Spotted Dick Pudding

I first saw this can of Heinz Spotted Dick at the local Brit Shoppe here in San Diego and I couldn't believe my eyes. Apparently this is a common pudding, or dessert, in Britain. The name "dick" means dog, so it's a pudding called "spotted dog." Hmm, interesting. Then, after I found a recipe for this unusual pudding, I noticed the recipe calls for suet, which I had never heard of. Suet is the hard fat from around the kidneys of cows and sheep. It's not really lard because it has a higher melting point, but it's animal fat nonetheless. If you can't find suet, you can substitute it with pork fat drippings. Um, yum????

INGREDIENTS (makes 4)

• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup shredded suet or pork fat drippings
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup currants or raisins
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. sugar
• The zest of one lemon
• Pinch Salt

Mix all of the dry ingredients, including the grated lemon zest, together. Add the suet and enough milk to produce soft dough, about a 1/2 cup of milk.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll out the dough into 3" to 4" balls (dumplings) and wrap them in a couple of layers of cheesecloth. Place the balls in the steamer and cover tightly. Steam for 1½ to 2 hours. Serve cut into thick slices and top them off with orange marmalade. Those crazy Brits!