Tea Room Tales & Tidbits
Table of Contents
Christmas Pudding (Carrot Pudding)
It was a small house that my Grandma Stewart lived in. It was perched on a wee hill in the centre of a large-sized lot in Southampton. When the family gathered for Christmas Eve, we nearly filled the house to the rafters. Uncles, Aunts and older cousins lined the living room walls filling every sofa, chair, and footstool, while some of the younger ones sat on Grandma's hand made, brightly coloured, crocheted cushions scattered on the living room floor.
The recipe came from a Southampton Ladies Hospital Auxiliary cookbook printed in the 1960s. It had been submitted by Mrs. Dave Kirkland. My Grandma Stewart made it every Christmas. As a child I watched one of my Aunts serve out the portions. It was then passed to me along the line from older cousins to my Uncle's hands. I remember peering into the small dish and hearing my grandmother say that I probably wouldn't like it. The pudding warmed my hands as I made my way to the stairs to sit with most of the other grandchildren. I remember hugging my bowl savouring the tiny morsel smothered in hard sauce and feeling special.
Nowadays my parents enjoy having our immediate family gather at their cottage for Christmas Eve. The cottage feels very cozy as the Aunts and Uncles line the dining room table, expanding into the living room while the grandchildren perch on the stairs with plates and bowls in hand. The Christmas pudding tradition remains in our family. Now it is I who gladly makes the pudding and smothers it in a hard sauce ready for waiting hands.
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup grated raw carrot
- 1 cup grated raw potato
- 1 cup chopped suet
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup Thompson raisins
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup currants
- 1/4 cup mixed, candied, peel
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup flour
- Beat eggs slightly in a large bowl.
- Add sugar, suet, dried fruit, grated vegetables and peel.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a separate bowl.
- Combine dry ingredients with the wet by folding into each other and only mixing until everything is evenly wet.
- Grease a glass or ceramic bowl or for individual servings use muffin tins.
- Fill bowl 3/4 full with mixture.
- Fit the top of the bowl first with waxed paper, then with aluminum foil.
- Tie-down this lid with cotton string and secure the edges.
- Place the prepared bowl into a pan of boiling water and steam for 3 hours.
- Serve hot with hard sauce, warm custard or brandy sauce.
It can be reheated by steaming for one hour before serving.


