Anyone have experience making steamed English puddings?

[Lodestar]

"Pudding" is actually a really moist cake. I really want to try it. Sounds just as easy as cooking it in the oven but super moist. It does seem to take more time but I'm also curious if it could be made in a pressure cooker that would be faster. The timing is the big mystery for me which I'm guessing is just something one learns with experience. Anyhooo...just wondering if anyone here has that
experience and has any tips, special ingredients or recipes to share?.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

1. My father used to make a double batch of his Christmas pudding recipe

Half he steamed as a pudding, the other he baked as a fruitcake. Both were excellent.

A steamer can be made from any deep, coverable pot. Simply put some mason jar screw bands in the bottom, stand the mold on them and add water until it comes halfway up the mold. Cover and steam.

Here is a recipe from the late Robert Farrar Capon, which works very well. If you cannot get suet, butter works almost as well. I have used panko for the breadcrumbs, you can use just 3/4 pound of flour. Instead of muscat raisins, I use chopped prunes -- actual plums. One large apple, peeled, seeded and run through the food processor works well. If the dough is too difficult to stir, add some more fruit juice. For the cloth, I use old t-shirts, old sheets would also work as well. Tie them to the bowl with twine -- the standard British "pudding basin" has a large lip to facilitate this.

1 pound kidney suet (membranes removed), chopped fine
1 pound ground dried bread crumbs
1 pound sugar (brown and white, mixed)
1 pound muscat raisins [VERY important; these are the large ones, the 'plums']
1 pound seedless raisins
1 pound currants
1 pound candied peel (orange, lemon, and citron), chopped fine
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt
1 large cup ground apples, with juice
1 cup flour
8 eggs, slightly beaten
1 wineglass Cognac

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl by hand. Select a number of bowls sufficient to accomodate the recipe. Fill them 2/3 full, cover with clean, white cloths and tie well (It's a good idea to use bowls of different sizes: That way you will have puddings of varying magnitudes to choose from).

Steam for 6 hours. Dry and store. Before serving, steam for 1 hour.

I like to serve this with a Crème Anglais.

[Lodestar]

6. This looks YUMMY!

Thanks for sharing this recipe!

I wasn't thinking of anything so elaborate but will surely file this one away for when I gain some experience. I really won't have anything to compare it with since I've never had the real deal, but I'll know whether I like it.

I don't think I can get kidney suet. Would the fat from other cuts of beef work as well?

[Warpy]

2. I did plum pudding and hard sauce a long time ago

and I vaguely remember doing it in a Chinese steamer.

The recipe that looks familiar is http://whatscookingamerica.net/Cake/plumpuddingTips.htm

A quick hard sauce recipe is at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/hard-sauce/ You can substitute whiskey or rum for the brandy.

It was something from my ex's childhood. I wasn't terribly impressed by either texture or taste, so he ate it all over a period of a week.

[Lodestar]

7. Thanks for the links

It sounds like you recommend it. I was thinking of something simple with maybe a warm vanilla pudding or syrup poured over
it afterwards.

[grasswire]

3. I acquired some vintage English cookbooks last summer.

One of them is specifically a book of traditional puddings. The others also have many puddings recipes.

The variety is astounding! As many puddings in England as there are pies in America.

Got anything specifically in mind as to flavor you are thinking of?

[grasswire]

4. Bedfordshire Clanger?

Butter's Oranges?

Cumberland Rum Nicky?

Apple Hat?

Canary Pudding?

Ooooh....maybe Snowdon Pudding?

[grasswire]

5. I googled "pressure cooker english puddings"

....and apparently it is possible to do this. Lots of recipes if you google that.

[Lodestar]

8. Thanks, I'll google it and see what I come up with.

I ordered an English pudding book the other day as much for the recipes as to understand the process. It's hard to tell from
the recipe titles you listed which might be most of interest. Maybe the first one? I would love to go on a 'pudding tour' on England and get some sense of the variety and tastes so I'll know what I'm shooting for. )

[grasswire]

9. what book did you order?

I have hundreds of pudding recipes here. Some of the names are hilarious.

I also got a book called "English Provincial Cooking" from 1980 that I am absolutely in love with. The historical menus and recipes are divided by region, with rich detail. Just love it.

[Lodestar]

10. Title is "Good Old-Fashioned Puddings

Found it on Amazon. I read the reviews first and most liked it but one person complained that the measurements
were in grams, etc. which made it difficult to translate. I'll check out you book. Thanks!

[grasswire]

11. One book I got is this:

"The National Trust Book of Traditional Puddings" by Sara Paston Williams.

[Lodestar]

12. Thanks! Do you know if it uses the original European measures in grams?

I'm realizing that I'm going to have to learn to convert the UK's measuring via weight if I hope to follow original recipes.
Do you or anyone here know of any easy ways to convert the measurements? I've been trying to figure out some recipes
in grams but there's dry weight and liquid volume, etc and I'm getting pretty confused. I wonder if it would be possible to purchase
some UK measuring cups (or whatever they use in England)? I've seen charts online that give the equivalents in cups but I'm a little lost of how to figure it out beyond a general estimate if the grams exceed or are less than a cup, if that makes sense. For instance if a recipe calls for 170 grams of flour, and a cup is the same as 142 grams, I'm not sure how much over a cup that is going to be. Do they use scales instead of cups?

[grasswire]

13. this particular book has both kinds of measurements.

Here's a link to a calculator that will convert the measurements.

http://southernfood.about.com/library/info/blconv.htm

[Lodestar]

14. Thanks for finding that.

I'll bookmark it for use but it's still a bit confusing I suppose simply because you really can't go from weight to volume (grams to cups) with any ease or accuracy. I finally broke down this afternoon and ordered an inexpensive digital kitchen scale from amazon. We'll see how that goes.... I'm determined to make some puddings!
Your help has been much appreciated. I think I need to spend some time in a Brit's kitchen! I'm guessing those Brits who try to follow American recipes get equally frustrated.