Cocoplum Pudding
As experiments go, I'm going to rate this one a success. I've never made a steamed pudding before and I had to improvise the recipe because there are none specifically for cocoplums. I pulled out my mother's old WOMAN'S HOME COMPANION COOK BOOK and used the recipe for steamed cherry pudding with some modifications. The resulting pudding was dense, moist and mildly berry flavored. I melted some of my cocoplum jelly as a sauce and the contrast was wonderful. This pudding is not too sweet and will remind you of a bread pudding. Feel free to tinker with the recipe, as this was a first attempt and there are many variations to pump up the impact. You could change the spices, add almonds or the cocoplum seeds (I would recommend removing the fibrous skins), add raisins or coconut, use a nice liqueur in your sauce... Be creative! And please feel free to share any variations you create. I am only offering a starting point.
Here is the recipe:
2 cups cooked cocoplum pulp
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup milk
Cream the butter; add the sugar gradually and cream together. Add egg and vanilla until blended. Mix in salt, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves. Once these are well blended, stir in the cocoplum pulp. Lastly, add the flour and milk, alternating a bit at a time and stirring only enough to blend thoroughly.
Pour the batter into a greased and sugared 2 quart mold and cover with a cloth tied securely. (This is done to protect the batter from dripping steam.)
You can use individual molds if you like and these will take less time to steam--30 minutes or so.
The large mold will take about 2.5 hours if you steam it in a large covered pot with about 1" of water in the bottom and a rack to put the mold on, or you can use a pressure cooker and reduce the time to about 80 minutes. I used the pot because my mold was too big for my pressure cooker.
Once the pudding is done, remove it from the steamer and allow to set for a few minutes before you un-mold it. I removed the cloth and put a plate over the mold and just flipped it over. (The pudding did not come free immediately so I just left it and went to play spider solitaire.) When I came back, it had fallen onto the plate and was perfect! How often does that happen? I was delighted.
To make the sauce, mix 1/2 cup sugar with one tablespoon cornstarch in a saucepan. Stir in 1 cup cocoplum juice and bring to a boil. Boil until thickened. If you like it a little tart you can stir in one tablespoon of lemon juice. This sauce can be used over pancakes, too.
Cocoplum pulp: Wash about 200 cocoplums and put them in a pot with enough water to cover and two cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for about and hour or longer, until the plums are soft. Allow the plums to cool and then squeeze to remove the pits. (Set the pits aside to be later shelled and eaten or made into brittle or butter.)
Drain the pulp of liquid through a cheese cloth by squeezing GENTLY. Do not squeeze out all the juice.
The juice can be used to make jelly, sauce or hard candy (future posts).
Bon Appetit!
