Steamed Orange Puddings with Almond Milk Ice Cream – Dani Valent

Homemade almond milk stars in these springy and wholesome puddings and their dairy-free ice cream accompaniment

It’s not just the gentle flavours and playful textures of this two-part dessert that make me love them. It’s also the way the recipe allows me to show you a few great techniques. Firstly, we make nut milk, in this case almond milk but the technique can be used for any nuts. Next, we make a dairy-free ice cream base using the nut milk we’ve just made. Then, we move onto the puddings. Once you’ve made steamed puddings in the Varoma, you will never look back!

This dessert also demonstrates the way I think about building flavour in a composed dish. The almond that appears in the ice cream is echoed in the puddings: it’s a very simple way to tie these two elements together. We also have contrasting flavours: the honey and vanilla in the ice cream are balanced by the cinnamon and citrus in the puddings. If you use a floral honey, you’ll tie these elements together more tightly.

These puddings feature in the Spanish menu of my Thermomix book and chip, Entertaining with Dani Valent. They round off a Spanish-themed dinner party with sophistication but you can also serve them with other cuisines.

Serves: 8
Time: 1 hr (plus 1 day ice cream setting)

Ingredients

Almond Milk

  • 140 grams raw almonds
  • 700 grams water

Almond Milk Ice Cream

  • 480 grams almond milk (see Tips)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • 20 grams honey
  • 140 grams raw sugar

Orange Puddings

  • 70 grams unsalted butter, cut into 2 cm pieces, plus extra for greasing
  • 140 grams caster sugar
  • 120 grams day-old bread
  • 200 grams almond milk (see Tips)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 orange: zest, finely grated, no white pith, and juiced
  • ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 120 grams wholemeal flour
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 800 grams water

Method

Almond milk
1. Place almonds and water into mixing bowl and blend 1 min/speed 10.

2. Strain through a nut milk bag (see Tips).

Almond milk ice cream
1. Place all ice cream ingredients into mixing bowl and cook 5 min/80°C/speed 4.

2. Transfer into a shallow container (1L capacity) and place into freezer for 4 hours or until firm. Clean and dry mixing bowl.

3. Cut ice cream into pieces, place into mixing bowl and blend 20 sec/speed 9.

4. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula and mix 20 sec/speed 4.

5. Transfer into a freezable container and place into freezer overnight or until ready to serve. Clean and dry mixing bowl.

Orange puddings
6. Grease 8 x 125 ml ramekins with butter, then sprinkle ½ teaspoon caster sugar into each ramekin and swirl to coat. I don’t do this in the video because I’m using silicon ramekins but do it if you’re using metal or glass.

7. Tear bread into pieces, place into mixing bowl and chop 10 sec/speed 6.

8. Add almond milk, eggs, orange juice, three-quarters of the zest, cinnamon, butter and sugar and mix 20 sec/speed 4. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula.

9. Add flour and bicarbonate of soda and mix 10 sec/speed 4. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula, then divide mixture between prepared ramekins.

10. Place water into mixing bowl. Place ramekins into Varoma dish, place Varoma into position, secure Varoma lid and steam 25 min/Varoma/speed 2 or until firm and springy (depending on size of ramekins, you may need to steam puddings in batches). If steaming in batches, check water level during cooking process and top up if necessary.

11. Remove puddings and leave to rest for 5 minutes, then turn out onto serving plates. Remove ice cream from freezer and stand for 5 minutes to soften if necessary – as you’ll see it wasn’t necessary in this video! Sprinkle remaining orange zest over puddings and serve with Almond Milk Ice Cream.

Tips

  • You can also purchase almond milk.
  • If you don’t have a nut milk bag, use a clean kitchen cloth (eg. Chux) or muslin.
  • Ensure ramekins fit comfortably into the Varoma dish so that the lid closes securely and steam can circulate freely.

Variation

  • The ice cream recipe in my Entertaining book and chip uses a mixture of almond milk and cream (ie. it’s not dairy free). To do it this way, use 280 grams almond milk and 220 grams pouring (whipping) cream, and proceed as per the recipe above.
  • Single (large) orange pudding: Grease and coat a pudding basin (20 cm diameter). Ensure it fits into Varoma dish and lid can close securely. Proceed as per recipe, increasing steaming to 40 min/Varoma/speed 2.

Serving Steamed Orange Puddings with Almond Milk Ice Cream as part of a Spanish-themed dinner party? See my Spanish hub for hosting tips, links to more recipes at Dani Valent Cooking plus a music playlist as vibrant as the cuisine.

Looking for an alternative to orange? My Steamed Pecan Pie Puddings are equally delicious and easy to make, and feature a Salted Caramel Maple Sauce. Or why not try my heavenly White Chocolate and Baileys Parfait with Coffee Crumble.

Did you know Dani Valent Cooking gift vouchers are available right here? They make the perfect present for the Thermo-lover in your life.

More about this video

How classy is my Elk necklace and top! Someone asked me at a cooking class if the necklace was a custom-made ‘V’. What a great idea – but actually, it’s just a cool shape and I had never even seen it as a ‘V’ before. I love the way art (and fashion) takes our minds on different pathways.

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I love my Elk top & Obus pants

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