This traditional rum sauce is the perfect accompaniment to your Christmas Pudding. Creamy, boozy and so so moreish, it's also great with warm pies, crumbles, sponge puddings and bananas!
Why do I love rum sauce so much with Christmas pudding?
Everyone has their favourite things to eat at Christmas and their favourite accompaniments. When I was growing up my favourite part of the Christmas dinner was Christmas pudding and with it the rum sauce. Never custard, never ice cream, never even brandy butter. It had to be a traditional rum sauce.
These days I don't always see my parents on Christmas day so I don't get rum sauce every year. Being such a big fan of rum sauce I decided I would have to make it at home in preparation and of course to whet my appetite for it once Christmas does come round.
What is a traditional rum sauce?
This traditional rum sauce is basically a sweet white sauce with a dash of rum. You melt butter in a saucepan and then add some flour. You cook this stirring all the time and then start gradually stirring in the milk. You end up with a smooth and creamy white sauce. To make it a dessert sauce add some sugar and of course the rum.
Ingredients for rum sauce
You need just 5 ingredients to make this rum sauce. They are:
- Butter - Salted or unsalted
- Plain flour
- Milk - I uses semi-skimmed as that's what we have but you can use whole or skimmed even.
- Caster sugar
- Rum
Can you adapt this rum sauce recipe?
You can make the sauce more or less sweet by adjusting the amount of sugar. I would advise stirring in a little sugar at a time so you can get the right level of sweetness.
You can also adjust the amount of alcohol. If you want a super boozy sauce then just add more rum. You could also adapt it by using a different alcohol although for me, rum is best.
Can you make this rum sauce without alcohol?
If you want to make a sauce that is suitable for the whole family then you could add the sugar and then divide the sauce into two jugs. Stir a little rum into one and add some vanilla extract to the other one. If you want the rum flavour but without the rum then try adding a little rum extract instead.
The perfect sauce for a Christmas pudding
I could eat Christmas pudding all year round. I love its rich gooey stickiness. Unfortunately though, the rest of my family are not such big fans of Christmas pudding as I am. Which of course always means more for me! Yay!
This sauce is absolutely perfect served with a traditional Christmas pudding.
What did I serve this rum sauce with?
I recently received a beautiful luxury Christmas hamper from Prestige Hampers to review. I served the rum sauce with the Matthew Walker individual Christmas pudding which was in the hamper.
It was just the right size for one person and is the perfect way to get your Christmas pudding fix at any time. It was even better with the rum sauce. I don't often cook with alcohol as most of my recipes are for the kids too but this boozy sauce is unashamedly for me!
Can you prepare the rum sauce in advance?
You can but for a special meal it is best to prepare this rum sauce just before eating it. However, you can reheat it and so if you have any leftovers then just reheat it in the microwave
My First Experience of Prestige Hampers
It wasn't the first time I'd come across Prestige Hampers. Last year I wanted to send a hamper to my brother and his girlfriend. I did some research and after looking at lots of hampers I chose one from Prestige Hampers.
I remember choosing it because of the contents, the availability and the price. Unlike some companies, they have a large range of hampers so it's easy to find one that suits your budget. I was really pleased with the one I chose last year and so I was more than happy to receive a Prestige Hamper to review this year.
What was in my Prestige Hamper?
I received a luxury Fabulous Christmas Hamper and it contained the following products:
Founders Stone Merlot 187ml
Founders Stone White Zinfandel 187ml
Founders Stone Pinot Grigio 187ml
Natural Sea Salt Yorkshire Crisps 100g
Pumpkin Seed and Cranberry Biscuits for Cheese 125g
Matthew Walker Luxury Gold Christmas Pudding 100g
English Afternoon Tea 20 Teabags
Honey Blond Chocolate Bar 50g
Belgian Marc de Champagne Fancy Truffles 200g
Belgian Chocolate Caramel Thins 80g
Mackays Scottish Strawberry Preserve 113g
Mackays Dundee Orange Marmalade 113g
The contents of the hamper were beautifully packaged in a tall wicker basket and like any foodie, it was such fun to open it up and try the different foods and drink. Why doesn't anyone ever get me a hamper, I wondered?
I think a hamper makes a great Christmas gift. After all, there are not many people who don't enjoy eating, especially at Christmas!
My favourite Christmas hamper items
Aside from the Christmas pudding, I have to say that my favourite items in the hamper were the beautiful Belgian Marc de Champagne truffles. As you've probably experienced, if you buy a box of truffles you often feel you don't get very many but these truffles were spilling out of the bag and seemed to go a long way. They were smooth, chocolaty and for me at least irresistible!
I also loved the Belgian chocolate caramel thins. They are made of amazing caramel milk chocolate with little crunchy pieces of puffed rice inside. If you love chocolate, and especially milk chocolate, you'll be happy!
Of course I loved the wine and the pumpkin and cranberry biscuits for cheese were a hit with me and Little Miss Spice. I do love savoury snacks and having grown up on a farm on the Yorkshire Wolds, I was especially keen to try the Yorkshire crisps. Like me, the potatoes were grown on the Yorkshire wolds and then made into crisps and packaged in Yorkshire too!
The only thing I haven't tried yet is the tea as I am not a big tea drinker. I'll save it for someone who'll appreciate it more than I will!
If you like this rum sauce, take a look at my other Christmas recipes
Recipe
Traditional Christmas Rum Sauce
Ingredients
- 30 g butter
- 30 g plain flour
- 350 ml milk (I used semi skimmed)
- 30 g caster sugar
- 2-4 tablespoon rum
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a small sauce pan. When it has melted stir in the flour. Keep stirring as it cooks for a couple of minutes.
- Add the milk a little at a time and stir after each addition so you get a smooth white sauce. Simmer, stirring until it thickens.
