Chocolate Cherry Gluten-Free Christmas Pudding

Pudding2

Notes from my kitchen on “Stir-Up Sunday”

This pudding began with a request from my daughter-in-law for a gluten-free Christmas Dessert. It’s based on a BBC Good Food recipe from several years back. But considering the work involved in converting the measurements and ingredients for American tastes, and making it Gluten-Free, it turned out to be easier to do my own recipe.

12 oz frozen, pitted dark cherries (reserve and freeze half for decorating the pudding)
1 pear, peeled and grated
1 cup raisins
1 cup golden raisins
3.5 oz whiskey or brandy
3.5 oz very dark chocolate bar
4 oz butter (1 stick)
2 large eggs
1.5 cups almond meal
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup finely chopped pecans
.5 tsp ground cinnamon
.5 tsp ground cardamom
.25 tsp ground ginger
.25 tsp ground cloves
.25 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp dark cocoa powder

3.5 oz dark chocolate bar (semi sweet)
4 oz whipping cream
1.5 oz whiskey

.5 cup whiskey or brandy for aging

1. Drain the cherries. Cut each in half.

2. Add the grated pear.

3. Stir in the raisins (regular and golden).

4. Add the whiskey and stir well.

5. Cover and microwave for 3-5 minutes.

6. Add the melted butter.

7. Add the chocolate (broken in pieces.)

8. Let the fruit mixture cool to lukewarm.

9. In a measuring cup, beat the eggs with a fork, then stir into the fruit mix.

10. In another bowl, mix together the almond meal, brown sugar, spices, cocoa, and ground pecans.

11. Combine the dry ingredients with the fruit/egg mixture.

12. Pour into a buttered (lidded) pudding tin or heat proof bowl.

13. Top the pudding with a buttered round of parchment paper.

14. Seal firmly (either with the lid of the pudding tin or with aluminum foil if using a bowl).

Pudding 3

Steam the Pudding

1. I steam the pudding by placing the sealed tin in my slow cooker, adding boiling water to within two inches of the top, and cooking on the low setting for 6-8 hours. Check occasionally and add more boiling water as needed.

2. Alternatively, steam the pudding on the stovetop, placing it in a dutch oven, and filling the pot halfway with boiling water. Cover tightly. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and steam for 2-3 hours.

Store the Pudding

1. Let cool at room temperature, un-mold and baste with a few tablespoons of whiskey. Wrap well and let age in a cool dark space for up to ten weeks.

To Serve the Pudding

1. Reheat the wrapped pudding in a slow oven, or steam it for up to one hour.

2. Melt the second chocolate bar, add the double cream and whiskey or brandy to make the sauce Pour over the pudding and garnish with thawed dark cherries, and if desired, whipped cream.

Servings: 10
Yield: 1 Large Pudding

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 9 hours

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/10 of a recipe (7.1 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. One of the recipe’s ingredients was not linked. This ingredient is not included in the recipe nutrition data.

nutrition GF christmas pudding