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Plum Duff
2 TABLESPOONS BUTTER 2 TABLESPOONS SUGAR I EGG, BEATEN 1/2 CUP MOLASSES 1/2 CUPS FLOUR 1/4 TEASPOON SALT I TEASPOON SODA 1/2 CUP BOILING WATER 1/2 CUP SEEDED RAISINS 1/2 CUP CURRANTS Cream butter, beat sugar in gradually and when fluffy add egg, well beaten, and then beat some more. Whip in molasses and then the flour sifted with salt and soda, alternating flour with the steaming hot water. Put in raisins and currants, mix thoroughly, pour into well-greased tin with tight cover, steam 11/2 hours and serve with:
A steamed molasses pudding of the campfire era, closer to a gingerbread batter than to a British suet duff. It needs a covered mold, a pot with a lid, and about ninety minutes of gentle steam.
- Flour quantityThe flour line reads "1/2 cups," which cannot be right against a half cup of molasses, a half cup of water and an egg. A batter of this type wants 1 1/2 cups; treat the printed figure as incomplete rather than literal.
- Steaming time"11/2 hours" is one and a half hours. Keep the water at a bare simmer, halfway up the mold, and top it up with boiling water so the pot never runs dry.
- The vesselA "tin with tight cover" is any 1-quart pudding mold, coffee can or metal bowl. Grease it well, fill it no more than two-thirds, and clamp or tie foil over the top so condensation cannot drip in.
- Soda and molassesThe teaspoon of soda is there to react with the acid in the molasses, not with buttermilk. Get the batter into the mold and into the steam promptly once the soda is in, or the lift is spent before cooking starts.
- Boiling waterAdding the water hot, alternating with the flour, keeps the batter loose enough to pour and starts the soda working. It is not an error; do not substitute cold water.
- CurrantsThese are dried Zante currants, the small raisin, not fresh red or black currants. Plump both fruits in hot water for ten minutes if they are stiff.
- Doneness and yieldA skewer should come out clean and the top spring back. Rest five minutes before unmolding. Serves four to six as a dessert.
- The sauceThe instruction to "serve with" points to an accompanying sauce that is not printed here. Hard sauce of butter, powdered sugar and vanilla, or a thin lemon or brandy sauce, would suit.