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One-Egg Carrot Pudding
1 cup sugar ½ cup butter 1 cup grated carrots (raw) 1 cup grated potatoes (raw) 1 cup currants 1 cup raisins 1 egg Pinch of salt 1 teaspoon soda 2 cups Five Roses flour.
Steam 3 hours. One cup molasses may be added to above.
A steamed suet-less Christmas-style pudding that leans on grated raw vegetables for moisture. The original assumes you know how a pudding mould works, so here is what it leaves out.
- The hinge: no added liquidThere is no milk or water in the list, and none is needed — the raw carrot and potato release plenty as they steam. Grate them finely on the small holes and use them at once, before the potato darkens; do not wring them out.
- Mould and fill levelUse a greased 2-quart or larger pudding basin or covered mould, filled no more than two-thirds; with the molasses added you will need the larger size. Cover with greased parchment and foil tied down, or the mould's lid, so condensation cannot get in.
- How to steamSet the mould on a rack in a deep pot, add boiling water to come halfway up the sides, cover, and keep at a bare simmer. Top up with boiling water as it evaporates; three hours of steaming will use a surprising amount.
- CurrantsThese are dried Zante currants, the small black raisin, not fresh red or black currants. A cup weighs about 5 oz.
- The flourFive Roses was a Canadian hard-wheat flour; ordinary all-purpose is the right substitute. Two cups is roughly 9 oz.
- The sodaOne teaspoon of soda with no acid in the batter is a lot, and can leave a faint soapy edge. If you leave out the molasses, half a teaspoon is safer; with the molasses in, the full teaspoon is doing real work.
- The molasses variationAdding a cup of molasses adds both sweetness and liquid, so the pudding will be darker, softer and slower to set. Consider cutting the sugar back to three-quarters of a cup and allowing an extra half hour of steaming.
- SpicesThe recipe carries none, which is unusual for the type. A teaspoon of cinnamon with half a teaspoon each of nutmeg and cloves is in keeping with other carrot puddings of the period.
- Yield, serving and keepingServes eight to ten. Turn out hot and serve with a hard sauce or a caramel sauce; the pudding keeps well wrapped for a week and re-steams in about 45 minutes.
Carrot pudding is the thrifty cousin of the suet-and-brandy Christmas pudding, and it flourished in Canadian kitchens in the early twentieth century, when grated root vegetables helped stretch the more expensive ingredients. The title tells the story: One-Egg was a selling point in an era of household economy, and recipes were often advertised by how little egg, butter or sugar they demanded — a habit that seems to have grown during the First World War. The Five Roses Cook Book itself was published by the Lake of the Woods Milling Company to promote its Five Roses brand flour, and was distributed in enormous numbers to Canadian households, which is why its recipes name the flour by brand in the ingredient list. Boiled and steamed puddings occupy a whole section here.