Spicy Dried Fruit Dessert Sauce

By Julia Moskin

Published November 17, 2015

  • Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
About 1 day
Rating
4(17)
Comments
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One of Julia Child’s holiday tips to the readers of Parade, where she wrote a recipe column from 1982 to 1985, was to “spiffy up” store-bought mincemeat with grated apple and liquor, then heat it in a saucepan to make a rich, fragrant sauce. This is a fine idea, but almost as easy is mixing up a batch of mincemeat (minus the meat) at home. The cook can control the balance of sugar, citrus and spice and also use up all the half-empty containers of dried fruit that seem to end up lurking in kitchen cabinets. This “recipe” is entirely flexible; feel free to add orange zest, walnuts, apricots or whatever you like. The sauce will be equally good on pumpkin or sweet potato pie, ice cream or baked apples.

Featured in: Thanksgiving, the Julia Child Way

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Ingredients

Yield:2 cups

FOR THE MINCED DRIED FRUIT

  • 1 tart apple, peeled and cored

  • 4 ounces golden raisins

  • 3 ounces dark brown sugar

  • 2 ounces prunes or dried figs, coarsely chopped

  • 2 ounces walnut or pecan halves

  • 1 ounces dried cherries

  • 1 ounce cold butter, cut into pieces

  • ½ ounce crystallized ginger, coarsely chopped

  • ¼ cup brandy, like Cognac or Calvados

  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced

  • ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground allspice

  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground clove

TO FINISH THE SAUCE

  • Dark rum, apple cider or orange juice

  • Black pepper to taste

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

71 grams carbs; 27 milligrams cholesterol; 482 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 20 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 18 milligrams sodium; 4 grams protein; 56 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine all ingredients except those to finish the sauce in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped; do not purée. Transfer to an airtight container and let rest at least 1 day, or up to 4 weeks.

  2. Step 2

    When ready to serve, transfer to a saucepan and add enough rum or other liquid to loosen. Heat until warm and bubbly. If desired, add black pepper to make the mixture more spicy. To make a richer sauce, whisk in cold butter 1 tablespoon at a time, to taste.

  3. Step 3

    Serve warm over ice cream, pumpkin pie or baked apples.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
17 user ratings
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Comments

Beth Gahbler

Excellent, but I used half the amount of sugar.

Andrea

Very nice as written. Also nice when modified. Thank you for a lovely and practical recipe.

Susan

I plan to try this over plain Greek yogurt for a healthy snack.

Hayley

It was different, I think I would have preferred cinnamon to all spice/clove, definitely serve over a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it added and interesting warmth and texture

Vicki

Yum!! Best over good vanilla ice cream.

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