Showing posts with label old fashioned puddings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label old fashioned puddings. Show all posts
Today I am sharing a wonderful vintage recipe with you for Radio Pudding. Radio Pudding is a vintage dessert that combines simple ingredients with old-fashioned charm for a cozy, caramel-infused treat.
This classic pudding dates back to the early days of radio, when recipes were shared over the airwaves and handwritten into family cookbooks. Made with pantry staples like flour, sugar, milk, and raisins, it features a rich butterscotch sauce that bubbles up around a tender cake-like topping as it bakes. The result is a warm, spoonable dessert with layers of flavor and texture — perfect for chilly evenings or comforting weekend bakes.
This was something my grandmother always made for us and which my own mother made from time to time. It was also something I used to make my own children when they were growing up. It is not only quick and easy to make, but it is also delicious.
This is a very family friendly pudding/dessert recipe that hearkens back to the past. An easy one-pan pudding which is a delicious nod to simpler times. A timeless treat that perfectly proves that simple ingredients can create something very special. Quick, easy and economical.
I am not sure of its origins, but I strongly suspect that it came into favor during the depression and the second world war, when ingredients like eggs were in short supply, budgets were trim and rationing was in place. A simple recipe, using simple ingredients put together in a way that would please any family member, and especially the children.
I hope you will be tempted to make this simple classic dessert and that you enjoy it when you do. Is there a dessert like this in your family that takes you back to your childhood?
INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE
GRANDMOTHER'S RADIO PUDDING (SMALL BATCH)
Simple baking cupboard ingredients, and not a lot of any one thing.
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup (50g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup (240ml) hot water
- 1 TBS butter
For the cake:
- 1/4 cup (50g) of granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 TBS butter, softened
- 1/4 cup (120ml) milk
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup (63g) plain all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (40g) raisins
- pinch salt
To serve:
- Vanilla ice cream, warm custard or pouring cream
To measure the brown sugar, pack it into your dry measuring cup firmly. It should hold its shape when dumped out. If I was in the U.K. I would use light Muscovado Sugar.
You can use hot water right from the tap.
I use salted butter. I doubt our grandmother's had anything else in the kitchen and neither do I.
I use Kirkland organic granulated sugar, whole milk, and all-purpose flour. You can use self-rising, but do omit the baking powder and salt if you do.
I used sultana raisins. Dried currants would also be nice.
I served it with some cookie scoop sized balls of vanilla ice cream. Delicious!
HOW TO MAKE
GRANDMOTHER'S RADIO PUDDING (SMALL BATCH)
This is a relatively simple dessert to make No special skills or equipment required. To be honest, you could just bung all of the pudding ingredients into a bowl and give them a good beating to make sure everything was well incorporated.
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Have ready a baking dish that is roughly 9 by 4 1/2 inches in size. (I use my vintage Pyrex loaf dish.)
- Put the ingredients for the sauce into a medium sized saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring, over medium heat. Allow to boil for 2 minutes, no longer than that. Pour this into the baking dish. (DO NOT boil longer than two minutes or you risk burning the sauce. Also use a saucepan that will hold the ingredients double in volume to preclude spills.)
- Cream the butter and sugar together for the pudding batter together in a bowl. Whisk in the baking powder, salt and flour. Whisk in the milk until smooth. Stir in the raisins.
- Spoon the batter in dollops over the sauce in the baking dish. (I dolloped using two soup spoons.)
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until risen, puffed and golden brown. You should be able to see the sauce bubbling underneath. It will sink a bit once you take it out of the oven, but that's okay!
- Serve warm, spooned into dessert bowls along with your favorite accompaniment.
HINTS AND TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- Make sure your saucepan for the sauce is large enough to contain the sauce while it is boiling. It easily doubles in size, and you don't want it overflowing and catching on the stove burner.
- Don't boil your sauce ingredients for more than 2 minutes tops. It can burn and taste bitter.
- Spoon your batter as evenly as you can over top of the hot syrup base. I use two soup spoons and just dobble it over the top, evenly spaced.
