by CottageGourmet
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Expand1 egg, lightly beaten Ask a question about this ingredient
1 tablespoon sugar (a heaping tablespoon) Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 cup molasses Ask a question about this ingredient
1/3 cup hot water Ask a question about this ingredient
1 1/2 cup flour Ask a question about this ingredient
2 teaspoons baking soda Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 teaspoon salt Ask a question about this ingredient
2 cups fresh cranberries, picked over, washed and drained Ask a question about this ingredient
1 cup half and half Ask a question about this ingredient
1 stick unsalted butter Ask a question about this ingredient
1 cup sugar Ask a question about this ingredient
1/4 teaspoon salt Ask a question about this ingredient
1 teaspoon vanilla extract Ask a question about this ingredient
Gently fold together all of the ingredients through the cranberries in the order listed. Pour into a greased mold (I used a Bundt pan), and tightly wrap with several layers of foil so no water sneaks into the pudding.
Ask a question about this stepPut a steamer basket in a large pot and fill the pot with an inch or so of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the water is barely simmering. Rest the pudding on top of the steamer basket and cover the pot snugly with a lid. Steam without uncovering the pot for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until the pudding is cooked through but not totally dry. (A cake tester should come out sticky, but not wet.)
Ask a question about this stepTo make the sauce: combine the half-and-half, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar and butter are melted and the sauce is smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Serve the sauce warm over the warm pudding.
Ask a question about this stepYou will be happy you tried it! It's awesome, I made it this Thanksgiving and hoarded most of it for myself ...
Any suggestions for a substitute fruit for the Cranberries, as we only get the dried variety (Craisins) here in Oz so don't think these would be suitable. Was thinking perhaps trying it with cherries (as height of cherry season here) or even blueberries? Definitely want to give this recipe a go as soon as possible.
Have you tried the freezer section of the grocery. Many times they will have cranberries frozen which is what I used when I made the dessert and it was wonderful. Cherries would be second choice
I'm totally with Mr Hirschfeld on the cherries suggestion. I plan to try this, in fact, using cherries instead of cranberries. You'd get that good tart/slightly sweet effect. I would not use blackstrap molasses, by the way . . . at least not what's available locally, as its flavor is so strong, and is more bitter than I care for, so would thus overwhelm the other flavors. Just something to keep in mind. ;o)
Well would you believe today at the nursery I found an American Cranberry plant. I grabbed it quick smart as have never seen cranberry plants down here before. However I realise it will be some time before the cranberries are ready to eat (if the plant survives) but I will check out the freezer section for some frozen ones, but can't say that I have ever seen them. Even the dried ones are ultra expensive here as they have to be imported such a long way!
I always use Treacle in place of Molasses as it (molasses) is only ever sold in speciality stores and not readily available in supermarkets.
Thanks for your help everyone.
I'm interested to hear what the pudding is like with other fruits -- the cherry suggestion sounds closest in that both cherries and cranberries are red and round! However, the thing that sets this apart is the tartness of the cranberries so see if you can find sour pie cherries. Also -- if you have access to lingonberries they're nearly the same as cranberries, but smaller.
I scraped a vanilla bean into the sauce instead of using vanilla extract. 'Twas awesome.
Fantastic, a great addition to the Thanksgiving table.
This was one of my Thanksgiving desserts today. Just marvelous! The tart pop of the cranberries against the silky, rich sweetness of the sauce....exquisite! One issue -- for some reason, it took mine twice as long to steam done as the directions said. Not a prob, as we put dessert on hold because we were so full from dinner! This definitely pushes pumpkin pie into the background for me! Thanks SO much for this recipe, and I hope you're having a perfectly wonderful Thanksgiving!
I'm so glad you like the pudding -- thanks for the feedback, and I hope your Thanksgiving was everything you hoped for.
I made it tonight, too, in some darling little pudding molds. They came out beautifully, and were done in just under an hour.
I wonder why yours took so long ... was the water simmering?
Well, I thought it was, but I may have had it at a bare simmer when it needed to be at a higher boil. My vessel that was holding the mold/Bundt pan was really too big, so that may also have had something to do with it.
By the way, I cut a big slice of it this morning, spooned some of the refrigerated sauce over, and microwaved it for 30 seconds. It makes a stunning breakfast!
what a lovely recipe, and congrats...not quite sure mine came out light...twice....but it's lovely just the same....oh and i love the tin foil idea...i use cookie cutters to lift the pan above the water line...best, and thanks/
Perhaps it's the molasses you used? Was it light?
Congratulations on being a finalist! I can't wait to give this a try!
Thank you! It'll be on my Thanksgiving table come Thursday ~
Congrats on being picked. I just received a huge steamer for puddings like this from my mother and will have to try this recipe out.
Oooh, lucky you!
You won't be disappointed with this pudding, it's really good. Be liberal with the sauce as the pudding is quite tart.
