A low carb and sugar free take on the traditional English Christmas pudding. This easy gluten free, diabetic-friendly Christmas cake is ready in just over 10 minutes!
Friends, after much trial and error I’ve finally done it. Here it is – an actually delicious low carb Christmas pudding!
This low carb Christmas pudding recipe weighs in at 8 net carbs per person and comes together in just over 10 minutes.
What? 10 minutes?
Yes! I made it in the microwave. We’re talking instant Christmas gratification here!
The single main ingredient of a Christmas or plum pudding is, as we all know, mincemeat. Dried fruit and candied peel is a tricky ingredient for people on a sugar free and low carb diet, as it’s, well, high in sugar and carbs and basically off the menu.
This easy Christmas pudding uses some clever substitutions. Are you ready?
Here’s the lowdown:
First of all, I replaced the flour with almond flour. This was the obvious one – I’ve made LOADS of desserts low carb by making this simple swap.
Sweetener – simples. Instead of sugar, I used my go-to sweetener erythritol.
Mincemeat. I subbed with frozen blueberries and cherries. Both have plenty of natural sweetness and we’re keeping close to the traditional Xmas pud colour scheme.
To bulk up the recipe, I added come carrot, which I shredded into small pieces in my food processor. Lower in carbs and sugar than apple, which is often used in traditional recipes.
Stroke of genius – I threw in a spoonful of cacao powder to make the pud nice and dark. In hindsight, coffee would work nicely here, too. In one of my earlier attempts I had added double the amount of cacao, but found the result too chocolate-cakey.
We want Christmas, not Cocoa, right?
This cake is brimming with Christmas flavours! All the usual suspects are featured. Orange peel (real grated orange peel, not the candied version), cinnamon, mixed spice, walnuts, you name it.
Brandy. A glug of brandy takes the recipe to the next level. A tiny word of wisdom here: I made this particular specimen late morning and basically had a slice for breakfast. This might NOT be a good idea depending what you have planned on doing after eating your Christmas pudding.
I am a lightweight when it comes to alcohol and felt wonderfully warm and fizzy for a while. I cannot rule out that I imagined this, but MAYBE 6 minutes in the microwave is not enough to burn off the booze.
Here is the disclaimer: This low carb Christmas pudding does not taste EXACTLY like a traditional Christmas pudding, but it does come pretty close.
If you want, you CAN add dried fruit to the recipe. Prunes would be a good choice here. They are lower in carbs than dates, sultanas or currants. I think if you would add 1 prune per person you could probably taste a difference without sending your blood sugar sky-high.
As a new microwave owner, I’m seriously pleased how this pud comes together in all but 6 minutes.
I’m sure you could bake it, too – I’d try 180 Celsius and around 20 minutes.
I ate my low carb luxury Christmas pudding with some extra-thick double cream.
On Christmas day I’ll swirl some extra Brandy into it. Because it definitely won’t be morning then. And there definitely won’t be any blog posts to write that day either 🙂
In the Christmas mood? Check out these festive recipes:
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Low Carb Christmas Pudding
Enjoy this low carb Christmas pudding as the crowning glory of your festive meal. It's sugar free, gluten free and suitable for diabetics. Even better, it's ready in just over 10 minutes!
Ingredients
- 100 g / 1 cup almond flour
- 1 egg
- 100 g / 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 50 g / 1/4 cup blueberries, frozen
- 50 g / 1/4 cup cherries frozen
- 10 g small handful crushed walnuts
- 2 tbsp butter melted
- 1 tbsp double heavy cream
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cacao powder unsweetened
- 2 tbsp powdered sweetener or more to taste
- 2 tsp mixed spice pumpkin spice
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- orange zest from 1/2 orange
- optional: glug of brandy
- double heavy cream, to serve
Instructions
- Blitz the carrot in a food processor or grate them. Add the fruit (I used frozen blueberries and cherries) and chop. Your chopped carrots and fruit combined should fill 1 US measuring cup.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Melt the butter.
- Add the melted butter and all remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir until combined. If you wish, add a glug of Brandy. Adjust sweetener if needed.
- Grease a pyrex glass bowl with butter and fill in the Christmas pudding batter. Microwave at 700W for 6 minutes.
- Turn out upside down onto a plate and serve with thick cream.
Recipe Notes
I have tried to keep this pudding as low carb as possible and avoided dried fruit, which arguably are the essence of a Christmas pudding. If you do wish to add dried fruit because it's Christmas and all that, I'd recommend prunes over sultanas - they are much lower in carbs.
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Karyn Flynn says
I made this recipe so I had some form of Christmas pudding and not feel left our whilst the others ate my mother’s traditonal home made delicious Christmas Pudding. And I am so glad i did as it was a great replacement, didn’t feel deprived at all. And am certainly not waiting until Christmas to make it again. Thank you SO much for this recipe.
Katrin says
THat’s so good to hear!!
Catalín says
Bravo, bravo and bravo!
As a Catalan I don’t know how a Christmas pudding should taste, but I doubled the batch, used prunes, and cooked it in the oven for 50-60 min. I brought it to a lunch and my Yorkshire friends went amazed it was sugar and gluten free! They loved it so much that I’m planning to do it again when I go back their home and I’ll keep your recipe as a staple.
I added 2 tsp of molasses for flavor (I know there’s sugar in there but it was a small amount), turn out great.
