- 6
Ingredients
- For the Pudding:
- 6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) pitted prunes
- 1/2 cup Armagnac or cognac
- 5 tablespoons butter, softened
- 3/4 cup water
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 packed cup dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
- Zest of 1 orange
- Vanilla ice-cream, optional
- For the Caramel-Armagnac Sauce:
- 1 cup light muscovado sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1-2 tablespoons Armagnac, as desired
Preparation
Step 1
Place prunes in Armagnac, cover and let steep overnight at room temperature.
Place a folded dish towel in the bottom of a high-sided pot to prevent pudding dish from touching surface. Alternatively, use a small baking rack. Bring a kettle of water to a simmer. Butter a 1-quart porcelain or metal pudding dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Add a round of parchment to base of buttered dish.
Strain prunes, reserving Armagnac. In a food processor, pulverize prunes to a coarse paste.
Bring reserved Armagnac, along with water, to a boil over medium-high heat. Add prune paste and return to a boil. Stir in baking soda. Set aside to cool.
Sift flour, salt, baking powder, mace and cinnamon together into a bowl. Use an electric mixer to cream softened butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Gently fold in flour mixture, then prune-Armagnac mixture. Stir in chocolate and orange zest, mixing until combined.
Pour batter into pudding dish. Seal with a lid or a layer of parchment pleated down the middle and a layer of pleated aluminium foil crimped around edge of dish or tied tightly with kitchen string to seal well. Place covered pudding dish on dish towel in pot. Pour simmering water into pot until halfway up side of pudding dish. Cover pan with another layer of foil, crimping at edges.
Steam pudding on stovetop at lowest simmer until skewer inserted (through foil and parchment) into center of pudding comes out clean, 2 hours. Check water level occasionally and top off with simmering water as needed.
Meanwhile, make sauce: Bring sugar, butter and half the cream to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring all the time. Boil until sugar has completely dissolved. Increase heat to medium-high. Let mixture bubble, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn, until it is a rich caramel color, 2-3 minutes. Off heat, beat in remaining cream. Stir in 1-2 tablespoons Armagnac, as desired.