Category Archives: Holidays

My grandmother’s steamed Christmas suet pudding

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Steamed Christmas suet pudding
Steamed Christmas suet pudding. If your mould has a hole through the middle (like the mould I used for this pudding), you’ll need to reduce the steaming time from three hours to two — even perhaps a bit less. This pudding is resting on a full-size dinner plate. This pudding was made in a mould made especially for steamed puddings and purchased at Paderno (paderno.com) in Moncton. (See a photo of the mould at the bottom of this post.) Click on the photo for a larger version.

When I mentioned this recipe online, I received several requests for copies, so here it is!

The recipe is my maternal grandmother Rose Pineau’s of Prince Edward Island. My mother had lost the recipe, however I found out my cousin Claudette Longuepee had it, so she was kind enough to share. Here it is:

Pudding:

– 1/2 tsp nutmeg
– 1/2 tsp cinnamon
– 1 tsp ginger
– 1/2 tsp cloves
– 1 tsp baking soda
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1 cup molasses
– 1/2 cup sour milk (add 1 1/2 tsp vinegar)
– 1/2 cup granulated sugar
– 3 cups flour
– 2 eggs
– 1 cup suet (chopped finely)
– 1 1/2 cups raisins

Beat eggs and add sugar. Add suet and molasses. Stir, then add the flour. Dissolve the baking soda in the sour milk and add to flour mixture. Add spices and raisins. Pour into buttered mold (i.e. coffee can or mould made specifically for steamed puddings), cover mould with tight-fitting lid and steam for three hours.

PLEASE NOTE: If your mould has a hole up through the middle — such as in a “real” steamed pudding mould that resembles a bundt pan — you should reduce the steaming time by at least one hour, otherwise your pudding will be overcooked and very dry. The three-hour boiling time is for a coffee can. If you don’t have a cover for the coffee can (obviously a plastic one will melt), simply fold over a couple of pieced of foil and tie tightly with string.

To steam, place your covered mould in a large pot filled with water. Water should be about 2/3 of the way up the mould. Water should be kept simmering.

Check your pudding after 2 hours to see if it’s done. Again, the three-hour time is for a coffee can.

Hard sauce:

– 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
– 2 cups water
– 2 tbsp flour
– 2 tbsp granulated sugar
– 2 tbsp butter
– 1/2 tsp vanilla (or more to suit your taste)

Serve the pudding warm in a bowl with warm hard sauce. This is a very sweet pudding.

Steamed pudding mould from Paderno
This is the steamed pudding mould I made for the photo of the pudding above. It was purchased at Paderno (paderno.com) in Moncton. The above pudding was badly overdone and dry, which is why I recommend a much shorter steaming time if you use a mould like this with a hole up through middle. (If you take the cover off, you’ll see the hold inside like a bundt pan.) Click on the photo for a larger version.