Title: Frances Bissell's Low-Fat Christmas Pudding
Categories: Dessert Lowcal
Yield: 8 Servings

230	g	(8 oz, 4 loosely packed
		Cups) fresh wholemal
		Breadcrumbs
230	g	(8 oz, 2 cups) EACH of
		Roughly chopped muscatel
		(black) raisins,
		Sultanas (yellow raisins)
		And dried apricots
60	g	(2 oz, 3/4 cup) crumbled
		Almond macaroons or
		Amaretti
60	g	(2 oz, 3/4 cup) chopped
		Almonds
60	g	(2 oz, 1/2 cup) ground or
		Flaked almonds
1		Grated appple
1	tb	Grated orange zest
1	ts	Ground cinnamon
1	ts	Ground mace
1/2	ts	Ground cardamom (I had none,
		So used cumin, which worked
		As well!)
1/2	ts	Ground cloves (I used whole,
		And put them in the food
		Processor
		With the bread! Again, it
		Worked)
1/2	ts	Ground allspice
2	tb	Orange marmalade or candied
		Orange peel
		Juice of 1 orange
4	md	Free-range eggs
6	tb	Or 1 miniature bottle of
		Cognac
140	ml	(5 fl oz, scant 2/3 cup)
		Fortified muscat wine, port,
		Marsala
		Or rich oloroso sherry

Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Put the marmalade, orange juice, eggs, brandy and wine in another large bowl, or in the blender or food processor, and beat until well blended and frothy. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients. Mix until moist. Cover, and let sand for a couple of hours at least and, if possible, overnight to let the spice flavours develop.

Oil or butter the pudding basin and spoon in the mixture. As it contains no raw flour, it will not expand very much during the cooking, so you can fill the basin to within 1.25 cm (1/2 inch) of the rim. Take a square of greaseproof or waxed paper, oil or butter it (I didn't bother, but did oil the basins. I don't have a 3-pint one, so used 1 2-pint and 1 1-pint one, 2 pints being ample for my family for Christmas dinner) and tie it over the top of the basin with string.

Steam in boiling water for 5 hours. Allow pudding to cool completely before wrapping it, still in its basin, in fresh greaseproof paper plus a layer of foil. Store in a cool dark place.

On Christmas Day, steam for a further two hours.

Bissell/Levy suggest serving this with creme fraiche, rather than the traditional brandy butter (don't ask - not to be discussed on THIS mailing list!!!), and I do think this is one occasion when a LITTLE cream is permissible!

Incidentally, the tradition is that every member of the family stirs the pudding mixture while making a wish....

Recipe typed by Annabel smith but taken from Paul Levy's "The Feast of Christmas) Converted to MM by Donna Webster donna@webster.demon.co.uk From: Donna@webster.Demon.Co.Uk Date: Fri, 27 Oct 1995 10:09:32 +0000 (

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