Helen's Christmas Pudding

Here is another steamed pudding that was made special for Christmas, though this one does not contain prunes,  it does contain other dried fruits commonly used at Christmas.

Helen's Christmas Pudding

1 cup ground suet*
1 cup molasses
1 cup milk
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup finely chopped citron

Combine suet, molasses, and milk. Sift flour, measure, reserve 1/4 cup for dredging fruits. Sift remainder of flour with salt, spices, cream of tartar, and soda. Combine with first mixture. Add dredged fruits. Mix thoroughly. Fill well-oiled one pound cans 2/3 full. Cover. Steam 3 hours.
Grind suet in a meat grinder or food processor. Do not substitute other fats for the suet.

Helen's Prune Pudding

Here is a cooked version of Prune Pudding. Prune Pudding used to be a very popular dessert. It still is in some quarters where women continue to make this traditional food.

Helen's Prune Pudding

1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 cup flour
1 cup ground suet*
1 cup sugar
1 cup thick prune pulp
3 tsp. baking powder
3 eggs, well beaten
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 cup milk

Sift flour, measure, then sift with salt, spices, and baking powder. Prepare prune pulp by rubbing cooked prunes through a sieve. Combine pulp, suet, crumbs, sugar, milk, and eggs. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into well-oiled 1 pound cans. Cover. Steam 2 hours. Serve with hard sauce. Serves 8.
*Suet is beef fat that can be purchased at most grocery stores in the meat case. Grind the suet in a meat grinder or a food processor. Do not substitute other fats for the suet.

Helen's Uncooked Plum Pudding

This might be something you'd want to make for the holidays, particularly Christmas when this dish would be most popular. If I was to make this dish I would omit the citron.

Helen's Uncooked Plum Pudding

1 cup cooked prunes
1 cup Grapenuts or rolled graham crackers*
2 cups boiling water
1/2 tsp. salt
4 Tbls. gelatin*
2 Tbls. corn syrup
4 Tbls. fruit juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped citron
1 Tbls. lemon juice*
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten*
1 cup raisins

Soften gelatin in cold water. Dissolve in boiling water. Add all ingredients except egg whites. Mix thoroughly, then chill until partially set. Fold in egg whites. Pour into long shallow pan. Chill until firm. Cut in squares with sharp knife. Serve with whipped cream. Serves 8.
*Rolled graham crackers are merely crackers crushed and rolled with a rolling pin. You can use the blender.
*This would be non-flavored gelatin like Knox brand.
*Use a real lemon that you have reamed for juice.
*Since these are uncooked egg whites, use eggs from a trusted farmer so you will greatly lessen your chances of contracting salmonella from factory-farmed eggs.

Helen's Pears With Tapioca

This is one of Helen's recipes I think I'd just as well pass up. It does not sound appetizing to me in any way. I am not over fond of tapioca, and I would prefer to use fresh rather than dried pears, but if you have some dried fruit sitting around, perhaps this is a recipe you might want to try. I like dried fruit, I just don't know that this is a dessert that calls to me to try it. If it does you, and if you make this, let me know how it tastes.

Helen's Pears With Tapioca

1/2 cup tapioca*
3 cups boiling water
1/3 tsp. salt
2 Tbls. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups dried pears*
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup marshmallows*

Combine tapioca, salt, and boiling water. Cook over hot water until tapioca is clear. Wash pears and remove cores. Steam until tender. Place pears in sauce pan. Add sugar and 1/4 cup water. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Combine with tapioca and lemon juice. Pour into buttered baking dish. Cover with marshmallows. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. 6 servings.
*Do not use instant tapioca.
*You can dry your own pears or order them online.
*Use miniature marshmallows.

Helen's Baked Apples

Helen's Baked Apples

6 large apples*
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
3 Tbls. granulated sugar
cream

Core apples, pare 1/3 way down from stem. Arrange in shallow baking dish or pan. Boil sugar and water 10 minutes. Pour over apples. Bake in moderate oven (375 degrees) one hour or until tender, basting frequently. Then sprinkle each apple with 1 tsp. sugar. Place pan under broiler, basting them frequently and watch carefully until sugar has melted and is a delicate brown. Serve with whipped cream.
*Use a good baking apple.
*I think I would prefer these with some cinnamon on them for better flavor. If you would, too, then add about 1 tsp. cinnamon to the sugar water mixture after it has boiled and before pouring over apples.

Helen's Apple Pudding

 

This recipe had very little information and so I searched the web for a similar one and came across an identical recipe (same ingredients) with directions. Lucky me! So I will post this exactly as Helen had this recipe and then I will put down the directions. This recipe sounds suspiciously like a crisp. I am sure this is "pudding" is more than delicious.

Helen's Apple Pudding

1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar*
1 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
4 large apples*
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbls. butter
1/4 cup water

"Sift dry ingredients. bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees. 2 Tbls. sugar"
That's it! Those are the directions that Helen hand-wrote in her book. Here are directions I found that should be a lot more helpful:
Sift together flour, 1 cup sugar, and baking powder. Add egg. Slice apples into greased baking dish and cover with flour mixture. Combine 2 Tbls. sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle over flour mixture.
Dot with butter and sprinkle with water. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Makes 6 servings.
*Pack the brown sugar when you measure it into the cup.

*Use a good baking apple such as a Granny Smith, Rome, or Northern Spy

(Helen) Jean's Coffee Cake With Mandarin Sauce

We will probably never know who Jean is as it was from a piece out of the newspaper, but Helen must have really liked this coffee cake as it was in her cook book in an easily accessible place. I have a similar recipe, and one can find very similar recipes in most cook books simply called "Sour Cream Coffee Cake". The recipes may vary some in amounts of ingredients, but basically they are all the same, all delicious, and all worth making often! My family loves a variation of this recipe which I've been baking for many years.

(Helen) Jean's Coffee Cake With Mandarin Sauce

1/2 cup butter*
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. baking osda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 pint sour cream*
2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbls. cinnamon
1/2 cup toasted walnuts

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; beat well. Sift flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well. Add vanilla. in separate bowl, add 1/3 cup sugar, cinnamon, and nuts. Pour half of batter in pan*; sprinkle half of topping mixture over batter, add batter, then topping. Bake at 350 degrees 35-40 minutes, or till tests done. When cool, remove sides of pan. Serve Mandarin Sauce over slices of cake.
*Make sure the butter is room temperature.
*Half pint is 8 ounces
*Make sure your pans are well-greased even though it is not designated on the recipe.

Helen's Mandarin Sauce

3-4 Tbls. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbls. cornstarch
2 1/2 cups orange juice
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 Tbls. butter
2 cans (11 oz. each) Mandarin Oranges, drained

Combine sugar, salt, and cornstarch in pan. stir in orange juice and mix till smooth. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly till thickened and smooth. add extract and butter; blend well. Let cool 10 minutes; fold in oranges. Serve over slices of coffee cake.
*I think this is a recipe of Helen's as it is not marked whcih means it was not from the same paper as the recipe above.