Vegan & Gluten-Free Christmas Pudding Recipe
This is a quick and easy Christmas pudding recipe that you microwave to cook. No fussy steaming, just super easy and super tasty!
Servings: 8 people
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500 g mixed dried fruit, (raisins, sultanas, currants, dried cranberries, dried apricots, mixed peel)
- 50 g stem ginger, chopped small
- 1 apple, grated
- 1 orange, zest and juice only
- 3 tablespoon rum
- 160 g self-raising gluten free flour blend
- 110 g soft brown sugar
- 80 g ground almonds
- 2 teaspoon mixed spice
- a pinch of salt
- 80 g coconut oil, melted (plus a little more for greasing)
- 4 tablespoon aquafaba
Instructions
- Basin Prep: Grease a 1.2L (2 pint) pudding basin by rubbing a little coconut oil all around the inside of the basin with your fingers. Then cut a small circle of greaseproof paper and lay it in the bottom of the basin. Add a little more coconut oil on top of the greaseproof paper. Cut out a large circle of greaseproof paper to fit the top of the pudding basin (set aside to use later).
- Soaking: In a medium bowl, add all the fruit, juice, zest and rum. Mix together and leave, covered with cling film, in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. (If you’re in a rush, you can pop the bowl in the microwave for 1 minute instead).500 g mixed dried fruit, 50 g stem ginger, 1 apple, 1 orange, 3 tablespoon rum
- Mixing: After soaking the fruit, take a separate large bowl and mix together the flour, sugar, ground almonds, mixed spice and salt. Then add the soaked fruit and juices into the flour bowl and mix well. Add the coconut oil and aquafaba and mix again.160 g self-raising gluten free flour blend, 110 g soft brown sugar, 80 g ground almonds, 2 teaspoon mixed spice, a pinch of salt, 80 g coconut oil, 4 tablespoon aquafaba
- Cooking: Then pour the mixture into the prepared pudding basin. Press down lightly with a spatula to level it out then place the large circle of greaseproof paper on top. If your basin has a lid, just rest it loosely on top (or cover with cling film and cut a few holes in the cling film so that it doesn’t explode!). Put the pudding basin into the microwave and microwave on full power (800W) for 5 minutes. Stop and rest for 1 minute then microwave again on full power (800W) for 4 minutes.
- Check whether it is cooked by removing the lid and greaseproof paper and pressing down lightly with your finger. It should feel fairly firm but with a bit of bounce and springy to the touch. You can also check it with a skewer and see if the skewer comes out clean. If it is slightly under cooked, leave it for a few more minutes to rest.
- Once it is cooked through, leave to rest for at least 10 minutes in the basin, then remove the coverings, place your serving plate on top of the basin and flip it over. The pudding should fall out neatly with a plop onto the plate. Then remember to remove the small circle of greaseproof paper from the top of the pudding!
- Decorate with some sprigs of holly if you like or douse with some more rum and set alight for a traditional flaming Christmas pudding spectacle! (Be very careful with this as any spills or loose clothing could cause a fire.)
- Serve with vegan cream or crème fraiche mixed with some brandy or rum (vegan brandy cream) or vegan brandy custard .
Notes
- It is essential to let the pudding rest for 1 minute half way through microwaving (after 5 minutes) and again for at least 10 minutes after cooking, so that it cooks evenly. Otherwise, you can be left with some less cooked sections within the pudding.
- Lighting the pudding: The traditional way to serve a Christmas pudding is to set it alight and bring it to the table with blue flames burning. To do this, you need to warm a small cup of brandy or rum (or any drink with a high alcohol content). Then pour the drink over the pudding and around the sides on the plate. Carefully, with a long match, light the alcohol around the pudding. Obviously, you need to take all necessary fire precautions and please do be careful to make sure you don’t spill any of the alcohol as this could cause the fire to spread. Also, make sure not to pour more alcohol onto the flaming pudding from a bottle as this could cause the bottle to burst into flames too.
- Making ahead: If you want to get ahead, you can make this pudding up to a few weeks ahead. Cook for the first 5 minutes and then wrap it and store it in the freezer (or the fridge if you have space) until the big day. Then take it out of the freezer the night before to defrost and on the day, microwave on high (800W) for 6 minutes. Remember to leave it to rest for 10 minutes after cooking before serving.
- Leftovers: reheat portions individually in a bowl whenever you feel like you want some more pudding (spatter with a little water then microwave in a covered bowl), or use the leftovers to stir into ice cream. Christmas pudding makes the best ice cream flavour!
Nutrition
Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 527mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 57IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 158mg | Iron: 3mg