Submitted by William Haller on
This is adjusted for a steam pudding pan. The style can vary. My mom used a round cylindrical pan. My wife uses a pan that is a bit fancier with a center cylinder somewhat like an angel food cake pan (but suitable for steaming).
- Chop:
- 10 oz. dates
- 10 oz. raisins
- 2 oz. citron (sprinkle with part of the flour).
Mom cut them all by hand. My wife cuts the dates in thirds - mostly checking to see for sure there are no seeds - and then puts the whole batch through a meat grinder while I crank. If you have a tough food processor, you could try that, but it is very sticky stuff.
- Stir together:
- 3 3/8 cups sifted flour
- 3/8 tsp. each ground mace, cloves and nutmeg
- Cream:
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup Crisco
- 4 oz. butter
- Add:
- 4 egg yolks (beaten)
- Scant 3/4 cup half and half
- Add:
- Flour and spice mixture, alternately with
- 3/8 cup Apricot Brandy (other flavors may be substituted)
- Add fruit and stir.
- Stir in 4 well beaten egg whites.
- Mix well
- Pack into greased pudding mold
- Plunge at once into a pot of boiling water and steam approximately 4 1/2 hours. Add water to the pot as needed.
These can be put in the deep freeze and used for breakfasts year round.
