Chocolate orange Christmas pudding 🎄

Christmas pudding with a twist...a good twist...let's face it this year needs a good twist!

I love traditional Christmas pudding, but a traditional Christmas pudding, at least by my family's recipe includes suet 🤢 

So i trialled a few vegan Christmas pudding recipes and this one really stood out. All the great attributes of a Christmas pudding but with some rich chocolatey, zesty orangeness thrown in...perfection! 

I feel like these pictures don't do the pudding the justice it deserves, trust me, you need to try it!

Chocolate orange Christmas Pudding

Ingredients (serves 8)

🍊 60g plain flour⁠
🍊 120g coconut sugar ⁠
🍊 3 tbsp cornflour⁠
🍊 2 tsp baking powder
🍊 3 tbsp cacao powder⁠
🍊 120g coconut sugar
🍊 3x slices of wholemeal bread⁠
🍊 1/2 tsp nutmeg⁠
🍊 1/2 tsp cinnamon⁠
🍊 2 oranges (zest & juice)⁠
🍊 60ml olive oil
🍊 80ml water
🍊 1 tsp orange extract (or an extra 2x orange zest)⁠
🍊 350g dried mixed fruit (soaked overnight in 6 tbsp sherry)⁠
🍊 100g dates ⁠
🍊 100g dark chocolate ⁠

Method:

1. Place the dried fruit in a small bowl and cover with 6 tbsp sherry - cover and leave to soak overnight / until the sherry is absorbed.
2. Sieve the flour, cornflour, baking powder, cacao powder, nutmeg & cinnamon into a bowl.
3. Finely breadcrumb the bread, i tend to do this in a food processor to get a nice fine breadcrumb, and add to the bowl along with the coconut sugar and zest from the oranges.
4. Juice the oranges into a small jug, add the orange extract, olive oil & 80ml water. Whisk to combine.
5. Add the orangey liquid to the dry ingredients and mix well.
6. Blitz the chocolate chunks in the blender to make them the size of chunky chocolate chips.
7. Add the dates, soaked dried fruit and chunky chocolate chips and fold into the mixture.
8. Grease a 1l bowl. Then cut a circle of greaseproof paper the size of the flat base of the bowl, position in the bowl and grease the greaseproof...you can never be too careful. 
9. Cut an oversized square of greaseproof paper then fold a 2" concertina allowing the pudding to rise slightly without breaking the cover.
10. Transfer the pudding mix to the bowl and smooth the top. 
11. Cover the pudding bowl with the greaseproof paper.
12. Create a handle for the pudding bowl with a folded length of greaseproof paper. Tie down the cover and handle by securing the string around the lip of the bowl. 
13. Place an upturned saucer in the base of a large pan. 
14. Fill the pan with 1/3 of water. Add the pudding bowl to the pan and bring to the boil. 
15. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 3hrs.
16. Check regularly that the pan doesn't boil dry and add more water to the pan if required. 

Check out this weeks cook-along where I make this recipe LIVE so you can see if you want to give it a go yourself!

Drop me a comment below if you try this recipe or share your creations on instagram @newnorm_plantbased would love to hear how you get on!

Until next week, eat well, stay well and keep it plant-based 😘