Chapter XX: =Boiled Puddings.= (2)

_Obs._—We have given this receipt, for which we are indebted to a friend, without any variation from the original, because on testing it we have found it very exact with regard to quantity and time; but though an extremely delicate and excellent pudding, a little flavouring would, we think, improve it: a small portion of the milk may be omitted, and its place supplied by ratifia, lemon-brandy, or aught else that is preferred.

A VERY FINE CABINET PUDDING.

Butter thickly a mould of the same size as for the preceding pudding, and ornament it tastefully with dried cherries, or with the finest muscatel raisins opened and stoned; lay lightly into it a quarter-pound of sponge biscuit cut in slices, and intermixed with an equal weight of ratifias; sweeten with three ounces of sugar in lumps, and flavour highly with vanilla, or with the thin rind of half a fine lemon, and six sound bitter almonds bruised (should these be preferred), three-quarters of a pint, or rather more, of thin cream, or of cream and new milk mixed; strain and pour this hot to the well-beaten yolks of six eggs and the whites of two, and when the mixture is nearly cold, throw in gradually a wineglassful of good brandy; pour it gently, and by degrees, into the mould, and steam or boil the pudding very softly for an hour. Serve it with well made wine sauce. Never omit a buttered paper over any sort of custard-mixture; and remember that quick boiling will destroy the good appearance of this kind of pudding. The liquid should be quite cold before it is added to the cakes, or the butter on the mould would melt off, and the decorations with it; preserved ginger, and candied citron in slices, may be used to vary these, and the syrup of the former may be added to give flavour to the other ingredients.

Dried cherries, 3 to 4 oz.; sponge-biscuits, 1/4 lb.; ratifias, 4 oz.; thin cream, or cream and milk, 3/4 pint; sugar, 3 oz.; vanilla, 1/2 pod (or thin rind of 1/2 lemon and 6 bitter almonds bruised); yolks of 6 eggs, whites of 2; brandy, 1 wineglassful (preserved ginger and candied citron at choice): steamed, or gently boiled, 1 hour.

SNOWDON PUDDING.

(_Genuine Receipt._)

Ornament a well buttered mould or basin with some fine raisins split open and stoned, but not divided, pressing the cut side on the butter to make them adhere; next, mix half a pound of _very_ finely minced beef-kidney suet, with half a pound of bread-crumbs, and an ounce and a half of rice-flour, a pinch of salt, and six ounces of lemon marmalade, or of orange when the lemon cannot be procured; add six ounces of pale brown sugar, six thoroughly whisked eggs, and the grated rinds of two lemons. Beat the whole until all the ingredients are perfectly mixed, pour it gently into the mould, cover it with a buttered paper and a floured cloth, and boil it for one hour and a half. It will turn out remarkably well if carefully prepared. Half the quantity given above will fill a mould or basin which will contain rather more than a pint, and will be sufficiently boiled in ten minutes less than an hour. To many tastes a slight diminution in the proportion of suet would be an improvement to the pudding; and the substitution of pounded sugar for the brown, might likewise be considered so. Both the suet and eggs used for it, should be as fresh as possible.

This pudding is constantly served to travellers at the hotel at the foot of the mountain from which it derives its name. It is probably well known to many of our readers in consequence. Wine sauce, arrow-root, German sauce, or any other of the sweet pudding sauces to be found in the preceding pages of this chapter, may be poured over, or sent to table with it.

VERY GOOD RAISIN PUDDINGS.

To three quarters of a pound of flour add four ounces of fine crumbs of bread, one pound of beef-suet, a pound and six ounces of raisins, weighed after they are stoned, a quarter of a teaspoonful of salt, rather more of ginger, half a nutmeg, an ounce and a half of candied peel, and four large or five small eggs beaten, strained, and mixed with a cupful of milk, or as much more as will make the whole of the consistence of a _very_ thick batter. Pour the mixture into a well-floured cloth of close texture, which has previously been dipped into hot water, wrung, and shaken out. Boil the pudding in plenty of water for four hours and a half. It may be served with very sweet wine, or punch sauce; but if made as we have directed, will be much lighter than if sugar be mixed with the other ingredients before it is boiled; and we have found it generally preferred to a richer plum-pudding.

No. 1. Flour, 3/4 lb.; bread-crumbs, 4 oz.; beef-suet, 1 lb.; stoned raisins, 1 lb. 6 oz.; candied peel, 1-1/2 oz.; 1/2 nutmeg; eggs, 4 large, or 5 small; little salt and ginger: 4-1/2 hours.

