Date Pudding

This is a steamed pudding written for a piece of equipment that has largely disappeared: the waterless cooker, a heavy lidded pot with stacked inset pans that let a whole dinner cook over one burner. The method translates directly to a covered steamer or a foil-capped basin in a pot of simmering water.

• The waterless cookerA thick aluminum or cast pot, usually with two or three shallow "duplicate" inset pans that sat above the main food and cooked on trapped steam. Substitute any deep pot with a lid, a rack, and an inch or two of simmering water beneath a greased 1-quart pudding basin or 6-inch cake pan.
• Cover the panThe cooker's lid did this job. In a makeshift steamer, cover the pudding pan itself with greased foil or parchment tied down, or condensation will drip in and leave the top sodden.
• TimingThe original gives none because the pudding simply went in with the roast. Steamed over gentle simmer, this quantity needs about 1 to 1 1/4 hours; test with a skewer to the centre.
• If you would rather bake itBaked in a moderate oven in the same greased pan it will set, but the texture goes from moist and dense to cakey. It is a different pudding, not a shortcut to the same one.
• The lemonGrate only the yellow zest; the white pith is bitter. A whole lemon's rind and juice in a cup of flour makes a sharp pudding, which suits the serving suggestion of a sweet sauce or cream.
• Dates"Stoned and cut in pieces" means what modern packages sell as pitted dates. Toss the pieces in a spoonful of the sifted flour before adding them so they do not sink and clump.
• YieldFour modest servings. Steamed puddings reheat well over steam for ten minutes.