Ingredients
375g packet sultanas (2¼ cups)
1 cup finely chopped dried apricots
½ cup brandy
Cooking oil spray
175g unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup caster sugar
¹∕³ cup honey
3 eggs
1½ cups fresh breadcrumbs
1 cup self-raising flour
3 tsps mixed spice
Vanilla custard, to serve
Method
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Combine sultanas, apricots and brandy in a large bowl. Stand, covered, overnight.
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Lightly spray a metal pudding steamer (8-cup capacity) with oil. Line base and side with four, 3cm wide, strips of baking paper at different angles. (If not lined, pudding may be difficult to turn out.)
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Add butter, sugar, honey, eggs and breadcrumbs to sultana mixture. Mix well. Stir in combined sifted flour and spice. Pour into prepared steamer. Smooth over top.
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Place a piece of baking paper then foil over top of steamer. Tie firmly with string to secure. Cover with metal lid.
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Place a small, heat-proof saucer in the centre of a removable bowl of a 5 to 6-litre capacity slow cooker. Sit steamer on saucer. Pour in enough cold water (about 8 cups) to come three-quarters of the way up the side of steamer. Cover cooker tightly with two sheets of foil. Cover with lid.
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Cook on high for 5 hours. Remove steamer from cooker. Stand for 15 minutes. Remove lid, paper and foil. Turn out pudding onto a plate. Remove lining paper.
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Serve warm pudding with warm or cold custard.
