NUTTER’S STICKY CHRISTMAS PUDDING

CHRISTMAS wouldn’t be Christmas without a Christmas pudding, but a lot of people find it too heavy and rich and after a couple of spoonfuls they’re beaten.

Nutter to the rescue! This dessert brings together all the tastes and flavours of your traditional pudding, but is so light, fluffy and gooey that it’s the perfect finale to any festive feast.

Serves 4 Ingredients:

For the pudding: 180ml water 125g pitted dates Grated zest and juice of half a lemon

Grated zest and juice of half a orange

A few drops of vanilla flavouring 2 tsp Camp coffee 6 tsp bicarbonate of soda 90g butter 4 eggs 50g walnuts, chopped 200g self-raising flour 125g mincemeat 100g glacé cherries, halved 1 tsp cinnamon Pinch of mixed spice For the clementine sugar: 100g sugar Zest of 2 clementines For the sauce: 230g caster sugar 4 tbsp water 12 tbsp whipping cream 100g butter 100g mincemeat To serve:

Hazelnuts dipped in liquid caramel

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas 2. 2. Simmer the water and the dates together in a pan for 10 minutes. 3. Add the lemon and orange zest, vanilla flavouring, Camp coffee and bicarbonate of soda, blend in a food processor until smooth. 4. Make the clementine sugar by blending together the sugar and clementine zest in a food processor until wellmixed. 5. In a mixing bowl, cream together the clementine sugar and butter. 6. Mix in the eggs, add the walnuts, flour, mincemeat, cherries, cinnamon and mixed spice, mixing well, then mix in the date mixture. 7. Pour into a greased roasting tray and bake for 25 minutes until spongy. Allow to cool slightly. 8. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Boil the sugar and water together in a pan until it caramelises, turning golden brown. 9. Stir in the cream and butter, then add the mincemeat. 10. To serve, cut out four individual rounds of the sponge pudding. Spoon over the sauce and serve with your favourite ice cream and hazelnut sugar strands.