Tip the dried fruit into a large bowl or 1.5l Kilner jar. Pour over a 250ml cup of strong black tea and set aside for a couple of hours so that the fruit plumps up.

Add the vodka, 150g sugar, zest, spices, cloves and vanilla and almond extract, give everything a good stir/shake.

Put the mixture on the side for four days, giving everything a little jiggle every time you walk past to help the sugar dissolve.

On the third day give the vodka a taste and add the rest of the sugar if you prefer it a little sweeter.

After four days strain the mixture using a fine mesh sieve to remove the fruit and cloves, pushing everything down with a spoon to remove as much of the liquid as possible.

Strain the mixture again to remove any sediment; paper coffee filters work well, although you may need to change them a couple of times. A double layer of scalded muslin/strong kitchen towel can also be used to line the sieve if you don’t have paper filters, and jelly-straining bags work very well too.

Decant into sterilised glass bottles and keep somewhere dark to mature until Christmas; perfect for when you fancy a little sweet treat but can’t fit in any more pudding!