Another thought on improvising a pudding mold... if you have a vertical chicken roaster (the non-stick metal "Eiffel Tower" type), the bundt pan would fit right over it and be held perfectly above water. And regarding the 'hard sauce' debate, I would venture a guess that a little shot of whiskey or bourbon would be quite tasty here.....
You'd just need to be careful to seal the Bundt pan so no water gets in or it all gets ruined. I like your thinking with the whiskey in the sauce ... that's an interesting notion!
Fabu! Simply FABU!
Congrats...what I really love about this recipe is that it's not too sweet...but has the warm sauce that offsets it...
Thank you! It really isn't sweet at all, the whole cranberries are refreshingly tart after a big meal. The sauce is the bomb.
I just made it and it TOTALLY ROCKS! Easy to make, it just fell out of the bundt pan in a perfect ring (I coated the ring with Pam). I cooked it for 70 minutes. The sauce is a bit runny, but it tastes awesome! The steamer and bundt pan didn't fit in my boiler, so I made a ring out of tin foil to support the pan, and that did the trick!
Improvising with the foil is a great idea -- whatever it takes to elevate the pudding above the water line. I'm so glad you like it, it's truly my favorite holiday dessert. And I love dessert.
Wow, looks fantastic and if I know my Milwaukee home cooks, I'm sure it tastes great!! I'm on my way to the market right now so I can make it tonight! Best of luck in the contest - you're bound to win!!
Thank you for your kind words!
This looks amazing. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Congratulations on being a finalist and on the EP! I think this will be on my table next week...
You won't be sorry. It's a delectable dessert and rather unique, unlike even the greatest punkin pie!
It sounds wonderful. Do you remove the pudding from the bundt pan to serve? Is it served warm? Can you reheat in a microwave (without it falling apart)? I'd love to bring it to a party, but not sure how well it travels.
I usually unmold it onto a platter and serve it in slices just like a cake, but in bowls with lots of the vanilla-butter sauce. If you're going to bring it to a party you could tote it and re-heat in the Bundt pan then plate it & serve it. It's not crumbly and should hold together nicely.
Wow, I am so honored to be a finalist among so many talented cooks! Thank you all for your kind comments. What a thrill!
@Antonia -- I have made this pudding morning-of and re-warmed it after dinner, that's as far ahead as my personal experience takes it. Also it would appear "hard sauce" is a misnomer since it's liquid and warm, I suppose Shirley (my lovely former MIL who shared this recipe with me) called it that because of the similarity of ingredients.
Try it this thanksgiving -- you won't be disappointed.
By the way, what makes it a "hard" sauce? It is not a hard spread (i.e. hard, as in the consistency of butter, as opposed to soft and creamy and closer to a liquid) and it doesn't have any liquor in it (which is what I always thought actually made a sauce "hard"). I'm confused . . . . Thank you. ;o)
Congrats on being a finalist! I have a new pudding mold that I can't wait to try with this recipe!
Lord. I think my current count of must-make Thanksgiving desserts is up to 4. I don't see how I can add this one....but I may have to! Got my vote!
This is such a cool dessert I love these kinds of puddings and I personally don't think they are made as often as they should be. Congratulations on being a finalist.
Oh, fancy yet rustic! I love it! Congrats on the EP and being a finalist!!
What a terrific, interesting recipe! I particularly appreciate the instructions for improvising a pudding mold using a Bundt pan over a steamer basket!! I plan to make this. How long does it keep, i.e., how far in advance can it be made? Thank you. ;o)
Mollie is the best-selling author of many (mostly) vegetarian cookbooks, including the original Moosewood Cookbook, The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, and a trilogy of cookbooks for kids. Her most recent title is Get Cooking : 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen.
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The simplest of ingredients: fresh cranberries, an egg, molasses, flour, salt, sugar and baking soda.
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Once you have everything ready to go, it's just a dump-and-stir operation.
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Merrill butters an ancient ceramic mold while Amanda gets the batter going.
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This was part of a large collection that Merrill's mom had for years -- it has a bunch of grapes on the bottom.
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We used Blackstrap molasses, but you can use something lighter if you prefer a subtler flavor.
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A bit of just-boiled water is the key to any decent steamed pudding.
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After you add the flour, it starts to resemble gingerbread batter.
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What is Amanda plotting?
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All innocence, she pours the batter (now with the cranberries in it) into the mold.
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If you don't have a mold with it's own lid, just wrap it tightly in several layers of foil.
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We steamed our pudding in a large pot with a steamer basket and an inch or so of water in the bottom.
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After about an hour, we took off the lid to see how it was doing.
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A cake tester should come out fairly clean (i.e. no wet batter streaks), but it doesn't need to be pristine -- a few sticky traces of cooked pudding are fine.
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Amanda cheerfully throws together the hard sauce: butter, half-and-half, sugar, and once they're melted, a touch of vanilla.
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Ready to serve!
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How great that you got it from your former Mother-in-law! I'm definitely trying this sometime. Thanks for sharing