Spotted Dick

Dark specks of raisins are scattered through a pale steamed dough. Those specks are reflected in the first half of the name Spotted Dick. This British suet pudding is well loved in the form of a pudding steamed in a deep basin and served with warm custard, but 19th-century books also show it with the fruit rolled up in the dough, boiled, and eaten with butter and sugar. The method of boiling or steaming a dough containing fruit and fat has continued while its shape and sauce have changed.

Wrapped in Cloth and Boiled: The Method in an 1850 Cookbook

The 1850 New York edition of Alexis Soyer’s The Modern Housewife contains the heading “Plum Bolster, or Spotted Dick.” Washed raisins are dotted over the rolled-out dough, which is then rolled up, wrapped in a cloth and boiled for 1 hour, and served with butter and brown sugar. This differs from the method commonly seen today, in which the fruit is mixed throughout the dough and the pudding is steamed in a deep basin.

In this cookbook’s recipe (the proportions of ingredients and the method), beef kidney fat is chopped finely, a little oil is added to bring it together, and it is folded into the dough in place of butter. The fat is folded into the dough, and the fruit is placed on the spread-out dough, which is then rolled up. What accompanied it was not a warm custard of milk and eggs, but butter and sugar.

Three Theories on the Origin of “Dick”

The specks indicated by “spotted” are the raisins visible in the pale dough. For the second half, Dick, there are different theories: a pet form of the personal name Richard, the dialect dish name dick pudding, and a dialect pronunciation of dough. Whether the name borrowed a way of addressing a person or changed from a word referring to dough or a dish is unknown. Unlike the fruit specks that stand out in the pale dough, the origin of the second half has not been settled on a single explanation.

Scattering Kidney Fat Through the Flour

In the traditional dough, suet is added to flour, sugar, raisins, milk and other ingredients. Suet is fat taken from around the kidneys of cattle or sheep and from other parts, and it is finely chopped and mixed into the flour. Some recipes today use a vegetable suet substitute, making it possible to make the same steamed dessert with a different fat.

In Prue Leith’s method, small currants are soaked in citrus juice, drained and added. Orange and lemon zest and cinnamon are also used, layering aroma over the sweetness of the dried fruit. Softening the fruit beforehand makes it less likely that hard pieces will remain after the fruit is mixed into the flour dough.

Pleating Paper and Foil and Steaming in a Deep Basin

The ingredients are brought together with milk into a soft mixture and put into a greased pudding basin. When the top of the basin is covered with paper and aluminum foil, a pleat is made in the center. As the dough rises during steaming, the pleat opens, so the pudding can gain height without being pressed down by the cover. Tying string around the basin also makes it easier to lift it out of the hot pan.

A plate or similar object is placed in the bottom of a large pan, the basin is set on it, water is poured in, and the pan is covered so the pudding steams slowly. Because the pudding is cooked by heat transferred through steam and hot water, there is no step that bakes the surface until firm and toasty. The dough enclosing the fruit rises, and the pudding turns out moist and warm.

Served with Custard Sauce and Caramel Syrup

Once steamed, the pudding is left to stand briefly, then a plate is placed over the basin and the pudding is turned out. With a round basin, the outline becomes a gentle dome, and small specks of raisins appear in the cut surface. The pudding is cut into generous pieces and served with custard sauce poured around it.

The sauce is made by gently heating egg yolks, sugar and milk until thickened, then flavoring it with vanilla. Adding cream as well gives a richer result with more milk fat. The smooth sauce envelops the steamed dough of flour and fruit, adding warmth and moisture.

At the dining room at Osborne, run by English Heritage, which manages historic sites in England, a dish combining apple, raisins, soft toffee and vanilla custard is also featured. It is an example of serving that layers the flavors of fruit and sugar over the specks of dried fruit.

Spotted dick is well loved as one of Britain’s homely puddings, and the methods vary, with the fruit mixed in or rolled up, among others. Leith’s recipe also pairs it with a thin caramel syrup, adding gloss to the steamed surface. It is a dessert enjoyed after a meal, with warm sauce poured over the simple speckled dough.

How It Differs from Spotted Dog, an Irish Soda Bread

Spotted dog, as presented by Irish cookery educator Darina Allen, is a white soda bread with raisins, sugar and egg added. It is made with baking soda and buttermilk, shaped into a round, scored with a cross and baked in the oven. Despite the similar name, its formula and cooking method are not the same as those of the British pudding, in which suet is mixed into the flour and the dough is steamed.

Looking back on her childhood, Allen recalls that at the time, adding white flour or eggs was itself something special, and that the warm bread was wrapped in a cloth and carried to the fields along with sweet tea. Her ways of eating it include butter and jam, as well as cheddar cheese. Although both are dotted with raisin specks, one is a steamed dessert eaten after a meal, while the other is a bread enriched with egg and sugar and eaten with tea.

Glossary