_Superior Raisin Pudding._—No. 2. Bread-crumbs and flour each 4 oz.; suet, 12 oz.; _stoned_ raisins, 1 lb.; salt, third of saltspoonful; 1/2 nutmeg; ginger, 1/2 teaspoonful; half as much mace; sugar, 4 oz.; candied citron or orange-rind, 2 oz.; eggs, 4; milk or brandy, 3 to 5 tablespoonsful: to be well mixed and beaten together and boiled 4 hours.

_Obs._—The remains of this pudding will answer well for the receipt which follows. Sultana raisins can be used for it instead of Malaga, but they are not so sweet.

THE ELEGANT ECONOMIST’S PUDDING.

Butter thickly a plain mould or basin, and line it entirely with slices of cold plum or raisin pudding, cut so as to join closely and neatly together; fill it quite with a good custard; lay, first a buttered paper, and then a floured cloth over it, tie them securely, and boil the pudding gently for an hour; let it stand for ten minutes after it is taken up before it is turned out of the mould. This is a more tasteful mode of serving the remains of a plum-pudding than the usual one of broiling them in slices, or converting them into fritters. The German sauce, well milled or frothed, is generally much relished with sweet boiled puddings, and adds greatly to their good appearance; but common wine or punch sauce, may be sent to table with the above quite as appropriately.

Mould or basin holding 1-1/2 pint, lined with thin slices of plum-pudding; 3/4 pint new milk boiled gently 5 minutes with grain of salt, 5 bitter almonds, bruised; sugar in lumps, 2-1/2 oz.; thin rind of 1/2 lemon, strained and mixed directly with 4 large well-beaten eggs; poured into mould while just warm; boiled gently 1 hour.

PUDDING À LA SCOONES.

Take of apples finely minced, and of currants, six ounces each; of suet, chopped small, sultana raisins, picked from the stalks, and sugar, four ounces each, with three ounces of fine bread-crumbs, the grated rind, and the strained juice of a small lemon, three well-beaten eggs, and two spoonsful of brandy. Mix these ingredients perfectly, and boil the pudding for two hours in a buttered basin; sift sugar over it when it is sent to table, and serve wine or punch sauce apart.

INGOLDSBY CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS.

Mix very thoroughly one pound of finely-grated bread with the same quantity of flour, two pounds of raisins stoned, two of currants, two of suet minced small, one of sugar, half a pound of candied peel, one nutmeg, half an ounce of mixed spice, and the grated rinds of two lemons; mix the whole with sixteen eggs well beaten and strained, and add four glasses of brandy. These proportions will make three puddings of good size, each of which should be boiled six hours.

Bread-crumbs, 1 lb.; flour, 1 lb.; suet, 2 lbs.; currants, 2 lbs.; raisins, 2 lbs.; sugar, 1 lb.; candied peel, 1/2 lb.; rinds of lemons, 2; nutmegs, 1; mixed spice, 1/2 oz.; salt, 1/4 teaspoonsful; eggs, 16; brandy, 4 glassesful: 6 hours.

_Obs._—A fourth part of the ingredients given above, will make a pudding of sufficient size for a small party: to render this _very rich_, half the flour and bread-crumbs may be omitted, and a few spoonsful of apricot marmalade well blended with the remainder of the mixture.[147]

Footnote 147:

Rather less liquid will be required to moisten the pudding when this
is done, and four hours and a quarter will boil it.

SMALL AND VERY LIGHT PLUM PUDDING.

With three ounces of the crumb of a stale loaf finely grated and soaked in a quarter of a pint of boiling milk, mix six ounces of suet minced very small, one ounce of dry bread-crumbs, ten ounces of stoned raisins, a little salt, the grated rind of a china-orange, and three eggs, leaving out one white. Boil the pudding for two hours and serve it with very sweet sauce; put no sugar in it.

VEGETABLE PLUM PUDDING.

