Recipe - Christmas Pudding Cupcakes

 

My cousin had brought us a couple of these cupcakes last fall that she bought at a Trade Show.  They make a lot of sense to me as not everyone in our family likes Christmas Pudding.  Personally, I don’t feel like the Christmas meal is complete without it! So off I went in search of a recipe.  I found this one on Taste.com and did a few changes.

 450g mixed fruit

½ cup raisins

1/3 cup brandy

Juice from one orange

1 cup butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup, lightly packed brown sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

3/4 cup plain flour

2 tsp mixed spice

2 slices bread ripped into cubes

112g package Hershey’s Chipits Baking Chocolate

Preheat oven to 300*F.  Line muffin pans with cupcake liners and spray lightly with Pam.  Gather your ingredients.  I forgot to include the raisins in this picture.

Cut the fruit into smaller pieces. Soak the raisins for 5 minutes in hot water and drain.

Squeeze the juice from one orange.

Place the mixed fruit in a large bowl. Place the brandy and juice in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook for 2 minutes or until heated through. Pour over the fruit and stir to combine. Set aside for 30 minutes to soak.

Use an electric beater to beat together the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well between each addition.

Break the chocolate into pieces and put in a plastic bag.  Pound with a rolling pin to break into small pieces.

Sift the flour and mixed spice over the butter mixture. Add the breadcrumbs, chocolate and fruit mix.

 Stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes to the top. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface.

Cover with parchment paper.

Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside in pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool slightly.

There was just one little problem – I can’t tell you if they are good or not as I made them on a very hot day last August and somehow, Christmas Pudding in the summertime just doesn’t cut it!  I have frozen what is left and I will do another taste test closer to Christmas!