AN OLD-FASHIONED HOLIDAY DESSERT

An old-fashioned walnut pudding gets updated--a luscious holiday dessert. 

On the caseríos (farmsteads) of Euskadi (the Basque Country), a traditional finale for the family feast of Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) once was intxaursaltsa, or, in Spanish, crema de nueces—walnut cream. Originally it was a simple pudding of crushed walnuts cooked with milk, sugar and cinnamon. 

The original: walnuts, milk, sugar and cinnamon.

As described by María José Sevilla in her book Life and Food in the Basque Country (Weidenfeld & Nicolson; 1989), Intxaursaltsa is a very old recipe from the caserío where there are always one or two walnut trees which give an excellent crop each year. Traditionally the shelled walnuts are wrapped in a thick, white cloth and crushed with a wooden mallet until they form a smooth paste. The paste is cooked in boiling water with cinnamon until the water has nearly evaporated. Then milk and sugar are added and the mixture is cooked until it thickens to form a light cream, which is served, sprinkled with ground cinnamon, in individual dishes. 

With more sophisticated sweets available, intxaursaltsa gradually disappeared from holiday tables. More recently, chefs have updated the original, using cream as well as milk, finishing the cream with toppings of burnt sugar brulée or shaved chocolate.   

With just a few tweaks, walnut cream makes a delightful holiday dessert. It serves as either a sauce or a pudding, depending how thick it is cooked. As a sauce, pair it with baked apples, fruit compote or Christmas cake. The cream can be prepared in advance and kept chilled up to five days. It also can be frozen. Thaw the cream and whisk it before serving into individual dessert cups. Alternatively, serve it as a frozen dessert; freeze the cream in dessert cups and allow to soften 20 minutes before serving. 

Here’s my version of an old-fashioned holiday dessert. I've cooked the ground walnuts in milk and ladled the pudding over a bittersweet chocolate sauce. There's no cream in the pudding, but it's topped with whipped cream for a luxurious finish.  

From rustic to elegant--walnut cream with chocolate sauce and a topping of whipped cream. The walnut cream can also be served as a frozen dessert.

Spoon the chocolate sauce into dessert cups before adding the walnut cream.

Walnut Cream

Intxaursaltsa (Crema de Nueces)

Walnut cream thickens as it cools. To use it as a sauce—the consistency of cream—cook it for the shorter length of time. For a thick pudding, cook it longer. 

Grind or crush the walnuts as finely as you wish. 

Serves 6.

8 ounces (2 ½ cups) shelled walnuts

½ cup sugar

4 cups whole milk

1 (5-inch) cinnamon stick

Pinch of salt

Chocolate sauce (recipe below)

Unsweetened whipped cream to serve

Place the walnuts and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground. Reserve.

Pour the milk into a heavy pan. Add the cinnamon stick and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Watch the pan carefully, so the milk does not boil over. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to stand at least 5 minutes. Skim out the cinnamon stick.

Walnuts ground with sugar.

Place the walnuts and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground. Reserve.

Pour the milk into a heavy pan. Add the cinnamon stick and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Watch the pan carefully, so the milk does not boil over. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to stand at least 5 minutes. Skim out the cinnamon stick.

Whisk the ground walnuts into the warm milk. Stir well. Place on moderately high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Lower heat and cook, stirring frequently so the milk doesn’t scorch on the bottom. Cook until thickened and slightly reduced, 20-40 minutes, depending how thick you want the cream. Let the walnut cream cool.

Spoon the chocolate sauce into 6 dessert cups. Carefully ladle the walnut cream on top.

Refrigerate the walnut cream until chilled. Serve topped with whipped cream.

Chocolate Sauce

Salsa de Chocolate

The chocolate for this sauce is combined with olive oil rather than cream. Dark (85%) chocolate makes a bittersweet contrast to the sweetened walnut cream. Add sugar if you prefer a sweeter sauce. 

Chopped bittersweet chocolate.

4 ounces dark (85%) chocolate

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

½ cup water

1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heatproof bowl. Combine the oil, water and sugar, if using, in a saucepan. Bring it to a full boil and immediately pour over the chocolate. Whisk until the sauce is smooth. It will thicken as it cools.

Spoon sauce into dessert cups.

Spoon the sauce into dessert cups. Allow the sauce to cool completely before covering with walnut cream.

Sauce can be stored, covered and refrigerated, for up to a week. To thin the sauce, microwave on Medium for 15 seconds. Stir well. 

Luscious spoonful.

More recipes for holiday desserts:

Walnut Torte.

Almond Torte. 

Date Bars.

Fig Bars.

Grape Juice Pudding.

Pumpkin-Fruit Compote (Arrope).

Almond Nougat Mousse.

Christmas Almond Soup.

Sweet Potato-Molasses Compote.