Recipes by Peter Glenville: English Apple Dumplings; Spotted Dick

Peter Glenville's English Apple Dumplings

For Suet Paste:
1 cup grated suet
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsps. baking powder
1/2 cup cold water

Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Add suet, mix well with pastry blender. Add sufficient cold water to form a stiff paste.

For Apple Dumplings:
4 tart apples
1/2 suet paste
1/3 cup light brown sugar (or vanilla sugar made by putting 2-inch slit piece of vanilla bean in the sugar bowl)
6 whole cloves
Raisins (or stoned dates)

1. Peel, core apples. Roll out pastry, cut in round shape large enough to wrap around each apple.

2. Fill the core cavities with brown sugar, cloves, raisins (or stoned dates). Mold paste over the apples. Wet edge of round to close. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees F.) about 1 hour. When nearly done, brush lightly with water, sprinkle tops with brown sugar. Serves 4.

Peter Glenville's Spotted Dick

1 cup suet paste
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup large raisins (or currants)
About 1/3 cup cold water

1. Prepare half of suet paste as directed above but add sugar and raisins to flour mixture before adding the water. Grease and flour a pudding cloth (non-absorbent pastry cloth).

2. Shape dough into a long sausage roll. Tie it in the cloth, secure both ends with string allowing room to expand.

3. Cook in boiling water about 45 minutes. To serve, remove the cloth, slice to serve. Top with soft custard sauce, treacle (golden molasses), jam or stewed fruit. Serves 4.