Imperial Pudding

A plain English steamed suet pudding, lightened with ground rice and scented with lemon. The only real technical demands are a proper mould seal and a steady, gentle steam.

• SuetBeef suet is the hard fat from around the kidneys; ask a butcher, or use packaged shredded suet. Chop or grate it while very cold so it stays in distinct flakes rather than smearing into the crumbs.
• Ground riceGround rice is rice milled coarser than rice flour, roughly comparable to semolina in texture. Rice flour substitutes acceptably; it gives a slightly softer, closer crumb.
• BreadcrumbGrated breadcrumb means fresh crumbs from a day-old loaf, not dry packaged crumbs, which would absorb far more liquid and leave the pudding dense.
• Quantities in cupsFour ounces of grated suet is roughly 1 cup; four ounces of fresh crumbs is roughly 2 cups loosely packed; two ounces of ground rice is about 1/3 cup. Weighing is more reliable here than measuring by volume.
• "A little milk"Unspecified, and it matters. Add milk a tablespoon at a time until the mixture drops reluctantly from the spoon -- a few tablespoons is usually enough. Too wet and the pudding sinks; too dry and it stays crumbly.
• The mould and the sealUse a 1-quart pudding basin, filled no more than two-thirds. Buttered paper alone is a leaky cover by modern standards; add a layer of foil over it, pleated across the centre to allow rise, and tie it under the rim.
• SteamingSet the mould on a trivet or folded cloth in a covered pot with simmering water reaching halfway up the sides. Keep it at a bare simmer and top up with boiling water as needed — if the pan runs dry the pudding scorches and the basin can crack.
• Doneness and turning outAfter 90 minutes a skewer should come out clean and the pudding should feel springy. Let it stand five minutes before inverting, so it firms enough to hold its shape.
• Yield and sauceServes four, or up to six in small portions. The lemon sauce called for would most likely be a hot sweetened lemon sauce thickened with cornflour or arrowroot; a lemon curd thinned with cream also suits it.