Tag Archives: Holiday Dessert

Plum Pudding with Hard Sauce

Gluten Free Plum Pudding with Hard Sauce

I grew up eating my Grandmother Carrie’s Plum Pudding every Christmas and New Years as a child. It is a part of the holidays and just the smell says Christmas and New Years to me. The recipe she made had been passed down to her four generations ago, and six generations ago to me. It came from her Great, Great Grandmother from the Old Country as she referred to England.

Grandma had the recipe committed to memory, as she did many of her family dishes, casseroles, jams and pickles. But she wrote it down as she got older and her daughter (my mother) wanted the recipe.

Her plum pudding always had a warm hard sauce to spoon over the top rich with aromatic brandy. The spices of the plum pudding were deep and warming and the sauce sweet and decadent, it’s purpose to soak into the pudding on your plate.

Here is my modified recipe of her pudding. It is mostly the same, except I have taken out the wheat flour and made it grain and dairy free. I hope I have done you proud Grandma!

whole plum pudding grain free

Plum Pudding with Hard Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup of Raisins

1/2 Cup of Currants

1/2 Cup of Chopped Apple

1/2 Cup of Coconut Flour

1/2 Cup of Olive Oil

2 Eggs

6 Tablespoons of Maple Syrup or Honey

2 Tablespoons of Molasses

2 Tablespoons of Brandy (you can substitute lemon juice of desired)

1/2 Cup of Coconut Milk

2 Teaspoons of Ground Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon of Ground Ginger

1/2 Teaspoon of Ground Nutmeg

1/2 Teaspoon of Ground Cloves

1/4 Teaspoon of Sea Salt

1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Powder (this is corn free)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350° degrees F. Grease a fluted 2 quart pan or other two quart pan with high sides with organic vegetable shortening.

Beat the eggs, olive oil, molasses, maple syrup, coconut milk and brandy in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until creamy. You can use a hand held mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer. Whisk together all the dry ingredients (the remaining ingredients). Add the dry mixture slowly to the wet mixture until incorporated, then turn the mixer to medium high and beat for two minutes. Stir in the raisins, currant and apple on low until completely mixed.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Fill a large casserole dish with very hot water so when you place your fluted plum pudding pan into it the water comes half way up the sides. (You are creating a bain marie). Bake the plum pudding for 40 minutes, then tent with foil for 20 more minutes. It is a 60 minute bake total. If it should cave in a bit in the center when removed from the oven that’s ok. Let sit for five minutes, then tip it out of the fluted pan and onto a platter.

Hard Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup of Coconut Sugar

1/4 Cup of Maple Syrup

1/4 Cup of Water

2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil

1 Tablespoon of Brandy

2 Teaspoons of Tapioca Starch

A Pinch of Nutmeg

Directions:

For the hard sauce whisk together all the ingredients except the tapioca starch. Then, bring to a boil. After the sauce comes to a boil, reduce it to a simmer and whisk in the tapioca starch until smooth. Continue to simmer for five minutes.

Serve the Plum Pudding by slicing it while warm. Then spooning warm hard sauce over it. While you can serve the cake cold, and just put warm hard sauce over it, it was traditionally served warm. You can reheat the pudding in the oven by wrapping it in foil and reheating for ten to fifteen minutes.

Paleo British Plum Pudding with Hard Sauce. This is a delicious traditional plum pudding made Grain and Dairy Free. The original recipe comes from my Grandmother from the Old Country.

Pumpkin Vanilla Bean Pie (Paleo, SCD, Low FodMap)

You can be proud to bring this Pumpkin Vanilla Bean Pie to any gathering! My husband, Doug, loves this recipe! It is extra special because of the vanilla bean and light rum in the filling, and the crust is just the right thickness. I played with the recipe quite a lot until I perfected it, and it is a winner!

Festive SCD Paleo Pumpkin Vanilla Bean Tart

Holiday Pumpkin Vanilla Bean Pie (Paleo, SCD, GAPS)

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 1/4 Cups Superfine Almond Flour

3 Tablespoons Organic Shortening

1 Pastured Egg

3/4 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt

Pumpkin Filling:

1 Can SCD Legal Pumpkin

1/2 Cup Clear Honey

1 Vanilla Bean

3 Pastured Eggs

1/2 Cup Full Fat Coconut Milk (No Additives)

2 Tablespoons Light Rum (I used Bacardi)

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Ginger

1/4 Teaspoon Cloves

1/4 Teaspoon Allspice

1/8 Teaspoon Nutmeg

1/4 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt

Directions:

Preheat your oven 350º degrees.

CRUST:

Grease the insides of a pie pan or 11 inch springform tart pan. In a medium bowl, add the almond flour and shortening. Work the shortening into the almond flour with a fork and finish off by using your fingers until it is crumbly and well dispersed. Add a lightly whisked egg and the salt and stir with a fork until it forms a ball. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pie crust to decorate the top, and press the rest of the crust evenly onto just the bottom of the pan. Roll the 1/4 cup of crust between two pieces of parchment or plastic wrap to 1/4 inch thickness and cut out shapes of your choice with a small cookie cutter. Place the shapes on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake the shapes for 5 minutes, the crust for 8 minutes in the oven, remove and cool while you prepare the filling.

FILLING:

Warm the honey in the microwave for 30 seconds in a small bowl. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a small spoon. Whisk the vanilla bean seeds into the warmed honey. In a large bowl whisk together your pumpkin and coconut milk, add the honey and vanilla bean seed mixture. Whisk in the eggs and rum until fully incorporated. Finally, whisk in the spices and salt.

Place your pan on a rimmed cookie sheet to protect again spills, and pour the filling into the tart crust. Carefully place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, top with your pie crust cutouts and chill for four hours before serving.