Gluten-Free Brandy Sauce
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Serve this gorgeously simple Gluten-Free Brandy Sauce with your Christmas Pudding or other favourite desserts. Light, creamy and so easy to make.
Is our family the only one that insists upon every single accompaniment to Christmas Pudding going?
Who wants..
- Ice cream?
- Custard?
- Brandy Butter?
- All of the above?
Like a fool I put up with it for years but what I wanted was something a little different. We had a version of this creamy Brandy Sauce at school (I assume it was light on the brandy but actually this version tastes so similar that maybe not!) and I just crave its simplicity and gentle flavour spiked with booze. This particular recipe doesn’t overwhelm the Christmas Pudding (like vanilla heavy custard or ice cream) but instead is the ideal foil for the richness of the dessert.
Well a couple of years ago I had the good idea to throw all the other options off the table and simplify things with just offering what I wanted. This Brandy Cream Sauce. We never looked back. It ticks all the boxes.
Is brandy gluten-free?
Yes, brandy is gluten-free. It’s distilled from wine or fruit, and the distillation process removes any gluten proteins. Just be cautious with flavoured brandies or liqueurs, as added ingredients might contain gluten—always check the label. Pure brandy is safe for cooking and sipping on a gluten-free diet.
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Watch the video to see how to make Brandy Sauce
Why You’ll Love This Brandy Sauce
- Simple recipe with only 5 ingredients.
- A splash of double cream is added at the end for ultra creamy texture.
- Made with cornflour (cornstarch) so naturally gluten-free.
- Very quick recipe which you can easily make on the day itself with no bother - just 10 minutes.
- You can prepare it ahead of time too – it keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days.
- You don’t need to limit this delicious sauce to Christmas Pudding alone. It’s also lovely with all sorts of special occasion desserts or puddings.
What gluten-free flour to use
This Brandy Sauce is naturally gluten-free. I should imagine that most Brandy Sauce recipes you find will in fact use cornflour (cornstarch) anyway which is a naturally gluten-free flour.
This is a starchy flour which is an excellent thickener. You don’t use it like plain all-purpose flour. Instead you whisk cornflour into cold liquid (in this instance milk) until the cornflour has been absorbed and then you heat it up. Keep whisking all the time and your sauce will eventually bubble and thicken.
Substitution. You can swap the cornflour (cornstarch) for arrowroot or tapioca starch. However, the resulting sauce will be a little gloopier.
Other gluten-free sauces which use cornflour
- Homemade Gluten-Free Vanilla Custard.
- Gluten-Free White Sauce.
- Gluten-Free Parsley Sauce.
- The cheese sauce in this Gluten-Free Cauliflower Cheese.
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List of ingredients needed
- Whole milk. You can swap for a plant based milk.
- Cornflour (cornstarch).
- Caster sugar. It’s a fine white baking sugar. You can substitute for granulated white sugar.
- Brandy. You can switch out for rum if you prefer.
- Double cream. You can substitute for heavy cream.
How to make Traditional Brandy Sauce
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Whisk the cornflour, sugar and milk into a large saucepan with the heat turned off until smooth.
- Turn the heat on and bring the sauce up to a gentle boil, stirring until thick and smooth and is starting to gently bubble.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the brandy and the double cream.
- Drizzle your sauce on top of the pudding.
Cooking tips
- You can weigh the cornflour, the milk and the seasonings directly into the saucepan you are going to be using to cook the sauce. This really saves on washing up.
- Only switch on the heat once you are sure all the cornflour has been absorbed by the liquid for an ultra smooth sauce.
- It’s imperative to keep whisking the sauce continually whilst it is cooking otherwise it can get lumpy.
- Use a ball whisk or a French whisk (which is a little thinner) to really get into the nooks and crannies of the saucepan.
- If your sauce does get a bit lumpy towards the end of the cooking then you can just sieve out the lumps before using.
Others desserts to serve your Gluten-Free Brandy Sauce with
- Gluten-Free Spotted Dick
- Bramley Apple Mincemeat Pudding
- Steamed Chocolate Pudding
- Bramley Apple Fruit Cake
- Apple and Blackberry Crumble
Make ahead
This sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance. Store in the fridge in an airtight container. I also recommend pressing cling film to the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming.
As the sauce sits it thickens up though so if you are not serving it straightaway you may need to splash a little more milk in to make the sauce more pourable.
How long does brandy sauce last?
This Gluten-Free Brandy Sauce keeps very well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezing
I don’t recommend freezing this sauce.
How to make Vegan Brandy Sauce
It’s simple swap to make this Brandy Sauce dairy-free and vegan. Just swap the whole milk for your favourite plant based milk. My recommendation is Almond Milk, cashew milk or oat milk. If it’s homemade then even better.
Then switch out the double cream for Cashew Cream. You can try my Homemade Cashew Cream which is a little bit sweetened and absolutely gorgeous.
Child friendly Brandy Sauce
I have 4 young children and I prefer to serve them a version of this Brandy Sauce which is well… brandy free! It’s easy to do as the brandy is added at the very end of the cooking. Instead, I remove some of the finished sauce before I have added the brandy and stir in 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract. They adore this sauce and actually it’s a pretty good version of the sauce in and of itself.
More gluten-free Christmas essential recipes you’ll love
- Gluten-Free Christmas Cake
- Gluten-Free Traditional Christmas Pudding
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Orange Christmas Pudding
- Gluten-Free Mince Pies
- Gluten-Free Frangipane Mince Pies
- Gluten-Free Bread Sauce
- Gluten-Free Chestnut Stuffing
- Gluten-Free Gravy
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Gluten-Free Brandy Sauce
Ingredients
- 500 ml whole milk
- 40 g cornflour - cornstarch
- 50 g caster sugar
- 40 ml brandy
- 60 ml double cream
Instructions
- Whisk the cornflour (cornstarch), sugar and whole milk into a large saucepan with the heat turned off.
- Once the milk has absorbed all the cornflour and it feels thin and smooth then turn on the heat. Continue to stir.
- Bring the sauce up to a gentle boil, stirring all the while and making sure you get into the corners of the saucepan.
- Stir until the sauce has become thick and smooth and is starting to gently bubble.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the brandy and the double cream.
- You can serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Swap out the whole milk for a plant-based alternative. I recommend oat milk, cashew milk or almond milk. Coconut milk can be a bit too flavourful for this sauce.
- Swap the double cream for cashew cream.
- You can weigh the cornflour, the milk and the seasonings directly into the saucepan you are going to be using to cook the sauce. This really saves on washing up.
- Only switch on the heat once you are sure all the cornflour has been absorbed by the liquid for an ultra smooth sauce.
- It’s imperative to keep whisking the sauce continually whilst it is cooking otherwise it can get lumpy.
- Use a ball whisk or a French whisk (which is a little thinner) to really get into the nooks and crannies of the saucepan.
- If your sauce does get a bit lumpy towards the end of the cooking then you can just sieve out the lumps before using.
