Apple pudding, hot whiskey sauce, 'nuff said
Winter hasn’t gone away, y’know (like you needed reminding). Neither, therefore, has the need to keep my body warm both inside and out. And while thermal underwear will do for the latter, you still can’t beat a hot whiskey for the former.
The unfortunate truth, though, is that (try as I might) Spud cannot live on hot whiskeys alone – I find that pudding is required at least every once in a while.
What better, then, than a warm wintery pudding inspired by the lemony cloveness of a hot whiskey. A lemony apple pudding with a buttery whiskey sauce, to be exact. Resident sis was heard to say that this may just be my best dessert ever. High praise indeed.
Whiskey Apple Pudding
This pudding has a cakey bit and a saucy bit, and you’ll find whiskey in the saucy bit (figures, really) and lemon and cloves in both. The cakey bit also includes apple because, when I think cloves, I think apple. Simple as that.
The cake is very moist and, I think, best eaten warm. For the full dessert experience, serve warm with a pouring of sauce. Add some sour cream too. You’ll thank me.
Of course, if you want to forego the sauce, you can just enjoy the cake part with your morning coffee or afternoon tea and perhaps with a dollop of something creamy.
You’ll need:
- 1 large cooking apple, such as Bramley – you’ll need approx. 300g apple after peeling and coring
- 175g plain flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 0.5 tsp baking soda
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 0.25 tsp ground cloves
- 125g unsalted butter
- 125g demerara sugar
- 2 eggs
- zest of a large lemon (about 2 tsp zest)
To serve:
- Hot whiskey sauce (see below)
- Sour cream or natural yoghurt (optional)
You’ll also need:
- Baking tin – mine was about 26cm by 18cm and about 3cm deep.
The Steps:
- Preheat your oven to 180C and grease your baking tin well.
- Peel, core and coarsely grate the apple – you’ll need about 300g grated apple.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cloves together well.
- In a separate bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy (or use a food processor or stand mixer to do the job for you).
- Add the sugar to the butter and beat well.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Stir in the lemon zest.
- Now gradually fold in the flour mixture, taking care not to over-mix.
- Fold in the grated apple and then scrape the mixture into the baking tin.
- Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out fairly cleanly.
- Eat as is or serve, still warm, in bowls, with hot whiskey sauce and sour cream or yoghurt.
The Variations:
- You could make individual muffins from the mixture if you like – divide the mixture among 1 x 12 piece deep muffin tray and bake at 200C for about 15 mins.
The Results:
- Makes pudding for around 8.
Hot Whiskey Sauce
Here you have it folks – hot whiskey in buttery, creamy sauce form.
This sauce is relatively liquid when hot, though it becomes soft, creamy and almost curd-like as it cools. Have it warm or cold with some warm pudding – either the apple pudding above or with Christmas pudding as an alternative to brandy butter.
You could also just swirl a few spoonfuls of sauce into some natural yoghurt to jazz it up. Or you might find yourself skipping the pudding and yoghurt and simply dipping into the sauce on a regular basis until it’s all gone. It’s addictive that way.
You’ll need:
- 100g demerara sugar
- 100g unsalted butter
- pinch of salt
- 75ml cream
- 3 tblsp Irish whiskey (I used Jameson)
- 3 tblsp lemon juice
- pinch of ground cloves
The Steps:
- Place the butter, sugar, salt and cloves in a small saucepan over a medium heat, stirring often as the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.
- Stir in the cream, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring continuously and allowing the sauce to reduce and thicken.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the whiskey and the lemon juice. The sauce will be fairly liquid at this stage, but thickens considerably on cooling.
- Serve over your pudding of choice.
The Variations:
- I daresay you could use brandy instead of whiskey here, possibly with orange juice instead of lemon, especially if you were thinking of using this on a Christmas pudding instead of brandy butter.
The Results:
- Make about 250ml, enough to accompany that apple pudding you’re about to make.
haven’t been around much and such a nice welcome back to me – a whiskey recipe, a hot pudding whiskey recipe!:) now I know how to use that someone’s little present!
Funny, but I was just telling my new business partner that I cold not go out to the market today, it has snowed so much hubby said do not leave. You cannot see the roads, as well as poor visibility period. So I told her, “I guess I can live on whiskey, potatoes, hot sauce, and bread”, since that is all I have in the house at the moment.
A few I inherited, ‘extra’ bottles from a neighbor- Whiskey from India, two un-heard of brands, Irish, two Johnny Walker Blacks, and a Johnny Red.
No yogurt, or I could whip this up for our dinner tonight!
Thanks for a delicious recipe. This contains all my favourites: apples, lemon and whiskey.
It’s 30 degrees centigrade at the moment so I’ll have to file it for our winter here in the southern hemisphere.
It’s not too late for dessert. I’d love to have a piece of this right about now. The sauce looks fantastic too. I’m imagining the taste right about now.
YUM YUM!
I was just having a conversation with a friend the other day about warm whiskey sauce. Well, it was bourbon sauce around here, but I love both. I can’t think of a better pairing than with this apple pudding. I feel all warm and toasty already.
