Vegan Chocolate Christmas Pudding (Gluten-Free)

This Vegan Chocolate Christmas Pudding is perfect for anyone who doesn't like Christmas pudding! Unlike traditional Christmas pudding, it contains no dried fruits or spices, and is instead moist, rich and chocolatey, with an indulgent chocolate sauce. A guaranteed crowd pleaser that even picky eaters and kids will love! It's great for people on a low FODMAP diet, or those who can't eat dried fruits. It's also gluten-free and refined sugar free, and can be made with or without alcohol. It's not too sweet or sickly, comes together in one bowl, and is boiled/steamed in a pan, so it doesn't require an oven to make! The best comforting Christmas dessert!

How to make this recipe

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

• Mix together all the ingredients for the pudding in a mixing bowl.

Tip: Use a measuring jug to measure out the milk.

• Grease a medium-sized deep glass bowl or pudding basin and transfer the pudding batter into it.

• Place the bowl in a pan (make sure it's bigger than the bowl) and fill up with cold water up to halfway up the bowl.

• Cut out a circle of baking paper to place directly on top of the pudding batter so that it's completely covered.

• Then use some tin foil to cover the top and fold around the sides of the bowl.

• Place a lid on the pan and bring to the boil.
• Turn down the heat and cook on a low heat for 2 hours.

• Leave to cool slightly before taking out of the bowl. 
• Carefully remove the tin foil and baking paper. Run a blunt knife around the edge of the bowl to let the pudding come away from the sides - this is easier to do once it's cooled down.
• Turn the bowl upside down on a plate, and shake until the pudding pops out.

Troubleshooting tips

• Make sure to use the right amount of baking powder - 2 heaped teaspoons! Use too little baking powder and your sponge won't be fluffy, too much and it'll have a bitter taste.
• The vinegar is crucial as it's acidic, which means it reacts with the alkali bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to create a bubbly batter, and fluffy sponge.
• Make sure to use an all-purpose shop-bought gluten-free flour blend (or a homemade gluten-free flour blend), as opposed to just using any type of gluten-free flour you can find (such as almond flour, coconut flour, buckwheat flour etc).

How long does this Chocolate Christmas Pudding keep for?

This Chocolate Christmas Pudding keeps covered in the fridge for a few days. It can be enjoyed hot or cold.

How do you reheat this Christmas Pudding?

• If you want to make this Christmas Pudding in advance and reheat on the day, you can do this by steaming it again for 1 hour before serving.
• Or you can warm up individual slices in the microwave.

How to make the chocolate sauce

I recommend serving this Chocolate Christmas Pudding with a chocolate sauce.

• Break up the chocolate into small pieces and place in a saucepan with the almond milk, salt and brandy if using.

• Cook on a low heat and stir regularly until the chocolate has melted.

Tip: Make sure not to overheat it, as the chocolate will 'split' if you heat it too much.

Tips for making the chocolate sauce

• Make sure not to overheat it as the chocolate will 'split' if you heat it too much.
• If the chocolate does split, you can easily fix this by adding boiling hot water to it 1 teaspoon at a time and stirring well until the mixture goes back to normal.

How long does the Chocolate Sauce keep for?

• It does keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days, but the sauce won't stay runny.
• The sauce won't stay runny when cold, but it can be reheated gently in a saucepan until it reaches your desired consistency. Be careful not to overheat, as the chocolate will split. 
• If the chocolate does split when reheating, you can fix this by adding boiling hot water to it 1 teaspoon at a time and stirring well until the mixture goes back to normal.

Substitutions you can make to this recipe

• You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
• You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
• You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
• You can replace the vinegar with lemon juice.
• You can replace the ground almonds (almond meal) with ground walnuts.
• For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds (almond meal) with ground sunflower seeds or use 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour instead of 150g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds.
• You can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you're not gluten-free.
• For a refined sugar free version: you can use refined sugar free chocolate.
• You can omit the brandy, or sub any other liqueur of choice - ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary.

Things you can add to the pudding batter

There are several different things you can add to the batter if you want to change the flavour slightly:

• Dried fruit - such as raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, chopped dates etc.
• Chopped nuts - such as chopped walnuts or pecans.
• Fresh or frozen fruit: such as cherries or raspberries.
• Tinned fruit: such as tinned cherries.
• Chopped chestnuts.
• Chocolate chips or chunks.
• Orange peel, orange zest, orange extract or orange blossom water.
• Peppermint extract.
• Desiccated coconut.
• You can add spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, mixed spice etc.

How to serve this Chocolate Christmas Pudding

There are several different things you can serve this pudding with:

• Vegan vanilla ice cream.
• Vegan coconut whipped cream.
• Custard - this custard powder is my favourite as it's made with just few simple ingredients and it's vegan, gluten-free and completely free from sugar.

More vegan Christmas desserts

• Pecan Pie
• Apple Cake
• Gingerbread Cookies
• Christmas Fruit Cake
• Apple Pie
• Pumpkin Pie
• Gingerbread Cake

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I'd really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

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