Sussex Pond Pudding

Sussex Pond Pudding is a traditional English pudding believed to originate from the South East county of Sussex. Made of a suet pastry which encases a whole lemon, with butter and sugar, it is boiled or steamed for several hours.

This rich and heavy dessert has gone out of fashion over the years due to health and diet consciousness, although there are many chefs in Britain, such as famed British chef Heston Blumenthal, who are trying to revive this type of traditional cookery.

Some cooks like to add currants to the filling, but this would technically make it a "Kentish Puddle Pudding" or "Kentish Well Pudding". [ [http://adambalic.typepad.com/the_art_and_mystery_of_fo/2007/01/post.html The Art and Mystery of Food] ]

Preparation

While cooking, the filling ingredients create a thick, caramelized sauce, which upon serving and cutting of the pudding, runs out and pools around the plate, creating a “pond”. After cooking for so long, the skin of the lemon almost candies like a marmalade in its own juices and that of the butter and sugar.

The most authentic recipes call for beef suet for making the pastry. This may be hard to find in common supermarkets, so vegetable suet, or even cold butter, can be substituted for similar results.

The best lemons to use in this pudding are thin skinned, juicy ones that have been un-sprayed and are preferably un-waxed.

Earlier Style

Much older cookery books and recipes do not actually call for use of a lemon at all. Here is one found by Florence White: [ "Good Things in England", Florence White, First Futura Publications, 1974 Edition ]

"”This was given us at Chailey, Sussex, by a nursemaid in 1880 or thereabouts. It was made for me boiled in a cloth (the correct way) in 1905 by an old cottage woman in the village of Westham. In Sussex cottages, steak and kidney puddings are still (1931) boiled in a cloth only.”" –H.J. Glover Recipe:

*Make a good suet crust, put in some currants, and a little sugar.

*Divide in two and roll each piece into a rather thick round.

*Put into the middle of one round a ball of butter mixed with sugar, using the proportions of a 1/2 lb. butter to 1/4 lb. demerara sugar.
*Gather up the edges of the crust, and enclose the butter ball securely by covering the join with the second round crust and pinching that up.
*Put into a floured cloth, tie up rather tightly and boil 3 hours or more according to size.

Modern Day Version

With the modern version of the pudding a lemon is included in the recipe: [ [http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/586253 UKTV Food] ]

For the suet pastry:
*225 g self raising flour
*115 g shredded or chopped suet
*50 ml water
*75 ml milk

For the filling:
*125 g cold butter, cut into cubes
*125 g brown sugar
*1 whole, un-waxed lemon

To make the pastry, combine the flour and suet together in a bowl and then add the liquids. Work with your hands to make a soft dough.

Roll out 3/4 of this suet pastry, and line a 1.5 L pudding basin with it, making sure there is enough pastry to hang over the top of the basin. Next, put half the butter and brown sugar into the bottom of the lined basin. Prick the lemon all over with a fork or the tip of a sharp knife. Place this on top of the butter sugar mixture. Top the lemon with the remaining butter and brown sugar. Roll out the remaining1/4 of pastry to create a lid for the pudding. Press the two layers of pastry together well, trim off any excess, and crimp the edges tightly to form a good seal.

Cover this pudding with a layer of pleated parchment paper, then a piece of pleated foil and tie a string (or use a rubber band) around the lip of the basin to hold everything in place. Steam the pudding for a good 3 to 4 hours until cooked through. It is now ready to serve.

Notes

References

* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/heston_blumenthal/article620016.ece Heston Blumenthal’s Recipe for Sussex Pond Pudding]

*"English Food", Jane Grigson, Penguin Books Ltd, 1998 Edition

*"English Puddings, Sweet and Savoury", Mary Norwak, Grub Street Publishing, 2004 Edition