Delicious Vegan Lemon Elderflower Almond Pudding: A Zesty, Floral Spring Dessert

Indulge in the exquisite flavors of our Lemon Elderflower Almond Pudding – a truly delightful dessert that promises a soft, incredibly moist texture with a vibrant, tangy lemon and delicate elderflower essence. This pudding cake isn’t just a treat for the taste buds; it’s a comforting yet refreshing experience, surprisingly easy to whip up, and perfectly suited for any occasion from a casual family meal to an elegant gathering.

At its heart, this vegan almond pudding features a tender, frangipane-like cake base, rich with ground almonds, which gives it a luxurious, slightly dense crumb. What elevates it further is a generous soaking of sweet lemon and elderflower cordial drizzle, infusing every bite with bright, floral notes. Serve it warm alongside a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream, and you have a dessert that beautifully balances warmth and freshness, making it an ideal choice for the transition from spring into early summer.

When the craving strikes for a hearty, comforting dessert, yet you desire something a little lighter and more invigorating than a traditional sticky toffee pudding, this lemon elderflower almond pudding truly shines. Its texture is remarkably moist and soft, possessing a pleasant density that distinguishes it from a light sponge cake without ever feeling overly heavy or stodgy. Think of a sophisticated frangipane, but in a comforting pudding form, drenched in an irresistible citrus-floral syrup.

The combination of zesty lemon and aromatic elderflower creates a lovely zingy, fresh, and wonderfully floral flavor profile that perfectly complements the nutty almond base. When served warm, perhaps with a dollop of exquisite vegan vanilla ice cream that slowly melts into its warm crevices, this dessert becomes an absolute showstopper. It’s the quintessential treat to celebrate the awakening of nature in spring or to enjoy on a balmy early summer evening.

This particular recipe draws inspiration from Nigella Lawson’s renowned lemon and elderflower pudding cake. However, this version has been meticulously adapted and refined to be entirely vegan, ensuring that all the depth of flavor and luscious texture are preserved without using any animal products. Extensive testing and adjustments have gone into making this a truly outstanding plant-based pudding that stands proudly on its own.

Essential Ingredients for Your Vegan Lemon Elderflower Almond Pudding

Crafting this delightful vegan lemon elderflower almond pudding requires a few key ingredients, each playing a vital role in achieving its signature taste and texture. Understanding these components will help you make the best possible dessert.

• Elderflower Cordial: This is the secret weapon for that unique floral note. You’ll need an undiluted elderflower cordial, not a ready-to-drink elderflower pressé. Brands like Bottle Green are excellent choices, offering a concentrated flavor. If you’re feeling adventurous, a homemade elderflower cordial will also work beautifully and lend an even more authentic touch. Ensure it’s full-strength for maximum flavor impact in both the cake and the drizzle.
• Lemons: Fresh lemons are indispensable for their bright, tangy flavor. You’ll be using both the zest and the juice, so it’s crucial to purchase unwaxed lemons. The zest carries the essential oils that provide a powerful citrus aroma, while the juice delivers the characteristic tang that balances the sweetness and floral notes. Always zest your lemons before juicing them!
• Ground Almonds (Almond Flour): This ingredient forms the foundational structure of our cake, contributing to its delicate, frangipane-like texture and rich, nutty flavor. In the UK, it’s commonly referred to as ground almonds, while in the US, it’s more often known as almond flour. Ensure you use finely ground almonds for the best results, as coarser grinds can affect the pudding’s smoothness. This ingredient also helps keep the cake wonderfully moist.
• Plain Flour and Cornflour (Cornstarch): The combination of regular plain (all-purpose) flour and a touch of cornflour (cornstarch) is key to achieving the desired crumb texture. Plain flour provides the main structure, while cornflour acts as a tenderizer, making the pudding incredibly soft and delicate without being overly crumbly. If you don’t have cornflour, you can substitute it with an equal weight of plain flour, but I highly recommend using cornflour if possible for that extra tender finish.
• Vegan Yogurt: A crucial component for moisture and flavor in vegan baking. Plain vegan yogurt helps create a lusciously moist crumb and contributes to the cake’s tenderness. Opt for an unsweetened variety if available, as this gives you more control over the overall sweetness of the pudding. Soya yogurt is my go-to, but coconut yogurt also works wonderfully, adding a subtle richness. While theoretically you *might* be able to swap for a plant-based milk, I haven’t tested this, and it would likely alter the texture significantly, as yogurt provides more fat and acidity.
• Vegan Butter: Essential for richness and a desirable tender texture. You can use either a block vegan butter or a good quality spreadable vegan butter (but steer clear of ‘light’ varieties, as they contain more water and less fat, which can negatively impact the bake). Make sure it’s melted for easy incorporation into the batter. The fat content is important for both flavor and the pudding’s moistness.
• Sugar: Caster sugar is preferred for its fine texture, which dissolves easily and creates a smooth batter. Granulated sugar is also a perfectly acceptable alternative. However, it’s crucial not to swap granular sugar for liquid sugars like maple syrup or agave, or for artificial sweeteners, as these have different chemical properties and will drastically alter the cake’s structure and moisture content.
• Baking Powder: This is our primary leavening agent, ensuring the pudding rises beautifully and has an airy, yet still dense, texture. It’s vital not to confuse baking powder with baking soda; they are not interchangeable. Baking powder contains both an acid and a base, reacting with moisture and heat to create carbon dioxide gas, which makes the cake rise.

