TASTE
Holiday puddings can be as easy or elaborate as you wish
| • | Pudding on the ritz |
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
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All manner of dire things are said about Christmas puddings — mostly, that they're too much work.
This may have been true before pre-chopped candied fruit and food processors, but today these steamed puddings are daunting only in the pocketbook. Granted, the steaming takes time but there's no work to it; peek in every once in a while to make sure the water hasn't boiled off . I've tested all these recipes on weeknight evenings, when my tolerance for yet more cooking is often all but used up.
You'll find instructions here for how to prepare your pudding "basin" or mold, how to improvise a steamer and how to preserve and serve puddings.
Guards pudding isn't a traditional Christmas pudding, which is defined by the use of "plums" (raisins or prunes) and dozens of other Good Things. However, if you've never made a steamed pudding before, this one's got training wheels. It goes together ridiculously quickly and uses ingredients most of us have at home. It's the sort of thing that would have one time been called "nursery pudding" — considered suitable for young children who were fed their meals separately from the grownups. The grownups in my house loved it hot from the steamer with ice cream.
GUARDS PUDDING
Prepare a heatproof bowl or mold that holds at least 2 cups.
In a food processor or bowl, cream together butter and sugar, add jam, baking soda, breadcrumbs, eggs and salt; mix lightly to combine. Pour into prepared mold. Cover with foil and steam 1 1/2-2 hours, until a toothpick emerges clean from the deepest part of the mold.
Serve with custard or sweet white sauce (see below).
Makes 6-8 servings slices.
Recipe from "Great British Cooking, A Well-Kept Secret," by Jane Garmey (Random House, 1981).
Custard sauce is beloved of the English for many sweets; posh restaurants routinely offer it on the dessert trolley to be poured over everything from cake to fresh fruit.
CUSTARD SAUCE
Bring the milk to a boil over gentle heat with the pod or peel in it. In a bowl, beat together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth and light lemon-colored. Strain the infused milk into the yolk-sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Place this mixture in the top of a double boiler and heat over medium heat, stirring continuously until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. (If you draw your finger across the back of the spoon, the liquid doesn't fill the track immediately). Do NOT allow to boil. A few drops of liqueur may be added just before serving, if desired.
Recipe from "British Cookery, A Complete Guide to Culinary Practice in the British Isles," by Lizzie Boyd (Overlook, 1976).
Advertiser travel writer Chris Oliver, who is from Yorkshire, England, recommends this very traditional sweet white sauce recipe from Delia Smith's "Complete Cookery Course," a British classic. This is about as small a batch as you can make and would be sufficient for a small pudding.
SWEET WHITE SAUCE
In a small saucepan, melt butter, whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually add warm milk, whisking constantly. Cook 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add liquor or extract and serve. May be made ahead and reheated.
HARD SAUCE
Cream butter with sugar and beat in flavoring. Add milk a few drops at a time to create a thick but not overly stiff paste. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Serve at room temperature. Be careful to not let it melt.
Made with brown sugar (2 cups) and brandy, this becomes brandy sauce.
Purists would scorn anything that doesn't call for half a hundred types of dried fruit, nuts and more, but I created this Christmas pudding for beginners — it's easy to throw together and less costly because of the fewer ingredients. It would make an out-of-the-usual contribution to a holiday party or brunch.
SIMPLE HOLIDAY PUDDING
In a large mixing bowl, combine boiling liquid with fruit and butter and allow to steep for a few minutes. Stir in bread crumbs, liquid sweetener, salt, baking soda and egg. Pour into bowl or mold. Cover with aluminum foil and steam 1 1/2-2 hours, until a toothpick emerges clean from the deepest part of the mold.
Makes 12-16 slices.
This is the confection Victorians would recognize as a true Christmas pudding, incorporating dried and candied fruit, fresh fruit, spirits, suet (the solid white fat from the kidney or loin of beef, sheep and other animals; almost impossible to find in the Islands) or butter and bread crumbs. Many older recipes used liquid sweeteners, usually treacle or molasses, rather than sugar. Many call for grated carrots instead of apples, which help to keep the cake moist. Baking powder and soda are not traditional but create a lighter texture.
CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING
Prepare 2 (4- to 5-cup) molds or heatproof bowls.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine prunes, raisins, ginger, candied fruit and apples. Pulse to chop (do not overprocess). Scrape fruit into large bowl and pour spirits and/or juice over. Let stand 2 hours.
In the bowl of standing mixer, or using a hand-held mixer, cream butter with brown sugar and add eggs, beating until smooth. Scrape butter mixture into bowl with fruit. Stir in bread crumbs, flour, salt, baking powder and soda, spices and zest. Mix well.
Scrape batter into molds or bowls; cover with pleated foil. Steam 2-3 hours, until skewer emerges clean and texture is firm. Store up to 3 months, covered, in refrigerator; puddings may be wrapped in spirits-soaked cheesecloth and then foil.
Before serving, re-steam for half and hour or so to warm the pudding. To serve, unmold onto serving dish and flame (if desired), slice thickly and serve with preferred topping.
Makes 10-12 servings.
Recipe from "Visions of Sugarplums," Mimi Sheraton (1968).
Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.
