Vegan Figgy Pudding

A Figgy Pudding is a fruity Christmas dessert of British origin. It is a traditional steamed cake that is dense, sticky, often dome-shaped and made with dried fruits and alcohol. I have made a simple baked version of a Figgy pudding that is vegan, alcohol-free and refined sugar-free and refined flour-free but is delicious and fruit-filled. It is a healthy and guilt-free dessert made from dried figs, a mix of whole wheat flour and Ragi flour. I have made this moist and delicious dessert in a mini bundt cake mould and it does look very appealing. Make a batch of this healthy, delectable figgy pudding for your loved ones and enjoy it at the end of your Christmas meal. I am sure you would thank me for it.

Have you ever heard of a Figgy Pudding before?

Of course, most of us have heard it. Can you recall? It is referenced in the Christmas Carol " We Wish You A Merry Christmas" in the chorus line " Now bring us some Figgy Pudding!" The other day my little one came home from school singing this carol and asked me, Mumma, what is figgy pudding? I answered to him that it must be some Christmas special dessert but I could not stop myself from browsing about figgy pudding on the Internet and I am happy I did research about this amazing dessert. I have not followed one single recipe but referred to around 4-5 different recipes and then figured out this one with my set of ingredients taking into account the taste of my family and the ingredients available in my pantry. My family thoroughly enjoyed this dessert and I am going to bake them often during the winter season.

                               

What is Figgy Pudding?

For most of us, pudding is something creamy custard-like dessert. But a figgy pudding is actually a steamed cake made from dried fruits ( essentially figs), bread crumbs and alcohol. Figgy Pudding is a traditional British dessert that is served at the end of the Christmas meal from the 16th Century. Dried figs are cooked and a pudding batter is made using it along with alcohol and other fruits and nuts. The batter is then spooned in temperature resistant bowls, covered with foil and placed in an oven or a water bath and baked gently.

                                  

My take on the Figgy Pudding?

My version of figgy pudding is vegan, refined flour-free, sugar-free, alcohol-free and it is not steamed. My figgy pudding is a moist little fruit muffin-like dessert which is made from whole wheat flour and ragi flour and is loaded with fruits. I have used about 8-10 dried figs which i cooked in almond milk, 1 overripe banana and for the citrus flavor, i have added orange zest. Jaggery powder is used as a sweetener here and the pudding is also flavored with warm spice powders like cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove to make it a perfect treat for Christmas. As a typical figgy pudding is often dome-shaped, I have made it in mini silicone bundt cake moulds. The quantity of ingredients used in this recipe yield around 8 mini bundt cakes which remain good for around 2 days at room temperature and around a week on refrigeration in an airtight container. This figgy pudding tastes good on its own but you can also top it with icing sugar or caramel custard or chocolate cream to make it more festive.

Health Benefits of dried Figs:

Dried figs are an excellent source of minerals, vitamins, and anti-oxidants. It lowers the risk of high cholesterol, heart diseases and constipation. The fiber in the figs also helps you to lose weight since it makes the figs more filling, helping you eat fewer calories.

Event-Related to this dish:

I am a part of a Facebook gourmet group, Healthy Wealthy Cuisine wherein participating bloggers share recipes every fortnight. 'Its Christmas time' is the current theme suggested by Archana Potdar who blogs at The Mad Scientists kitchen. Archana di is a versatile blogger and i head to her blog for authentic Goan recipes and many other easily doable dishes from all around the globe. This time, she wanted her to cook either sweet or savory dish but which essentially has to be something which can be made for the Christmas Season. At first, i thought of baking some warm citrus-flavored Christmas muffins for this event but then, as i mentioned above, when my little one came up with a query as to what is the figgy pudding in the Christmas carol, 'We wish you a merry Christmas'? I had to research and bake this pudding for him. You may want to take a look at what my fellow bloggers cooked for the theme.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crackers by Vanitha
Popcorn Rocky Road Dessert by Archana
Pecan Goji Berries Coconut Cookies by Shalu
Saffron Sweet Bun by Sasmita
Eggless Sugar Cookies by Narmadha
Hot Chocolate by Swaty
                                  

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 8 mini bundt cakes

Ingredients : Measurements used - 1 cup = 250 ml

• 8-10 dried figs
• 1 cup almond milk 
• 1 medium overripe banana
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup ragi flour
• 1/2 cup jaggery powder
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder
• 1/4 teaspoon clove powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Heat milk in a pan and add finely chopped figs to it . Cook the figs on medium flame for around 8-10 minutes. Put off the flame and allow the fig mixture to cool down at room temperature.

2. Preheat the oven at 180 Degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Grease the mini bundt cake moulds with oil and keep ready. Sift the whole wheat flour, ragi flour, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, clove powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl.

3. In another bowl, mash the overripe banana and add jaggery powder to it. Mix well until the jaggery powder dissolves and blends completely with the banana. Add oil to it and give a good mix.

4. Add the cooked fig mixture to it and blend everything well. To this add our dry ingredients in batches and fold using a spatula. Do not overbeat the batter.

5. Add vanilla extract and orange zest to the batter and fold again. Spoon the batter in the greased mini bundt cake moulds and bake them in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20-25 minutes. keep a watch after 20 minutes as temperature may vary from oven to oven.

6. Allow the figgy pudding to cool down on a wire rack before transferring to an airtight container. Serve it plain or sprinkle some icing sugar over it or top it with caramel custard or cream and enjoy with your loved ones!

Recipe Notes:

• You can make this figgy pudding gluten-free by skipping the whole wheat flour and making it entirely with ragi flour.
• You may add chopped walnuts and currants also in this figgy pudding.
• Do not skip the orange zest as it lends a lovely citrus flavor to the pudding. Though you may use lemon zest instead. To make orange zest at home, just scrap the orange peel with a peeler taking care you just take the outer thin layer and not the white part of the peel which is bitter. 
• You may replace the jaggery powder with grated jaggery or brown sugar.
• If you do not have mini bundt cake moulds, you may bake the figgy pudding in regular muffin moulds.
• You may serve the figgy pudding plain or sprinkle some icing sugar over it or top it with caramel custard or cream.

I hope some of you would love to try out this recipe. If you do so, feel free to share your feedback with us in the form of likes and comments in the comment section below this post. All your suggestions are also more than welcome. If you like my work and feel it is worth following, do hit the follow button at the top right corner of this blog. Your appreciation means a lot to me. For more recipes and new updates follow us on social media.

• Facebook Handle: https://www.facebook.com/poonambachhavblogspot/
• Instagram Handle: https://www.instagram.com/poonambachhav/
• Twitter Handle: https://twitter.com/poonampagar_B
• Pinterest Handle: https://in.pinterest.com/poonambachhav

Related Posts:

• Dried Figs Dates and Nuts Energy Rolls

                         

• 101 Christmas Special Recipes

                            

• Fig Banana Smoothie

                              

• Ragi Banana ChocolateBbundt Cake