Christmas Pudding

To make this Christmas pudding recipe, start by preparing all the pudding batter ingredients.

Pudding batter: Drain the canned pears in a colander. Keep the syrup for later in the recipe.

Pit the dates and set them aside.

Chop the pears into pieces, place them in a blender...

...and blend them finely for 1 minute.

You will get a very fine pear purée.

Chop the dates into small pieces using a slicing knife.

Pour all the pear syrup and chopped dates into a saucepan.

Add the currants...

... caster sugar...

...and bring everything to a boil. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

After cooking, transfer everything to a mixing bowl.

While the mixture is still hot, add the baking soda...

...and stir with a spatula. You'll observe a chemical reaction (the mixture will foam), which is normal.

Set aside for 30 minutes.

Pour the pear purée into a container.

Add the mixture of dates and raisins you previously prepared. It should be warm.

Add the liquid vanilla extract...

... and the whole eggs...

...and mix thoroughly with a rubber spatula.

Add the semi-wholemeal flour and baking powder.

Add the breadcrumbs...

...as well as the spices (ground cloves, ginger, and cinnamon powder).

Mix all these ingredients together with the spatula...

... until homogeneous.

Grease a bundt cake tin using an oil spray.

Pour the pudding batter into this mould.

Smooth the surface of the batter with the rubber spatula...

...and cover the mould with a doubled piece of aluminium foil (folded in half). Ensure the foil tightly adheres to the edges of the mould.

Place the bundt tin in a preheated fan oven at 160°C (gas 3) and bake for 50 minutes, depending on the oven. The mould should be placed in the direction of the ventilation for even cooking.

After 40 minutes of baking, insert a knife blade into the centre of the pudding.

If the blade comes out wet with batter, the pudding isn't done yet.

Continue baking without the aluminium foil at 160°C (gas 3) for about 10 more minutes.

After baking, take the cake mould out of the oven and again insert the knife blade into the pudding.

The blade won't come out completely dry, which is expected, but it should be cleaner than the first time.

Place a pastry cooling rack on the mould...

...and invert it, using a cloth to avoid burning yourself. Gently remove the cake mould. It should come off very easily, thanks to the design mould.

Allow the pudding to cool to room temperature.

Whit icing: Mix the powdered sugar and water in a bowl...

...and whisk the two ingredients together until you get a perfectly smooth mixture. If it's too liquid, add some powdered sugar or vice versa, a bit of water if it's too thick. Transfer the icing into a piping bag.

Cut the tip of the piping bag to get a small opening, which will control the flow. Pipe the white icing into the grooves of the bundt cake.

Decoration: While the icing solidifies in open air, quarter a pomegranate and remove its seeds.

Arrange these seeds harmoniously on the pudding.

Make sure you put enough to cover the surface of the cake.

Finish the decoration with some de-stemmed red currants and fresh rosemary sprigs. Your Christmas pudding is now ready and will be delicious accompanied by crème anglaise! Avoid refrigerating it; it's better to store it at room temperature if consumed quickly (within 48 hours). Enjoy this delicious dessert!