Eat Up

Easy Mini Christmas Pudding
Prep: 20 mins, Cook: 2hrs 20 mins
You will need; 8 individual metal pudding basins, greased.
Ingredients
300g (11oz) Julian Graves Ready to Use Mixed Fruit; 200g (7oz) Julian Graves Stoneless Dates, roughly chopped; 125g (4½oz) carrot, grated; 1 apple, cored and grated; Finely grated zest and juice of 2 oranges; 300ml (½pt) brandy; 125g (4½oz) butter; 200g (7oz) dark muscovado sugar; 2 eggs, beaten; 1 tbsp black treacle; 75g (3oz) self raising flour; 200g (7oz) fresh white breadcrumbs; 125g (4½oz) Julian Graves Almonds, chopped.

Method
Preheat oven to 190°C / 375°F / Gas Mark 5. Put the dried fruit, dates, carrot, apple, orange zest and juice and brandy in a pan and heat gently. Simmer for 15-20 mins until the fruit is plumped up. Remove from the heat. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, mix in the eggs and treacle until smooth. Fold in the flour, breadcrumbs and almonds, then tip in the warmed fruits.
Spoon into the greased pudding basins and put into a roasting tin. Pour enough boiling water in to reach about 2cm/¾in up side of tins. Cover entirely with foil and bake for 2 hrs 20 mins. Upturn and dust with icing sugar to serve.
This recipe was kindly supplied by Julian Graves and by Prima magazine.