- Test with a toothpick to be sure it is thoroughly baked through before removing. Insert a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, the pudding is done. It should in nowise be wet. You can also touch the top lightly and it should spring back. If it is not done bake it for a few minutes longer.
- I find that having everything at room temperature before beginning gives the best results.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
CAN THIS BE MADE VEGAN?
Absolutely. Since there are no eggs in the batter that isn't a problem. Simply substitute a vegan butter substitute for the butter and oat milk for the regular milk.
CAN I USE SELF-RISING FLOUR?
Yes, you can. Simply remove the baking powder and the salt from the recipe and use the same amount of self-rising flour in place of the plain flour.
CAN THIS BE DOUBLED TO FEED MORE PEOPLE?
Yes. It can. Simply double all of the ingredients and bake in a 9-inch square baking dish. The bake time should remain the same, but do test it and if it requires a bit longer to bake, do so.
HOW CAN I STORE THE LEFTOVERS?
Store any leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator. To serve, gently reheat in a 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4 oven so that the texture remains the same. Note it may absorb some of the sauce during storage. You can store it this way for up to 3 days.
CAN THIS BE FROZEN?
Yes, this freezes surprisingly well. I would divide it into single serving sized containers. Cover tightly, label and date. Use within 3 months. Leave to thaw overnight and then gently reheat as above.
A FEW OTHER
OLD-FASHIONED PUDDING RECIPES
TO ENJOY
Not pudding as in the North American sense really, but very much in the British sense. Warm desserts with cake and sauce. Deliciously impossible to resist. Beautifully old-fashioned.
CARAMEL APPLE SELF SAUCING PUDDING - A delicious apple cake batter bakes on top of a brown sugar sauce to create a light and fluffy hot pudding. Cake studded generously with apples, with a thick caramel like sauce on the bottom. Delicious served warm with cream, whipped cream, or ice cream.
MIXED BERRY PUDDING - This is very much a British style of pudding, composed of fresh or frozen summer fruits (berries), with a rich blanket of a yogurt cake, moist and delicious, on top and a sprinkle of toasted flaked almonds. The fruit stews and bubbles away in the oven while the cake puffs and the almonds toast. Perfect spooned, warm, into bowls along with a dollop of softly whipped cream, yogurt or creme fraiche.
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Yield: 3 servings
Radio Pudding (small batch)
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 40 Min
An old, old recipe which has been passed down through the generations. A fluffy and moist cake base studded with plenty of raisins bakes in a lush butterscotch sauce. Simple and delicious. This is a small batch recipe. Simply double to serve more.
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup (50g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup (240ml) hot water
- 1 TBS butter
For the cake:
- 1/4 cup (50g) of granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 TBS butter, softened
- 1/4 cup (120ml) milk
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup (63g) plain all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (40g) raisins
- pinch salt
To serve:
- Vanilla ice cream, warm custard or pouring cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Have ready a baking dish that is roughly 9 by 4 1/2 inches in size. (I use my vintage Pyrex loaf dish.)
- Put the ingredients for the sauce into a medium sized saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring, over medium heat. Allow to boil for 2 minutes, no longer than that. Pour this into the baking dish.
- Cream the butter and sugar together for the pudding batter together in a bowl. Whisk in the baking powder, salt and flour. Whisk in the milk until smooth. Stir in the raisins.
- Spoon the batter in dollops over the sauce in the baking dish.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until risen, puffed and golden brown. You should be able to see the sauce bubbling underneath. It will sink a bit once you take it out of the oven, but that's okay!
- Serve warm, spooned into dessert bowls along with your favorite accompaniment.
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As you will know if you are one of my regular readers, I baked my very first Brioche Bread the other day. I was ever so pleased with how it turned out. It was light and delicious.
I did end up with quite a bit leftover. Lots to use in another way. I thought I would make a bread pudding or French toast, both of which are excellent ways to use up stale bread. I was surprised that I didn't already have a Brioche Bread Pudding on the page actually. I have many other kinds, but not a Brioche version.
