Daring Baker - Traditional British Pudding

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

Now I really feel like a daring baker. Have you heard of suet? I hadn't prior to this challenge. Suet is a hard and flaky fat taken from the area around the kidneys of a cow or sheep. No joke. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find suet? I finally tracked some down at a local butcher and was slightly grossed out when he handed this to me:


Yep. This is daring for me. I was both excited and confused when I saw this month's challenge. Excited because it is something I've always wanted to make but confused because I think of this as a cold weather dish. The weather cooperated however and today was perfectly cold and overcast, making it an excellent day to eat a steamed pudding.

I took my recipe from an extremely old black 3-ring binder that used to belong to my Nana and I think used to belong to her mother. Inside was a recipe for Nut & Date Pudding, which fit the requirements of the challenge in that the recipe called for suet and it was a steamed pudding.

Honestly, the most difficult part of this recipe was finding the suet. I put the pudding together in about 10 minutes. First I had to separate the suet from the membrane and crumble out a cup to use in the batter. (Bryant was completely grossed out by the suet, luckily I had him taste the pudding before showing him the suet. He couldn't believe that something that looked so disgusting could make something so amazingly delicious.)

The recipe didn't contain many instructions, so I combined the dry ingredients in own bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Then I rubbed the suet into the dry ingredients (kind of like when making pie dough) and added the chopped dates and walnuts. I added the wet ingredients and briefly stirred until combined. Next it was into a greased bowl, covered with 2 layers of greased parchment paper and 2 layers of foil, and then into my canning pot to steam.

Perfectly steamed after only 2 hours.

The unmolded pudding.

The pudding after receiving a bath of hot caramel toffee-ish sauce.

I am not a very good food photographer, but these will have to suffice.

I made up the sauce because my great-grandma's recipe seemed lacking a bit, but I used her general idea and added a bit of molasses, some cream, and omitted the flour and boiling water. This is going to become my new Christmas tradition. Suet is so incredibly high in fat that I can only justify eating it once a year, and I can't think of a better way to honor my British heritage than by making a traditional British pudding.

Date & Nut Pudding

This is the original recipe, I halved it for the 2 of us and still have quite a bit tucked away in the freezer for a future midnight snack.

2 c suet

3 eggs

1 c sugar

3/4 c buttermilk

pinch of salt

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

1 T baking soda

1 c chopped walnuts

1 lb chopped dates

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another. Mix suet into dry ingredients and add dates and nuts. When evenly combined add wet ingredients and mix. Put batter into a greased pudding mold/ceramic bowl/#10 can and cover with 2 layers of greased parchment paper and 2 layers of aluminum foil. Place on a steamer rack in a steamer/canner/really large pot with a lid with boiling water that reaches up to the middle of the pudding. (The idea is that the pudding bowl should never touch the bottom of the pan, which is why I propped it up with my steamer rack. Cover pot and let steam for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. To check for doneness (is that a word?) insert a skewer through the foil and parchment paper. If it comes out clean the pudding is done. Remove from pan, unmold and serve with sauce.

I need a clever name for this sauce.

1 c sugar

4 T butter

1 c cream, divided

2 T molasses

Combine sugar, butter, molasses, and 1/2 c cream in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When sugar has melted remove from heat and add remaining 1/2 c cream. Serve immediately with pudding.

I can understand if you are grossed out by the suet, but honestly, this is amazing. Rich, decadent, and a family recipe at that. Now that's my kind of family history.