I was intrigued when I discovered this liquorice pudding in Nigella Lawson’s Nigellissima cook book. I love the flavour of liquorice; in ice cream, in All Sorts… and now in a creamy pudding.
Nigella recommends you use Amarelli Rossano liquorice pellets (which were out of stock when I tried to buy some), but there are a few other brands available such as Simpkins Nipits, Barkleys pure liquorice pellets and Bel Canto imps (which are little rounds rather than pellets).
Liquorice pellets were originally produced as aids to clear the throat; natural liquorice is a mucoactive agent, which means that it helps to clear mucus from the airways. Perfect little cough & cold sweets!
The recipe quantities make two little puddings – perfect for Justin and me. It’s easy to up the amounts if you’re making it as a family or dinner party dessert. It’s a quick dish to make, it can be prepared in advance and chilled and is just gorgeous. Don’t forgo the addition of the sprinkling of salt flakes as you eat – it really does lift the flavour – like salted caramel.
Click here or on the image below to save Nigella’s liquorice pudding to Pinterest
Liquorice pudding
Ingredients
- 60 ml/2 fl oz water
- 1 tsp pure liquorice pellets
- 2 tbsp light brown muscovado sugar
- 175 ml/6 fl oz double cream
- 2 tsp cornflour
- 1 tbsp milk
- sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Put the water and liquorice pellets into a small saucepan (such as a milk pan) and bring to the boil, stirring or whisking frequently to help the liquorice melt
- Once it starts bubbling, turn off the heat and leave for 5 minutes, stirring or whisking every now and again
- Turn the heat back on and whisk in the sugar, then the cream, and bring up to a bubble. Remove from the heat.
- Spoon the cornflour into a little bowl, cup or ramekin and slake it with the milk: which is to say, whisk in the milk until you have a smooth paste
- Pour this, whisking as you go, into the mixture in the saucepan. Still whisking, put the pan back on the heat and bring back up to a bubble, whisking all the while, for 20-30 seconds, or until thickened
- Divide between 2 heatproof glasses or cups and - unless you want to eat this hot - cover, touching the surface of the puddings, with cling film or baking parchment that you've wet with cold water then wrung out (this is to prevent a skin forming) and put them in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Allow the puddings reach room temperature before serving. Remove the cling film/parchment and smooth the tops with the back of a teaspoon. Put the salt flakes on the table to sprinkle over as you eat, if desired