I found a delicious and simple version for a Brioche Bread Pudding on The Spruce Eats which had good reviews, so I decided to adapt their recipe for my own uses.
First of all, I cut the recipe down to make only 3 to 4 servings, rather than the original, which was 6 to 8 servings. I just did not need all of that extra pudding hanging around for me to eat it up.
Secondly, I fiddled with the flavors a tiny bit, choosing to use vanilla paste instead of vanilla extract for even more vanilla oomph. I also chose to use dried sour cherries instead of raisins with excellent results. They added a lovely touch of tart fruity sweetness that really worked well.
I really hope you will be tempted to give this a go. It was puffed up right to the top of the baking dish when I first removed it from the oven, but, like all egg dishes, it sank as it rested. This is pretty normal.
You really can't lose with this delicious and simple dessert. It is warm and comforting and makes a great use of all your resources. No waste here!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BRIOCHE BREAD PUDDING
Just a few simple ingredients. This is a real doddle to make and makes delicious use of stale bread.
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, scalded
- 2 TBS butter, cubed
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- 1 tsp brandy (optional)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
- 2 1/2 cups (150g) stale day old brioche bread, cubed
- 1/4 cup (38g) raisins (I used chopped sweetened sour cherries)
I only keep whole milk in the house, but really when you are making a dessert, whole milk is the way to go. It will give you a much richer finish.
I also use salted butter. I don't keep two kinds of butter in the house. There is no salt in the recipe, so it really won't make things overly salty if you are worried about that!
I used some of the brioche leftover from what I had baked the other day. It was perfect!
I used some dried sour cherries that were needing using up. They worked out beautifully with just the right amount of tartness. If you wanted to you could soak them ahead of time, or the raisins as well, in a bit of brandy.
HOW TO MAKE BRIOCHE BREAD PUDDING small batch)
Bread pudding is really one of the easiest pudding/desserts to make. Whenever I make it I wonder why I don't make it more often. Not only does it help to get rid of stale bread, but it is also very delicious! The taste belies the fact that you are feeding your loved ones something stale that they would not otherwise want to eat!
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a baking dish that is 9 by 5-inches in size. Set aside.
Scald the milk. Heat it just until bubbles appear around the edges without boiling. (I do this in the microwave. About 1 minute 30 seconds.)
Whisk in the sugar to dissolve along with the cubed butter. Leave to cool for a few minutes.
Toss the bread cubes together in a bowl with the ground cinnamon and the nutmeg.
Whisk the beaten egg, vanilla and brandy into the milk mixture. Pour this over the bread cubes, tossing to coat all of the bread. Stir in the chopped cherries or raisins.
Pout this mixture into the prepared pan evenly.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and a knife inserted 1-inch from the sides of the dish comes out clean.
Serve warm with your favorite accompaniment.
HINTS AND TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST BREAD PUDDING EVER
If you follow these simple steps, you can be assured of a really tasty dessert with a beautiful texture.
1. Don't be tempted to use fresh bread. It will not soak up the egg custard mixture properly. You want to use bread that is at least a day old. Store market bagged bread is not ideal. If you must resort to that, leave it out cubed, uncovered and in the air for a few hours before proceeding with the recipe.
2. The ideal bread to use for a bread pudding is an enriched bread like a brioche or a challah. Stale croissants also make a great bread pudding.
3. You can leave it plain and unadulterated of course, but never underestimate the deliciousness of adding some dried fruit, chocolate chips (white or dark), nuts or all three to your bread pudding. You can also experiment with different spices. The warm baking spices are the best. Spices like ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, etc.
4. Do not over bake your bread pudding. You want to bake it only until a metal knife inserted near the center comes out clean. The center should still have a slight wobble. Start testing about 10 minutes before you think it should be done.
I so, so, so love bread pudding. This was quite simply fabulous. It was rich and tasty without being overly heavy. I was well pleased that I had used the dried sour cherries in this. They added a lovely tartness which was most enjoyable.
