Fruit & Nut Biscotti

1. Preheat oven to 170ºC. Place raisins, sultanas and rum in a bowl and set to one side.
2. Cream butter and brown sugar, until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
4. Sift flours, mixed spice and cinnamon.
5. Add breadcrumbs, finely chopped hazelnuts, chocolate, buttermilk, rum soaked fruit and butter mixture and mix well to combine.
6. Prepare 8 pudding basins (200ml capacity): spray pudding basins with oil and line the bottom with baking paper.
7. Divide evenly between prepared pudding basins.

Steaming Instructions
Place basins into a baking dish, and pour in enough boiling water to ½ fill the baking dish, cover with foil. Steam bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake for a further 20 minutes.

Microwave Instructions
Cook in microwave on defrost setting (300W) for 15 minutes, check if a skewer inserted into pudding comes out clean. If not cooked, microwave at 5 minute intervals, until skewer comes out clean. Stand for 10 minutes before turning out. Repeat with remaining mixture. (Note: Do not use foil in microwave).

Beat the butter and sugar until creamy, approximately 2-3 minutes, add the sifted flour, when almost combined add the sultanas, choc chips & continue to beat with the flat beaters until a firm dough is obtained, be aware that it does take time to bring it together. If you knead by hand it will take approximately 4 minutes of kneading.
Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes or even overnight.
Remove the dough from the fridge, and if very firm, gently knead, place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll to ¼ inch thickness, cut out with your feastive cookie cutters, place on the prepared cookie sheets. Refrigerate the cookies while the oven is pre-heating, for about 15 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 160C. Line 1 or 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Bake the cookies for approximately 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, let sit 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!

1. Grease the base and sides of a 1.5L pudding basin. Combine prunes, raisins, sultanas and brandy in a microwave proof bowl and cook for 2 minutes. Stir well and set aside.
2. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until smooth and pale. Add eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Fold in the flour, breadcrumbs, cocoa, chocolate and mixed spice, followed by the fruit mixture. Mix until well combined.
3. Pour batter into prepared pudding basin and cover (if no lid, use a couple of layers of baking paper and secure with string or a large elastic band. Then cover with a layer of foil, securing with a large elastic band. Place into a large pot with a small saucepan in the base. Pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the basin. Cover with a lid and simmer for 3 hours. Top up water as required.
4. Remove from pot and either serve immediately, or leave in the basin and refrigerate until required.
5. For butterscotch sauce, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, and gently bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.
6. For mascarpone cream, fold mixed spice into mascarpone and set aside until required.
7. For serving, place upturned pudding onto a serving plate and dollop with mascarpone and drizzle with butterscotch sauce. Decorate with seasonal fruits and toasted nuts.