Recipe: Liz Earle's Wellbeing Christmas Pudding

"This nutty, citrus twist on the traditional Christmas pudding substitutes refined sugar with the natural sweetness of dried fruits and honey" says Liz Earle, of this dish which is taken from her book  Liz Earle Wellbeing Yearbook Volume 2.

Serves 6

Ingredients

120g raisins

120g sultanas

120g dried apricots, roughly chopped

120g pitted prunes, roughly chopped

1 orange, grated zest and juice

1 eating apple, coarsely grated

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

2 tbsp honey

6 tbsp sherry or brandy

2 tbsp melted butter

2 large eggs

75g blanched almonds, roughly chopped

75g ground almonds

75g fresh breadcrumbs, or crumbs made from gluten-free bread

Method

1. Put all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix everything together until really well combined. Spoon the mixture into a greased one-litre pudding basin and smooth over the top. Cover with a piece of pleated greaseproof paper, then pleated foil. Secure tightly with string around the top.

2. Put the basin in a large-lidded casserole dish sitting on top of an old saucer so the bowl isn’t touching the bottom of the pan. Fill the basin halfway up with boiling water and simmer gently for five hours, making sure the water is regularly topped up.

3. Take the basin out of the water and leave to cool for 20 minutes before turning out and serving.

Recipe taken from Liz Earle Wellbeing Yearbook Volume 2 - £25 available from  www.lizearlewellbeing.com

Find Liz Earle Wellbeing at  lizearlewellbeing.com  on  Instagram  and  Twitter