How To Masterfully Create Lemon Elderflower Almond Pudding

(Full measurements and detailed instructions can be found in the comprehensive recipe card at the bottom of this page.)

Making this lemon elderflower almond pudding is a straightforward process, even for novice bakers. The steps are simple, requiring minimal fuss for maximum deliciousness.

Step 1: Combine the Dry Ingredients. Begin by gathering your dry ingredients: the ground almonds, plain flour, cornflour, sugar, and baking powder. In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk them together. This step is crucial for ensuring that the leavening agent (baking powder) and other dry components are evenly distributed throughout the mixture, leading to a consistent rise and texture in your finished pudding. Make sure there are no lumps of flour.

Step 2: Incorporate the Wet Ingredients to Form the Batter. To your dry mixture, add the plain vegan yogurt, the melted vegan butter/spread, the undiluted elderflower cordial, and the fragrant lemon zest. Using a balloon whisk, stir all these ingredients together until they are just combined and no dry lumps of flour remain. Be careful not to overmix the batter; overmixing can develop the gluten in the flour too much, leading to a tough pudding rather than a tender one. The batter should be smooth and fairly thick.

Step 3: Bake to Golden Perfection. Gently transfer the prepared batter into your greased baking dish, spreading it out evenly with a spatula. Bake in a preheated oven for approximately 30-40 minutes. The pudding is done when a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, indicating it’s cooked through. The top should be golden brown and springy to the touch. The aroma filling your kitchen will be absolutely heavenly!

Step 4: Prepare the Irresistible Drizzle. While your pudding is baking and cooling slightly, prepare the zesty elderflower drizzle. In a small jug or bowl, whisk together the additional undiluted elderflower cordial and fresh lemon juice. This simple yet potent mixture will infuse your warm pudding with an extra layer of bright, tangy, and floral sweetness.

Step 5: Drizzle and Delight. Once the pudding is out of the oven and has cooled for just about 5 minutes, use a cocktail stick or a fork to poke numerous holes all over its surface. This creates channels for the drizzle to penetrate deeply, ensuring every spoonful is saturated with flavor. Evenly pour the prepared drizzle over the warm pudding, making sure to cover the edges as well as the center. You’ll notice the pudding eagerly soaking up the liquid, intensifying its moisture and flavor profile.

Expert Tips for Pudding Perfection

Achieving the perfect lemon elderflower almond pudding is simple with these additional insights:

• Embrace Your Scales: As with all my baking recipes, I cannot stress enough the importance of using metric measurements with a digital kitchen scale over volumetric cup conversions. Cups are notoriously imprecise, leading to inconsistent results. A scale ensures accuracy, consistency, and often, a less messy baking experience!
• Choose Your Baking Dish Wisely: This pudding is versatile and can be baked in an approximately 23 cm (9 inch) round dish or cake tin, a 20 cm (8 inch) square dish, or any similarly sized oven-safe dish with a comparable volume. Be aware that the baking time might vary slightly depending on the exact dimensions and material of your chosen dish. A larger, shallower dish might bake faster, while a deeper one could take a little longer. Always perform the skewer test for doneness.
• Customize Your Flavor Profile: For those who adore the delicate, aromatic notes of elderflower and wish for it to be more prominent, you can easily adjust the balance. Simply reduce the lemon juice in the drizzle mixture to just 1 tablespoon. This subtle change will allow the elderflower’s unique floral essence to shine through even more.
• Serving Suggestions: This lemon elderflower almond pudding is truly at its best when served warm, ideally with a generous scoop of ice cream. Its delightfully moist and tender texture means it’s not designed to be sliced cleanly like a traditional cake. Instead, embrace its pudding nature and spoon generous portions into individual bowls for a rustic, comforting presentation.
• Don’t Overmix the Batter: Once you’ve added the wet ingredients to the dry, mix just until no streaks of dry flour remain. Overmixing can develop the gluten in the flour, resulting in a tougher, less tender pudding.
• Cooling is Key for Drizzle Absorption: Allowing the pudding to cool for a few minutes before adding the drizzle is important. If it’s too hot, the drizzle might just sit on top or evaporate too quickly. A slightly cooled, warm pudding will absorb the liquid perfectly.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

More Irresistible Vegan Pudding Recipes:

If you’ve fallen in love with this lemon elderflower almond pudding, you’ll be thrilled to explore more of our comforting and delicious vegan pudding creations:

• Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding – A classic for a reason!
• Vegan Steamed Chocolate Pudding – Rich, decadent, and incredibly satisfying.
• Vegan Eve’s Pudding – A delightful apple-based dessert.
• Steamed Gingerbread Pudding – Perfect for festive warmth.
• Vegan Jam Roly-Poly – A nostalgic British favorite.
• Berry and Coconut Steamed Puddings (Vegan) – Fruity and exotic.
• Self-Saucing Chocolate Pudding – Pure magic with its built-in sauce!
• Vegan Spotted Dick – Another British classic, reimagined.
• Vegan Steamed Maple Syrup Pudding – Sweet and comforting.

If you’ve had the pleasure of trying this incredible vegan lemon elderflower almond pudding recipe, I’d absolutely love to hear from you! Please consider rating it, leaving a comment below to share your experience, or tagging @domestic_gothess on Instagram with the hashtag #domesticgothess. Your feedback is invaluable!

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