(_Cheap and good._)

Mix well together one pound of smoothly-mashed potatoes, half a pound of carrots boiled quite tender, and beaten to a paste, one pound of flour, one of currants, and one of raisins (full weight after they are stoned), three quarters of a pound of sugar, eight ounces of suet, one nutmeg, and a quarter of a teaspoonful of salt. Put the pudding into a well-floured cloth, tie it up very closely, and boil it for four hours. The correspondent to whom we are indebted for this receipt says, that the cost of the ingredients does not exceed half a crown, and that the pudding is of sufficient size for a party of sixteen persons. We can vouch for its excellence, but as it is rather apt to break when turned out of the cloth, a couple of eggs would perhaps improve it. It is excellent cold. Sweetmeats, brandy, and spices can be added at pleasure.

Mashed potatoes, 1 lb.; carrots, 8 oz.; flour, 1 lb.; suet, 1/2 lb.; sugar, 3/4 lb.; currants and raisins, 1 lb. each; nutmeg, 1; little salt. 4 hours.

THE AUTHOR’S CHRISTMAS PUDDING.

To three ounces of flour and the same weight of fine, lightly-grated bread-crumbs, add six of beef kidney-suet, chopped small, six of raisins weighed after they are stoned, six of well-cleaned currants, four ounces of minced apples, five of sugar, two of candied orange rind, half a teaspoonful of nutmeg mixed with pounded mace, a very little salt, a small glass of brandy, and three whole eggs. Mix and beat these ingredients well together, tie them tightly in a thickly-floured cloth, and boil them for three hours and a half. We can recommend this as a remarkably light small rich pudding: it may be served with German, wine, or punch sauce.

Flour, 3 oz.; bread-crumbs, 3 oz.; suet, stoned raisins, and currants, each, 6 oz.; minced apples, 4 oz.; sugar, 5 oz.; candied peel, 2 oz.; spice, 1/2 teaspoonful; salt, few grains; brandy, small wineglassful; eggs, 3; 3-1/2 hours.

A KENTISH WELL PUDDING.

Make into a firm smooth paste, with cold water, one pound of flour, six ounces of finely-minced beef-suet, three quarters of a pound of currants, and a small pinch of salt, thoroughly mixed together. Form into a ball six ounces of good butter, and enclose it securely in about a third of the paste (rolled to a half inch of thickness), in the same way that an apple-dumpling is made; roll out the remainder of the paste, and place the portion containing the butter in the centre of it, with the part where the edge was drawn together turned downwards: gather the outer crust round it, and after having moistened the edge, close it with great care. Tie the pudding tightly in a well-floured cloth, and boil it for two hours and a half. It must be dished with caution that it may not break, and a small bit must be cut directly from the top, as in a meat pudding. (_See page_ 400).

This is a very favourite pudding in some parts of England; the only difficulty in making or in serving it, is to prevent the escape of the butter, which, if properly secured, will be found in a liquid state in the inside, on opening it. Some timid cooks fold it in three coverings of paste, the better to guard against its bursting through; but there is no danger of this if the edges of the crust be well closed. When suet is objected to, seven ounces of butter may be substituted for it. The currants are occasionally omitted.

Flour, 1 lb.; suet, 6 oz.; currants, 3/4 lb.; salt, small pinch; ball of butter 6 oz.: 2-1/2 hours.

ROLLED PUDDING.

Roll out thin a bit of light puff paste, or a good suet crust, and spread equally over it to within an inch of the edge, any kind of fruit jam. Orange marmalade, and mincemeat make excellent varieties of this pudding, and a deep layer of fine brown sugar, flavoured with the grated rind and strained juice of one very large, or of two small, lemons, answers for it extremely well. Roll it up carefully, pinch the paste together at the ends, fold a cloth round, secure it well at the ends, and boil the pudding from one to two hours, according to its size and the nature of the ingredients. Half a pound of flour made into a paste with suet or butter, and covered with preserve, will be quite sufficiently boiled in an hour and a quarter.

A BREAD PUDDING.

Sweeten a pint of new milk with three ounces of fine sugar, throw in a few grains of salt, and pour it boiling on half a pound of fine and lightly-grated bread-crumbs; add an ounce of fresh butter, and cover them with a plate; let them remain for half an hour or more, and then stir to them four large well-whisked eggs, and a flavouring of nutmeg or of lemon-rind; pour the mixture into a thickly-buttered mould or basin, which holds a pint and a half, and which ought to be quite full; tie a paper and a cloth tightly over, and boil the pudding for exactly an hour and ten minutes. This is quite a plain receipt, but by omitting two ounces of the bread, and adding more butter, one egg, a small glass of brandy, the grated rind of a lemon, and as much sugar as will sweeten the whole richly, a very excellent pudding will be obtained; candied orange-peel also has a good effect when sliced thinly into it; and half a pound of currants is generally considered a further improvement.

