Steamed Plum Pudding
Made with raisins, figs, currants, citron, and spices, this rich and old-fashioned steamed plum pudding recipe is a Christmas classic.
By Yankee Magazine|Dec 10 2020|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanThis steamed plum pudding recipe was adapted from Fannie Farmer’s “English Plum Pudding I” from the 1918 edition of her cookbook, the last one she wrote. It takes time to make, but the rich, old-fashioned flavor is well worth the wait. Top with foamy sauce.
Yield:
12 thin slicesIngredients
Unsalted butter (for mold)
1-1/2 cups fine stale breadcrumbs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk, scalded
1/2 cup shortening, chilled very cold and cut into pieces
1/4 cup granulated sugar
8 ounces raisins (just shy of 1-1/2 cups), chopped
4 ounces dried figs (about 3/4 cup), chopped
4 ounces dried currants (about 3/4 cup), chopped
1 ounce citron, finely diced
1/8 cup brandy or grape juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/8 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
2 large eggs, beaten
Instructions
Butter a 1-quart mold or 28-ounce aluminum can and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, flour, and scalded milk. Let cool slightly.
Add the sugar, raisins, figs, currants, and citron. Fold a few times with a rubber spatula to combine. Add the cold shortening and continue folding, pressing lightly to smooth it into the batter, but not mixing it in completely.
Add the brandy or grape juice, then the spices and salt. Then gently fold in the beaten eggs until just combined.
Turn the batter into the prepared mold or can, tapping it lightly against the counter to disrupt any air pockets. Use string or twine to secure a circle of parchment over the top of the mold or can, leaving about 2 inches of overhang around the rim. Once the parchment is secure, wrap the top tightly in aluminum foil and secure with additional string.
Carefully set the mold onto a rack or trivet in a deep stockpot of simmering water. The water should come
up to around one-third the height of the sides of the mold. Cover the pot and steam 6 hours. Be sure to check the water level periodically and add more if necessary.
After 6 hours, transfer the mold to a rack and let cool to room temperature. Remove the parchment. You may see some liquid around the sides of the pudding, but don’t worry: As the pudding cools, it will be absorbed. Once the pudding has cooled, cover it tightly with fresh aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator.
When ready to serve, bring the pudding to room temperature and warm the mold slightly by returning it to a bath of simmering water until the pudding is loose enough to turn onto a plate. Serve warm, sliced, topped with classic Foamy Sauce (recipe below).
This pudding looks wonderful and I want to make it for Christmas. Can you tell me where I can find a mold like the one in photo here and on page 124 of your Nov/Dec 2013 issue ? Every one I’ve looked at (on amazon.com) doesn’t measure up to this one.
Hi Kathryn! I am so glad you got inspired to make the Steamed Plum Pudding from our holiday issue! For the pudding I used a copper mold that I picked up at HomeGoods last year. I’d try looking at specialty kitchen stores and bargain stores like HomeGoods (you never know what they’ll have!). Alternately, you could look on Ebay or Etsy for a vintage mold in good condition. Good luck and happy steaming!
Great recipe, though to be a traditional English Plum Pudding you must include an old-fashioned English six-pence piece in the pudding.
When ingredients ask for shortening, chilled, what item is used for the shortening? Recipe looks great.
Hi Donna. When testing this recipe we used Crisco vegetable shortening.
traditionally, beef suet is used for this pudding and without it, the pudding has a different, more benign flavour. Ask your butcher for beef suet. In some places, it can even be found at the supermarket.
Isn’t there an option to serve it flaming??
I’m so happy to have my grandmothers steamed pudding mold. I’m going to try this for our holiday feast.
At what temperature does the oven need to be set?
Never mind! I didn’t read through all of the instructions. No oven – it’s cooked on the stove!
For Thanksgiving and Christmas, my grandmother always made what she called “suet pudding”. It has about the same spices as this recipe, but only has raisins and pecans. It is on the order of New England brown bread, but more dense and of course sweeter, as a significant amount of molasses is in the recipe. She steamed it in Kybo coffee cans from the early 20th century. They have tight-fitting tin lids and the cans are of the vintage when the seams were soldered! When she passed away, I inherited the cans. They are a treasure! A couple of years ago I gave up trying to find clean suet. I have been using lard, which I chill overnight in the freezer and then grate on a box grater. It produces about the same pudding as suet.
You can get packaged suet from Amazon, both vegetable and animal with the brand name Atora.
10 out of 10. I Loved this recipe – it turned out perfectly and -a childhood memory of Christmas pudding- revisited.