I served mine with some custard sauce which went down a real treat, but pouring cream, thick cream or even ice cream would be just as tasty!
You can find my custard recipe here. Proper Custard. It's really yummy! It is shown on the link with some delicious roasted rhubarb. Tis almost the season for that treat as well!
Is bread pudding a favorite dessert of yours? You might also enjoy the following!
CHOCOLATE BOX BREAD PUDDING FOR TWO - A couple of stale croissants and some leftover chocolates from Christmas. That's all you basically need to create this delicious smaller sized bread pudding, aside from some eggs, butter, cream and milk. I used the caramel barrel shaped chocolates, but you can use any kind you wish. Delicious any which way!
BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING (small batch) - Sized just for two this is a traditional bread and butter pudding, using buttered bread, raisins, milk, eggs, etc. Its simple and delicious. I do believe it is these simple old fashioned desserts which bring us the most pleasure in life.
Yield: 3 - 4 servings
Brioche Bread Pudding (small batch)
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min
A delicious way to repurpose stale bread. Simple, quick and easy to throw together. Serve warm with ice cream, custard sauce or cream for a delicious and comforting dessert everyone will enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, scalded
- 2 TBS butter, cubed
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- 1 tsp brandy (optional)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
- 2 1/2 cups (150g) stale day old brioche bread, cubed
- 1/4 cup (38g) raisins (I used chopped sweetened sour cherries)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a baking dish that is 9 by 5-inches in size. Set aside.
- Scald the milk. Heat it just until bubbles appear around the edges without boiling. (I do this in the microwave. About 1 minute 30 seconds.)
- Whisk in the sugar to dissolve along with the cubed butter. Leave to cool for a few minutes.
- Toss the bread cubes together in a bowl with the ground cinnamon and the nutmeg.
- Whisk the beaten egg, vanilla and brandy into the milk mixture. Pour this over the bread cubes, tossing to coat all of the bread. Stir in the chopped cherries or raisins.
- Pout this mixture into the prepared pan evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and a knife inserted 1-inch from the sides of the dish comes out clean.
- Serve warm with your favorite accompaniment.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
Thanks for visiting! Do come again!!
If you like what you see here, why not consider signing up for my newsletter and/or subscribing/following me on Grow. You can also bookmark my recipes via the Grow platform. Check out the heart on the right hand side of the screen.
I think bread pudding has to be one of the most comforting desserts you can enjoy, especially during the winter months, when the thermometer is dipping down low and we want something to warm us up.
Often in day gone by it would be a common dessert served for school dinners. This was not only because it was fairly economical, but also because it made great use of stale bread so that there was no waste.
One of the nice things about it is that you can use just about any bread or even stale cake to make it. Croissants, brioche, French bread, etc. even donuts!
Yes, you heard that right, donuts! And it doesn't matter what kind of donuts you have, so long as they are plain. They can be yeast or they can be cake. Today I happened to have some stale cake donuts and so I used them with excellent results.
If you don't have stale donuts, just take some donuts and leave them sitting out on the countertop over night. They will be perfect for this pudding at that point.
You will be slicing the donuts in half horizontally through the middle and filling them with jam. You can use any kind of jam which you enjoy. Today I used cherry.
But any kind of jam will work, even lemon curd. Its whatever you happen to enjoy or have on hand.
I love these old fashioned types of puddings. They never go out of fashion. As enjoyable today in the early 21st century as they were in the early 20th or 19th, or dare I say it, 18th.
They are timeless. Do note that this is a small batch recipe. To feed more than three people simply double the amount of ingredients.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE DONUT & JAM BREAD PUDDING
Its simple really.
- 3 stale donuts (either cake or yeast) (cake will give you a softer finish)
- 1 large free range egg, plus 1 egg yolk
- pinch salt
- 3 tsp your favorite jam (today I used cherry)
- 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) whole milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- few drops almond extract (goes wonderfully with fruit)
- 2 or 3 TBS flaked almonds
- sugar to sprinkle
- boiling water
Seriously nothing is more comforting than this pudding.
