Christmas in July: Who's Going to Bring The Fig Pudding?

When I asked my readers and facebook fans for suggestions on what to fill my Christmas in July menu with, Tess suggested fig pudding.  I have, of course, always sang along with the Christmas carol that mentions figgy pudding, but if you asked me what a figgy pudding actually consisted of, I couldn't have told you (without the obvious exception of figs.)  So, Tess' suggestion was a great one!  Not only is it a great Engish Christmassy dessert, but something new for me to make.  So, thank you Tess for the great suggestion.




Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup dried pitted dates (at whole foods, I found them in the bulk foods section)
• 1/2 cup dried figs (there were turkey figs at the store, so I went ahead and got them, dried will work fine too though)
• 2 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 ounces dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup chocolate covered candied orange peels
• 1 cups brown sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the water in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.

Cut the figs and the dated into pieces.

Add the dates and the figs to the hot water.

Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

Allow figs and dates to cool for 5 minutes.

Using a sharp knife, chop the chocolate into small chunks.

Add the figs, dates, and water to a blender, and puree until smooth.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugar together.  

Beat in the eggs.

Mix in the flour 1/2 cup at a time.

Stir in the baking soda.

After all the ingredients are well mixed, stir in the chocolate covered candied orange peels, the chopped dark chocolate, and the date and fig puree.

Mix well.

Pour the batter into a greased mold (I used a 1.5 quart half circle pyrex glass bowl, but individual ramekins, or a bunt pan would work too.)

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, or until knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

While the pudding is baking, make the sauce.

In a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat, combine the brown sugar, cream, and butter.

Heat until butter has melted, and the sugar has dissolved.

Bring sauce to a boil, then remove from heat.

Turn the pudding (which is more like a cake) out onto a serving platter.

Pour the sweet brown sugar and cream sauce over the cake, and garnish with a few candied orange peels.

What a deliciously festive way to end your Christmas dinner.

Enjoy!