Gingerbread Pudding



Gingerbread Pudding with whiskey infused hard sauce
and a dusting of powdered sugar.

Steamed puddings are a dessert that was popular for quite some time but fell out of fashion in the 1900s.  In fact, you can still find misidentified steamer molds in antique and second-hand stores. There is no deep dark mystery to steamed puddings and to avoid making them leaves out a unique type of dessert. If you can bake a cake from scratch or make muffins, you can make steamed puddings.  The molds are available from major kitchen retailers, or you can use any heat proof shoulder bowl that will accommodate an improvised waterproof lid.

 
 Let's make one of Augusta's steamed puddings, in this case, a Gingerbread Pudding. The ingredients needed are:

8 ounces of all purpose flour

1 1/2 gill of syrup
3 large eggs
2 1/2 ounces of sweet milk + 1 Tbs. of milk
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. baking soda
a pinch of salt
3/4 cup raisins

First, I need to explain some of the measurements.  Measure the flour amount by ounces.  A gill is equivalent to four ounces; you will need 6 ounces of light corn syrup. Sweet milk is whole milk. Now, let's get all steamed up.

 

Begin by setting the raisins to soak in warm water and set them aside.  In a bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves and salt and set aside. In another bowl beat the three eggs and then incorporate the corn syrup and milk. Put the tablespoon of milk in a small bowl and mix in the baking soda.  At this point, you combine the dry and wet ingredients and mix until smooth, then add the baking soda mixture. Strain the raisins, add them to the batter and gently fold them in. The raw pudding can now be poured into a greased steamer mold, covered and placed inside a steaming pan.

 

 I have found aluminum dutch ovens work well for steaming. Set up your Dutch oven with a trivet on the bottom to keep the mold from sitting on direct heat.  Pour enough water into the oven to cover the bottom 1/4 of the mold and then cover. Let the pudding steam for three hours - remember to check the water level on occasion, you don't want the water to boil away. When the pudding has finished      cooking, set it on a cooling rack and allow it to cool for 20 to 30 minutes.  At this point, it can be tipped out of the mold and allowed to cool completely.  Serve your masterpiece with a good hard sauce.