Steamed Cranberry Pudding with Green Hive Honey Sauce for Thankies!!

Oh no!!! I appear to have steamed up the whole neighbourhood!!

Actually this little delight only takes about 1/2 hour of steaming instead of the usual 3 hour puddings I make here on my blog so one doesn't have to wait until the cows come home for Steamed Cranberry Pudding with Green Hive Honey Sauce to be ready. This pudding is both bright and subtle...is that possible, it is not very sweet but you can add more sweetness by either changing the fresh cranberries to dried sweetened ones or add a few tablespoons more of sugar or honey to both the pudding and the sauce? I have added more sweet than the original recipe, so that couldn't have been sweet at all, which is actually a combination of a couple of recipes from

"Good and Wholesome Honey Recipes" by the American Honey Institute...a goodly book with some nice old-fashioned recipes therein.

 

The jewel like pudding with it's crown of lemony honeyfied goodness on the top.

A celebration of my disorganized cooking method which involves covering every possible surface with every kitchen implement known to man and sticky powdery ingredients...all without tidying up first...I just have to accept that I am a messy worker both as a baker and an artist and that's an end of it!!

  

 I like the looks of the cranberries halved and ready to be tossed in the sifted dry ingredients...I suppose you could use dried sweetened cranberries if you don't like the brightness of fresh from the bog ones, I would even keep the quantity the same in dried as in fresh.

 

 And now for the recipe....

THE CRANBERRY STEAMED PUDDING

This makes enough for two nice sized puddings, I used two pudding bowls of 1 cup capacity, 4" diameter Mason Cash #54 if that means anything to anyone...a good sized portion for a hearty eater...big enough for two who are already full to the gills with turkey, gravy,

mashed potatoes and the rest...

First avail yourself of a double boiler and get the water up to heat, simmering in readiness:

1 tablespoon/ 1/2oz butter

1 1/8 cup/5ozs white flour

1 cup fresh cranberries halved (when you wash them in a big bowl of water you can discard the ones that sink...they are not good)

1/2 cup/4 fl ozs whole milk

1/3 cup/4ozs honey...of course I used raw Green Hive Honey as I just finished designing their label and their honey is divine!!

4 tablespoons sugar

1/2 an egg beaten...yes I know half an egg!...but I cut the recipe in half for just two puddings - one for me and one for James or we'd HAVE to eat two puddings each and that's just too much temptation.

1 teaspoon almond extract/essence

1 teaspoon ground ginger and 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 slightly heaped teaspoon baking powder

1. Sift dry ingredients together.

2. Toss the halved cranberries in the dry ingredients and then remove from the flour mix shaking excess off.

3. Cream the butter 'til nice and soft.

4. Add sugar and continue creaming.

5. Add honey in 3 batches and cream, cream, cream.

6. Add half of egg and CREAM.

7. Add a third of the sifted dry ingredients and alternate with a third of the milk until everything is added and you have a smooth batter.

8. Fill already buttered pudding bowls about 3/4 full and cover with waxed or parchment  paper rounds and secure with an elastic band.

 

  One of the puddings ready to be popped into the steamer for her 1/2 hour sauna.

During this time you can make up the sauce...see below below..

 

 Like two puddings in a double boiler...nice and toasty warm!! Good for a foggy day in Maine.

 

 Here's how your pudding will look when you remove it from the pan and then remove the paper...it will look a bit sticky and gluey but it's OK that's just the top. Use a toothpick to test for doneness...stick the toothpick deep into the pudding and if it comes out clean...with no uncooked batter remnants on it...then it is done.

After about 10 minutes out of the steamer cover the pudding with it's final receptacle and turn upside down to deliver if from it's pudding basin...and thus you have the little treasure seen below.

 

The Honey Sauce Recipe:

1/4 cup/4 tbsp/2 oz butter

1/4 cup/3oz honey

4 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp flour

1 egg

1/8 cup/1 fl. oz lemon juice (juice from an average half lemon)

1/4pt/2 fl oz UK whipping/double  cream whipped to stiff.

1. Melt butter, sugar and honey together in the top of a double boiler with gently boiling water.

2. Cream the flour with some of the egg until there are no lumps and add to honey and butter and whisk.

3. Gradually add the rest of the egg whisking all the time...be careful not to let the mix curdle or overcook...keep water on a gentle boil.

4. When mixture has thickened slightly whisk in the lemon juice and continue to let it thicken a bit more.

5. Allow to cool.

6. Fold in the whipped cream and slather on recently steamed cranberry pudding!!! Cool sauce - hot pudding - nice combo!!

Happy Thanksgiving One and All...here are some images from a foggy November day in Maine.

 See you after Thankies and we move on to Christmas!!! YEA!!!!