Corn Meal and Fig Pudding
Awaiting Trial Recipe version 1 · Filed by the Court (seed pool) · Adapted from 'Corn Meal and Fig Pudding' — Farmers' Bulletin 565, 'Corn Meal as a Food and Ways of Using It,' USDA, issued Jan. 22, 1914, revised Sept. 1917 (public domain, U.S. federal work). Measures and oven temperatures modernized. Naturally gluten-free as published.
Cornmeal is cooked in milk with molasses and chopped figs, enriched with eggs, and given a long, slow finish in the oven. Partway through, the last of the milk is poured over without stirring, for a soft top.
Why this complexity: Long total cooking time (3 hours or more); Milk is added in two stages.
Ingredients
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 6 cups milk, divided (the original allows 4 cups milk plus 2 cups cream)
- 1 cup molasses
- 1 cup finely chopped dried figs
- 2 large eggs, well beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
Method
- Heat the oven to 325°F (a moderate oven, on the slow side). Butter a deep 3-quart pudding dish.
- Cook the cornmeal with 4 cups of the milk in a large saucepan, stirring, until thickened, about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the molasses, figs, and salt. Let the mixture cool slightly, then stir in the beaten eggs.
- Pour into the prepared dish and make for 3 hours or more. When partly cooked (after about 1 1/2 hours), pour the remaining 2 cups milk over the top without stirring.
- Serve warm. The original notes that finely sliced sweet apples — about 1 pint — can replace the figs.
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