What's for Pud? Black & White Pudding, that's what.

I haven't been entering nearly as many food events as I'd like. Either I'm just too busy (can I get an "Amen!"?), or the theme didn't work for me (the latest SHF was liquors, and no one in this house really cares for that).

But when I saw Sam's post for "What's For Pud?", despite knowing practically nothing about English desserts (save what I learned from reading novels set in England, or watching the BBC), I decided to just go for it.

As luck would have it, about a week before the deadline, I found myself drooling over the cookbook section of an enormous used book store. One of the volumes I brought home was not only immense (how's one thousand recipes, one per page, grab you?), but published in England (Bath, to be precise).

And while it lists recipes from all over the world, the majority of them are English. There was the Victoria Sandwich Cake, Bakewell Tart, varieties of Syllabub, Simnel Cake, Bread & Butter Pudding, Butterfly Cakes...all sorts of things.

Not too many of the recipes...uh...came across as appetizing, I'm afraid. Neither of us are mad for fruit-studded desserts, and I just could not bring myself to purchase suet!

I was tempted to make a lovely-looking and darn simple Flumery (the name alone, as a fan of Rex Stout, had me sold); but I didn't have the proper rice to hand, and not enough time to search it out.

So I instead settled on the much-more palatable (to us, that is) Black & White Pudding. Didn't look too difficult, and the chances of someone actually eating it were much greater (Spotted Dick? Oh, you're kidding me!).

So, butter, superfine sugar (which we make ourselves by tossing regular sugar into the food processor) and ground cardamom are beaten till light, then egg yolks are mixed in. To that, melted semi-sweet chocolate is added. The recipe called for a tiny bit of rum, but we hadn't any. I decided to toss in some Chambord in it's place.

Stiff egg whites are then folded in, and the whole mess is poured into a lightly oiled, oven-safe, bowl. It's then wrapped with greased parchment & aluminum foil, and tied up with string. Place in a large pot, and surrounded by enough boiling water to come up the side about 1/3 of the way. The pot is covered, and simmered about 45 minutes. Once the pudding has steamed, allow to cool completley.

Serve with a cream/sour cream mixture.



Ok...assuming confessional pose here. I didn't try it. Neither of us did.

Instead, we carted both pudding and sauce over to my in-law's house, and offered it for tonight's dessert.

I'm sure they'll like it...the cardamom was very prominent, but the Chambord came through, as well.

If you're the sort who likes steamed desserts, this should make you happy!




Tagged with: What's For Pud? + St George's Day + Food and Drink + Chocolate + Pudding + Cardamom + Desserts + England