Friday, November 20th 2009

Spotted Dick

4 ounces plain flour
4 ounces suet
4 ounces raisins
water, to mix

Mix the flour, currants and grated suet (it should have the general consistency of mouse droppings) very lightly by hand.

Moisten with a couple of tablespoons of cold water, enough to give a dryish pastry texture.

Stir to bind the ingredients together.

The mixture can be put into a buttered basin and covered with first a layer of foil, then a cloth (tied on with string), but the usual way is to make a thick roll shape, and wrap it in buttered greaseproof (waxed?) paper, and tie into a cloth.

Boil in a lot of water for two to three hours on top of the stove, or all day if using a crock pot.

To serve, slice it into 1" thick chunks while still hot.

Some people serve it with egg custard, but others consider serving spotted dick with moist brown sugar and a large spoonful of salted butter a must. Use both if you like.

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Why steam for so long? Christmas puddings are quite dense because of all the fruit, nuts, etc. they contain. Steaming is the best method of cooking because it allows a slow cooking which ensures a moist and palatable result (cakes being less dense can cook for less time and still remain moist, so baking is the best method). If you used a faster cooking method for a Christmas pudding you would get a crusty pudding. A pudding steamed for 2 hours, rather than 4, would probably still have some uncooked mixture in the center. So, while the cooking time obviously depends on the size of the pudding. (This is when it is cooked on the stove - not the pressure cooker)