Steamed Apple or Berry Pudding

Mix and sift the dry ingredients, cut the butter into them, or rub it in with the fingers, add the milk, cutting it in, lightly, with a knife. When the dough is barely mixed, so that no loose flour is left, toss it on a floured board and pat or roll it lightly till one-half inch thick. Spread the apples on it and roll it like a jelly roll. Carefully place it in a well-buttered, one-quart bread mould or water-tight can. Cover it tightly and stand it in at least a six-quart cooker-pail with enough warm water to come two-thirds of the way up its sides. Bring it quickly to a boil, boil thirty minutes and place it in a cooker for three hours. Serve immediately with warm [apple sauce] and [Hard Sauce]. If berries are used add one cupful to the dough, serve with berry sauce and omit the apple-sauce.

Serves five or six persons.