This looks so good! I might make this today to have for breakfast with coffee over the next few days. I’ll just sub in some whole grain flours, so I don’t feel guilty.
Yes please! This is an amazing recipe. I can’t wait to use it to warm up. Cloves, lemon, whiskey, apples- wonderful.
Waw,…Daily spud!! What a master dessert you created here especially with that lovely boozy cream sauce!!
Perfect in this cold weather!! mmmmmm,….!!!!!
This dessert truly looks incredible! The hot whiskey cream sauce is just amazing! I am bookmarking to try this for sure!
This is divine and err, even after a cupcake and a Chinese sweet pastry, I’m still raring to go with my sweet tooth. want some of that and oooh, yay for hot whiskey sauce!
I love whiskey!!! This pudding looks divine!
Katrina: ah, what a good use for your Irish whiskey :)
Chef E: whiskey, potatoes, hot sauce and bread doesn’t sound like such a bad diet to me, lol
Lynda: thanks so much for dropping in and hope you enjoy this when your southern hemisphere winter rolls around!
jenn: it’s never too late for dessert :D
Jane: Yum indeed – wonder would Aidan make some for ya? :)
Lori: no doubt you could put warm whiskey sauce on a lot of things but this does make for a truly happy pairing
Stella: thanks for stopping by and by all means try it with some wholegrain flours – it’s yours to play with :)
Phoo-D: thank you :) and enjoy!
Sophie: yep, a nice winter dessert to match those freezing temperatures you’ve been having in Brussels!
5 star foodie: it’s a real hot whiskey makeover :)
diva: you go for it, girl!
Maninas: if you love whiskey then I reckon you’re sure to love this :)
Wow, I usually am only tempted by chocolate desserts, but this one looks out of this world! Awesome recipe!
I knew I liked you when I started reading your blog, but your repeated additions of libatiious elixirs have synched the deal. This just sounds like heaven!
Y’know, I came over earlier but had to leave as soon as the photo came up – just too much deliciousness to take in at once. Seriously, that is one spectacular dessert – I’m warmed through just looking at it.
I have a lone Granny Smith in the fruit bowl – she’s a bit smaller than your husky Bramleys but perhaps I can adjust the recipe size to accommodate. But luck’s not completely on my side: we’re all out of Jameson’s and tomorrow is a Sunday. Darn these dry laws!
OMG!! this looks amazing, the sauce and apples together delish!!
sweetlife
Carrie: thanks – and I think you’re probably right, this does give chocolate desserts a good run for their money!
OysterCulture: gosh I do have a tendency to put a splash of the hard stuff in, don’t I? :)
Tangled Noodle: I think a Granny Smith would do admirably in place of the Bramley, but lack of Jameson or similar is indeed a debilitating blow, hope you can rectify that soon!
sweetlife: thank you – I’m a sucker for apple-y desserts and this one definitely hits the mark :)
Nuff said, indeed! I think I might like to submerge myself in this and then nibble my way out. Is that wrong? :)
No, Jenni, that is a perfectly normal reaction. At least it is in my house and that’s what counts!
This looks crazy good! I’m foaming at the mouth over it.
i have a whiskey loving friend who would totally be begging me to make him this lovely whiskey apple pudding if i showed him your pudding:)
Reeni: it is indeed crazy good :)
amy: welcome and thanks for dropping by – and I think you should definitely show the pudding to your whiskey-loving friend – go on, you know you want to :D
Yeah, cheers. It does look absoltuely fantastic, all warm and gooey and appley. Looks fantastic!
Hey Jamie, it is warm, gooey and appley indeed. I might have to go and make some more right now!
It’s already just after 7:00 p.m. and I am so tempted to take out all the ingredients to start making this dessert! It looks amazing!
Hey Maria, thanks for dropping in! Did you make the pudding? Hope you enjoyed it if so…
I stumbled upon this recipe quite by accident two nights ago, made it last night, and have to tell you… I nearly wept with joy when I ate it. If I could eat no other dessert until the end of time, I would be completely happy. It is transcendent… it is sublime. I’m sure I didn’t even make it right, as I had to convert the metrics to U.S. measurements.
I would say “keep it up”, but I don’t think it could possibly get any better than this. :D
My dear G, comments like that make my day, thank you so much! They also remind me that I need to go and make this dessert again, because it’s been a while. Too long, in fact. Way too long :)
I made it today, and it really tastes delicious. I love it. The only thing I would change next time, is to omit lemon juice. Whiskey sauce is nice, but it should not be so lemony.
Thanks for the recipe :)
So very glad that you made and liked it Ljiljana and many thanks for taking the time to comment, it’s always much appreciated. Regarding the sauce, I think that – as with any recipe – it’s always important to make it according to your taste and, if leaving out the lemon juice is how you like it, then that is of course how you should make it (and a just-whiskey sauce would indeed be very lovely too!). As I tend to like things on the lemony side, I suspect that that is probably how I will continue to make it – which, I think, is ok too :)