The Roly-Poly Pudding - Beatrix Potter “The Tale of Samuel Whiskers”

Puddings today are a bit different from the puddings of days of old.  These vintage puddings are bready and warm and scrumptious. 

(From P. 189 Good Housekeeping’s Book of Good Meals 1929)

Cottage Pudding

Ingredients:

Basic -

• Cottage Pudding1/2 c. shortening
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 1 c. milk
• 2 1/4 c. flour
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Additional - none

Method - Cream the shortening, add sugar adn vanilla, then egg.  Mix and sift flour, baking powder and salt.  Add alternately with milk to first mixture.  Turn into greased cake mixture.  Turn into greased cake pan.  Bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 min. Or pour into greased molds and steam one hour.  Serve with lemon, orange, or chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Pudding

chocolate self-saucing puddingIngredients:

Basic -

• Use recipe for Cottage Pudding as foundation

Additional -

• 2 1/2 squares melted chocolate

Method - Make like Cottage Pudding.  Add melted chocolate after the sugar Bake or steam like cottage pudding.  Serve with vanilla or hard sauce.

Fruit Pudding

Ingredients:

Rick Stein’s Baked Apple and Almond Puddings with Crème Anglais

Basic -

• Use recipe for Cottage Pudding as foundation

Additional - 1 c. of any one of the following fruits:

• Blueberries
• huckleberries
• red raspberries
• stoned cherries
• sliced pared apples
• rhubarb
• peaches
• stoned dates
• pressed figs
• stoned prunes
• dried peaches 
• Any canned fruit drained well, the juice used for sauce.

Method - Mix and bake or steam like cottage pudding.  Reserve 2 tbsp. of flour to mix with fruit.  Wash fruit, dry, and chop large fruit fine.  Dried fruits should be washed and steamed tender, then chopped.  Mix with flour and stir in last.  Serve with a fruit or hard sauce.

Ginger Pudding

Sticky Clementine & Ginger PuddingIngredients:

Basic -

• 1/4 c. shortening
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 egg well beaten
• 1/2 c. sour milk
• 1/2 c. molasses
• 1 12 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ginger
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Additional - For varioation, add any one of the following:

• 1 c. chopped apples
• grated rind of 1/2 orange
• or pour batter over 3 apples, pared cored, sliced and placed in bottom of mold, with 2 tbsp. sugar and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon sprinkled over them.

Method - Mix like Cottage Pudding.  Sift the spices with the flour.  Combine sour milk and molasses.  add alternately to egg mixture.  Bake or steam like Cottage Pudding.  Serve with fruit or hard sauce.

Suet Pudding

suet pudding - see related references below article for further information.Ingredients:

Basic -

• 1/2 c. suet chopped fine
• 1/2 c. molasses
• 1/2 c. milk or water
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 2 tsps. baking powder
• 1/2 c. raisins

Additional - For variation, add 1 c. of the following in place of raisins:

• chopped figs
• chopped dates
• sliced citron and currants mixed
• or stoned and chopped prunes

Method - Mix together the suet, molasses and milk.  Sift the flour and other dry ingredients together.  Mix with fruit and add to first mixture.  Pour into a well-greased mold and steam 2 hours.  Or put into 6 individual molds and steam 35 minutes.

Plum Pudding

Christmas Plum Pudding Ingredients:

Basic -

• Use recipe for Suet Pudding as foundation

Additional -

• 2 eggs well beaten
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 c. currants
• 1/4 c. blanched chopped almonds
• 1/4 c. citron thinly sliced in strips
• 1/4 c. candied cherries cut in quarters
• 1 tbsp. chopped candied orange peel
• 1/4 c. chopped figs

Method - Make like suet pudding.  Add eggs to suet mixture.  Prepare fruit adn mix well with extra flour.  Add last.  Pour into greased mold and steam three hours.  Or pour into greased 1 lb. tin cans and steam two hours.

Steamed Dumplings

Baked Pear DumplingsIngredients:

Basic -

• 2 c. flour
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 c. shortening
• 1/2 to 1/4 c. milk

Additional - 2 c. of any one of the following fruits:

• Apples
• blueberries,
• raspberries
• stoned cherries
• rhubarb
• peaches
• any canned fruit

                   also add:

• 6 tsps. sugar
• 12 tbsps. cold water

Method - Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Cut in shortening.  add milk gradually to make a dough as stiff as for baking powder biscuit.  Divide fruit in 6 greased molds, add 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tablespoon of water to each.  Omit sugar and use juice of canned fruits.  Place a piece of the dough on top of fruit.  Steam 45 min.

All recipes in this chart serve six.