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Hard sauce is a rich spread made of butter, sugar, and alcohol, traditionally served with heavy desserts like plum pudding. It can also be flavored with extracts and served with gingerbread or pastries. It can be made with different types of sugar and can be prepared ahead of time.
Hard sauce is not a sauce at all and could more accurately be called a spread. It’s a rich combination of butter, sugar, and alcohol that traditionally accompanies heavy desserts like plum pudding. Many people associate salsa with the holidays in particular, when it’s often offered with an assortment of desserts. In some parts of the world, it is known as brandy butter, a reference to the two main ingredients.
To make hard sauce, butter and sugar are combined together before adding a flavoring. Rum and brandy are two classic flavors, although other alcohols or liqueurs can also be used. Vanilla, almond or orange extracts can also be used, for cooks who are looking to avoid the use of alcohol. Some cooks also add accents such as lemon or orange zest.
The mixture is chilled so that it is cold before serving. Hard sauce may be offered in a central dish, allowing diners to serve themselves, or it may be served individually on each plate. Some cooks use molds to create fancy shapes that look even more elegant than just lumps of butter. Gingerbreads, pastries, and other Christmas foods go well with this cream, which is usually whipped onto a dessert rather than spread like a frosting. It can also be garnished with mint, cloves or other appropriate ingredients.
Any type of sugar can be used in hard sauce. Many cooks use icing sugar, as it produces a smooth, creamy texture. Granulated white sugar can also be used, although the final product will be grainier. Some cooks also use brown sugar to make a darker sauce with a molasses-like flavor. This form is richer and more complex in flavor, as a general rule.
Cooks can make this dessert sauce by creaming 0.5 cups (113 g) of butter before slowly adding 1.5 cups of your choice of sugar (about 180 g powdered sugar, 300 g granulated sugar, or 330 g sugar cane). The mixture should be blended until light and fluffy before adding 2 tablespoons (29.5 mL) of rum, brandy or a preferred flavouring. Once thoroughly combined, the sauce should be chilled until the cook is ready to serve it. It can sit for several days in the refrigerator, and many cooks make it ahead of time so they don’t have to worry about it in the flurry of holiday cooking.
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