Steamed pumpkin pudding makes a sweet addition to the autumn table, especially if you're looking for a change from the usual pumpkin pie. But, really, why not have both? Making it in the slow cooker frees up the oven and stovetop for other things.
Steamed puddings are something I've always done in the oven, though they're probably more often made on top of the stove. Since getting a 6-quart oval slow cooker, I've been having fun developing new recipes and adapting some of my old recipes for it.
Steamed puddings and their traditional accompaniments, hard sauce and custard sauce, are part of my British heritage; and I like to trot them out during the fall and winter months especially. If I were using a deep basin or mould as my mother did, I'd have to steam the pudding in a deep pot on the stove. But a 2-inch deep 7-inch cake tin fits nicely in my slow cooker.
What desserts are you trotting out for autumn and winter?
Steamed Pumpkin Pudding
(Makes 6 servings)
1/2 cup raisins
3 tablespoons brandy, rum or hot tea
1 dip-and-sweep cup (5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 In small bowl, soak raisins in brandy, rum or hot tea for 30 minutes to plump them.
2 Butter well and lightly flour a 2-inch deep 7-inch round cake tin. In small bowl, whisk together flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.
3 In medium bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg, then pumpkin puree, followed by the vanilla and milk. Stir in the flour mixture followed by the nuts and raisins. Turn into buttered tin and cover tightly with foil.
4 Place rack in bottom of cooker, and add water to just below the rack (that's about 2 1/2 cups in the Cuisinart MSC-600 Multicooker). Set the pudding on the rack. Put the lid on the slow cooker. Set to Slow Cook on High for 2 1/2 hours; do not lift lid.
Note: Your slow cooker might cook slower or faster, so you might want to check the pudding for doneness after 2 hours the first time you make this. Don't remove the foil, just make a little hole in the center of the foil with toothpick or skewer.
Stovetop: Place a rack in bottom of pot large enough to hold the pudding tin. Pour enough boiling water into pot to almost touch bottom of rack. Place pudding mold on rack. Bring to boil over high heat, cover pot and reduce heat to medium-low. Steam pudding, adding more boiling water as needed, until pudding is browned and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 2 hours.
5 Remove the pudding to wire rack, remove foil and let pudding stand 15 minutes before unmolding onto a small platter. Slice and serve warm with whipped cream, hard sauce or, my favorite, Custard Sauce.
6 While pudding is steaming, make Custard Sauce. If you prefer your Custard Sauce cold, make it several hours or up to 2 or 3 days ahead.
32 comments:
Hi Jean! I've actually never made steamed pudding of any kind! But I love pumpkin and your pudding looks just delicious! I would have to try making it on the stove top, since I no longer own a slow cooker! :) To get into the fall mood, I made an apple strudel the other day, it was quite delicious! :)
Gio, thanks! I hope you'll give it a try. It's really so easy and good. Looks like cake, but the texture is different.
I bet it smells heavenly in the kitchen when that's being made! Yum!!!
I do love those spicy aromas wafting around the kitchen!
Is pudding just like cake, only it is steamed instead of baked? I am a huge fan of all things pumpkin, this looks totally right up my alley, Jean.
Angie, yes, it is rather like cake in that it cooks up solid and comes out of the pan nicely. But steamed puddings have a lot less fat than cakes and have a different texture. I hope you'll try it and tell me what you think.
Dunno why I quit eating puddings. You would think they would go good with bachelorhood. On the other hand, they seem to be one of the most easily corrupted treats in the marketplace. Anything desiccated or miscible seems to run that risk, and too many of the artificial flavors, and enhancers, etc. make their way into the “Instant” types and especially in restaurants, where one imagines speed of preparation plays in. Sooooo, I merely eat them vicariously in memory of my mother’s preparations. Yours looks just as good. May I call you mom? :-)
Sully, thanks, and do feel free to call me "Mom"!
This looks very tempting as I am a lover of all things pumpkin. I have never made a steamed pudding (!!)...maybe this is the place to start! :)
Thanks, Cheryl! Yes, give it a go, and let me know what you think.
What a great idea! I bet it smells so good while it's cooking! It looks delicious! Thanks for linking it up with us at Foodie Fridays!
This sounds delicious!! Such a great idea to make it in the slow cooker. I would have to make it in a pudding basin to fit in mine, but it would still work. xx
YUM!! How delicious does this look? I see this as my new Thanksgiving fave dessert. Thank you for linking up with #FoodieFridays this week!
Christie
http://akitchenhoor.blogspot.com/
Michelle, I think the smelling is almost as good as the tasting when it comes to autumn foods!
Thanks, Amy! Yes, any size and shape mould will work, depending on the size and shape of your slow cooker. I love the look of the pudding basin shaped pudding.
Christie, thanks. I hope your crew will like it as much as we do!
Jean, this fall dessert looks fantastic! I'm a sucker for pudding and you've elevated a simple dish to something really special. Thanks and have a great weekend!
Kristy, thank you! We plan to have it a lot through fall and winter. This can shore you up before you go outside to shovel snow!
This sounds delicious indeed and what a perfect recipe for autumn. I love steamed puds as it reminds me of childhood and the wonderful puddings my mother used to make. Never thought of doing them in the slow cooker - great idea.
Choclette, thank you! Hope you'll give it a try and carry on the steamed pud tradition in your family!
I can smell it now--yumm! When you say slow cooker...will a crockpot work?
Also, years ago I made pumpkin cookies from a recipe my older sister had. I've since lost it....do you by chance have a recipe for pumpkin cookies?
Yes, Sue, you can do this in your Crockpot. And funny you should ask about a pumpkin cookie recipe - I DO have one, developed for the very reason of using up the 1 cup of pumpkin left from a 15-ounce can when you take out the 3/4 cup you need for the steamed pudding - handy, huh?! I'll probably post it in a couple weeks.
I love the sound of this! I am often tired of pumpkin pie (although my husband loves it) and I like to spice up the holidays with a twist. I'll have to give this a try since we just purchased a new slow cooker, or as we call it, crock pot.
Thanks for visiting my blog. Not sure why our neighbors didn't neuter their cats. :-(
Victoria, thank you so much! Let me know how it turns out for you.
This sounds so good. It's always nice to have new recipes for pumpkin. I've made some fruit pies lately and they are very good. Happy Fall! Hugs, Diane
Thanks, Diane. Bet those pies were great! The only thing I'm going to miss about summer is the summer fruit!
I don't remember ever having a steamed pudding.
My mother didn't like puddings very much so we didn't have them very often...thus, I didn't develop a taste for them, either.
Must try yours, tho...:)
BJ, I hope you will give it a try soon. It looks like a cake, but it's a much different texture.
I love the fact that you specified how to measure the flour if using cups with this. I mean, I hate using cups anyway, but at least this helps with accuracy!
Sounds gorgeous Jean! xx
Thanks, Mr P! Yes, I try to clear up some of the confusion about measures so that people everywhere can succeed with my recipes. You can find more details by clicking on my Brit Conversions page.
I adore steamed puddings, I love pumpkin-y things, and I'm totally intrigued by the slow cooker option. Jean, you open up new worlds to me!
Pauline, thank you so much! I hope you'll try it soon and like it as much as we do.
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