Spotted Dick
Ingredients
2oz all purpose flour
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp all-spice
pinch of salt
2oz shortening
1oz sugar
4oz raisins
2oz fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
4-5 tbsp milk
Procedure
1. Butter a 1.5 pint pudding basin.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, spice and salt into a mixing bowl.
3. Mix in shortening, sugar, raisins, and breadcrumbs.
4. Knead in the egg and sufficient milk to produce a soft consistency.
5. Place pudding mixture into the pudding basin, which should be two thirds full.
6. Cover with foil or lid and steam for 2 to 2.5 hours.
7. Remove cover and allow to shrink slightly, then cover the basin with hot serving plate, hold it firmly and invert.
8. Lift off the basin to leave the pudding on the plate.
9. Serve with hot custard.
Comments
Modifications
The original recipe called for plain flour, mixed spice, shredded suet and currants. I've substituted out for: all-purpose flour, which I'm told is the same thing; all-spice, which I'm sure is the same thing; shortening, because I couldn't find suet and it seems they're interchangeable; and raisins, because I couldn't find currants. Additionally, I used soy milk rather than regular milk.
Suggestions
The consistency at stage 4 was too thick to stir, as the original recipe required, which is why the copy on this site calls for kneading.
Adding the egg and milk left a dough that was somewhat stickier than I would have expected, I didn't divert any further from the original, but next time I'd suggest adding more flour until the mixture was less sticky.
The original recipe suggested serving hot custard with Spotted Dick, with a recipe which I review here.Criticisms
It's a long time since I had any real spotted dick, so I'd like to try a few other recipes before making any criticisms above and beyond the modifications I already had to make. However, I liked it, although my wife didn't. I guess spotted dick just might not be her thing...
References & Acknowledgements
The original recipe, ©1995,2005 Hot Off The Internet , can be found here, at nakedwhiz.com, and has been duplicated here, highlighting the changes I had to make in order to make it work in my kitchen. They also have a recipe for Toad in the Hole which I'll have to try sometime.