Spotted Dick Pudding

I’m sharing an old British pudding (which is a dessert) the Spotted Dick, it is a very weird name for a dessert, but a dessert my mother made very often, and I love it, so I am sharing it with you, hopefully, one day you too may enjoy it.

The earliest recipes for spotted dick pudding are dated back as far as 1847, it is traditionally boiled in a cloth.

My mother’s family came to New Zealand in early 1900 century, every time my mother cooked it, it made me happy, I loved it and still do, but must humans would properly turn their nose up when I tell you how it is made.

Let’s Make Spotted Dick!

Spotted Dick Pudding Links – Link to the recipe also.

I haven’t added the original Spotted Dick Recipes as it will be duplicated so you will find the traditional recipe in the links below if you are interested.

Spotted dick is made with shredded suet, all though I do not use it now, I just use butter, but if I had a packet of Shredo, (Shredded fat from animals), I would use it.

• What Is Spotted Dick Anyway?
  Spotted dick is a traditional British pudding made from suet or mutton fat. The suet is mixed with other ingredients, such as baking soda, flour,
• Spotted Dick back on council menu
  Council chiefs have reversed a decision to rename the pudding Spotted Dick after receiving abusive letters and accusations of political correctness.
• Traditional Spotted Dick Pudding Recipe
  Pudding, the backbone of British food and none more than a Spotted Dick Pudding. The name of this classic English pudding usually will raise a smile or look of abject horror

Pudding in Cloth

Photo Credit

This pudding has been prepared with a traditional cloth rather than a basin.

Little more about the spotted dick pudding

There are many things you can serve this type of dessert with, vanilla custard, treacle, ice cream, a nice syrup – lemon flavored, chocolate, whipped cream, or even straight cream, instead like my husband those types of desserts he would just put milk on it, my dad loved it just by adding sugar and straight cream, (not whipped) to it, it wasn’t too bad like that, as it wasn’t a sweet pudding, I used to love crunching the sugar in my mouth as I ate it.

Now the main thing that made Spotted Dick Pudding a special for me was the cooking of it in a pudding cloth, ( which is usually an unbleached calico cloth used for boiling a pudding). I liked the outside of it the pudding the best.

Preparing a new pudding cloth for boiling a stream pudding

You only need to do this the first time, once you have used it once it all good to go ahead and add your boiled pudding as below preparing for boiling the pudding.

Soak in cold water overnight next day boil it for about 20 mins, once you have done this, keep it especially for boiling puddings, I always wash it every time after use in cold water to take the pudding dough of-of it then wash in hot water using no powder, hang out to dry and always put it away for the next boiled pudding.

Preparing for boiling the pudding

Preparing for boiling the pudding add the square (it all depends on how big your pudding is but about 60 centimetres – 24 inches,) into boiling water for about a minute, drain excess water off, sprinkle about 1/2 cup of flour on the hot cloth, shake of excess flour, and pour or place your pudding onto the prepared calico cloth, grab all the outside edges together, going around making sure there are no gaps and tie tightly, (leaving a little space for the pudding to swell), with string.

Place a saucer in the bottom of the pot (to prevent pudding catching on the bottom), fill the pot about 1/3 full of building water, making sure the water is boiling, place the prepared pudding in the cloth on the saucer slowly to keep water boiling (be careful that you don’t overflow the pot as you are adding the pudding), and cover with pot lid, now if it is boiling a little dry, which it will in most cases, you can add more boiling water to it, ( just boil extra water in electric jug and add boiling water to the pot quickly, on the edge of the pot, not the cooking pudding).

The photo above is a boiled Christmas pudding, it gives you an idea of how to tie the cloth when making the Spotted Dick dessert.

This is my recipe that I cooked for many years for my own family back in the 1970’s they loved it.

It is a version of the Spotted Dick recipe

This link may be helpful if you need to convert the cooking Units.

Spicy Spotted Dick

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup mixed fruit – sultanas currants raisins
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• 1 cup boiling water in which is dissolved 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 2 ozs butter

Instructions

1. Method:
2. Put all ingredients in a bowl except the boiling water.
3. Rub in the butter.
4. Add the boiling water and mix well.
5. It may appear a bit sloppy, but it will turn out a lovely pudding.
6. Tie up in cloth as preparing for boiling a pudding above.
7. Boil two hours.
8. Serve well with vanilla custard.
9. Hope you enjoy it, great on a cold winters day.
10. If you are making it for 6 or more people, double the recipe, boiling a little longer, it won’t take much longer.

Spotted Dick Suet Pudding and Custard

A traditional cloth boiled Christmas Pudding still showing the skin.

Photo Credit

A traditional bag-boiled Christmas Pudding still showing the “skin”.

If it is of any interest to you.

The photo above is a Christmas Pudding boiled in a cloth, the cloth has been removed and it’s left like that to mature.

The pudding is aged for a month or even a year. It can age for a long time because it has so much alcohol in it, it never spoils.