New milk, 1 pint; sugar, 3 oz.; salt, few grains; bread-crumbs, 1/2 lb.; eggs, 4 (5, if very small); nutmeg or lemon-rind at pleasure: 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Or: milk, 1 pint; bread-crumbs, 6 oz.; butter, 2 to 3 oz.; sugar, 4 oz.; eggs, 5; brandy, small glassful; rind, 1 lemon. Further additions at choice: candied peel, 1-1/2 oz.; currants, 1/2 lb.

A BROWN BREAD PUDDING.

To half a pound of stale brown bread, finely and lightly grated, add an equal weight of suet chopped small, and of currants cleaned and dried, with half a saltspoonful of salt, three ounces of sugar, the third of a small nutmeg grated, two ounces of candied peel, five well-beaten eggs, and a glass of brandy. Mix these ingredients thoroughly, and boil the pudding in a cloth for three hours and a half. Send port wine sauce to table with it. The grated rind of a large lemon may be added to this pudding with good effect.

Brown bread, suet, and currants, each 8 oz.; sugar, 3 oz.; candied peel, 2 oz.; salt, 1/2 saltspoonful; 1/3 of small nutmeg; eggs, 5; brandy, 1 wineglassful: 3-1/2 hours.

A GOOD BOILED RICE PUDDING.

Swell gradually,[148] and boil until quite soft and thick, four ounces and a half of whole rice in a pint and a half of new milk; sweeten them with from three to four ounces of sugar, broken small, and stir to them while they are still quite hot, the grated rind of half a large lemon, four or five bitter almonds, pounded to a paste, and four large well-whisked eggs; let the mixture cool, and then pour it into a thickly-buttered basin, or mould, which should be quite full; tie a buttered paper and a floured cloth over it, and boil the pudding exactly an hour; let it stand for two or three minutes before it is turned out, and serve it with sweet sauce, fruit syrup, or a _compôte_ of fresh fruit. An ounce and a half of candied orange-rind will improve it much, and a couple of ounces of butter may be added to enrich it, when the receipt without is considered too simple. It is _excellent_ when made with milk highly flavoured with cocoa-nut, or with vanilla.

Footnote 148:

That is to say, put the rice into the milk while cold, heat it
_slowly_, and let it only simmer until it is done.

Whole rice, 4-1/2 oz.; new milk (or cocoa-nut-flavoured milk), 1-1/2 pint; sugar, 3 to 4 oz.; salt, a few grains; bitter almonds, 4 to 6; rind of 1/2 lemon; eggs, 4: boiled 1 hour.

CHEAP RICE PUDDING.

Wash six ounces of rice, mix it with three quarters of a pound of raisins, tie them in a well-floured cloth, giving them plenty of room to swell; boil them exactly an hour and three quarters, and serve the pudding with very sweet sauce: this is a nice dish for the nursery. A pound of apples pared, cored, and quartered, will also make a very wholesome pudding, mixed with the rice, and boiled from an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half; and _sultana_ raisins and rice will give another good variety of this simple pudding.

Rice, 6 oz.; raisins, 1/2 lb.: 2 hours. Or, rice, 6 oz.; apples, 1 lb.: 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hour.

RICE AND GOOSEBERRY PUDDING.

Spread six ounces of rice equally over a moist and well-floured pudding-cloth, and place on it a pint of green gooseberries, measured after the heads and stalks have been taken off. Gather the cloth up carefully round the fruit, give room for the rice to swell, and boil the pudding for an hour and a quarter. Very sweet sauce, or plenty of sugar, should be eaten with it.

Rice, 6 oz.; green gooseberries, 1 pint: 1-1/2 hour.

FASHIONABLE APPLE DUMPLINGS.

These are boiled in small _knitted_ or closely-netted cloths (the former have, we think, the prettiest effect), which give quite an ornamental appearance to an otherwise homely dish. Take out the cores without dividing the apples, which should be large, and of a good boiling kind, and fill the cavities with orange or lemon marmalade; enclose them in a good crust rolled thin, draw the cloths round them, tie them closely, and boil them for three quarters of an hour. Lemon dumplings may be boiled in the same way.

3/4 to 1 hour, if the apples be _not_ of the best boiling kind.

ORANGE SNOW-BALLS.

