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Steamed Cranberry Pudding–This Will Win Raves

November 17, 2010 By Nancy Baggett 15 Comments

 

For decades I made the family Thanksgiving dinner. Everybody else flew in to celebrate the holidays at my house. It started out as a labor of love, though as the decades rolled by it eventually seemed more labor as less love!

Now, since my son and his family moved back to Maryland a few years ago, I’m usually a guest. Often my job is just to bring the desserts, which means there’s time to make a whole array of sweet treats if I like. (The one required dessert is a pecan pie; it can’t be omitted from the menu no matter what!) This year a dessert I’m taking especially for my G-F daughter-in-law is a fruit crisp.

But the dessert here is perhaps my personal fave –a steamed cranberry pudding with a rich butter-orange sauce. The original recipe came from octogenarian Tom Darlington who passed it along a number of years ago, when I visited his family’s historic Whitesbog, New Jersey, cranberry farm. The pudding was handed down through several generations, from his aunt Elizabeth White, he said, and was always on his family’s Thanksgiving menu. (For more pics of the cranberry farm and more details on my visit, click here. Tom, the family’s proud patriarch, is shown here several years before his death. His son, the fifth generation in the cranberry business, nowruns the farm.)


It’s no wonder this dessert was one of Tom’s favorites. Besides calling for an abundance of fresh cranberries (which pleased him mightily!), it’s exceptionally moist, fragrant, and tasty. I demonstrated the recipe at a baking class at King Arthur Flour a few years ago, and the students went wild for it. And both my hubby and I love it, too, (We are also great fans of my Nicely Spicy Cranberry-Pear Muffins or Cranberry-White ChocolateCookies if you’re interested in other cranberry options .)

Do not panic at the thought of making  a steamed pudding!  The technique is quite easy, and  it doesn’t require an antique pudding mold. I use a modern Bundt pan simply covered with foil. Or for individual servings, I use pretty mini-Bundt pans or fancy metal ramekins.

Steamed Cranberry Pudding with Creamy Butter-Orange Sauce

The version of this recipe that Tom Darlington gave me is in my All-American Dessert Book. Often I double the pudding, so it fits a standard-size Bundt pan and serves a crowd. (And, if I’m lucky, provides a leftover slice or two for me to bring home.)

Don’t even consider serving this pudding without the sauce; they are a pair. The pudding is light, only faintly sweet and studded with bright cranberries. The sauce is rich, sweet, and sumptuous and nicely counterbalances the zingy fruits. Both components can be made well ahead and rewarmed before serving, so are quite convenient for holiday dining. Though this dessert appears to be similar to the classic Christmas or plum puddings (which I personally find too heavy), it is much fresher-tasting and more appealing to modern diners.

Tip: If you have little individual serving-size molds, like the one shown here, steam them in a large roasting pan or several deep-sided skillets tented with foil. They will take about 45 to 55 minutes.

4 1/2 cups fresh (or frozen, partially thawed) cranberries, picked over, washed, patted dry, and coarsely chopped

Generous 1 cup granulated sugar, divided
3 cups unbleached all-purpose white flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each ground cloves and nutmeg
2/3 cup orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (orange part of skin)
1/2 cup light molasses
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Very generously grease (or coat with nonstick spray) a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan or similar decorative tube pan or large ring mold. Lightly dust the pan or mold with flour; tap out the excess. Set out a large, deep pot or kettle that is large enough to hold the tube pan or mold used. Lay a folded tea towel or quadruple thickness of paper towels in the pot bottom so the pot and tube pan will not come in direct contact.

In a medium, non-reactive bowl, stir together the cranberries and 7 tablespoons granulated sugar; set aside while the remaining ingredients are readied. Thoroughly stir together the remaining sugar, the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, stir together the orange juice and zest, and molasses, until well blended. Add the molasses mixture and the butter to the dry ingredients, stirring just until evenly incorporated throughout and the sugar just dissolves. Stir in the cranberries until evenly distributed throughout. Turn out the batter into the pan, spreading to the edges. Cover the top with aluminum foil.

Fill the steaming pot 1-inch deep with hot tap water. Set the Bundt pan in the pot. Cover the steaming pot with a lid or foil. Bring the water to a simmer over medium heat. Lower the heat so the water simmers very gently. Check the pot every half hour or so and replenish the water, if needed. Gently simmer the pudding 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 hours, until a wooden skewer inserted in the thickest part of the pudding comes out clean and it springs back when pressed with a fingertip; the time will vary considerably depending on the shape and composition of the pan used. Transfer the pudding to a cooling rack. Let stand until cooled and firmed up, at least 1 hour.Carefully run the tip of a table knife around the pan and center tube and under the pudding to loosen it completely; invert and slide it onto a plate.

