Whisky ice cream plum pudding with butterscotch sauce is a go-to dessert at Christmas time. An easy, gluten-free and paleo recipe.
Just like pumpkin pie is popular in the US over the festive period, plum pudding is the go-to dessert at Christmas time where we live, as well as many other parts of the world. Yes, it is very English and traditional to eat this hot dessert – even on a hot Christmas Day, as frequently occurs in Australia and other countries in the Southern Hemisphere. It often follows a hot roast dinner.
Yes in reality, summer is the wrong season to enjoy a hot, Christmas roast followed by hot plum pudding, a highlight dessert if ever there was one. But that is what we do where we live. But there is something you can make when the weather is hot and you still want to celebrate traditional, Christmas foods that don’t make you feel over-heated?
How about a whisky-laced plum pudding ice cream, smothered with home-made butterscotch sauce? All the traditional ingredients but in ice-cream form rather than pudding form.
And soaking the dried fruit with a good Tasmanian whisky is just the thing to do to make this ice cream plum pudding the culinary highlight at your house over the festive season.
The Tasmanian whisky industry is on a high after Sullivan’s Cove, a small Tasmanian distillery, won world’s best single malt whisky in 2014. You can read more about the Tasmanian Whisky Trail here.
Tasmanian Hard Cider, Beer, Wine and Whisky
Often overlooked by foreign tourists traveling to Australia is the “holiday isle” of Tasmania, here you will find some of the best scenery, hiking, food (an absolute highlight) and there is no shortage of high quality drinks in Tasmania.
We are very keen hikers and Tasmanian hiking is outstanding where there are many magnificent opportunities to hike in some of the most remote and beautiful places you will ever see. And what do we all like to do after a full day’s hiking? Well enjoying a relaxing drink while putting your feet up after a great day’s walking is hard to beat. In Tasmania, there is no end to the drinks you might want to enjoy.
Apart from being known as the “holiday isle”, Tasmania has also been known in the past as the “apple isle” because of its reputation for growing the best apples in Australia. Today, there is a thriving industry that has developed around apple (hard) cider. There are many cideries that have recently been established and they produce cider that is not too sweet. Perfect for a hot summer’s day or if you are looking for a gluten-free alternative to beer.
Speaking of beer, the small batch, boutique beer revolution is in full swing in Tasmania. There is no end of good beers available within Tasmania. It has been very interesting to observe the decline of the mainstream, large brewers in Australia, as consumers now have a choice of beer made by small brewers. I think people are voting with their feet and are supporting small businesses because they employ people and they want a superior tasting product.
Wine-making is also a sizable industry in Tasmania, with excellent wineries in the north in the Tamar Valley as well as down south in the Coal River Valley. Tasmania is renowned for its high-quality chardonnay, pinot noir and sparkling wines.
Not to be outdone, now distilling is having a big influence in Tasmania, with gins, vodkas and of course whisky starting to have a major impact on the Holiday Isle. We have devoted a whole post where you can read more about the great success Tasmania is having in the world of whisky.
The bottom line is that there is no shortage of alcoholic drink offerings in Tasmania to either imbibe or to cook with, including our featured recipe for this delicious whisky ice cream plum pudding.
Delicious Whisky Ice Cream Plum Pudding
The secret of this dessert is to allow enough time for the soaking of the fruit in the whisky. You want to make the whisky ice cream plum pudding at least 4 weeks before you intend to eat it so that the flavors have enough time to develop.
Don’t have any Tasmanian whisky? It can be hard to find but you can substitute with any good quality whisky of your liking.
| Servings | Prep Time | Passive Time |
| 12people | 1hour | 4weeks |
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 12people | 1hour |
| Passive Time |
| 4weeks |
- Whisky Ice Cream Plum Pudding
- 2 cups fruit, dried, mixed raisins, sultanas, cranberries etc.
