Name: Quick Christmas pudding
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 200g (preferably made from slightly old bread) white breadcrumbs; 200g mixed dried fruit; 200g soft light brown sugar; (beef or vegetable) 200g suet; 100g self-raising flour; 100g ground almonds; 1 tsp mixed spice; 2 tsp ground nutmeg; 1 carrot grated; 2 eggs whisked; a splash stout or beer

200g (preferably made from slightly old bread) white breadcrumbs
200g mixed dried fruit
200g soft light brown sugar
(beef or vegetable) 200g suet
100g self-raising flour
100g ground almonds
1 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 carrot
grated
2 eggs
whisked
a splash stout or beer

Method

step 1
Put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir. Add some beer if it seems too stiff and get every member of the family to give it a stir and make a wish before you put it into a 1-litre pudding basin. Cover the top with a double layer of greaseproof paper and tie round the edge with string. Put on a trivet in a pan with water in the bottom, cover and steam for 1 hour 30 mins to 2 hours (insert a knife; it should come out not too sticky). Cool and store in a cold, dark place until christmas.
step 2
To finish cooking, steam for 30 minutes and serve with custard or brandy butter.