- Take off the heat and stir in the sugar and rum.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin for later
Places I'm sharing this traditional rum sauce
Disclosure: I received a complimentary hamper for review purposes but all opinions are my own.
Kate - gluten free alchemist
Looks like a lovely hamper. I did check out their site for the gluten free hampers, but wasn't that impressed with the free from versions..... they didn't sound that special or decadent. Yours looks much nicer! x
Corina
Such a shame they don't have a larger range of gluten free ones! Hopefully that'll change. x
Cateraar Wassenaar
This looks incredible! Yum!
Corina
Thanks!
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain
I'm definitely with you on the love of Christmas Pudding Corina. I just love it, but like your children hubby doesn't like it, so when my folks travel down south to my brother for Christmas and we celebrate on our own we tend to forgo the Christmas pudding in favour of something that we both enjoy! I always miss it - this yr is a good one because my folks are up here this yr so it's all go on the christmas pudding front! I'm determind to make a homemade one that hubby enjoys! (he used to claim he didn't liek Christmas cake but then he tried our family recipe and now eats it sliced as thick as a door step!) as for your rum sauce - didn't appreciate that it was so easy to make (I'm not a huge fan of alcohol so have never made it) .
Angela x
Corina
It's do difficult managing to make everyone happy at Christmas with the food choices, isn't it? If we're with my family we always have Christmas pudding and rum sauce but my husband's family aren't all keen on it either so we often have two different desserts. I'm also the only one in my family who loves Christmas cake so I think I might give it a miss this year and make something a little different, maybe an Italian panforte. x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins
Oooh I love Christmas foodie hampers and this one looks fantastic! I adore rum sauce and Christmas pudding, I could have it all year round! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Corina
I could definitely eat it all year round too! x
Baby Isabella
What a great hamper! We love Christmas pudding BUT with brandy butter! Mmmmmm Cant wait for Christmas x
Corina
We never had brandy butter when I was growing up so I've never really got into it. Maybe I should try it again though. I am a real custard fan so I think that's why I love rum sauce!
Fashion and Style Police
What a lovely looking hamper. Love the items.
Corina
Thanks! We had so much fun unwrapping and then trying everything.
Kira
This hamper looks the perfect Xmas gift ! I can't wait for Xmas 🙂
Corina
I'm so excited about Christmas too! I love all the Christmas food especially.
Emma
We buy Christmas hampers for people that are difficult to buy for. They are such a great gift that people can enjoy over the holidays.
Corina
Exactly! That's partly why I got one for my brother and his girlfriend last year. They live a long way away and I hadn't met her at the time so didn't know what to choose for her but wanted to include her in the present.
Kara
I love Christmas pudding but the kids hate it so we rarely get it. What a lovely hamper
Corina
My kids and hubby are not keen either but these little individual puddings are great just for one person!
five little doves
Ooh I'm not a fan of rum sauce but my dad loves Christmas pudding and rum sauce especially!
Corina
I'm sure he'd love this then!
Clare
I love rum sauce, this has really made my mouth water!
Corina
I'm so pleased you like it!
Kat (The Baking Explorer)
I've never tried rum sauce before, but reading your post, I now need to try it!
Corina
Oh Kat! Rum sauce is delicious. You need to try it!
Joanna Bayford
What a fab looking hamper. I've never had rum sauce my parents always used to do Christmas pudding with cream or custard although I'm not a fan of it and tend to go for Yule log as my Christmas dessert.
Corina
I would probably choose custard if I didn't have rum sauce although adding a dash of rum to some of the custard would be a great way to make a Christmas sauce suitable for the whole family.
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com
Love a nice hamper. And as for the rum sauce - yes, please! I like my rum sauce very lightly sweetened since the pudding is usually quite sweet. And I like a lot of it - just like in your photo!
Corina
Great! I do think you need a lot as it's so yummy. I think there's nothing worse than getting a very small pot of sauce in a restaurant. At least at home you can make as much as you want.
Vicky
This is one marvellous hamper and totally agree with you about the Christmas pudding, gooey goodness all year round. Delicious! #brillblogposts
Corina
I'm so pleased you like it! And that I'm not the only one who'd be happy to eat Christmas pudding all year.
Deborah Nicholas
Oh i love a good hamper and that pudding looks delicious, its one of my favourite things about Christmas!
Corina
Oh me too! I love Christmas puddings.
Talya
Love the look of this hamper the rum sauce looks absolutely divine and the perfect treat for Christmas!
Corina
Thanks Talya!
Jon
This hamper has pretty much everything I would want! Not sure i could give it away!
Corina
Luckily I'm keeping it all to myself, except I'm happy to share the tea!
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
That hamper looks gorgeous - I wish someone would send me one! It is really a foodie's dream present isn't it? That rum sauce looks and sounds FAB! Growing up my parents made something similar...except instead of rum it was grated orange...not quite the same! I definitely prefer the sound of your version. Though since leaving home I must confess I've got rather excited by brandy butter and brandy cream - some years I am extra extravagant and get both!! Thanks for linking this up to #CookBlogShare 🙂 Eb x
Corina
You're right - It is really exciting to unpack the hamper and discover what's inside. Maybe I should try a grated orange version for my kids as I don't feel I can give them this one because of the rum, not that that stopped me eating it when I was younger though! I'm definitely a rum rather than a brandy fan so maybe I should experiment with making rum butter next! After all, I now have a whole bottle of rum at home. x
Rebecca Smith
WOW! this looks an amazing hamper (I do so love a good hamper)...and better still an amazing recipe....it just ate my first mince pie today...too early for Christmas? ... I think not!
Corina
I am going to eat my first mince pie soon! Definitely not too early for Christmas. I just love all the Christmas food and especially at the moment when it seems so long since the last one!