Store the pudding covered airtight in plastic and refrigerated for up to 4 days. Reheat, covered with foil, in a low oven until slightly warm before serving. Serve the pudding on a cake plate or other attractive serving plate. Generously drizzle some warm sauce over the pudding before serving. Cut into slices and serve. Serve the remaining sauce in a pitcher or sauceboat so diners can add more of it as desired. Makes 8-10 servings.

For the sauce: In a large, heavy, non-reactive saucepan, thoroughly stir together 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar, 1 1/3 cups heavy cream, 2 sticks softened unsalted butter, 1/4 cup light corn syrup, and 3/4 teaspoon orange zest. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar completely dissolves and the butter melts. Bring to a boil and boil gently, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat the sauce in a saucepan over low heat, stirring, (or in a microwave oven on 50 percent power) just until the mixture is fluid, creamy, and piping hot again.

 

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: cranberry Christmas pudding, cranberry holiday pudding, cranberry pudding, holiday cranberry pudding, steamed cranberry pudding with orange sauce

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nancy Baggett says

    December 20, 2021 at 5:25 am

    Nope, no eggs. I imagine that an egg or two could be included for a firmer pudding, but the original recipe didn’t call for them, and I have never added them

  2. Corrine S Benn says

    December 19, 2021 at 11:17 am

    Just checking no eggs?

  3. Nancy Baggett says

    January 6, 2021 at 8:22 pm

    Yes, I think it is delicious, too.

  4. Ivy Lambert says

    January 6, 2021 at 4:52 am

    Good pudding quite large and the taste delicious

  5. Nancy Baggett says

    December 26, 2019 at 7:10 pm

    Thanks for your feedback. For me, the sauce isn’t optional–the two parts are needed for a really succulent dessert.

  6. Anita says

    December 26, 2019 at 12:15 am

    very moist and not overly sweet no need for sauce,

  7. Nancy Baggett says

    November 8, 2019 at 2:08 pm

    Yes, it has already been doubled.

  8. Gail says

    November 7, 2019 at 4:59 pm

    Has your recipe already been doubled?
    Thanks

  9. Nancy Baggett says

    December 31, 2018 at 3:14 am

    Thanks so much for your suggestions. They sound like good advice. I hope you enjoy the pudding.

  10. Jaycee says

    December 31, 2018 at 2:57 am

    I just came across this pudding, it sounds wonderful and I plan to try it next occasion that I make a steamed pudding.Just a suggestion to keep the bottom of the pudding pan up off the bottom of the pot and avoid scorching it… I put several metal sealer rings on the bottom of my large Dutch oven and place the pudding in a metal mild on top of the rings, cover tightly and steam !

  11. Nancy Baggett says

    November 22, 2016 at 8:45 pm

    If water can flow under it a bit–you don’t have to have a rack in the pot, but you can. The steaming is actually a lot less tricky than I thought it would be. The texture is rather different than when you bake a similar dish.

  12. Marty Henry says

    November 22, 2016 at 8:05 pm

    Sounds great. I will make this for Christmas. I have 1 question. Does the bundt pan go onto a rack in the steaming pot of does it contact the bottom of the steaming pot?

  13. Bonnie Fulton says

    July 15, 2014 at 1:54 pm

    Tried this recipe , was amazing will make it again for Christmas.The only thing found was that it took a lot longer to steam.Thanks for sharing!

  14. Nancy Baggett says

    November 20, 2010 at 2:04 pm

    You can't bake instead of steam because the texture would come out sort of like a giant muffin. Somehow, the steam makes the texture much lighter and moister and more pudding-like than when you bake. I love the results and actually wonder why people don't use the steaming technique more often. It works a little like the hot water bath does for custards.

  15. Anonymous says

    November 20, 2010 at 1:58 pm

    Why do you steam it? Couldn't it be baked?

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Welcome to KitchenLane! It’s a comfortable place where I create, thoroughly test, and photograph recipes for my cookbooks and blog. All my recipes are original, not adaptations from others. I trained as a pastry chef, so many offerings are desserts and baked goods. Some are also healthful, savory dishes I contribute to healthy eating publications. My recipes are always free of artificial dyes, flavorings, and other iffy additives, which I won’t serve my family—or you! Instead, dishes feature naturally flavorful, colorful ingredients including fresh herbs, berries, edible flowers, and fruits, many from my own suburban garden or local farmers’ markets. Since lots of readers aspire to write cookbooks, I also blog on recipe writing and editing and other helpful publishing how-to info accumulated while authoring nearly 20 well-received cookbooks over many years.


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