I adore Norman Lindsey’s story The Magic Pudding, the Australian story of a very grumpy pudding that likes to be eaten and never runs out. My husband often calls me his Magic Pudding when I get grumpy which serves only to make me laugh. When I was in Kindergarten, we made a paper Magic Pudding complete with paper legs. Its a craft project from kindergarten that I remember enthusiastically.
The pudding steamer was a gift from my parents when they came over for dinner one time. They’re “old school” in that they always bring a gift when they go to a house for dinner. After several years of turning up to dinner with just a smile and a carefully put together outfit I started having dinner parties of my own and realised what a thoughtful gesture a gift is for the hard working party hostess and now if its not a “Pot luck” dinner, I always bring something, more often than not, something that I’ve baked or made, that I hope the party giver would like. I suppose parents are right some of the time…
After making another batch of Christmas pudding vodka (its stellar with lemonade), I had a jar of vodka soused fruit. After having this with ice cream a few times, I sought another use for the fruit, another dignified ending for it. So at my husband’s suggestion I made a Magic Pudding. Magic in that its alcohol content will make you rather jolly. I wouldn’t recommend making this with the vodka soused fruit if you are serving it to children unless you were say French. But whatever you do, do serve it with a vanilla custard, it’s just not quite the same without it.
Sago Plum Pudding from The Cooks Companion
The ‘plums’ in this old fashioned pudding are prunes. It is always very popular and is best served with a hot egg custard. The dried fruit must include some chopped prunes, make up the quantity with your choice of raisins, sultans and currants.
- 150g sago (tapioca)
- butter
- 2.5 cups milk
- 500g dried fruit (including prunes)
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3 teaspoons bi carb of soda
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 3 cups soft fresh breadcrumbs or 1.5 cups dried breadcrumbs
- 3 eggs
- 45g unsalted butter melted
1. Soak sago in milk overnight. Next day, butter a 1.5 litre pudding basin (or 8x150ml moulds). Put fruit and dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Tip in sago and milk. Lightly whisk eggs with melted butter and stir into fruit bowl.
2. Fill basin or moulds just over 2/3 full. Cover with baking paper or foil and tie with string. Stand basin on a wire rack (or upturned plate) inside a stockpot and add boiling water to come two thirds up sides of basin. Boil for 3 hours (2 hours for individual puddings), topping up stockpot with more boiling water, until pudding is dark and glossy, uncover to check.
3. Serve hot with egg custard. This pudding can be successfully resteamed if you are not serving it immediately-it will take up to an hour’s boiling to be really hot in the centre (20 mins for individual pudding)
Recipe by Stephanie Alexander from The Cook’s Companion.
To make this into a Magic Pudding you will need:
- White gloss paper to make eyes and frown
- Brown paper for legs
- White bowl for his head
- A tall, sturdy, fairly wide necked vase to elevate him
- A small saucer to rest the Magic Pudding on
1. Cut out eyes and a smile from gloss paper. Cut legs from brown paper (I used a Haighs brown paper bag, hence the odd patterns but that’s all I had) and fold length of brown paper into squares to make accordion pattern.
2. Sit the pudding upside down on a small saucer (closest to fitting the base of the pudding is good). Place plated pudding on top of tall, sturdy wide necked vase and place upturned bowl on top of his head.
3. Adhere eyes and smile to the pudding (they should stick to the pudding) and slide legs between saucer and vase or between pudding and saucer.
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11 Comments | Add your own
I’ve just shown this to my children and they are demanding I make one for them (without the vodka). However, they’ve pointed out that it shouldn’t be smiling, for literary accuracy it should be a grumpy pudding, like the Magic Pudding always is. And watch out for Wombats and Possums while it’s sitting out there in your garden, as the Society of Puddin’ Thieves are always lurking nearby when there’s puddin’ to be had.
I’m sorry, as good as your pudding actually looks, the Magic Pudding has always creeped me out. Something about that grumpy, mean look…
Hi Alison-hehe you can’t get anything past kids can you?
In actual fact, we did take pictures of him frowning but he looked much more adorable smiling so I put up the smiling photos. LOL yes the Society of Puddin’ Thieves in this case was my husband!
Hi belle-Awwww, he is a rather grumpy little fellow. I suppose like a lot of kid’s stories, it’s a bit dark and adult in theme. I personally get creeped out by clowns
My favourite line from any children’s book is from the beginning of the third slice (isn’t it fabulous how instead of having chapters, the book has slices?):
“The Society of Puddin’ Owners was up bright and early the next morning, when the world has just had it’s face washed, and the air smells like Pears’ Soap.”
Isn’t that just fabulous?
Clowns are completely freaky.
Oh my god, I was sooo terrified of the magic pudding when I was little! LOL!
Ah so those Haigh paper bags can be recycled for things other than re-gifting!
What a great way to present a pudding recipe! And how cute that you are your husbands pudding when you’re grumpy! 
I’ve never eaten or cooked with sago before if you can believe that. I have been aware of its existence though and I see it in the supermarkets. I’ve only ever heard people complain about it though.. it hasn’t received glowing reviews. Not that THAT sways me. My palate is my own
I did my 1st boiled pudding last Christmas. Great passed-onto-me recipe. I made mistakes though. I forgot to sprinkle breadcrumbs onto the pudding cloth. I also doubled the mixture..and didn’t double the cooking time..thinking 4 hours was enough. Oh.. gosh.. talk about pudding ingredients/money down the drain. I reboiled what I could… It was so messy. Hubby still ate whatever there was.. It was nice enough! Just not aesthetically pleasing… !
Hi Alison-You’re making me want to read my copy of the book again! It’s filled with such great lines and pictures. I love the “slices” too!
I think everyone realised how scary and menacing clowns can be once the movie “It” came out. I felt a sigh of relief personally when I realised I wasn’t the only one!
Hi Kel-Oh really? Awww that’s no good. I guess he was rather grumpy though and it is a bit of an odd tale. A pudding that loves to be eaten!
Hi Maria-I’ve always related to being a Magic Pudding as I get the same expression on my face when I am grumpy
So it was natural for him to call me that.
Sago can be a bit of a pain to cook in that it really sticks to the bottom of the pan. But if it’s done well, it’s so soft and delicious! That’s good that you try things, some people are not very adventurous and that isn’t as fun. Although I must admit I draw the line at tripe!
Oh what do the breadcrumbs sprinkled on the cloth do? I didn’t realise that that was an important part never seeing that part of a recipe. I think puddings and sponge cakes are the realm of old family recipes and things that are best passed on from generation to generation. Lucky you for getting that recipe! That’s a pity about the cooking time though, they can be very expensive with all of that dried fruit and alcohol. But I’m sure you did an admirable job saving it and besides there’s nothing a lashing of egg custard can’t cover!
Hello!
The breadcrumbs are an alternative to the flour sprinkled on the cloth I’ve seen in other recipes. It supposedly helps to form a ‘skin’ on the pudding and stop it sticking so much to the cloth when removing it. So I’ve heard! Hubby thinks breadcrumbs in boiled puddings make them more superior in flavour?!
Hi Maria-Ahhhh ok you’re baking it in a cloth! I just use a pudding steamer tin but I’m sure cloth is much more traditional and the way that it’s supposed to be made!
Having just pondered what on earth I am going to do with a container of vodka-soaked plums from a plum-infused vodka experiment (which turned out well, thankfully), I am now inspired. Given that the plums aren’t dried, maybe I could try a wetter steamed sponge pudding with the plums in them? Should be fun experimenting, anyway! Cheers.
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