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Fig Pudding
One-fourth pound of figs chopped fine, two cups of bread crumbs, one cup of brown sugar, one-fourth pound of suet chopped fine, two eggs, the grated rind and juice of one lemon, one dessertspoon of molasses, one-half teaspoon of nutmeg, one tablespoon of flour; steam three hours.
Sauce-One pint of milk, one-half cup of sugar, one tablespoon of cornstarch.
Flavor with vanilla.
A steamed suet pudding of the plainer sort — no brandy, no candied peel, just figs, lemon and molasses. It comes together in ten minutes and then looks after itself for three hours.
- The hinge: keep the water at a bare simmerThe pudding must steam, not boil, on a rack above an inch or two of water in a covered pot. Check the level every hour and top up with boiling water; a pot that runs dry will scorch the mold and stop the cooking.
- Suet, and what to do without itBeef suet is the hard fat from around the kidneys, sold by butchers and sometimes frozen at halal or Middle Eastern shops. A quarter pound is about 4 oz (115 g), and it should be shredded or grated, not creamed. Frozen butter grated on the coarse side of a box grater is the usual modern substitute; the pudding will be slightly denser.
- DessertspoonTwo teaspoons — the dessertspoon sits between a teaspoon and a tablespoon in Victorian and Edwardian measure.
- Bread crumbsThe recipe does not specify, but dry crumbs from stale white bread are the likely intention rather than fresh soft crumbs (and certainly not panko). Two cups of dry crumbs weigh roughly 8 oz; fresh crumbs weigh about half that for the same volume and will give a wetter pudding.
- FigsDried figs, 4 oz, stems removed, chopped fine. The recipe does not say what the tablespoon of flour is for; tossing it with the figs is one common way to keep them from sinking, but it may simply be meant to go into the mix.
- The moldA pudding basin or metal mold of about 1.5 to 2 quarts, well buttered, filled about three-quarters full. Cover tightly with buttered parchment and foil, tied or crimped, or the condensing steam will run into the batter.
- Doneness and yieldAfter three hours a skewer should come out clean and the pudding should have pulled slightly from the sides. Let it rest ten minutes before turning out. It serves six to eight.
- The sauceA thin pouring custard: slake the cornstarch in a little cold milk, whisk into the rest with the sugar, and cook over medium heat until it thickens and loses its raw starch taste, three to four minutes at a low bubble. Add vanilla off the heat.
- KeepingSteamed puddings improve after a day. Wrapped and refrigerated, this keeps a week and reheats by steaming for 30 to 40 minutes.
Fig pudding belongs to the long English line of boiled and steamed suet puddings that reached American cookbooks largely through the Christmas table — the "figgy pudding" demanded in the carol is the same family, though the word figgy in West Country dialect often meant raisin rather than fig. What distinguishes a recipe like this one is its thrift: bread crumbs stand in for most of the flour, suet for butter, molasses for the wine and brandy of grander plum puddings.