Boylston Street is one of Boston’s main thoroughfares, the final leg of the Boston Marathon and home to the Boston Public Library. Its name pays honor to Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, who braved the threat of mob violence in 1721 in order to get Bostonians inoculated against smallpox. In doing so, he introduced the lifesaving technique […]
Boylston Street is one of Boston’s main thoroughfares, the final leg of the Boston Marathon and home to the Boston Public Library. Its name pays honor to Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, who braved the threat of mob violence in 1721 in order to get Bostonians inoculated against smallpox. In doing so, he introduced the lifesaving technique to the United States. Boylston also performed the first surgery by an American physician and removed the first breast tumor in 1718. He was the great-uncle of President John Adams.
This honeycomb pudding, which tastes a bit like a very moist gingerbread topped with lemon sauce, was one of his favorite desserts. As it cooks, the baking soda bubbles, leaving the little holes from which the dish gets its name. It’s so tasty that I’m finding myself obsessed with the whole category of British-style puddings. Expect to see more in the coming weeks.
Dr. Zabdiel Boylston’s Honeycomb Pudding
Total time: 50 minutes; hands-on time: 30 minutes
Ingredients for Dr. Zabdiel Boylston’s Honeycomb PuddingFor the honeycomb pudding:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon each: ground cloves and allspice
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
1/2 cup warm milk
4 large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup molasses
For the honeycomb pudding sauce:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup salted butter, softened
Juice of 1 lemon
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon table salt
3 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup boiling water
Garnish: lemon slices
Method for Dr. Zabdiel Boylston’s Honeycomb Pudding
Preheat the oven to 350˚. Butter and flour a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
Make the pudding: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, spices, and salt. Add the butter, milk, eggs, baking soda, and molasses and stir to combine. Pour the mixture quickly into the prepared pan and bake until firm, 30 to 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the sauce: Put the sugar and butter in a medium saucepan and stir. Add the lemon juice, egg, salt, and cornstarch and stir. Add the boiling water, then set the pot over low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and set aside.
When the pudding is cooked, turn it out on serving dish. Slice to serve (the honeycomb will show), then spoon the sauce over the slices and serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with lemon slices if desired. Yield: 8 servings
Amy Traverso
Amy Traverso is the senior food editor at Yankee and cohost of the public television series Weekends with Yankee, a coproduction with GBH. Previously, she was food editor at Boston magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset magazine. Her work has also been published in The Boston Globe, Saveur, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on Hallmark Home & Family, The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Amy is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author and won an IACP Cookbook Award in the “American” category.
I found a version of this in my mother’s handwritten recipes that was attributed to my great grandmother (who died in 1927) and in my grandmother’s cousin’s recipes with a note saying it was her most prized recipe. In searching the Internet for its true origin, I’ve learned that it appeared in the Fannie Farmer cookbooks as far back as 1918. One article talked a lot about the fact that the original version may have been made with sulphured molasses because when she makes it now the honeycombs do not appear as they did years ago. I did try our family’s version and didn’t really see the honeycombs. I do plan to try this one in hopes they will appear. (My great grandmother’s version also had Flora Dora sauce, rather than the lemon sauce.)
I’ve not been treated to a really “true-to-fannie-farmer” honeycomb pudding since my grandmother baked it in a “tube pan” many years ago. The slices from that tubular dessert were truly honeycombed. The slices happily absorbed whatever sauce you chose to serve with them. Served warm with freshly-whipped cream is a sure winner. College pals always looked forward to my grandmother’s “unique” dessert
I made this with 2 tsp of citric acid (powder) to compensate for the lessened acidity of the unsulphured molasses. (The old recipe was based on sulphured molasses, which was more acidic.) The citric acid causes the baking soda to fully foam, and created some air pockets / honeycombs, although the weight of the mixture did pop most of those bubbles. I didn’t have All Spice, so I substituted nutmeg. The pudding came out great and is delicious.
Next time, I may try separating the egg whites and sugar and creating an Italian meringue as a base, then mixing the other ingredients into that. That should give it more sustained loft.
Dr. Zabdiel Boylston’s Honeycomb Pudding
Total time: 50 minutes; hands-on time: 30 minutes
Ingredients for Dr. Zabdiel Boylston’s Honeycomb Pudding
For the honeycomb pudding:
I found a version of this in my mother’s handwritten recipes that was attributed to my great grandmother (who died in 1927) and in my grandmother’s cousin’s recipes with a note saying it was her most prized recipe. In searching the Internet for its true origin, I’ve learned that it appeared in the Fannie Farmer cookbooks as far back as 1918. One article talked a lot about the fact that the original version may have been made with sulphured molasses because when she makes it now the honeycombs do not appear as they did years ago. I did try our family’s version and didn’t really see the honeycombs. I do plan to try this one in hopes they will appear. (My great grandmother’s version also had Flora Dora sauce, rather than the lemon sauce.)
I’ve not been treated to a really “true-to-fannie-farmer” honeycomb pudding since my grandmother baked it in a “tube pan” many years ago. The slices from that tubular dessert were truly honeycombed. The slices happily absorbed whatever sauce you chose to serve with them. Served warm with freshly-whipped cream is a sure winner. College pals always looked forward to my grandmother’s “unique” dessert
I made this with 2 tsp of citric acid (powder) to compensate for the lessened acidity of the unsulphured molasses. (The old recipe was based on sulphured molasses, which was more acidic.) The citric acid causes the baking soda to fully foam, and created some air pockets / honeycombs, although the weight of the mixture did pop most of those bubbles. I didn’t have All Spice, so I substituted nutmeg. The pudding came out great and is delicious.
Next time, I may try separating the egg whites and sugar and creating an Italian meringue as a base, then mixing the other ingredients into that. That should give it more sustained loft.