Puddings that Can he Made Quickly

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 87, Issue 1, 15 July 1953, Page 77

Puddings that Can he Made Quickly

ON a farm, especially where one's own meat is killed, the first course of dinner is usually dictated by what parts of the last carcass are left in the safe, but the pudding course nearly always has to be chosen afresh every day. In this article by Eirene E. Unwin, Field Officer in Rural Sociology, Department of Agriculture, Christchurch, recipes are given for a number of puddings which can be made in a hurry the meal time has nearly been reached and for some reason or other a decision on what to have for pudding has not been made earlier. CERTAIN small steamed puddings can be cooked in i hour— much longer than the time it takes to dish, serve, and eat the first course. If a larger quantity is needed it would be best to cook the mixture in two bowls, if urgency is important, though steaming a double mixture in one bowl would not need double the cooking time stated. Steamed Puddings Half-hour Steamed Pudding i 11 cups of flour 2 heaped teaspoons of A little milk 1 tablespoon of sugar baking powder Mix these together into a very stiff dough and put the mixture into a well-greased basin. Pour over the dough a mixture of J cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of butter, and 1 tablespoon of golden syrup or honey dissolved in 1 cup of boiling water. Stand the bowl in a saucepan with boiling water more than half-way up the sides of the bowl. Do not cover the bowl, but put a lid on the saucepan. Steam the pudding for J hour, keeping the water boiling all the time. Do not use too small a bowl, as the pudding rises a lot. Chocolate Steamed Pudding 1 cup of flour or J 1 cup of dates or 2 dessertspoons of cup of flour and 1 sultanas cocoa cup of wholemeal 2 teaspoons of cream Milk to make a soft 1 teaspoon of baking of tartar dough soda

Mix these together and put the dough into a greased bowl. Pour over it 2 teaspoons of golden syrup, | cup of sugar, 2oz. of butter, and 1 small cup of boiling water. Steam the pudding for j hour with the lid on the saucepan, but no cover on the basin. Tangerine Pudding (1 hour to steam) 4oz. of flour 1 teaspoon of baking 2oz. of sugar . . powder 2oz. of butter (or soft 1 egg fat with butter Syrup, jam, or essence) marmalade'(about 1 cup of milk 1 small cup) Grease a bowl and quarter fill it with the syrup or jam (marmalade is particularly nice). Beat the butter and sugar, add the egg, beat well, and add. the milk and last the flour and baking-powder. Pour the mixture on top of the syrup or jam and steam it for 1 hour with a lid on the saucepan, but no cover on the basin.

Baked Puddings Smile Girl Smile Pudding 1 cup of flour 1 teaspoon of baking 1 tablespoon of powder butter J cup of milk or 1 teaspoon of salt water Rub the butter into the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix in the liquid to make a scone mixture. Pat this down. firmly in a deep pie dish or casserole which has been well greased. Spread over it 2 dessertspoons of golden syrup, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of butter dabbed on, and f cup of boiling water. Bake the pudding for J hour. Be sure the dish is deep enough to allow for plenty of rising or the liquid will boil over. Fruit Charlottes Swiss apple pudding or “Brown Betty” is a fairly well-known recipe, but several variations can be made equally quickly if already stewed or bottled fruit (not necessarily apples) is available. The following puddings are all very appetising and though made in very similar ways, do not all taste alike. In. all of them the fruit should not be too liquid; excess juice should be strained off and may be thickened with a little cornflour and served as sauce with the pudding. Plum stones are best removed. Tart fruits are better than very sweet ones and apples are suitable for all the recipes.

Baked Apple Pudding | pie dish of sweet- About 2 cups of ened stewed apples crumbled breakfast (or other tart fruit biscuits or flakes from which the 3oz. of coconut juice has been 1 teaspoon of strained) cinnamon 2oz. of butter 2oz. of sugar Half fill a pie dish or casserole with the fruit. Warm the butter, sugar, coconut, and cinnamon in a saucepan, mix them all together, and crumble in the breakfast biscuits or flakes. Spread this mixture on top of the fruit. Bake the pudding for 20 minutes in a moderate oven. Dried Crumbs Apple Pudding Stewed apples or 1 cup of dry breadother fruit with the crumbs juice strained off i cup of butter, lard, 1 teaspoon of or soft fat cinnamon i cup of sugar Cream the fat and sugar and add the crumbs and cinnamon. Spread this mixture over the apples in a greased casserole or pie dish. Bake the pudding until the crust is slightly browned. Cheap Apple Charlotte 4oz. of stale bread gib. of apples 2oz. of brown sugar 1 tablespoon of water 3 tablespoons of soft Grated lemon rind fat Stew the apples with the water and half the sugar. (Other stewed fruit may be substituted.) Crumble the soft parts of the bread. Soak the crusts in cold water and then squeeze them as dry as possible and chop them finely. Melt the fat and mix the bread, sugar, and lemon rind with it. Line a greased

pie dish or casserole with the crumb mixture, put in. the fruit, and fill up the dish with the mixture. Bake the pudding 20 to 30 minutes in a hot oven. Fruit Betty Put alternate layers of sweetened prepared fruit and breadcrumbs in a pie dish or casserole, the last layer of crumbs being sprinkled with sugar and dotted with butter. Bake the pudding until the fruit is tender and the top crusty and golden brown. Soft fruits such as blackberries, raspberries, currants, soft ripe pears, and grapes can be used raw, but gooseberries, plums, rhubarb, apples, and other harder fruits need to be partly stewed before being baked. Apple Crumble Pudding 3 or 4 large apples 1 teaspoon of i cup of water cinnamon Sugar to taste Grate the apples on the coarsest grater available into a greased oven dish, leaving the core. Add the cinnamon and sugar and then the water. Then sprinkle over them j cup of flour, 1 cup of rolled oats, 3 tablespoons (Ijoz.) of butter, and j cup of sugar crumbled together. Bake the pudding at 350 degrees F. for 30 to 40 minutes. Wholemeal, breakfast flakes, or all flour may be substituted for the rolled oats. Recipes Using Pastry If the housewife has a refrigerator, it is a good plan when making pastry to mix more than is required that day and to keep the rest in the refrigerator. It is most useful to have some ready* mixed pastry for an emergency. . Some

