar, eggs and whisk, then add flour, salt, and dried spices and whisk again until creamy. Add the cooled fruit and breadcrumbs, chopped almonds, and mix.​
  6. Using a sharp knife slice the fig and orange as thinly as possible and stick to the inside of the basin, then spoon in the mixture.​
  7. Cover with a layer of baking parchment, pleating it to allow for expansion, then add a layer of tin foil on top. Tie with string (keep the paper in place with a rubber band while tying). Trim off any excess paper.​
  8. Then tie some more string to create a handle so you can easily lift out the pudding.​
  9. Place an upturned saucer or some balled up tin foil at the bottom of a large pan and place the basin on top. This ensures the pudding is not touching the base of the pan.
  10. Then boil a kettle and pour water in so it comes to halfway up the size of the basin, then cover and steam for 3 hours, topping up with boiling water every now and then. Leave it to cool.
  11. Store in a cool place for up to 1 week or serve right away. ​
  12. To serve: Steam the pudding in a pan of boiling water in the same way for 1 hour, to warm it through or remove foil and cover basin with plastic wrap and microwave for three minutes, then let stand for two minutes and turn out.​ Serve with clotted cream or custard.

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