Food for Fort: white Christmas pudding and edible gift storage

A friend has been enthusing about a white Christmas pudding she used to eat as a child. I know it's too late for this year, but do you have a recipe? I'm dreaming of a white Christmas pud… I've looked all over and drawn a blank, I'm afraid. But I don't see why you can't just take out all the dark bits from a classic Xmas pudding recipe – that way, you'll have one that's golden, if not actually white. So, for next year's pud, you'll need: 350g golden sultanas, 350 dried white mulberries ( healthysupplies.co.uk sells them); 150g mixed peel; 1 apple, peeled, cored and grated; 225g white caster sugar; 225g suet; 110g white breadcrumbs; 175g self-raising flour; 110g ground almonds; 125g each flaked almonds and blanched whole almonds; five beaten eggs; grated zest of 1 lemon; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; ½ tsp ground nutmeg; 1 tsp ground allspice; pinch of salt; 150ml white rum; 150ml sweet cider (or perry). Mix everything except the booze in a bowl and leave overnight. Next day, stir in the alcohol. The mixture should be stiff and not too moist. Place in a buttered basin, cover with buttered paper, tie down with a cloth and boil for eight hours. I've been making some Dan Lepard edible gifts from Weekend's winter food special last year , to give to friends and family, but am now worried they'll go stale before they eat them. How do I keep them fresh? Just pop them into airtight plastic containers and wrap them up in those – that should keep them in peak condition for several weeks. • Got a culinary query for Matthew? Email [email protected] Follow Matthew on Twitter . Visit Matthew's blog, Fort on Food