National Pudding Day - our favourite desserts revealed

It’s not like we need an excuse to dive into a dessert – but if we did then British Pudding Day on November 9 fits the bill.
Everyone enjoys a sweet treat and National Pudding Day is a great excuse for indulgenceEveryone enjoys a sweet treat and National Pudding Day is a great excuse for indulgence
Everyone enjoys a sweet treat and National Pudding Day is a great excuse for indulgence

British Pudding Day celebrates the origins of British pudding and how the rich culinary tradition behind baking puddings is still alive and a favorite of many all over the world.

British puddings are different from American puddings in that the former comes in both sweet and savory flavours while the latter is usually a sweet dessert dish.

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British pudding traces its origins to 1305 where the word ‘pudding’ was derived from the Middle English word ‘poding,’ which meant a ‘meat-filled animal stomach.’

English puddings in the 17th century were either savoury – meat-based – or sweet flour, nuts, and sugar. Both flavors became popular among the English. Traditionally, the puddings were boiled in special pudding bags. Most traditional British puddings did not contain meat by the end of the 18th century.

In the 19th century, Bakewell puddings became popular in Britain. These puddings were descendants of the Ancient Roman flan. Unlike other British puddings, the Bakewell pudding had almonds in it.

These are our pick of puddings:

Crumble

A crumble is a dish that can be made in a sweet or savoury version, although the sweet version is much more common. A sweet variety usually contains stewed fruit topped with a crumbly mixture of fat, flour, and sugar. Common fruits used are apple, rhubarb and plum.

Spotted Dick

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The scourge of the dreaded school dinner – spotted dick is a traditional British pudding, traditionally made with suet and dried fruit and often served with custard. Spotted refers to the fruit and dick is a regional term for a pudding.

Eton Mess

Posh person’s strawberries and cream – Eton mess is a traditional English dessert consisting of a mixture of strawberries, meringue, and whipped cream. First mentioned in print in 1893, it is commonly believed to originate from Eton College and is served at the annual cricket match against the pupils of Harrow School.

Eve's Pudding

Eve's pudding, also known as Mother Eve's pudding, is a type of traditional British pudding made from apples baked under a Victoria sponge cake mixture. The name is a reference to the biblical Eve.

Jam Roly-Poly

Jam roly-poly is a traditional British pudding dating back to the early 19th century. It is a flat-rolled suet pudding, which is then spread with jam and rolled up, similar to a Swiss roll, then steamed or baked.

Treacle Sponge

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A treacle sponge pudding is a traditional British dessert dish consisting of a steamed sponge cake with treacle cooked on top of it, sometimes also poured over it and often served with hot custard.

Trifle

Made with fruit, a thin layer of sponge fingers commonly soaked in sherry or another fortified wine, and custard, the contents of a trifle are highly variable; many varieties exist, some forgoing fruit entirely and instead using other ingredients, such as chocolate, coffee or vanilla.

Rice pudding

Rice pudding is made with pudding rice, milk, cream and sugar and is sometimes flavoured with vanilla, nutmeg, jam and/or cinnamon. It can be made in two ways: in a saucepan or by baking in the oven. My paternal nana made her version with evaporated milk – Carnation but other makes are available.

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