I guess if I cooke it in the microwave the texture it’s more like pudding, coked in the oven, though, it’s like Christmas cake (without the marzipan and the glaze): Incredibly delicious!
Thank you so much!
Katrin says
Wonderful! Thank you so much for all the details of your tweaks.
Allison says
Merry Christmas Katrin! This is our first keto Christmas for my wife and I and we have pretty much stuck to it. I did cave in and have some roasted parsnips with Christmas dinner yesterday though! We made your pudding last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. We used to love Christmas pudding but we both said this is better as it doesn’t give you that stodgy feeling afterwards. Perfect – thank you!
Katrin says
That makes me so happy! I’m glad you enjoyed the pudding. 🙂
Kathy says
I’ve never tasted Christmas pudding, but this is really delicious! I used cranberries in mine instead of cherries, because that’s what I had on hand. It’s moist and full of flavor and perfect for breakfast or dessert! Thanks for the recipe!
Katrin says
Wonderful! I like the idea of using cranberries in the recipe. And I love cake for breakfast too 🙂
gjeanieg says
Hi, Katrin! I would love to try this recipe. What size pyrex bowl did you use? Thank you!
Katrin says
Hi! It had a diameter of 14 cm.
Trish Myers says
Can you tell me how many people this serves please.
Katrin says
Hi Trish, I think it makes 4 portions
Lawrence Scafuti says
One question–any thoughts on how to make a low carb keto hard sauce for it?
Katrin says
I’d make a brandy butter sauce for it – that’s how we eat it over here in the UK. A bit of heavy cream, a bit of melted butter, powdered erythritol and a glug of Brandy
El says
How far in advance could I make this?
Katrin says
Hi Elspeth, I wouldn’t recommend making this cake far in advance as you would do with traditional christmas cakes. You may find that it tastes better on day 2 or 3 though 🙂
Kathie says
This is amazing big hit xmas day. Everyonw loved it. I baked mine in oven 25 – 30 minutes served with custard made with honey. Delicious!!!
Katrin says
Kathie! Thanks so much for your comment. Good to know we now have proof the recipe works when using an oven! I’m really happy you all enjoyed it. Enjoy the rest of your holiday 🙂
Danyelle says
Did you know they used to use softened onion instead of Apple during the wars?
Katrin says
No idea! Don’t they say that without sight or smell you cannot tell the difference between onion and apple?!!
Bee says
I now live in the US and no one knows what Christmas pudding is here. I tried this recipe and it’s amazing. Made it twice now. It’s outstanding. I use a bit of booze in mine ….so good with cream. It’s so easy I cannot believe it. And takes minutes to throw together. Thank you so much for this one
Katrin says
It’s definitely best with booze! You are so welcome!!
Victoria says
HARD SAUCE
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered Erythritol sweetener
1 tbsp dark rum or brandy
Katrin says
That sounds like a no-nonsense brandy butter!
Emma Hansen says
Hi, I was hoping to make this for Christmas but we don’t own a microwave. Do you think I could use oven or stovetop here and any ideas on times and how to? Thank you so much – it looks delicious.
Emma
Katrin says
Hi, I’d try using the oven (mainly because I’ve got no experience in cooking puddings on the stove). I’d try 175 Celsius/350 Fahrenheit and 20-25 minutes. This is a guesstimate though – If you decide to make individual muffin-sized puddings, you might need less time – 15-18 minutes. Test with a knife if it’s done and maybe do a test run so you’re all set for Christmas 🙂
Emma says
Thanks so much Katrin. Will give it a go and let you know how I go : )
Linda l songer says
Thank you for the oven temperatures and time. I don’t know much about microwaves.
Katrin says
You’re welcome! Let me know how you like the pudding once you’ve made it 🙂
Sues says
Yay for healthier holiday desserts!!
Christine Fitzgerald says
And thank you again ( I forgot to rate )
Christine Fitzgerald says
Thank you so much I do miss Christmas pud!
I’ll be in Gran Canaria for Christmas and I doubt I can find cherries there (blueberries, possibly). So I’ll have to see if I can find any still low-carb substitute, or maybe take some prunes with me and just use those.
But I wonder, if I add the brandy, would that keep the pudding good for a few days? Then I could make it before flying.
Katrin says
Hi Christine, the brandy might help preserve it longer, maybe add a second swig, haha! I’d say its best to keep it cool, but it should survive a plane journey to Spain if you make it the day before. I made a version with added prunes, which tastes good – that way you get closer to the original dried fruit taste. So if you don’t mind adding a few more carbs for Christmas lunch and have a microwave where you’ll celebrate, you could also take the prunes. Maybe even make one for your next Sunday lunch to see how you’ll make it? 🙂
Joni says
Oooh my gosh so very good
Jane S says
I’ve just made this and it’s delicious! I used more sweetener and also added 1 tsp of instant coffee. And no Brandy – not my kind of thing. Thank you for posting this.
Katrin says
So glad you like the recipe. THanks for your comment!
Berit says
Can you taste the carrots? How small are the carrot pieces?
Katrin says
The carrots give extra sweetness. I ground them in my food processor so they were the size of say couscous or cauliflower rice.
Charlotte says
I’m so excited about this recipe. Making it this weekend. Thank you!!
Katrin says
Good stuff! Would love to find out what you think!
Keren says
Loving it! Must try this asap – I’m not waiting until Christmas 🙂
Katrin says
Great! Keep me posted and let me know how you liked it