An Excellent Baked Pudding

An Excellent Baked Pudding is a lovely name for a great tasting recipe from the gastronome Sir Kenelm Digby. As a pudding it closely resembles a British favourite, the ‘Bread and Butter’ pudding, utilising bread, eggs and cream. If you want to use shredded marrowbone jelly, instead of traditional shredded pudding suet, then ask your local butcher for it (order in advance). Shredded Suet and Shredded Marrowbone were almost interchangeable in puddings within the Tudor period, and sometimes both were added. Today in British steamed puddings we use only shredded suet (the hard beef fat from around the kidneys). To use fresh suet ask your butcher, or it can be bought in packets.

Recipe From “The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened“, Sir Kenelm Digby 1669

AN EXCELLENT BAKED PUDDING

Slice thin two peny-roles, or one, of French-bread, the tender part. Lay it in a dish or pan. Pour upon it a quart of Cream, that hath been well boiled. Let it stand almost half an hour, till it be almost cold. Then stir the bread and Cream very well together, till the bread be well broken and Incorporated. (If you have no French bread, take stale Kingston bread, grated) add to this two spoonfuls of fine Wheat-flower, the yolks of four Eggs, and the whites of two; a Nutmeg—grated small; Sugar to your tast; a little Salt, and the Marrow of two bones a little shreded. Stir all these together; then pour it into a dish greased over with Butter, and set it uncovered in the Oven to bake. About half an hour will serve, and give the top a yellow crispiness. Before you put in the Marrow, put in a quarter of a pound and a half of Raisins of the Sun, and as much of Currants; Ordering them so, that they may not fall to the bottom, but be all about the pudding.

An Excellent Baked Pudding Recipe

Recipe Ingredients:

• 150g plain flour
• 500g of white breadcrumbs (cut the crusts off day old white bread)
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• 40g of soft dark brown sugar
• 140g shredded suet (or marrowbone jelly, shredded)
• 1 tsp of grated nutmeg
• 50g unsalted butter, melted
• 120g raisins & 120g of currants (soaked for an hour in 20ml of water)
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 eggs (whole)
• 300ml double cream
• 200ml of whole milk

Recipe Method:

Grease a 2 pint (1.1litre) pudding basin.

In a large mixing bowl sieve together the flour and fine sea salt. Then add the shredded suet, (or shredded marrowbone jelly) sugar, breadcrumbs, nutmeg and the raisins & currants. Mix these in and make a well in the center. In another bowl whisk the egg yolks with the two whole eggs, then whisk in the milk, cream and melted butter.

Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients mixing as you go – make sure you do this carefully and a little at a time, so as not to make clumps. Using a wooden spoon mix these ingredients together to form a sticky dough.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6

Pack the mixture into the greased pudding basin. Sprinkle over the top some more brown sugar. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until golden brown. To test the pudding push a metal skewer into the pudding and see that it comes out clean and hot. If the top is browning too fast, cover with foil while baking. Serve with cream or custard.