Lighter Christmas Pudding
Christmas pudding is a traditional English dessert that is served at the end of the Christmas meal. It is a rich, dark fruitcake that is made with a variety of dried fruits, spices, and suet. Christmas pudding is typically served with brandy butter or hard sauce.
While traditional Christmas pudding is a delicious and decadent dessert, it is also very high in calories and fat. A single serving of Christmas pudding can contain over 500 calories and 20 grams of fat.
If you are looking for a lighter version of Christmas pudding, there are a few things you can do. First, you can reduce the amount of sugar and fat in the recipe. You can also use whole-wheat flour instead of white flour, and you can add more fruit and nuts to the pudding.
Here is a recipe for a lighter Christmas pudding:
Ingredients:
* 1 cup whole-wheat flour
* 1 cup rolled oats
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
* 1/2 cup chopped almonds
* 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
* 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries
* 1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
* 1/2 cup chopped dates
* 1/2 cup chopped figs
* 1/2 cup chopped raisins
* 1/2 cup chopped mixed peel
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/2 cup brandy
* 1/2 cup molasses
* 1/4 cup honey
* 1 egg, beaten
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 1-quart pudding mold.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, walnuts, almonds, apricots, cranberries, cherries, dates, figs, raisins, mixed peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, brandy, molasses, honey, and egg.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Pour the pudding into the prepared mold.
6. Cover the mold with foil and bake for 2 hours, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Let the pudding cool completely before serving.
This lighter Christmas pudding is still a delicious and festive dessert, but it is lower in calories and fat than traditional Christmas pudding. Enjoy!