recipes for appetising puddings that take very little time to make once the pastry is ready are given below. Fruit Square Line a shallow tin with pastry. Grate an apple or two on it, add some chopped dates, a few raisins, a squeeze of. lemon juice or a drop or two of lemon essence, a sprinkle of ground cloves, if liked, some. coconut, brown sugar to taste (especially with tart apples), and some tart jam (apricot or damson is delicious). Spread the filling on so that the surface is fairly flat and sprinkle over all a little water. Cover the mixture with another layer of pastry, press down the edges, and bake it. This fruit square may be eaten hot or cold and is delicious with custard or cream. New Zealand Tart Line a pie plate with pastry and bake it lightly. Meanwhile mix the following: — 2oz. of butter 2 grated apples 2oz. of sugar loz. of coconut 1 egg well beaten Spread the tart with raspberry jam. Pour, the apple mixture over this and bake the tart again until it is golden . brown.

Golden Syrup Tart Fill previously lightly baked plate tart with crumbled stale bread and pour over this sufficient warmed golden syrup to cover the crumbs. Bake the tart until it is hot through and crisp on top. Banana Custard Tart Make an ordinary soft custard with eggs, in the proportion of one to each cup of milk, sufficient nearly to fill a previously baked deep plate tart. Add sugar and essence to taste. ■ Slice a banana or two into the custard and pour it into the tart. Re-heat the tart, or if it is to be served cold, make sure the custard has cooled down before putting it into the tart. Alternatively an extra egg may be used and the yolks only used in the custard. Whip the whites with a little sugar, spread them over the custard in the tart, and bake it until the meringue is browned. Gelatine Puddings Certain whipped jellies can be made to set almost at once if the following three simple rules are observed: —■ 1. Use more gelatine, than usual to a given amount of liquid.

2. Dissolve the gelatine in the smallest possible quantity of the hot liquid and cool it quickly. 3. Beat the cold gelatine liquor into some other thickening agent such as white of egg or condensed milk. Probably the quickest way to cool the gelatine liquor is to stand the bowl in a large basin or saucepan in the sink and run the cold tap slowly into the basin so that the water keeps overflowing and changing continuously. Be sure the bowl does not float under the tap. Stir the gelatine liquor occasionally while it is cooling. It must not be used until it is quite cold, though it need not necessarily be beginning to set. Marshmallow 2 dessertspoons of 3 egg whites gelatine Pinch of salt J cup of boiling water | cup of sugar | cup of cold water i teaspoon of lemon i teaspoon of citric essence acid Dissolve the gelatine and citric acid in boiling water, add the cold water, and cool the liquor quickly. Add the salt to the egg whites and beat them until they are stiff. Gradually add the cold gelatine and the sugar, a little of each at a time, beating the mixture constantly. Add the essence. Pile the mixture into a glass dish. A good combination is marshmallow served with fruit and a custard made from the egg yolks. It is ready almost immediately for use, but is better if left to stand for about an hour. The rind and juice of a lemon may be used instead of the lemon essence, or a teasnoon of concentrated fruit extract (for making fruit drinks) instead of the essence and citric acid. The whole pudding may be coloured, or one-third of the mixture may be coloured and put between two white layers when the pudding is put into the glass dish. Unsweetened Condensed Milk Jelly 1 packet of jelly 1 tin of unsweetened crystals condensed milk 1 cup of boiling water Dissolve the jelly crystals in the cup of boiling water and cool the. liquor quickly. Pour the condensed milk into a bowl and beat it until it is thick. Then pour the cold jelly-liquor into it a little at a time and continue beating. Pour the jelly into a wet mould and leave it to set in a cold place, preferably a refrigerator, or in a large basin of cold running water as described earlier. Sweetened Condensed Milk Jelly 1 tablespoon of About i cup of lemon gelatine , juice ’ i cup of., boiling 1 tin of sweetened J water . condensed milk Rind of 2or 3 lemons i cup of cold water Dissolve the gelatine in the boiling water, add the cold water, and cool the liquor quickly. Mix the lemon juice and rind with the condensed milk and beat it until it is smooth. . Add the cold gelatine liquor a little, at a, time, beating all the time. Pile the mixture into a glass dish. If the mixture appears too thick, add more water. Other acid fruit juice and pulp, such as damson, red or black currant, sour plum, or rhubarb, may be substituted for the lemon juice and cold water.

Nutmeg Grater

FRESHLY ground whole spices are generally agreed to be superior in flavour and aroma io those bought ready ground and packaged. The popularity of small table pepper-mills at present available is proof of this. Nutmeg is also preferable fresh, but a large grater is not very convenient to use, so the sprinkling which decorates the junket, or milk pudding and the larger quantity which adds an intriguing flavour to biscuits or cakes are often omitted. The device illustrated works on the mill principle. The base screws off, nutmegs are forced up the barrel against the spring, which, when the base is replaced, holds them firmly against the grinding teeth. When the barrel is turned the. ground nutmeg drops out through slots in the base. ,

—NORMA K. METSON,

Formerly Field Officer in Rural Sociology, Department of Agriculture, Wellington