It’s easier than you think to create traditional (and unusual) Christmas puddings that are 100% gluten free
Christmas isn’t Christmas without a fruity Christmas Pudding. But these days it’s so easy to make incredible gluten-free puddings, why stop there? Here are four different gluten-free puddings you could try this Christmas.
Easy gluten-free Christmas pud
Ingredients
- 100g dark brown sugar
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 50ml orange juice
- 75ml gluten-free wine
- 50g ground linseed or flaxseed
- 200g mixed dried fruit
- 1 carrot, peeled and grated
- 1 apple, peeled and chopped
- 100g chopped pecans or walnuts
- 200g chopped glacé ginger
- 50g gluten-free plain white flour
- 50g gluten-free margarine spread
- 75g gluten-free white bread (as breadcrumbs)
Method
- Combine sugar, spices, orange juice, wine and linseed/flaxseed into a smooth paste.
- Stir in the fruit, grated carrot, chopped apple, nuts and ginger.
- Sift in the flour and mix well.
- Melt the spread and add it to the mixture, then add the breadcrumbs and stir.
- Grease a pudding basin with the spread and spoon the mixture in. Cover the top with a layer of non-stick baking paper and then a layer of foil. Secure with string.
- Simmer the pudding in a boiler for around 3 hours. Do not remove the cover/seal.
- Store the pudding in a cool place. On Christmas Day, simmer the pudding again for 3 hours before removing the cover and serving.
Pear & almond sponge
Ingredients
- 225g softened butter
- 270g caster sugar
- 85g dark brown sugar
- 100g gluten-free marzipan
- 4 eggs
- 115g gluten-free self-raising flour
- 200g ground almonds
- 150g stem ginger
- 6 tbsp buttermilk
- Icing sugar for dusting
- 5 ripe pears (roughly the same size and shape) – peeled
- 50ml ginger syrup
- 100ml ginger wine
- 1/2 vanilla pod, split
Method
- Put the peeled pears, ginger syrup, wine, sugar, vanilla pods and 100g of chopped stem ginger into a pan.
- Add enough water so the pears float, and simmer for 20 minutes until they are soft. Let the pears cool in the liquid.
- Once cold, scoop out the cores from each pear and add them to the poaching liquid.
- Whisk the sugar and butter together in a bowl. Cut the marzipan into small pieces and add to the mixture along with the eggs. Whisk until the batter is light and airy.
- Sift in the flour and add the almonds, remaining chopped stem ginger, and buttermilk. Whisk together before spooning into a greased or lined tin.
- Drain the pears and arrange them upright in the tin in a circle. Push each pear right down into the batter.
- Bake for 34-45 minutes at 180˚C, checking regularly if the pears are still standing upright.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin and dust with icing sugar before serving.
Gluten-free pecan pie
Ingredients
- 150g butter
- 100g caster sugar
- 3 large eggs, plus 1 yolk
- 270g gluten-free plain flour
- 50g butter
- 225g golden syrup
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp cornflour
- 200g pecan nut halves
Method
- Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl before mixing in an egg and the egg yolk.
- Add the flour and bring the mixture together in a ball. Wrap it in clingfilm and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Unwrap the pastry onto a floured surface and roll it out to 3-5 mm thick then put it in a greased 23cm tart tin. Trim the edges and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Blind bake the pastry for 20-25 minutes at 160˚C until pale gold then set it aside to cool.
- Make the filling by warming butter and syrup in a saucepan over a low heat. Once runny, remove from the heat and whisk in the sugar.
- Whisk together cornflour and 2 eggs before adding them to the saucepan.
- Fill the pastry with pecan halves, then pour the saucepan mixture over them. Leave a gap between the top of the filling and the top of the pastry.
- Bake for about 40 minutes until it has risen in the centre and is golden. Let it cool in the tin before removing to serve.
Gluten-free chocolate honeycomb parfait
Ingredients
- 200g dark chocolate, chopped
- 85g blanched almonds, chopped
- 150g margarine
- 85g dried cherries or glace cherries
- 100g dried cranberries
- 5 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Method
- Make honeycomb by melting the sugar and syrup in a pan over a low heat. Once melted, turn up the heat and let it bubble until it’s a rich gold colour. Whisk in the bicarbonate of soda then pour into a greased baking tray. Set aside to cool then chop into chunks.
- Melt the chocolate and margarine in a heatproof glass dish over boiling water. Stir until combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the honeycomb, nuts, cherries and berries.
- Line a 450g loaf tin with cling film and leave 8cm cling film draping over the edges. Spoon the mixture into the lined tin and smooth the top. Fold the loose edges of the cling film over it.
- Freeze it for 1 hour and transfer to the fridge.
- Once set, carefully lift it from the tin, peel off the cling film, and cut into slices.
