The National Trust Book of Puddings: 50 irresistibly nostalgic sweet treats and comforting classics

By Regula Ysewijn and National Trust Books

50 deliciously indulgent pudding recipes, from childhood favourites such as jam roly-poly and cornflake tart, to traditional British classics such as sticky toffee pudding and sherry trifle.

In the latest book in this bestselling series, food historian and cook Regula Ysewijn brings together 50 deliciously indulgent pudding recipes, from childhood favourites such as jam roly-poly and cornflake tart, to traditional British classics such as sticky toffee pudding and sherry trifle.

There are recipes sourced from National Trust properties, such as St George's pudding, made for Churchill at Chartwell, or Waddesdon Christmas pudding, served to the Rothchild family during WWII. Other sweet treats include possets, steamed puddings, syllabubs and blancmange, as well the delightfully named Wet Nelly, Bedfordshire Clanger, Apple Dappy, Whim Wham and, of course, Spotted Dick.

The book also includes recipes for the perfect sauces and custard to accompany your crumbles and tarts, making this the perfect book for anyone with a sweet tooth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Nov 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781911358848

Regula Ysewijn

Regula Ysewijn is a food writer, stylist and photographer, with a particular interest in historical recipes. She is a Great Taste Awards judge and a member of The Guild of Food Writers, as well as one of the two judges on 'Bake Off Vlaanderen', the Belgian version of 'The Great British Bake-Off'. A self-confessed Anglophile, she collects old British cookbooks and culinary equipment in order to help with her research. She is the author of Pride and Pudding – the history of British puddings savoury and sweet and Belgian Café Culture.

Book preview

Steamed

Puddings

Illustration

Serves 4

Sticky Date and Butterscotch Puddings

A comforting pudding from Berrington Hall in Herefordshire.

140g stoned dates, chopped

150ml boiling water

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

55g butter

55g soft dark brown sugar

1 egg

85g self-raising flour

FOR THE BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE

85g light brown sugar

25g salted butter

150ml single cream

Lightly butter four 200ml pudding moulds and line the bottoms with a circle of baking paper.

Put the dates in a saucepan with the water and bicarbonate of soda and stir until the soda is dissolved. Add the butter and sugar and cook for a few minutes until the dates are soft enough to beat to a purée.

Remove the pan from the heat and quickly beat in the egg and flour until well mixed.

Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared pudding moulds. Cover with buttered foil and steam for about 1 hour or until well risen and a skewer comes out cleanly when inserted into the centre of one of the puddings.

While the puddings cook, make the sauce. Add the sugar and 2 tablespoons of water to a small saucepan, heat gently without stirring until the sugar has dissolved then boil for a few minutes until it begins to smell of toffee. Take off the heat and carefully stir in the butter then the cream until smooth.

Using the tip of a knife or spatula, loosen the edges of the puddings then turn out on to plates. Spoon over the sauce and serve with vanilla ice cream or custard.

Serves 4–6

Dolbury Pudding

This recipe is from Killerton, an eighteenth-century family house in the east Devon countryside. This steamed pudding appears in Classic British Cooking, where Sarah Edington explains that the pudding was named after the rounded shape of Dolbury Hill, which can be seen behind the house. All puddings steamed in traditional pudding basins look like hills but it’s a great idea to actually name one after a hill.

110g butter

25g lard

150g soft brown sugar

3 eggs, beaten

200g apples, weighed when peeled and chopped

200g mincemeat

225g self-raising flour,