Here's another recipe from The Scottish Kitchen
Clootie Dumpling
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Category
dessert
Cuisine
Scottish
Servings
4
I always remember my mum telling me stories of her mum’s – my Nana’s – clootie dumpling. Two things stuck out for me with this recipe: the first was that she added thruppenny bits (old 12-sided three penny coins) to the recipe. The idea was that each of the kids would receive a bit of cash in their slice of the pudding. I believe that the clootie dumpling could be filled with lots of different coins or charms all having a meaning to the finder. Second, my Nana did not work with a recipe – the whole thing was just judged by the eye and, most probably, using whatever was in the cupboard.
This recipe and method is based on what my mum passed to me. The word clootie is an old Scots word for cloth or rag. You will note at the end of the recipe it asks you to ‘skin’ the dumpling (which means to create a skin for it) this is a vital part of the process, and some people say it is not a clootie dumpling until it has been skinned. Traditionally this would be done in front of an open fire. Additionally, for this recipe you will need a clean tea towel, two strips of parchment paper and some string. If you are going to add any coins or trinkets, make sure you wrap them in parchment paper.
Ingredients
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4 oz. (125g) suet
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1⅓ cups (200g) self-rising flour, plus 1 tablespoon for the tea towel
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3 cups (150g) fresh breadcrumbs
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¾ (85g) oats
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Generous 1 cup (150 g) raisins
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Generous 1 cup (150 g) currants
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½ cup (100g) soft light brown sugar
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1 teaspoon baking soda
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1 teaspoon mixed spice
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1 teaspoon ground ginger
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1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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1 teaspoon salt
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7 tablespoons (100ml) whole milk
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2 tablespoons (30ml) light corn syrup
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2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Directions
First, combine the dry ingredients: take a large bowl and add the suet, flour, breadcrumbs, oatmeal, dried fruit, sugar, baking soda, spices and salt. Give this a good mix until well combined.
Mix the milk with the light corn syrup and beaten egg.
Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and combine until you get a soft dough. You might need a little more flour if it is too sticky or a little more milk if it is too dry.
Take a tea towel and soak it in cold water. Squeeze out the excess water, lay the towel out onto a table, then lay two strips of parchment paper in a cross shape on the wet towel.
Generously dust the towel and the paper with flour. Place the ball of dough in the middle of the cross of the paper.
Bring the sides of the paper up over the dough. Cut any excess paper with scissors and cover the dough.
Next, bring the tea towel up over the dough and twist until it is tight. Tie with string.
Lower the dumpling into a pan of water and bring to the boil. Once the water comes to the boil, reduce the temperature and simmer the dumpling for 3 hours.
Once cooked allow to cool. Meanwhile preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).
Unwrap the dumpling, place it on a baking sheet and pop into the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until the dumpling has skinned over.