Clootie Dumpling

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A large, deep pot with a lid (big enough to fully submerge the dumpling)
• •A clean cotton cloth, about 50cm square (muslin or old tea towel)
• •Kitchen string
• •A heatproof plate to sit in the bottom of the pot
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Tongs or a long-handled spoon for lifting the hot dumpling

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the cloth

   Find a clean cotton cloth, a square of old tea towel or muslin about 50cm across. Plunge it into a pan of boiling water and let it scald for a minute, then lift it out with tongs and wring it as dry as you can bear. Spread it flat on the worktop. Dust it generously with flour and a good pinch of sugar, rubbing them into the weave with the flat of your hand. This is the skin, waiting to happen. The floured cloth is what turns into the papery jacket once it meets the boil.

   The cloth must be clean and unscented. Anything that smells of washing powder will end up in the pudding. A plain cotton tea towel kept for the job is the old and sensible answer.
2. 2

   Mix the dry ingredients

   In a large bowl, tip together the flour, breadcrumbs, suet, brown sugar, sultanas, currants, raisins, mixed peel, spices, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Stir it all through with your hands so the fruit is properly coated and the spices are evenly spread. The kitchen should start to smell of Christmas even before anything is cooked.

3. 3

   Add the wet ingredients

   Make a well in the middle and add the grated apple, grated carrot and black treacle. Pour in the beaten egg, then most of the milk. Mix with a wooden spoon, then your hands, bringing it together into a soft, stiff batter. It should hold its shape but not feel dry. Add the last of the milk only if it needs it. You're after something between a thick cake batter and a loose dough.

4. 4

   Tie up the dumpling

   Scoop the mixture onto the middle of the floured cloth and shape it roughly into a round. Gather the corners of the cloth up over the top, then the sides, pleating as you go so the pudding is snug but not strangled. Tie tightly with kitchen string just above the dumpling, leaving a little room for it to swell. A loose tie and water gets in. A tight tie and the pudding can't breathe. Somewhere in between is what you want.

   Leave a long loop of string at the top. You'll be glad of it when the time comes to lift a heavy, wet pudding out of a pot of boiling water.
5. 5

   Boil long and slow

   Place an upturned heatproof plate in the bottom of your largest, deepest pot. This keeps the dumpling from touching the base and scorching. Lower the dumpling in, pour over enough boiling water from the kettle to cover it completely, and bring back to a steady simmer. Cover with a lid, leaving it slightly ajar, and let it go for three and a half hours. Check it now and then and top up with boiling water from the kettle so the dumpling stays submerged. The kitchen will smell of spiced fruit and dark sugar, and the windows will mist over properly.

   Never top up with cold water. A sudden cold shock can split the skin or make the pudding soggy. Always have the kettle on standby.
6. 6

   Unwrap and dry the skin

   Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Lift the dumpling out by the string and dip it briefly, a second or two, into a bowl of cold water. This loosens the cloth from the skin. Set the pudding on a heatproof plate, snip the string, and carefully peel the cloth back. Go slowly. The skin is delicate at this point and the cloth wants to take bits of it with it. Slide the plate into the hot oven for ten to fifteen minutes. The damp, pale surface will tighten and darken into that distinctive papery jacket. That's the clootie. That's the whole point.

7. 7

   Serve with cream

   Carry it to the table whole, on a warm plate, and cut it in thick wedges. Pour cold double cream over the top, or hot custard if that's your preference, and let the sweet, spiced steam do the rest. There are few better feelings than putting a warm plate of this in front of someone on a cold night. Any leftovers are worth keeping. Sliced and fried in butter the next morning, a clootie is better than it has any right to be.

Chef Tips

• •The cloth matters more than anything else. An old, soft cotton tea towel kept just for puddings is ideal. Muslin works but can tear. Whatever you use, it must be clean and unscented. The flour dusting is not optional. That's the layer that sets into a skin in the boil.
• •Suet is traditional and gives the right dense, rich crumb. Vegetable suet works just as well if you'd rather avoid beef. Don't be tempted to substitute butter. It melts differently and the texture goes wrong.
• •A clootie improves with a day or two of rest. Wrap it in foil and keep it somewhere cool. When you want to serve it again, steam it gently for twenty minutes or slice it thickly and fry the slices in butter until the edges crisp up. Breakfast clootie is one of the small, private pleasures of the week after Christmas.
• •Serve it with cold double cream rather than hot custard if you can. The contrast of the hot, dark, spiced pudding against the cold cream is what makes it sing. Custard is fine. Cream is better.

Advance Preparation

• •The dumpling can be boiled a day or two ahead. Let it cool completely in its cloth, then refrigerate. On the day, steam it for thirty minutes to warm through, unwrap, and dry the skin in a hot oven as in the main recipe.
• •A clootie keeps wrapped in foil in the fridge for up to a week and actually improves for the first two or three days as the flavours settle.
• •It freezes well once cooked and unwrapped. Defrost overnight and reheat by steaming, then crisp the skin briefly in the oven before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 190g)