Puddings today are a bit different from the puddings of days of old.  These vintage puddings are bready and warm and scrumptious, perfect for the winter season.

Pudding Recipes in this article include:

Cottage Pudding - Chocolate Pudding - Fruit Pudding - Ginger Pudding - Suet Pudding - Plum Pudding - Steamed Dumplings

All recipes serve six.

(Based on Good Housekeeping’s Book of Good Meals 1929).  The photos we have chosen are the closest we could get to for these recipes, just to give you an idea of what you can do with certain puddings.

Cottage Pudding

Ingredients:

Basic -

• 1/2 c. shortening

• 2/3 c. sugar

• 1 egg, well beaten

• 1 c. milk

• 2 1/4 c. flour

• 4 tsp. baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. vanilla

Additional - none

Cream the shortening, add sugar and vanilla, then egg.  In a separate bowl, mix and sift flour, baking powder and salt.  Add alternately with milk to first mixture.  Turn (fold) into greased cake mixture.  Turn (fold) that mixture into greased cake pan.  Bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 min. You can instead pour your final mixture into greased molds and steam for one hour.  Serve with lemon, orange, or chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

Basic -

• Use recipe for Cottage Pudding as foundation

Additional -

• 2 1/2 squares melted chocolate

Make like Cottage Pudding.  Add melted chocolate after the sugar (before adding vanilla and egg). Bake or steam like cottage pudding.  Serve with vanilla ice cream, vanilla sauce, or hard sauce.

Fruit Pudding

Ingredients:

Basic -

• Use recipe for Cottage Pudding as foundation

Additional - 1 c. of any one of the following fruits:

• Blueberries

• huckleberries

• red raspberries

• stoned cherries

• sliced pared apples

• rhubarb

• peaches

• stoned dates

• pressed figs

• stoned prunes

• dried peaches

• Any canned fruit drained well, the juice used for sauce.

Mix and bake or steam like you would for cottage pudding.  Be sure to reserve 2 tbsp. of flour to mix with fruit as opposed to your original mixture.  Wash fruit, dry, and chop any large fruit into fine pieces.  Dried fruits should be washed and steamed until they are tender, then chopped as you would fresh fruit.  Mix with flour and stir in last.  Serve with a fruit or hard sauce.

Ginger Pudding

Ingredients:

Basic -

• 1/4 c. shortening

• 1/4 c. brown sugar

• 1 egg well beaten

• 1/2 c. sour milk

• 1/2 c. molasses

• 1 12 c. flour

• 1/2 tsp. soda

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp. ginger

• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp. salt

Additional - For variation, add any one of the following:

• 1 c. chopped apples

• grated rind of 1/2 orange

• or pour batter over 3 apples, pared cored, sliced and placed in bottom of mold, with 2 tbsp. sugar and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon sprinkled over them.

Mix like Cottage Pudding.  Sift the spices in with the flour.  Combine sour milk and molasses in a separate bowl.  Add alternately to egg mixture.  Bake or steam like Cottage Pudding.  Serve with fruit or hard sauce.

Suet Pudding

Ingredients:

Basic -

• 1/2 c. suet chopped fine

• 1/2 c. molasses

• 1/2 c. milk or water

• 1 1/2 c. flour

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/2 tsp. soda

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

• 2 tsps. baking powder

• 1/2 c. raisins

Additional - For variation, add 1 c. of the following in place of raisins:

• chopped figs

• chopped dates

• sliced citron and currants mixed

• or stoned and chopped prunes

Mix together the suet, molasses and milk.  Sift the flour and other dry ingredients together.  Mix with fruit and add to first mixture.  Pour into a well-greased mold and steam 2 hours.  Or put into 6 individual molds and steam 35 minutes.

Plum Pudding

Basic -

• Use recipe for Suet Pudding as foundation

Additional -

• 2 eggs well beaten

• 1/2 c. flour

• 1/4 tsp. allspice

• 1/2 c. currants

• 1/4 c. blanched chopped almonds

• 1/4 c. citron thinly sliced in strips

• 1/4 c. candied cherries cut in quarters

• 1 tbsp. chopped candied orange peel

• 1/4 c. chopped figs

Make like suet pudding.  Add eggs to suet mixture.  Prepare fruit and mix well with extra 1/2 c. flour and add last.  Pour into greased mold and steam for three hours.  Or pour into greased 1 lb. tin cans and steam for two hours in a pot of water.

Steamed Dumplings

Ingredients:

Basic -

• 2 c. flour

• 4 tsp. baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/3 c. shortening

• 1/2 to 1/4 c. milk

Additional - 2 c. of any one of the following fruits:

• Apples

• blueberries,

• raspberries

• stoned cherries

• rhubarb

• peaches

• any canned fruit

also add:

• 6 tsps. sugar

• 12 tbsps. cold water

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Cut in shortening.  add milk gradually to make a dough as stiff as for baking powder biscuit.  Divide fruit in 6 greased molds, add 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tablespoon of water to each.  Omit sugar you would have used in previous recipes) and instead use juice of canned fruits (you’ll want to use fruit in its own juice not in syrup).  Place a piece of the dough on top of fruit.  Steam 45 min.