- 3 ozs glace pineapple chopped
- 3 ozs glace cherries chopped
- 3 ozs glace ginger chopped
- 4 tbsp whisky good quality, single malt
- 2 orange, zest only grated zest of 2 oranges
- pinch cinnamon, ground
- pinch nutmeg, grated
- pinch allspice
- 1 gallon ice cream, vanilla good quality
- 3/4 cup chocolate chip crushed into small pieces
- 3/4 cup pecans chopped
- Butterscotch Sauce - Make on the Day
- 2 cups sugar, brown
- 8 ozs butter
- 2 cups cream
- Garnish
- raspberries
- blueberries
|
Ingredients
Servings: people
Units:
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- Place the 2 cups of dried fruit along with the glace pineapple, cherries and ginger into a bowl. Add the whisky and mix well. Cover the bowl and allow to soak for 48 hours in the refrigerator.
- In a large mixing bowl, place the soaked, dried fruit, orange zest, cinnamon powder, nutmeg, allspice, chocolate chip and pecans. Mix well.
- Allow ice cream to soften for 30 minutes and then place half of it into the mixing bowl containing the fruit and spice. Mix to combine with a large spoon. Work quickly. Once combined, add the remainder of the ice cream. Mix well and then add the pecans and chocolate and mix well again.
- Place plenty of cling wrap in 2 X 1/2 gallon capacity bowls or 1 X 1 gallon capacity bowl, spoon in the ice cream mixture and then cover the top of the ice cream with the excess cling wrap so that it is completely covered with cling wrap. Freeze until needed.
- On the day of serving, make the butterscotch sauce. Place the brown sugar and butter in a saucepan on a low medium heat. Stir. When the sugar is dissolved, turn the heat to low. Add cream, mix well and simmer for approximately 3 minutes until the sauce changes color to a rich butterscotch color.
- To serve, invert the bowl containing the ice cream on a serving plate. Peel off all of the cling wrap. Decorate with mixed berries such as strawberries and blueberries. Serve immediately with a generous dollop of butterscotch sauce.
Michele
Wow! Just WOW! Im loving everything about this and can’t wait to give it a whirl! Im having a few girls over next weekend for cocktails and Im thinking this will be great for them!
Editor
Good luck with it Michele. We love at our family getogethers. It is a bit of fun.
Katrin
Tasmania looks incredible! What great pictures and interesting sounding recipe.
Editor
The recipe for whisky ice cream plum pudding is a good one! Tasmania – easy place to take great pictures.
Jeff
What a great dessert! Man, what I wouldn’t give for a bottle of Tazmanian whiskey.
Editor
Tasmanian whisky is undergoing a real growth spurt at the moment. Winning the world champion single malt whisky in 2014 really put some wind behind the sails of that industry.
Vicky @ Avocado Pesto
Never had plum pudding before but am intrigued by it and this dish! I spent a week traveling around Tasmania with my family and absolutely loved it! SO beautiful — the hike to wineglass bay was particularly memorable!
Editor
Vicky, I am so glad you have traveled to Tasmania. Wineglass Bay in Freycinet National Park is another highlight of Tasmanian hiking. Try the ice cream plum pudding withe whisky. You will love it.
Platter Talk
This is such a nice idea for a holiday meal! I’ve had this but it sure looks delicious!
Editor
It is delicious. A real spin and treat on a festive season favorite.
Helene D'Souza
Tasmania is one of those place I would love to travel one day. It’s in my bucket list. 🙂 I have noticed that whisky is the ice creams best friend. =D I can imagine how this combination with plum would make everyone go nuts at home. Thanks for sharing your recipe and impressions
Editor
Hi Helene, thanks for your thoughtful comment. Whisky and ice cream are definitely a great combination. You will love Tassie (as we call it). It has a very laid-back vibe. Nice.
Sandhya Hariharan
Tasmanian Beach pic is just mesmerising !!! And yes.. I would love to have a serving of this gorgeous pudding !!
Editor
Tasmania is just full of great scenery. The beach pictures were from a great hike here called the Bay of Fires walk. Simply stunning.
Tara
Gorgeous photos! I have actually never had plum pudding before. All those flavors sound amazing in this ice cream.
Editor
Well the traditional method for hot plum pudding can be just too much sometimes. The ice cream version mellows it all down. It is family tradition in our family to have the ice cream plum pudding every year.
Tina Lindquist
I have never had anything like this before. It looks delicious!
Editor
Something different at Thanksgiving or Christmas.