Christmas Almond and Orange Pudding

A gluten-free and dairy-free Christmas pudding!

I make a couple of Christmas puddings each year and wanted to try something different from the fruit pudding I normally make. One my friends made an almond and orange cake so I searched the web and adapted a couple of recipes to create a Christmas Almond and Orange Pudding. It's taken a couple of years but I think the recipe is finally ready to share!

Serves 10-12

Times

Preparation:

40 minutes

Cooking:

1½ hours

Ingredients

• 150g (1 cup) mixed fruit
• 60ml (¼ cup) rum
• 1½ oranges (approximately 425g), roughly chopped including peel
• 310ml (1¼ cups) water
• 60g (¼ cup) coconut oil
• 90g (¾ cup) almond meal
• 1½ tsp mixed spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg and ¼ tsp allspice)
• 25g (¹/₈ cup) granulated stevia or 80g (½ cup) caster sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract

Method

1. Soak the mixed fruit in rum, preferably overnight.
2. Place oranges in a saucepan with water. Bring to boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes to soften.
3. Drain oranges, stir in coconut oil and then leave it to cool.
4. Sift almond meal, spices and stevia into a bowl.
5. Process the cooled oranges and coconut oil to make a thick ‘soup’.
6. Add mixed fruit, oranges, eggs and vanilla extract to dry ingredients and stir until ingredients are well-combined.
7. Place the mixture in a ovenproof bowl, cover with foil and then steam for 1½ hours.

When cooked, let the pudding cool, and store it in the refrigerator or freezer.

To reheat, microwave on high for 5-10 minutes.

Serve with orange cream sauce and decorate with berries and mint. I make a simple orange cream sauce by mixing 300ml cream with 20ml Grand Marnier.