Steamed carrot pudding

1 batch

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
2 cups Flour, all-purpose, sifted and measured
1½ teaspoon Cinnamon
¾ teaspoon Cloves
1½ teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Baking powder, double-acting
1½ cup Potatoes (raw), grated, or ground
1½ teaspoon Baking soda
1½ cup Carrots (raw), ground (use medium blade)
1½ cup Bread crumbs (dry, not toasted)
1½ cup Crisco (vegetable shortening)
2 larges Eggs, lightly beaten
1½ cup Brown sugar (light or dark, depends on what you like)
1½ teaspoon Lemon extract
1½ teaspoon Vanilla
1½ cup Walnuts, finely chopped (black walnuts are wonderful if you can get them)
15 ounces Raisins
¼ cup Water
½ cup Brown sugar (I use a mixture of light and dark)
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon Lemon extract
⅛ teaspoon Cornstarch, well-divided
1 tablespoon Butter

Directions

DRY INGREDIENTS

OTHER INGREDIENTS

SAUCE INGREDIENTS

MAKE PUDDING: Mix the dry ingredients and set them aside. Grease completely three large (25-oz) tin cans, such as the kind used for tomato puree. Do NOT use the plastic-lined variety. Alternatively, grease one large steaming mold, with a hole in the center. Or improvise.

Add the potatoes. Mix well. Then, in turn, add the baking soda, the carrots, the bread crumbs and the Crisco, making sure that you mix well after adding each ingredient. This matters, so do it! You may have to get some help from King Kong to blend adequately after adding the shortening.

Add, in sequence, the brown sugar, the beaten egg, the lemon extract and the vanilla, mixing well after each addition. Now, add the dry ingredients mixture, a bit at a time. The mixture will be extremely thick and very difficult to mix. Add the walnuts and the raisins.

Mix them in. Go ahead. You're strong enough.

Push the mixture into the tins, with each about ¾ full, or a little more. Seal the tins with aluminum foil and use a rubber band to hold the foil on (the pudding should not be exposed directly to the steam). Steam 1½ to 2 hours, (until the pudding seems uniform.

You can't overcook it, so err on the long side, please!) and cool if you're not going to serve it right now.

Make the sauce by combining all of the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and heating until it bubbles and all ingredients are dissolved. To serve, reheat by steaming for at least 45 minutes, or serve out of the original pot.

NOTES:

* An old Welsh steamed carrot pudding -- This is a good steamed pudding, despite the list of ingredients that are "good for you".

The sauce (following the recipe) is not a necessity for good taste, only for authenticity, although I LIKE it with the sauce. Some add rum to this sauce. Suit yourself. I like it both ways.

This is a very old recipe, I gathered it from my grandmother, who would have been 101 (sniff) this year, who learned it from her Welsh mother, who learned it from her... (in Wales), ergo it's at least 200+. Given its similarity to some late Medieval puddings, one might suspect that its origins are much earlier. I determined the quantities listed here by measuring what my grandmother tossed into the pot. Yield: makes about 5 pounds.

* This stuff keeps in the fridge nearly forever (at least a month) as long as you don't let it dry out.

* Decant or spoon out (depends on if you want to be fancy or not) and serve with sauce. Then, don't eat for two days to make up for the calories.

Difficulty: moderate (considerable physical work required); Time: 1 hour preparation, 3 hours steaming; Precision: no need to measure.

: Jim Johnston, (ihnp4;allegra;research)!alice!jj : AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ : Copyright (C) 1986 USENET Community Trust

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