Take out the unhusked grains, and wash well half a pound of rice; put it into plenty of water, and boil it rather quickly for ten minutes; drain and let it cool. Pare four large, or five small oranges, and clear from them entirely the thick white inner skin; spread the rice, in as many equal portions as there are oranges, upon some pudding or dumpling cloths; tie the fruit separately in these, and boil the snow-balls for an hour and a half; turn them carefully on to a dish, and strew plenty of sifted sugar over them. The oranges carefully pared may be enclosed in a thin paste and boiled for the same time. Rice, 8 oz.; China oranges, 5: 1-1/2 hour.

APPLE SNOW-BALLS.

Pare and core some large pudding-apples, without dividing them, prepare the rice as in the foregoing receipt, enclose them in it, and boil them for one hour: ten minutes less will be sufficient should the fruit be but of moderate size. An agreeable addition to them is a slice of fresh butter, mixed with as much sugar as can be smoothly blended with it, and a flavouring of powdered cinnamon, or of nutmeg: this must be sent to table apart from them, not in the dish.

LIGHT CURRANT DUMPLINGS.

For each dumpling take three tablespoonsful of flour, two of finely-minced suet, and three of currants, a slight pinch of salt, and as much milk or water as will make a _very_ thick batter of the ingredients. Tie the dumplings in well-floured cloths, and boil them for a full hour: they may be served with very sweet wine sauce.

LEMON DUMPLINGS. (LIGHT AND GOOD.)

Mix, with ten ounces of fine bread-crumbs, half a pound of beef suet, chopped extremely small, one large tablespoonful of flour, the grated rinds of two small lemons, or of a very large one, four ounces of pounded sugar, three large or four small eggs beaten and strained, and last of all, the juice of the lemons, or part of it, also strained. Divide these into four equal portions, tie them in well-floured cloths, and boil them an hour. The dumplings will be extremely light and delicate: if wished _very_ sweet, more sugar must be added to them. The syrup of preserved ginger would be both a wholesome and appropriate sauce for them.

SUFFOLK, OR HARD DUMPLINGS.

Mix a little salt with some flour, and make it into a smooth and rather lithe paste, with cold water or skimmed milk; form it into dumplings, and throw them into boiling water: in half an hour they will be ready to serve. A better kind of dumpling is made by adding sufficient milk to the flour to form a thick batter, and then tying the dumplings in small well-floured cloths. In Suffolk farmhouses, they are served with the dripping-pan gravy of roast meat, and they are sometimes made very small indeed, and boiled with stewed shin of beef.

NORFOLK DUMPLINGS.

Take a pound of dough from a baking of very light white bread, and divide it into six equal parts; mould these into dumplings, drop them into a pan of fast boiling water, and boil them quickly from twelve to fifteen minutes. Send them to table the _instant_ they are dished, with wine sauce or raspberry vinegar. In some counties they are eaten with melted butter, well sweetened, and mixed with a little vinegar. They must never be cut, but should be torn apart with a couple of forks.

SWEET BOILED PATTIES. (GOOD.)

Mix into a very smooth paste, three ounces of finely-minced suet with eight of flour, and a light pinch of salt; divide it into fourteen balls of equal size, roll them out quite thin and round, moisten the edges, put a little preserve into each, close the patties very securely to prevent its escape, throw them into a pan of boiling water, and in from ten to twelve minutes lift them out, and serve them instantly. Butter-crust may be used for them instead of suet but it will not be so light.

Flour, 8 oz.; suet, 3 oz.; _little_ salt; divided into fourteen portions: boiled 10 to 12 minutes.

BOILED RICE TO BE SERVED WITH STEWED FRUITS, PRESERVES, OR RASPBERRY
VINEGAR.

Take out the discoloured grains from half a pound of good rice; and wash it in several waters; tie it very loosely in a pudding cloth, put it into cold water; heat it slowly, and boil it for quite an hour, it will then be quite solid and resemble a pudding in appearance. Sufficient room must be given to allow the grain to swell to its full size, or it will be hard; but too much space will render the whole watery. With a little experience, the cook will easily ascertain the exact degree to be allowed for it. Four ounces of rice will require quite three quarters of an hour’s boiling; a little more or less of time will sometimes be needed, from the difference of quality in the grain. It should be put into an abundant quantity of water, which should be cold and then very slowly heated.

Carolina rice, 1/2 lb.: boiled 1 hour. 4 oz.: 3/4 hour.

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