Home › Hot Puddings › Suet Pudding
Suet Pudding
1 cup finely chopped suet 1 cup molasses 1 cup milk 3 cups flour 1 teaspoon soda 1 1/2 teaspoons salt Ginger, Clove, Nutmeg} 1/2 teaspoon each 1 teaspoon cinnamon Mix and sift dry ingredients. Add molasses and milk to suet; combine mixtures. Turn into buttered mould, cover, and steam three hours; serve with Sterling Sauce. Raisins and currants may be added.
Thanksgiving Pudding I 4 cups scalded milk 1 1/4 cups rolled crackers 1 cup sugar 4 eggs 1/3 cup melted butter 1/2 grated nutmeg 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups raisins Pour milk over crackers and let stand until cool; add sugar, eggs slightly beaten, nutmeg, salt, and butter; parboil raisins until soft, by cooking in boiling water to cover; seed, and add to mixture; turn into buttered pudding-dish and bake slowly two and one-half hours, stirring after first half-hour to prevent raisins from settling; serve with Brandy Sauce.
A plain steamed suet pudding of the old English type, leavened with soda against molasses. The one thing that determines success is steady, gentle steam for the full three hours.
- SuetAsk a butcher for beef kidney suet and chop or grate it fine while cold; it should be flecks, not lumps. Shredded packaged suet works, and frozen grated butter is one common stand-in if suet is unavailable, though the texture will be less light.
- Soda and molassesThe teaspoon of soda is the only leavening, and it works against the acidity of the molasses. Use unsulphured molasses rather than blackstrap, which is harsher and more bitter.
- The mouldA 2-quart lidded pudding basin or a covered metal mould, filled no more than two-thirds. Butter it well and cover tightly; if using a basin, tie on buttered parchment and foil so no condensation drips in.
- SteamingSet the mould on a rack in a deep pot with boiling water reaching halfway up the sides. Keep it at a bare simmer and top up with boiling water as it evaporates; letting the pot run dry is the usual failure.
- Doneness and yieldAfter three hours a skewer should come out clean and the pudding will have pulled slightly from the sides. Rest ten minutes before unmoulding. Serves eight to ten.
- Sterling SauceSterling Sauce is a sauce of the hard-sauce family, based on creamed butter and sugar and served cold so it melts over the hot pudding. Any hard sauce recipe will do.
- FruitIf you add raisins and currants, a cup total is enough for this batter. Toss them in a spoonful of the measured flour so they do not sink.
- Make aheadSteamed puddings keep well wrapped for several days and reheat by steaming for 30 to 45 minutes, which is often better than serving straight from the first steaming.