Grandma used to wrap the pudding in cheesecloth and boil it, which we later thought must have boiled a lot of the taste out of it. But we didn’t think anything of it then. Everyone has their own assembly requirements: Auntie Bessie and I like the pudding with sauce and cream, some people like it with cream or ice cream only, or sauce only (the usual method) and Kathy only likes the sauce, not the pudding, so she has ice cream and sauce.
Carrot Pudding
In our family, this is the traditional Christmas pudding.
Ingredients
- 1 cup beef suet ground (or 3/4 cup butter)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup grated potato
- 1 cup grated carrot
- 1 cup peeled and grated apple
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup currants
Brown Sugar Sauce:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Mix suet, brown sugar, potato, carrot, and apple together. If using butter, beat butter and brown sugar together and stir in potato, carrot and apple.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Add the suet mixture and blend well.
- Stir in raisins and currants.
- Spoon into a greased 10 cup pudding mold. Cover with foil and tie with string. Or you can use coffee tins, for smaller puddings.
- Put in steamer - boiling water should be half way up the side of the pudding tin. Steam for 3 to 4 hours, adding more water as required.
- Remove from heat, cool, wrap and refrigerate for a few weeks to let the flavour blend.
- Before serving, heat by re-steaming until heated through, or heat in the microwave.
Brown Sugar Sauce:
- Combine brown sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Add warm water gradually, stirring constantly.
- Cook and stir over low heat, until thick and smooth (about 3 to 5 minutes). Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla. Serve hot.
Photo credit: BigstockPhoto.com photographer monkeybusinessimages
I made this the day before Christmas for the first time. I used butter, raisins only which I soaked in a little bit of rum, used a Pyrex bowl to stream it in, and steamed for 4 hours. It turned out perfect! I made a hard sauce and a rum caramel sauce to go with it, and reheated in the microwave. Everyone loved it!