Dolbury Pudding

 

 

The recipe I am sharing with you today is for a steamed pudding.  When you see the word steamed pudding, you might be a bit confused.  When I refer to pudding here I am not referring to the North American style of pudding which is more like a custard. I am referring to a British pudding, which is a soft, moist, cake-like treat!

Actually "pudding" is the term that most British use to refer to as "dessert."  This is a cake type of "pudding."  Sweet, rich and stodgy and meant to be enjoyed cut into wedges, served warm with lashings of custard or cream.

 

Steamed Puddings are something which the British do very well, and today's recipe has been adapted from the  National Trust Complete Recipe Book. The National Trust is an organization in the U.K.  It is the largest conservation charity in Europe caring for loads of forests, coastlines, gardens, and historical properties in the U.K. 

Most of their gardens and properties also have an associated, gift shop and tea room or cafe. I love their recipe books as the recipes in them  hold great historic value, and are very traditional.  Such is the case with this Dolbury Pudding recipe I am sharing today.

 

This steamed pudding recipe comes from the restaurant at Killerton, which is an 18th century house set in the countryside of East Devon, situated in the South West of the UK. It was so named as it is said to resemble Dolbury Hill which rises above the back on the house.

I can totally see that!

 

It also kind of resembles a hat to me!  But most steamed puddings do.  You will need a pudding basin or a deep, wide heat proof bowl to steam this pudding in. I have a Mason Cash Pudding basin.  It holds 2 1/2 pints, which is about 6 North American cups.  In Canada you can purchase a Pudding Basin here. 

You might be slightly intimidated by the idea of steaming a pudding. You shouldn't be. They are really quite easy to do.  I actually found an excellent tutorial on how to steam a pudding on the Mason Cash site, which takes all of the mystery out of it.  There are also several very tasty looking recipes.

 

What you have here is a beautifully moist and stodgy sponge cake, studded throughout with lots of lovely bits of apple and the fruit from the mincemeat which is used in the filling.

Sweet and slightly spicey, from the warm baking spices used in the  mincemeat.  Most years I will make my own mincemeat from scratch, using Delia's fail-proof recipe. Its an excellent version. For today's pudding I used a quality store bought mincemeat.  Prepare to fall in love with this lovely, rich and delicious pudding!

 

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE DOLBURY PUDDING

Aside from the pudding basin/bowl and a pot large enough to steam it in, pretty basic baking ingredients.

• 1/2 cup (110g) butter at room temperature
• 2 TBS lard
• 3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar, packed
• 3 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 2/3 cup (200g) chopped peeled and cored apple
• 1 scant cup (200g) prepared mincemeat (the type you use at Christmas to make tarts_
• 2 cups (225g) self rising flour
• a little milk if necessary

 

I used regular salted butter and Tender Flake Lard.  If you are measuring your sugar by the cup, make sure you pack the cup.  I usually do all of my baking/cooking by weight as it is much more accurate.

Self rising flour can be a bone of contention for some.  It is not readily available in many places here in North America. I make my own self rising flour.  It is very easily done.  I make 3 cups of it at a time.  For every 1 cup (140g) of flour, whisk in 1 1/2 tsp. of baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt.   Like I said I make it up 3 cups at a time and it always gets used up.

A lot of British cakes and bakes call for self rising flour.

 

The recipe did not specify the apple to be used. I happened to have some Gravensteins so that is what I used. I think an apple that holds its shape well when cooked would be preferable to one which will turn to mush.  Use one with a nice apple flavor.

Mincemeat is a store-cupboard favorite in the U.K. and I always keep a few jars of it here in my own kitchen. You can buy it in most grocery stores. It is a tasty mixture of dried fruit, distilled spirits, spices and suet or butter.  Usually the fruits are currants, raisins, candied peel and apples.

 

At one time it used to actually contain minced "meat."  Usually beef or venison, but you will find that these days, unless it is homemade, it doesn't contain any meat at all, and that is how I like it.  Meatless.

I use a lot of it during the Christmas season and actually I use it a fair bit in baking all the year through.  If you would like to make your own as I do, click the link above for Delia's recipe. It is exceptional.

 

HOW TO MAKE DOLBURY PUDDING

Don't be afraid. This is really very easy to make. The cook time is a bit long, but really its not hard at all.  I actually wonder if you might be able to use the Instant Pot or slow cooker to steam this type of pudding. I am going to experiment with that I think. In the meantime, do make it in the conventional way!

Butter a 2 - 2 1/2 pint pudding basin or heat proof bowl really well. Cut out a round of parchment paper and place in the bottom of the basin.

Cream the butter, lard and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, a little bit at a time until thoroughly combined. Stir in the apples and the mincemeat.

Fold in the flour gently. If the batter is too thick, you can stir in a bit of milk. It should have a soft dropping consistency. Spoon into the pudding basin, leveling the top.

 

Cover the basin loosely with a double layer of pleated parchment paper or a sheet of heavy aluminum foil, pleated. Secure with a string. (As I said there is an exceptional tutorial on how to do this here.  I highly recommend you watching it.)

Place onto a metal trivet in a pan of boiling water which should come halfway up the sides of the pudding basin. Cover and steam for 2 hours.

Serve warm, cut into wedges, with any sort of fruit sauce, custard or cream.

 

This was really delicious. It was everything that a good steamed pudding should be.  Nice and moist, a little bit stodgy, a lot bit tasty.

I served it with lashings of warm custard.  Ice cream would also be nice as would lashings of cream.  Or even whipped cream.  You can find my custard recipe here.  It is usually served warm.

If I have whetted your appetite for steamed puddings you might also enjoy the following:

STEAMED JAM SPONGE PUDDING - Moist and delicious, coated with sweet jam.  Some of the jam soaks into the cake which adds to its deliciousness. Traditionally it is decorated with sweetened desiccated coconut.

STEAMED MARMALADE PUDDING - Rich, sticky and somewhat reminiscent of gingerbread, this is a real favorite. I make a custard sauce to go with this that is infused with Grand Marnier for a really special finish.  Altogether very delicious!

Yield: 4 - 6

Author: Marie Rayner

Dolbury Pudding

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 2 HourTotal time: 2 H & 15 M

A delicious steamed pudding, studded with plenty of diced apple and spicy mincemeat. Lovely served warm with lashings of warm custard.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (110g) butter at room temperature
• 2 TBS lard
• 3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar, packed
• 3 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 2/3 cup (200g) chopped peeled and cored apple
• 1 scant cup (200g) prepared mincemeat (the type you use at Christmas to make tarts_
• 2 cups (225g) self rising flour
• a little milk if necessary

Instructions

1. Butter a 2 - 2 1/2 pint pudding basin or heat proof bowl really well. Cut out a round of parchment paper and place in the bottom of the basin.
2. Cream the butter, lard and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, a little bit at a time until thoroughly combined. Stir in the apples and the mincemeat.
3. Fold in the flour gently. If the batter is too thick, you can stir in a bit of milk. It should have a soft dropping consistency. Spoon into the pudding basin, leveling the top.
4. Cover the basin loosely with a double layer of pleated parchment paper or a sheet of heavy aluminum foil, pleated. Secure with a string.
5. Place onto a metal trivet in a pan of boiling water which should come halfway up the sides of the pudding basin. Cover and steam for 2 hours.
6. Serve warm, cut into wedges, with any sort of fruit sauce, custard or cream.

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