I can hear people thinking, who has leftover or stale donuts? Well, if you happen to live by yourself as I do, or if you are only two people in your household, then it is quite likely that you do!
We can get these lovely donuts here in Nova Scotia. Mrs Dunster's donuts and they are lovely. Just like the ones grandma used to bake, but they come in a bag holding one dozen, and that's how I end up with stale donuts.
I know . . . I should just freeze them!
HOW TO MAKE DONUT & JAM BREAD PUDDING
Seriously nothing could be easier. You really cannot mess this up, unless you make the mistake of overbaking it.
You want to take it out of the oven while there is still a slight jiggle in the center, but even if you happen to over cook it, it will still be deliciously edible.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. You will need a small casserole dish large enough to hold the doughnuts, halved snugly together, and a larger casserole dish large enough to hold the smaller dish. Butter the small one.
Whisk the eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla and almond together in a bowl.
Warm the milk over medium heat in a small saucepan just until there are bubbles around the edges. (You can also do this in the microwave, about 1 1/2 minutes.)
Slowly whisk the warm milk into the egg and sugar mixture until well amalgamated.
Cut the donuts in half through the middle horizontally. Sandwich each donut back together with a tsp of jam in the middle and then cut into two crosswise. Place the donut arches into the smaller of the casserole dishes, fitting them in next to each other. Mine fit into my dish in two rows of three halves.
Pour the egg custard over top. Place the filled casserole dish into the larger casserole dish and pour in boiling water making sure that it comes halfway up the side of the smaller dish.
Sprinkle the flaked almonds over top and then sprinkle with a bit of granulated sugar.
Pop the whole lot into the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the custard is set. (A knife inserted near the center should come out clean.)
Sprinkle with some icing sugar and serve warm.
And that's it. Your dessert is ready. This is beautiful served warm. I like to dust the top with just a bit of icing sugar to pretty it up. Its soft and indulgent, rich even.
The outside is a bit crisp both from where the donuts crisp up a bit on top and from the flaked almonds. The middles nice and sweet from the jam.
Of course the British way to eat this is spooned into a bowl with some cream or custard poured around and drizzled over top. In North America you might be more inclined to enjoy it with a scoop of ice cream.
The fact is, you will enjoy it. No matter what you spoon over top, even if you don't spoon anything on at all. Yummity yum!!
Donut & Jam Bread Pudding
Yield: 3
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 45 Min
This is comfort food pure and simple and a great way to use up stale donuts.
Ingredients
- 3 stale donuts (either cake or yeast)
- 1 large free range egg, plus 1 egg yolk
- pinch salt
- 3 tsp your favorite jam (I used cherry)
- 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) whole milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- few drops almond extract
- 2 or 3 TBS flaked almonds
- sugar to sprinkle
- boiling water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. You will need a small casserole dish large enough to hold the doughnuts, halved snugly together, and a larger casserole dish large enough to hold the smaller dish. Butter the small one.
- Whisk the eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla and almond together in a bowl.
- Warm the milk over medium heat in a small saucepan just until there are bubbles around the edges. (You can also do this in the microwave, about 1 1/2 minutes.)
- Slowly whisk the warm milk into the egg and sugar mixture until well amalgamated.
- Cut the donuts in half through the middle horizontally. Sandwich each donut back together with a tsp of jam in the middle and then cut into two crosswise. Place the donut arches into the smaller of the casserole dishes, fitting them in next to each other. Mine fit into my dish in two rows of three halves.
- Pour the egg custard over top. Place the filled casserole dish into the larger casserole dish and pour in boiling water making sure that it comes halfway up the side of the smaller dish.
- Sprinkle the flaked almonds over top and then sprinkle with a bit of granulated sugar.
- Pop the whole lot into the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the custard is set. (A knife inserted near the center should come out clean.)
- Sprinkle with some icing sugar and serve warm.
Thank you!!
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