Steamed Cranberry Pudding with Creamy Butter-Orange Sauce

by Nancy Baggett
from The All-American Dessert Book
(Houghton Mifflin, 2005)
Makes 8 to 10 servings

This is my updated version of a fine heirloom recipe shared with me by retired New Jersey cranberry grower Tom Darlington. His family has been prominent in the cranberry business in the Whitesbog area of the New Jersey Pine Barrens since the late 1860’s. His grandfather J. J. White was the first to dig bogs and raise cranberries where they didn’t originally grow. At the time, this approach was considered so preposterous that it was dubbed White’s Folly. By the early twentieth century, however, the J. J. White Company had become the largest cranberry operation in the state.

Tom says that his family has been enjoying this dessert at Thanksgiving and on other holidays for as long as he can remember. It was handed down from his aunt Elizabeth White. The pudding and sauce are a perfect pair: the cranberry pudding is moist, and bright with bits of berries, and the mild, buttery sauce provides balancing richness and sweetness. (Don’t consider serving one without the other!)—Nancy Baggett

convert Ingredients
For the pudding
2 1/4 cups fresh (or frozen, partially thawed) cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup sugar (divided)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest (orange part of skin)
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup light molasses
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the sauce
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup heavy (whipping) cream
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Generous 1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest (orange part of skin)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Method
Make the pudding
1. Generously grease a 1 1/2-quart pudding mold, small one-piece heatproof tube pan, or similar ring mold or generously coat with nonstick spray. Set out a deep pot or saucepan that is large enough to hold the mold. Place a wire rack (or collapsible vegetable steaming basket) in the pot bottom.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cranberries and 3 tablespoons of the sugar; set aside. In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.

3. In a small bowl, stir together the orange zest, orange juice, molasses, and remaining 5 tablespoons sugar until the sugar dissolves. Add the molasses mixture and the butter to the dry ingredients, stirring just until evenly incorporated. Stir in the cranberries until evenly distributed. Turn out the batter into the mold or pan, spreading it to the edges. Cover the mold tightly with a lid or aluminum foil.

4. Add 3/4 inch hot water to the pot. Set the mold on the rack in the pot, cover the pot, and bring the water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Lower the heat so the water simmers very gently. Gently simmer, checking the pot occasionally and replenishing the water, if needed, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the thickest part of the pudding comes out clean; the time will vary considerably depending on the mold.

5. Transfer the pudding to a wire rack. Let cool until firmed up somewhat, about 30 minutes, but not completely cooled, or it may be difficult to unmold. Carefully run the tip of a table knife around the sides and center tube to loosen the pudding; invert and slide onto a serving plate.

6. The pudding will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in a low oven (or in a microwave oven on medium power) until slightly warm before serving.

Make the sauce
1. In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, thoroughly stir together the sugar, cream, butter, corn syrup, and orange zest. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar completely dissolves and the butter melts.

2. Bring to a boil. Boil gently, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla.

3. The sauce will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in a saucepan over low heat, stirring (or in a microwave oven on medium power, stopping and stirring once), until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is warm and fluid. If necessary, thin it with a little hot water before serving.

4. Drizzle a little sauce over the pudding, cut into slices, and serve. Pass the remaining sauce in a pitcher or sauceboat.

Recipe © 2005 Nancy Baggett. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Leite’s Culinaria, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of use.