Most of the time Christmas day in Australia is simply too hot to have a traditional fruit pudding (although some do). It does of course depend on where you live. For those of you who would like to indulge in a brandy fruit pudding at Christmas time but do not want the heat in the kitchen this no bake slice may be perfect for you.

This recipe was designed specifically to be made with Bakers' Magic gluten free flour. The finished baked product will not be the same if you use another gluten free flour and you will need to adjust the recipe, particularly if the flour you're using contains rice flour.  

 Ingredients

200 g Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour

10 g Cocoa

175 g Butter#

100 g Dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp Salt (if using butter)

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Zest of a lemon & orange

150 g Sultanas*

200 g Glace cherries*

40 g Currants*

120 g Blanched almonds (roasted)

60 g Brandy

250 g Hot water

Extra  ~70 g white chocolate

 

* substitute dried fruit depending on your & your family's preferences.

# Butter can be substituted with another fat/oil, preferably something that is solid/soft at room temperature. As suet used to be used in a lot of puddings I would use cocoa butter (150 g) as it has a similar profile to suet (refer to Comparison of fats & oils). Cocoa butter can be obtained prepackaged from gourmet food stores (eg Essential ingredient) or by weight from The Source Bulk Foods. If using another fat/oil adjust the salt level accordingly. 

 

Method

Put the brown sugar, sultanas, currants & hot water into a medium saucepan, let it sit for ~20 mins. Stir it occasionally.

If your almonds are not roasted, turn oven on to 120 C, spread the almonds on a baking tray and put them in the oven for 25 - 30 mins (check them occasionally).

Line a slice tray. I like to have overhanging edges that I can use as handles to pull the slice out of the tray.

Mix together the dry ingredients; Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour, cinnamon, cocoa, salt and zest in a bowl.

Roughly chop the cherries.

Put ~75 g of the roasted almonds into a food processor & blitz for a couple of secs until there is some almond meal but also some larger pieces. The remaining almonds will be used on top of the slice.

Mix the processed almonds in with the dry ingredients.

Put the butter in with the brown sugar & fruit. Turn on the heat underneath the saucepan. Boil the fruit/butter mixture for 10 mins. Leave the heat on & add the chopped cherries to the mix. Turn off the heat.

Add the dry ingredients all at once & stir vigorously for ~ 1 min. Some of the fat will start to separate out of the mix.

Take the saucepan off the heat completely & let it cool for a couple of minutes.

Pour the brandy (or other liqueur) onto the mix & stir it in. The mix will thicken & fat that had separated out should have been absorbed back into the mix. 

Pour mix into slice tray. Arrange roasted almonds on top of the slice, pushing them a little bit into the mix. I arranged the almonds in a 5 x 5 configuration to ensure I would have an almond on each piece of the slice.

Allow slice to cool before putting it into the fridge.

Refrigerate slice for ~2 hours before cutting.

When the slice has set lift it out of the tray & transfer to a bread board. Cut the slice lengthways in between the columns of almonds. Move the cut slice off the bread board & transfer one column of slice back to the bread board. Cut the slice on the diagonal ensuring the large pieces have an almond on them. There will be little pieces of slice that don't have an almond on them. Arrange the pieces on the bread board or a piece of baking paper. 

Melt the white chocolate & put it into a plastic bag. Cut a little piece off the corner of the bag. Pipe the white chocolate over the top of the slice pieces. Allow chocolate to set before storing them in the fridge.

Simply enjoy!