This is the pudding for the Christmas week 2014 plan. Plump dried fruits, rich muscovado flavours, double cream trickled over. Very naughty at 600+ calories, and very, very nice. I tested one with DP this evening, we shared, as calorific treats like this slip down very easily. Well they do in our house anyway

To make 4 servings, you will need
1 egg, Asda Smartprice mixed weight, pk of 15, 8p
100g self raising flour, value 1.5kg/45p, 3p
100g muscovado sugar, 500g/£1, 20p
100g Best for Baking margarine 250g/49p, 20p
100g mixed dried fruit 500g/95p, 19p

serve with 50ml double cream per person, Asda 300ml/85p, 57p

Total of £1.27, 4 portions is 32p each

Weigh out the sugar and put 1 tbslp in with the fruit, along with 60ml hot water, and leave the fruit to soak and plump up. You could microwave it for a few seconds to help it along a bit.

Put the remaining sugar and the spread in a bowl and beat together until creamy. Add the egg yolk and beat. Now add half the egg white, beat, and repeat. Add the flour and gently stir through, not too much, lots of stirring will make the pudding leathery.

Now, you have a few options. You can bake this in a medium oven for half an hour until golden, or steam it in a slow cooker for 2 hours, or microwave it practically instantly.

You can use 1 dish, 1 pudding basin, or divide it into 4 in ramekins, individual sized pudding basins or even microwaveable teacups or small mugs.

I used 4 little plastic pots with lids. The mix should only come about halfway up the pots, or the mix will spill out as it expands in the microwave. Put the soaked and plump fruit, and remaining juice into the baking dish / pudding basin(s) and the pudding mixture on top, dividing equally if using individual dishes.

Microwave in 1 dish for 6 minutes or individual servings for 5 minutes.

We used 1 of these this evening, and the remaining 3 can be frozen with the pot lids snapped on, or kept in the fridge for a few days. It had a lovely flavour from the Muscovado as I hoped. I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to twiddle with the sugar levels, I thought the fruit might make it too sweet. But it was fine, just right. It could be enjoyed with cream, as here, or with custard or ice cream, or any combination of the three you fancy. A flavoured ice cream would be lovely, maybe Muscovado again, or rum/brandy, or a fresh lemony one, or how about a chocolate one.

This mixture is half of the chocolate fudge cake, although with only 1 egg, and Best for Baking instead of oil. I have included the link here because the original post has many ideas for variations which you might like to have instead on Christmas Day, or indeed, if you do this any other time.

Specifically for Christmas Day, if you have any, or have the funds to get any, you could substitute any other dried fruit. Chopped dates would be lovely, maybe with a few chopped walnuts mixed in, or figs, or fine chopped apricots. Or an exotic version with dried mango or dried pineapple. If you have any, you could use anything containing alcohol to soak the fruit in.

Or you could go traditional and have treacle, either the syrup or the dark, molasses type one. Or, of course, a dollop of mincemeat. In short, anything sweet can be used in the base of this, and it will be lovely.

You could use ordinary white sugar in the mix, or any other type of sugar. If you need it, this would work well with gluten free flour. If you want it vegan, use oil to make the mix, or a vegan spread and serve with something suitable.  Swedish Glace ice cream maybe.

per serving, 672 calories, 7g protein, 45g fat, 60g carbs