Plum Pudding

This rich dessert was the highlight of the Gilded Age holiday feast. (Photography by Heather Raub/FrontRoom Images; food styling by Dan Macey/Dantasticfood)

Plum pudding was the highlight of the Gilded Age holiday feast. It was a rich dessert containing suet (the protective fat around the kidneys of beef or mutton), dried fruit, and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, as well as any combination of nuts, lemon or orange peel, chopped apple, flour, eggs, sugar, and milk, cider, or liquor. A sauce made from rum or brandy butter (sometimes called hard sauce) was often added right before serving. This version is based on temperance-movement recipes popular at the time.

Makes one large (Bundt pan-sized) pudding or two smaller ones, serving 15 to 20 people

• 2 3/4 cups raisins
• 1 1/2 cups dried currants
• 1/2 cup candied ginger, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried pineapple, chopped
• 1/2 cup almonds, chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups bread crumbs (preferably from egg bread such as challah or French brioche)
• 6 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups suet (or lard)
• 1 cup brandy (or apple cider)
• Juice and zest from 1 orange
• Juice and zest from 1 lemon
• 1 small whole nutmeg, grated
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, stir batter again to make sure ingredients are well mixed. Coat a tin mold or Bundt pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Pour mixture into the mold and cover with foil. To steam the pudding, place a steamer insert or some crumbled aluminum foil in the bottom of a deep stockpot, then place the mold on top so that it is not touching the bottom. Fill the pot with enough water so that it is two-thirds up the sides. Bring the water to a boil, then lower it to a simmer, placing the lid on top. Steam the pudding for 4 to 5 hours, adding water if necessary.

Remove the pudding from the pot and cool for 1 hour on a wire rack. When cool, loosen the edges and carefully turn out onto a plate.

You can also steam the pudding in a crock pot. Add some water to cover the bottom of the crock pot, place the mold inside, and close the lid. Steam the pudding for 4 to 5 hours on high, then take it out and let it cool for 1 hour on a wire rack. When cool, loosen the edges and carefully turn out onto a plate. Just before serving, make a hard sauce. Pour the sauce over the pudding and then cut in slices to serve.

Hard Sauce

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon apricot jelly
• Pinch of ground nutmeg

Mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl until smooth, then whisk in egg yolks.

Heat sugar and milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When it begins to boil, turn down to low and add egg yolks and cornstarch, stirring briskly with a whisk to avoid scrambling. Stir until thick and creamy, then take off the burner and mix in jelly and nutmeg.

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Recipe reprinted with permission from “The Gilded Age Cookbook: Recipes and Stories From America’s Golden Era“ by Becky Libourel Diamond. Published by Global Pequot.