Munchie Monday: Plum Pudding

This traditional holiday pudding goes by many names—Christmas Pudding, Figgy Pudding, and Plum Pudding. Interestingly, there are usually no figs or plums in this holiday pudding. It is not surprising that there are two plum pudding recipes in the Macculloch-Miller family’s handwritten nineteenth-century cookbook since Louisa Macculloch was born in London, England. The two recipes are very similar except that the “Plum Pudding” recipe includes breadcrumbs and milk as ingredients and the “Plain Plum Pudding” lists water instead of milk, uses fewer eggs, and has only flour and not the breadcrumb/flour combination used in the earlier recipe. Brandy is not listed in either recipe as an ingredient but may have been added when the plum pudding was served or in an accompanying sauce. The Macculloch-Miller family recipes include raisins, currants, and citron but other historic plum pudding recipes may include candied orange or lemon peel, nuts, fresh apple, dried cherries or apricots in addition to spices.

If you are planning to make the Macculloch-Miller Plum Pudding recipe and have never made a plum pudding before, I would recommend watching either or both short videos from the Charles Dickens Museum or Jon Townsend to help you prepare (links are provided below).

**The pudding mixture can be used right away or stored overnight and cooked the next day. While researching, two other plum pudding recipes suggested refrigerating for a minimum of 5 hours or overnight to allow the flavors to blend while the pudding mixture thickens.

 

Plum Pudding—Original Recipe

6 oz. suet chopped fine

6 oz. raisins

8 oz. currants

6 oz. bread crumbs

6 oz. flour

5 eggs

1 tea cup full of milk

4 oz. sugar

Cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg

Citron, if you can afford it.

To be boiled three or four hours! Eat with wine sauce!

 

Plum Pudding—Adapted Recipe

1 cup of suet, chopped fine (Recommend—Atora Shredded Beef Suet) or 1 cup of shortening

1 cup of raisins

1 1/3 cup of currants

¾ cup candied citron

1 1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1 1/4 cup flour

5 eggs

1 cup of milk

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Prepare fresh breadcrumbs by toasting the bread in the oven at 250 degrees for 20 minutes and using a food processor. In a large bowl whisk eggs and add milk.  In a separate bowl combine raisins, currants, and citron with ½ cup of flour, stirring to cover the fruit with flour. Add dried fruit to eggs and milk. In another bowl mix by hand spices, remaining ¾ cup of flour, sugar, suet, and breadcrumbs and mix well. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.

There are two methods of steaming the pudding: (1) Using a ceramic pudding bowl or metal pan, (2) Using a cloth pudding bag. When adapted this historic recipe, I had better results using the ceramic pudding bowl method.

Method #1–Grease 6 to 8 cup oven-proof pudding bowl or mold. If the pudding bowl does not have a lid, use parchment paper and cut paper to the shape of pudding bowl. One piece of greased parchment paper goes on the bottom of the bowl and a second piece of greased parchment paper goes on the top of the pudding mixture. Cover with an additional piece of larger parchment paper and aluminum foil. Use two long pieces of cooking twine to tie the parchment paper and foil tightly to the pudding bowl, one on either side of the bowl (see photograph). This prevents water from getting into the bowl while boiling and also provides a way to safely remove the pudding bowl from the hot water in the pot. Use a stockpot or Dutch oven, large enough to fit pudding bowl inside, fill with water one-quarter full, approximately 3 inches. Put a small metal rack trivet on the bottom of the stockpot so that the pudding bowl is not in direct contact with the bottom of the stockpot/Dutch oven. Place covered pudding bowl inside. Place the lid on the stockpot and over medium to how heat, at a steady bowl, but careful not to let water splash over the pudding bowl. Boil water in a second pot as a reserve to add boiling water to the pot with the pudding in it. Add hot water when water level has dropped. Steam pudding for up to 3-4 hours (depending on size and depth of pudding bowl). Carefully remove/test with toothpick—should come out clean. Leave to cool with lid off pudding bowl. Unmold the pudding, cut, and serve warm with sauce.

Method #2—To prepare cloth pudding bag (muslin, linen, or cotton fabric not cheesecloth), place bag in boiling water for 10 minutes and when cool, squeeze extra water from bag. Flour the inside of the bag. Place the pudding mixture in the bag and tie tightly with string, allowing some space for the pudding to grow inside the bag. Fill stockpot with water ¾ full. Make sure water in the pot is at a rolling boil before placing pudding in the pot. Hang the pudding onto the side of the pot using the string. Boil water in a second pot as a reserve to add boiling water to the pot with the pudding in it. Add hot water when water level drops. Steam pudding for 4 hours (depending on the size of the pudding). Carefully remove pudding and test with a toothpick—should come out clean. Drain in a colander. Remove pudding from pudding bag, cut, and serve with warm sauce.

Since this recipe does not include any alcohol, the plum pudding will only last about one week if stored properly. To store pudding, wrap in plastic wrap (two layers to prevent it from drying out) and store in the refrigerator. Steam the left-over pudding for 30 minutes to one hour to reheat and serve.

 

History of Plum Pudding in America from the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion in Philadelphia, PA Plum Pudding – Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion

Watch a 10-minute video about Christmas Pudding, ‘Stir Up’ Sunday, connections to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and British traditions led by food historian Pen Vogler from the Charles Dickens Museum in London https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=charles+dickens+museum+baking+pudding&mid=68C4F927BB9FBA529BB968C4F927BB9FBA529BB9&FORM=VIRE

10-minute video about suet by Jon Townsend Suet – Rendering Tallow – 18th Century Cooking  or the 15-minute video about the 18^th century cooking—The Original Christmas Dessert–Plum Pudding The ORIGINAL Christmas Dessert – YouTube  Townsend also provides a cooking blog at savoringthepast.net.