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Health Foods - Nutrition - Diets - Recipes:
Rich Fruity Christmas Pudding...cakes...
Christmas Pudding - Christmas Fruit Cake - Actually, I made the mixture into mini muffins!
This recipe was originally for a pudding, however I decided to make the mixture into mini muffins, I prefer to call them 'Personal Puddings' ! I did that because it is a rich mixture and mini muffins give people the option to have a few more if they wish... They look a little rough here but they were devoured nonetheless! (I have used Spelt flour, and rice crumbs where bread crumbs (2 cups) were originally recommended)
Preparation time:
20 minutes or so, plus soaking the fruit overnight
Baking:
180 degrees, until golden brown in colour
Ingredients:
- 200g preserved citrus peel
- 125 g cranberries
- 200g raisins
- 125g soft dried figs
- 200 g sultanas
- 150g currants
- 1/2 brandy for soaking
- 250g unsalted softened butter
- 1 cup brown sugar or palm sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons marmalade
- 1 cup plain spelt flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoon mixed spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
- 1 cup rice crumbs (look in health food section of supermarket)
- 100g macadamias, chopped
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate bits
- 15 glace cherries - sliced into quarters - for decoration (optional!)
- Plus - I used small white paper muffin cups for baking
Slice figs into smaller pieces, add to raisins, sultanas, cranberries, citrus peel in a large glass or stainless steel bowl and pour over the 1/2 cup of brandy, and mix thoroughly and cover overnight to soften.
Cream together butter and sugar with electric mixer, adding eggs one at a time, then add in the marmalade.
Sift together the flour, mixed spice and ginger, bicarb soda. Fold the sifted mixture into the creamed butter mix and then add the rice crumbs, soaked fruit, macadamia nuts and chocolate bits. Spoon mixture into mini muffin cups, mounding them a little high is okay because they don't change shape that much. Smoothing the mixture over a little will make them a little easier to ice, however its a bit hard with all the fruity bits!
Bake at 180 degrees for around 12-15 minutes - maybe longer depending on fan forced etc. These were done when they were a dark golden brown colour. Remove from muffin tray and allow to cool before applying bandy butter icing option (below). They are best stored in the fridge.
A Traditional Brandy Butter Icing
Beat 200g softened butter and 1/2 cup icing sugar until it becomes pale and fluffy. Add 1/2 teaspoon of dutch (fine) cinnamon and 1/4 to 1/2 cup brandy (your preference) or you could also use Grand Marnier. This mixture can be stored in the fridge overnight if you are waiting for the muffins to cool down.
Ice and decorate top with 1/4 of glace cherry or a dried cranberry if you don't want the colouring!.
Last year I made this into one large christmas cake and that worked out fine too however I feel like, because it is a rich mixture the mini muffins work out even better so guests can eat as much as they can handle!...and then some.
Yum... Happy Holidays!
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Article by Shauna Kendall