I have always loved christmas pudding…I have even gone the all day/all week route to make it. There are a few funny stories that go with that adventure. The first was my mother almost burning down the house when she used over proof Barbados rum to flambe it. And the second when my grand mother poured the turkey drippings into the rum sauce I had simmering on the stove, because she thought it was the start of the gravy.
A couple years ago, I went on a tour of this amazing chocolate shopp, and they had a chocolate cake made in a slow cooker. It was awesome! The thing I noticed was that the cake, or pudding had a very similar consistency to Christmas pudding, without the fruit. Cakes made in a slow cooker have a very dense, yet moist texture that you would never get baking. So I put my thinking cap on and tries to figure out the flavors of a Christmas pudding. The warm spice, the sweet fruit, the hint of rum. That Christmas this is what I came up with…
This is not the prettiest cake you will ever see…but it does taste wonderful. I normally scoop it into fancy bowls and top it with the sauce…
A quick note about the fruit…I have never like the candied fruit in Christmas pudding…so I changed it up a bit with more modern fare…
The Pudding
1 box spiced cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg instant butterscotch pudding
1 cup butterscotch chips
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 cup water
1 dash (or two) angostura bitters
1 1/2 oz dark rum
1 1/2 oz calvados, or cherry brandy
1/2 cup seedless raisins (soaked in rum overnight…this is not the rum listed above…you are going to need about 2 oz more to soak)
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup chopped dried apple
1/2 chopped dried pineapple, or mango
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
Mix all ingredients together. Pour into lightly greased 5qt crock pot, metal coffee can or Crock Pot Cake Bake pan.
Cover.
Cook 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.
The Rum Sauce
2oz butter
2oz plain flour
2 cups milk
2oz fine/caster sugar
5 tbsp dark Rum
Using a hand whisk, slowly add the milk, stirring vigorously. Continue whisking until thick smooth sauce is formed (about 5 minutes). Do not have the heat too high or the base of the sauce may burn.
Add the sugar and whisk until dissolved. Lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes stirring from time to time.
Finally add the Rum and serve with the Christmas pudding.
If you make the sauce in advance, prepare up until adding the Rum, then cool, store or freeze. Reheat the sauce and add the rum before serving.
