Figgy Pudding

My family is very tradition-oriented. Not that we do everything in a very culturally traditional way (though in some cases we do), but rather we tend to do the same things the same way every year and feel a bit sad if something’s different. This year was pretty different since BN and I stayed in Eugene for the holiday. But, I was mostly very glad for the chance to break out of the mold and try new things this year. I thought, I should find some classic Christmas food that I’ve never tried and make that, and what more obvious choice than Figgy Pudding. “Oh bring us a figgy pudding…and bring it right here! We won’t go until we get some…” When I was little I always thought it was Piggy pudding because Piggy was a real word, whereas Figgy? not so much. Though a pork-based pudding doesn’t appeal to me, then or now. Anyways. Whenever I want to find a recipe for something like this, I look online. I can pick and choose and even combine recipes. (I also tend to check Joy of Cooking so I can see if there is any Definitive American Way to prepare the food in question.) So I discovered that the thing to do is base one’s Figgy Pudding on a carrot-cake mix and go from there. The whole thing seemed quite straightforward and also, figgy pudding being British, “pudding” really means more of a cake-like substance. So there was no tricky milk-scalding, egg-white-stiffening, or gelatin-firming to be done. Just baking, or rather steaming, for a very long time. (and yes, GC, it’s baked in a pudding basin!) I have to confess I haven’t had a very good track record with baking recently. I used to bake cakes and cookies quite a bit when I was a teen, with reasonable success, but recently I have gotten way over into the other camp, of gourmet cooking, mostly savory Asian entrees rather than sweet European desserts. Which is all very fine for our waistlines. I just like to experiment and substitute ingredients to suit my taste or convenience, and that doesn’t always work out so well in baking. Another thing is, I don’t even own an electric mixer. (I got a lot of mileage out of this Figgy Pudding thing talking to ladies at church and they all gasped and said you have to have an electric mixer to make cake!!!) Luckily I actually ended up making a figgy muffin, which doesn’t need much stirring at all, let alone beating in a mixer… See, I was in the grocery store (actually, the grocery palace – more about that another time) and the Betty Crocker type of cake mix had trans fats and high-fructose corn syrup. And I needed carrot… the only other carrot option was an organic, all-natural muffin mix. So I figured, I can adapt and substitute. It’ll be fine. I took note that the cake mix called for more oil and eggs than the muffin mix. And off I went. Christmas Eve was Figgy Pudding day, so that afternoon I got right down to work. I brought dried figs and water to cover to a boil, took them off the heat and soaked several hours until softened. Chopped the figs and boiled the fragrant liquid down a ways with some sugar. I used 3 eggs and whirled the liquid ingredients in my blender because I figured that couldn’t hurt. But I stirred until just combined with the muffin mix (plus golden raisins soaked in brandy, orange zest, sliced almonds and spices.) I also used melted butter rather than oil, cause it’s way yummier.

The trickiest part of the whole process was lining my large metal bowl with foil. I tried to use one piece to go all the way around but it was just not working. So I had to use several pieces. What a concept. The main thing is to have a “collar” of foil around the top of the cake to fold down over it and steam rather than just dry out your pudding.

And it came out great – not soggy, not dry or hard, but just a nice dense, fruity cake. Served warmed with the fig syrup drizzled on and whipped cream, it was a unique holiday treat to write home about.