Make a paste as for a beef-steak pudding, either with suet or butter; lay into a basin a well-floured cloth, which has been dipped into hot water, wrung dry, and shaken out; roll the paste thin, press it evenly into the basin upon the cloth, fill it with apples, pared, cored, and quartered, or with any other fruit; put on the cover, taking care to moisten the edges of the paste, to press them well together, and fold them over; gather up the ends of the cloth, and tie it firmly close to the pudding, which should then be dropped into plenty of fast boiling water. When it is done, lift it out by twisting a strong fork into the corner of the cloth, turn it gently into the dish in which it is to be served, and cut immediately a small round or square from the top, or the pudding will quickly become heavy; send it to table without the slightest delay, accompanied by pounded, and by good Lisbon sugar, as many persons prefer the latter, from its imparting a more mellowed flavour to the fruit. A small slice of fresh butter, and some finely grated nutmeg, are usually considered improvements to an apple pudding; the juice, and the grated rind of a lemon may be added with good effect, when the fruit is laid into the crust, especially in spring, when the apples generally will have become insipid in their flavour. For tables of any pretension, sugar must be added to them when they are made; but many varieties of apple do not so readily form a smooth light pulp when it is enclosed with them in the paste. A small jar of apricot jam is always an admirable addition to an apple tart or pudding; and a small glass of wine when the fruit is not juicy, will assist to bring it to the right consistence. When puddings are preferred boiled in moulds or basins, these must be thickly buttered before the paste is laid into them, and the puddings must be turned from them gently, that they may not burst.
Currant, gooseberry, or cherry pudding, 1 to 1-1/4 hour. Greengage, damson, mussel, or other plum, 1 to 1-1/2 hour. Apple pudding, from 1 to 2 hours, according to its size, and the time of year.
Obs.—If made of codlings, an apple pudding will require only so much boiling as may be needed for the crust. These are sometimes mixed with Morella cherries rolled in plenty of sugar, and the two fruits mixed are excellent, but the Morellas by themselves are better.
A COMMON APPLE PUDDING.
Make a light crust with one pound of flour, and six ounces of very finely minced beef-suet; roll it thin, and fill it with one pound and a quarter of good boiling apples; add the grated rind and strained juice of a small lemon, tie it in a cloth, and boil it one hour and twenty minutes before Christmas, and from twenty to thirty minutes longer after Christmas. A small slice of fresh butter, stirred into it when it is sweetened will, to many tastes, be an acceptable addition; grated nutmeg, or a little cinnamon in fine powder, may be substituted for the lemon-rind when either is preferred. To convert this into a richer pudding use half a pound of butter for the crust, and add to the apples a spoonful or two of orange or quince marmalade.
Crust: flour, 1 lb.; suet, 6 oz. Fruit, pared and cored, 1-1/2 lb.; juice and rind of 1 small lemon (or some nutmeg or cinnamon in powder).
Richer pudding: flour, 1 lb.; butter, 1/2 lb.; in addition to fruit, 1 or 2 tablespoonsful of orange or quince marmalade.
HERODOTUS’ PUDDING.
(A Genuine Classical Receipt.)
“Prepare and mix in the usual manner one pound of fine raisins stoned, one pound of minced beef-suet, half a pound of bread-crumbs, four figs chopped small, two tablespoonsful of moist sugar (honey, in the original), two wineglassesful of sherry, and the rind of half a large lemon (grated). Boil the pudding for fourteen hours.”