Spiced carrot, coconut & date pudding

Love the drama of lighting a Christmas pudding? Spoon over a little triple sec or rum to this carrot, coconut and date pudding. If not, try our snowy topping

Prep:45 mins
Cook:9 hrs
Serves 8
More effort

Nutrition per serving

kcal 552
fat 17g
saturates 10g
carbs 88g
sugars 0g
fibre 8g
protein 7g
salt 0.8g

Ingredients

2 tbsp ground chia or flaxseeds
2 large oranges, zested and juiced
200g pitted dates
140g dark muscovado sugar
140g soft white vegan breadcrumbs
200g self-raising flour
85g desiccated coconut
100g vegetarian suet
2 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
50ml golden syrup
2 large carrots, grated
140g sultanas
a little sunflower oil, for the basin

Method

Mix the chia seeds with 6 tbsp water, then set aside for 5 mins until thickened. Blitz the orange juice and dates in a food processor until puréed.
Put all the other ingredients, except the oil, in a large bowl and mix with the date purée. Drizzle over the chia seed mix and mix well. Oil a 1.2-litre pudding basin and line the base with a circle of baking parchment. Spoon in the pudding mix, pressing down firmly. Cover with pleated baking parchment and foil, and secure with kitchen string (see our how to video).
Lower the basin into a large pan with an upturned saucer or scrunched-up foil in the base to stop the basin from touching the bottom. Fill the pan with boiling water so it’s halfway up the side of the basin, then cover and simmer for 6-7 hrs, topping up the water as needed. It’s ready when a skewer poked into the centre of the pudding comes out with only moist crumbs – there should be no wet mix. Leave to cool. Will keep in a cool, dry cupboard for up to a year.
On the day, re-steam as above for 2 hrs. Leave to rest for 10 mins before carefully turning out. Serve with coconut custard (see below).