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Why not try an old Christmas and Hogmanay tradition and bake an old-fashioned Clootie Dumpling! This delightful dessert can be traced back over 300 years, with a recipe that has hardly changed in all that time! Similar to the Christmas or plum puddings we know so well, the Clootie Dumpling is cooked the same way, but is not so heavy ladened with fruit. Bring out the Scots in you this New Year’s Eve and celebrate with a wee dram and some Clootie Dumpling!
Ingredients
4 cups plain flour (or plain cake flour)
2 cups beef suet (or vegetarian suet)
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 ½ cups raisins
1 ½ cups Golden raisins (sultanas)
1 tsp ground cinnamon*
1 tsp ground allspice*
1 tsp ground ginger*
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg*
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 green apples, peeled and grated
3 tbsp black treacle (or dark corn syrup)
½ cup whole milk
Extra plain flour for dusting
*Add 3 tsp mixed spice instead of adding the cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg
Method
Bring a very large pot of water to boil. There needs to be enough water to make sure the dumpling has room to float.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, spices, salt, baking powder, dried fruit, and beef suet). In another bowl mix the eggs, milk, and black treacle together with the grated apple. Then combine the wet mixture with the dry mixture.
Dip your dumpling cloot (cloth) into the boiling pot of water to soak it for a few minutes.
Wring it out to remove the excess water. Now spread the cloot over a large work surface and dust it fairly generously and evenly with flour. The layer of flour does not need to be thick. Make sure the flour reaches far enough to the edges of the cloot, so that the flour will cover the whole dumpling when the cloot is drawn up around it.
Cut a generous length of string so you can tie the excess onto the pot handles to suspend the cloot when it is submerged in the water.
Empty the dumpling mixture onto the cloot and draw up the cloot around it.
Tie it with string leaving a bit of spare room at the top, for the dumpling to expand. Wrap the string around twice and tie it as tight as can be pulled.
Put the lid on and keep on a low simmer for 4 hours. When the dumpling is ready you can lift it out by the string that was attached to the handle. Remove the cloot and transfer the dumpling to a baking tray.
Dry the dumpling in a 350F preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes. When you first remove the cloot you will have a white glutinous skin that covers the surface of the dumpling. After it has been in the oven it will become darker and form a nice crust on the outside of the dumpling.
Slice and serve hot with whipping cream or custard.
*For the Cloot (cloth), make sure to use a good quality cotton fabric with a dense weave, or a couple of layers of cooking muslin.