Going through some of the old papers, I found this recipe which I believe is from my great grandfather, Merrick Luther Smith, based on the writing. I thought it would be fun to see if we can pull it off this holiday season.
First, I transcribed it to see what we had:
Old England’s Plum Pudding
1 lb Bread Crumbs
1 lb raisins
1 lb suet
1 lb currants
1 lb flour
6 eggs
½ lb citrons
¼ lb candied lemon peels
1 cup of molasses
Salt, spice to taste
½ cup brandy, mixed with milk
Sauce
Make a plain sauce of custard, sugar, salt, slice of butter and cold water. Guess at the amounts of each
Then flavor with french brandy
It is missing a lot of important information, so I went to the web to see if I could find similar recipes to fill in the blanks. Here is what I came up with for the main recipe, I'll do another post once I figure out the sauce part.
Merrick’s Old England’s Plum Pudding
1 lb raisins
1 lb currants
½ lb citron (thinly sliced)
¼ lb candied lemon peel (chopped)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon mace
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 lb suet
1 ½ cup brandy
1 lb bread crumbs
1 cup scalded milk
6 eggs
1 lb flour
1 cup molasses
1 teaspoon salt
Blend raisins, currants, citron, lemon peel, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, ground cloves, allspice, black pepper, and suet in a bowl. Add ¼ cup brandy. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 4 days, add ¼ cup brandy each day.
Soak bread crumbs in milk and brandy. Combine with well-beaten eggs, flour and molasses. Blend with the fruit mixture. Add flour, salt and mix thoroughly. Put the pudding in buttered bowls or tins, filling them about ⅔ full. Cover with foil and tie it firmly. Steam for 6-7 hours. Uncover and place in a 250 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Add a dash of brandy to each pudding, cover with foil and keep in a cool place.
To use, steam again for 2-3 hours and unmold. Sprinkle with sugar; add heated french brandy. Ignite and bring to the table. Server with Merrick’s Plum Pudding Sauce.
