Vegetarian Christmas Pudding

I know, I know, some of our friends will raise an eyebrow, but we had a really good parve fruit pudding this Shabbos! Based on a recipe by the famous Roopa Gulati, this is easy, suet-free, milk-free, and yummy on a cold winter evening. Ideally it should be made a month in advance, wrapped in greaseproof paper, and stored in an airtight tin to mature; but we made it on Friday and ate it that night, and it was delicious.
Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients. Once you've bought them it's just a question of throwing them together in a mixing bowl.

Ingredients:

• 100g plain flour
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ginger powder
• 100g fresh white breadcrumbs
• 100g dark brown sugar
• 150g chilled margarine or butter, diced
• 150g sultanas
• 150g raisins
• 50g candied peel, diced
• 1 apple, grated
• 50g chopped dates
• 50g honey or golden syrup
• 1 lemon, grated zest and juice
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 60ml brandy

Method:

• Sieve the flour and spices into a bowl and stir in the breadcrumbs and the sugar.
• Rub the fat into this mixture and mix thoroughly.
  Tip: Rupa says the mixture should at this stage resemble breadcrumbs, but unless the fat is very cold that ain't gonna happen. instead you're going to have a mush - but don't worry about it, mush is fine.
• Stir in the sultanas, raisins, peel, grated apple and chopped dates.
• Lightly whisk together the golden syrup, lemon rind and juice, eggs and brandy. Pour into the fruit mixture and stir well to combine everything together.
• Lightly grease a 1000ml pudding basin (or line with greaseproof paper) and spoon in the mixture. Fill to within about 1 cm from the top.
  Tip: We had some mixture left over which we spooned into 12 small silicone cupcake moulds, plopped walnut halves on top of, and baked.
• Cover the pudding with a disc of greaseproof paper and secure with a double layer of foil, tied in place with string.
  Tip: If you're good at that sort of thing, make a string handle to lift the bowl in and out of the saucepan.
• Steam for 3-4 hours, until darkened and firm to the touch.
  Tip: If you use a pressure cooker, an hour would probably be more than enough.
• Leave to cool before turning out (so it doesn't come apart).

Serving possibilities:

• Dredge lightly with castor sugar
• (After a dairy meal:) Serve with hot custard.
• (On a weekday:) Heat 6 tablespoons of brandy in a metal ladle, tilt over the flame so the brandy ignites, and pour it over the pudding.

And here are some of the small cupcakes made with the leftover mixture: