Figgy Duff — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A traditional Newfoundland steamed pudding made with raisins, molasses, and warm spices, boiled in a cloth bag and served with a sweet butter sauce.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1 Cream the softened butter with molasses in a large bowl, then beat in the egg until well combined and the mixture is smooth.
2 Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt, then fold into the molasses mixture alternately with the warm water until a thick batter forms.
3 Stir in the raisins, making sure they are evenly distributed throughout the batter, then pour into a well-greased pudding mold or a muslin bag tied tightly.
4 Place the pudding mold in a large pot of boiling water (the water should come halfway up the mold), cover, and steam for 1.5 to 2 hours, keeping the water at a gentle simmer.
5 Carefully remove the pudding from the mold, slice while warm, and serve with a traditional Newfoundland butter sauce made from melted butter, sugar, and vanilla.

Did You Know?

Despite its name, figgy duff traditionally contains no figs at all - "figgy" referred to raisins in old English dialect, and "duff" is a corruption of "dough," a naming quirk that has persisted for centuries in Newfoundland.