Vegan Christmas Pudding Food

VEGAN CHRISTMAS PUDDING

Steps:

• Grease a 2-litre pudding bowl with dairy-free margarine, then line the base with a circle of baking parchment. Grease a large sheet of baking parchment, then lay it on top of a large sheet of foil, margarine side up. Fold a pleat in the middle of each sheet.
• Roughly chop 125g of the figs and set aside. Put the remaining figs, the dairy-free margarine and the rum into a large food processor and whizz until smooth-ish, then scrape into a large mixing bowl. Tip in the chopped figs, sultanas, raisins, grated apple, sugars, breadcrumbs, flour and allspice. Stir everything together, then spoon into your pudding basin.
• Cover with the buttered paper-foil sheet, tie with string and trim. Lower into a large saucepan, with upturned saucers or scrunched-up bits of foil in the bottom (so the pud doesn't touch the bottom), then fill the pan with enough boiling water from the kettle to come halfway up the sides of the bowl. Cover with a lid and simmer for 3 hrs, topping up the water as needed. Remove and leave to cool. Will keep in a cool, dry cupboard for up to a year.

VEGAN CHRISTMAS PUDDING BROWNIES

Steps:

• Cut or crumble the free from Christmas pudding into small chunks or pieces, and set aside. Mix the ground flaxseed or linseed with 4 tbsp water in a small bowl, and leave to thicken and become gel-like.
• Melt 150g of the chocolate, the spread and milk together in a heatproof bowl set over a small pan of just-simmering water (ensure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water). Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil a 20cm brownie or square cake tin and line with baking parchment. Briefly whisk the flour, ground almonds, cocoa, sugars and salt together in a large bowl with an electric whisk to break up any lumps of sugar. Make a well in the centre, then whisk in the chocolate mixture, along with the flaxseed mixture and vanilla. Beat until smooth and all the flour is incorporated - the batter should be thick.
• Fold in the Christmas pudding pieces and the remaining chocolate chunks until just incorporated, then scrape into the prepared tin. Smooth the surface with a spatula and bake for 40-50 mins until the top has a light crust and there's a slight wobble in the centre. A skewer inserted into the middle should have moist crumbs clinging to it, but no raw batter. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
• Cut the brownies into squares and serve at room temperature, or chill for a more fudgy texture. Will keep in an airtight container at room temperature or chilled for up to three days, or frozen for up to three months. Dust with the cinnamon icing sugar just before serving.