How to Make Steamed Carrot Pudding and Maple Cream

Back at the turn of the 20th century, most homes had a stove that was on all day during the winter. It warmed the room, kept water hot for coffee or tea, dried mittens that were hung over it, and kept a pot of water on a perfect simmer for steamed pudding.

Steamed pudding is one of the simplest dishes to make and has been popular in the British Isles for many years. All you need are some simple ingredients. At Christmas, plum pudding or figgy pudding is popular but it is very dense with fruit and nuts and tastes best aged for several weeks. My grandmother made puddings all the time. This recipe is in the front of her notebook. Full instructions for making any kind of steamed pudding are below under How to put it all together.

Source: jem on flickr

The Pudding

Bathed in syrup or served with hard sauce, carrot pudding is just as festive as plum pudding at a fraction of the cost. This recipe is from Aunt Julia.

Mix:

• 1/2 pound of flour
• 1/2 pound of suet (there is no substitute)
• 3/4 pounds grated carrot
• 1/4 pound raisins
• 1/4 pound currants
• 1/4 pound sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 pint milk
• nutmeg

Put in a mould and steam.

Note: The recipe ends right there and assumes you know how to make a steamed pudding and how long to cook it. Unless you learned this at your mother's knee, you may want to find out how to put it all together. It is explained below.

Brown Sugar Syrup

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 or 2 teaspoons vanilla
• a good sprinkle of nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients and cook until thickened to syrupy consistency.

Maple Cream

2 cups of yellow sugar dissolved in milk. Boil until it hardens in cold water. Then stir in butter the size of an egg, flavour, and whip until it begins to set. Serve as a hard sauce with warm pudding or pour on buttered plates.

Remember, this is whipped with a wooden spoon and a strong arm!

Explanation:

How much milk? About half a pint or so. You can use half and half for nice results.

How long to boil it? Actually, bring to a boil and cook slowly on low heat for about 20 or 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reaches what is called the 'soft-ball' stage. Sugar burns easily so do not use high heat. Test by letting a drop fall into a saucer of very cold water. It should form a ball that yields to the touch. Be careful! It's hot!

It's also simple, inexpensive and way too good!

How to put it all together

Most old recipes are measured by weight, so have a kitchen scale handy.

Suet is raw beef fat. There is no proper substitute for it but if you are vegetarian, you can try looking up a way to make a veggie version. It is not the same and will not work the same way. You've been warned.

The mould can be anything from a sturdy heat-proof bowl to a coffee can. A bundt pan or angel cake pan works well because the pudding cooks better with that centre piece. Butter it very well and don't skimp or your pudding will stick! Pour pudding mixture into the container and cover securely with a lid or with a double ply of buttered aluminum foil tightly secured by wrapping string around it and tying well. You do NOT want moisture getting inside your puddiing! Don't overfill the mould. Make a pleat in the foil to give it room to expand a bit.

Get a big stock pot and place a tea towel in the bottom. Put a steamer basket on top of the towel. You want about 2 inches clear on all sides of your pudding container. Fill with water to come up no more than 2/3 of the way up the pudding mould. Bring to a gentle simmer, carefully lower the mould into the water and cover the stock pot. Steam for about 3 hours.

Unmould and let cool a bit. Serve warm with sauce. Or you can wrap well in foil and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.