Individual Cranberry Puddings with Ice Wine-spiked Whipped Cream

Individual Cranberry Puddings with Ice Wine-spiked Whipped Cream

These single, serving sized puddings develop a wonderful flavour if allowed to mature   several days in the fridge or freezer after baking (see method on how to do so). The splash of ice wine in the whipped cream served alongside adds an intriguing, deluxe flavour.

Serve the rest of the bottle of ice wine in glasses alongside the pudding.

• Preparation time: 30 minutes

• Cooking time: 50 minutes

• Makes: 8 servings

For the whipping cream:

1 cup whipping cream

1 oz. BC ice wine (see Note)

1 Tbsp. icing sugar, or to taste

3 Tbsp. dried cranberries, finely chopped

Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Mix in the ice wine and icing sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. Fold in the dried cranberries and store in the fridge until needed.

For the puddings:

3 Tbsp. melted butter

1 (300 gram) bag fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped (see Note)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup packed golden brown sugar

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup currants

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup boiling water

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Fresh mint sprigs and twirls of orange zest for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven 325F. Thoroughly brush 8, 1-cup glass baking cups (sold at stores that sell kitchenware) with the melted butter, set in a large, roasting pan, and then set aside.

Place the cranberries, flour, brown sugar, raisins, currants, almonds and spices in a large bowl and mix well to combine. Place the baking soda, salt and boiling water in medium-sized bowl and mix to dissolve the baking soda. Mix in the molasses, maple syrup and vanilla. Mix the wet mixture into the dry until well combined. Batter will be very, very thick.

Divide, spoon and pack the batter into the baking cups. Cover each pudding with a piece of buttered tin foil. Pour hot water into the pan until it reaches halfway up the baking cups. Cover the pan with foil and oven-steam the puddings for 50 minutes, or until they spring pack in the middle when gently touch.

Remove the puddings from the pan and cool on a baking rack 5 minutes. Line a        baking sheet with parchment paper; invert and unmould the puddings on to the baking sheet and cool to room temperature. Individually wrap and store the puddings in a tight-sealing container in the fridge or freezer until ready to serve. Can be kept refrigerated for up to a week, and frozen for up to month, thaw before reheating.

The puddings can be reheated in the microwave for a few minutes, or set on a  parchment paper-lined baking sheet, covered with foil and heated in 250˚F for 10-15 minutes.

If desired, garnish servings of the pudding with orange zest and mint sprigs as shown in the photograph.

Note: If the price of ice wine is too costly for you, you could use another sweet, B.C. dessert wine, such as Late Harvest Riesling, to flavour the whipped cream. The cranberries can be coarsely chopped with a sharp knife on a large cutting board, or in food processor, in batches, pulsing the berries until very coarsely chopped.

Photo by Michael Tourigny