Dried fruit boiled in a suet pastry base in a cloth would once have been the most traditional British pudding. As ovens became more common, the pastry base became lighter, and here the fruit is mixed with a darkly sweet cake mixture. Originally the fruit would probably have been sultanas only, and I think it is now quite different from what it once was. Francis Coulson and Brian Sack of the Sharrow Bay Hotel in Cumbria were responsible, I think, for reintroducing us to the joys of this pudding.
ingredients
Serves 8
175g (6 oz) medjool dates
115g (4 oz) dried figs
55g (2 oz) sultanas
150ml (5 fl oz) boiling water
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
115g (4 oz) unsalted butter
175g (6 oz) unrefined demerara sugar
3 eggs, beaten
140g (5 oz) self-raising flour
55g (2 oz) ground almonds
55g (2 oz) pistachio nuts, chopped
Sauce
115g (4 oz) unsalted butter
175g (6 oz) unrefined demerara sugar
150ml (5 fl oz) double cream
METHOD
Grease a baking tray of about 20cm (8 in) square, or the same volume, and preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Stone the dates and chop them finely with the figs and sultanas. Put them into a bowl, and pour the boiling water over. Whisk to a pulp, then add the orange zest. Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the egg. Beat together, then fold in the flour, ground almonds and fruit pulp. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tray, and bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. To test if cooked, press with your hand: there will be some resistance. Take out when cooked and allow to cool slightly.
Cut the cooled cake into shapes. I like round ones, although this means wastage: use a round metal cutter (the leftover bits could possibly be used in one of the other puddings in the book). Squares mean you can use the whole thing! Meanwhile for the sauce, melt the butter, add the sugar and bring to the boil. Add the double cream, and simmer for 5 minutes until lightly thickened. Pour a little sauce over and around the pudding, sprinkle with chopped
pistachios and serve.
PS - The pudding reheats well, but there are those that think the sauce is the whole point… Whatever, you can’t do anything better than this!