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Dessert

Fig Pudding

A steamed pudding made with figs, suet, bread crumbs, eggs, sugar, milk, brandy, and baking powder.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Fig and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,026 recipes. Both carry methyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Fig Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. In a bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, and milk.

  2. Add the bread crumbs, suet, and figs to the mixture.

  3. Stir in the brandy and baking powder.

Steam and serve

  1. Pour the mixture into a large mold or individual molds.

  2. Steam for 2.5 hours.

  3. Serve hot with rich brandy sauce.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Fig + milktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,026 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  3. Fig + breadtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together374 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Fig + brandytop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together222 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Bind the batter and help the pudding set as it steams.
Figs
Provide the main fruit flavor and moist, chewy texture.
Suet
Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich.
Bread crumbs
Give body to the batter and absorb moisture for a tender crumb.
Baking powder
Releases gas to lift the pudding so it is light rather than dense.

The step that matters

Steam for 2.5 hours. Steaming must be gentle and steady so the pudding cooks through evenly without drying out. Keep water at a steady simmer and top it up as needed, since uneven heat can leave the center underset or the edges tough.

Swap the fig

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, milk, bread, brandy):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Figthe original
  3. Apricotfits about as well
  4. Raisinfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, milk, bread, brandy. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

More fig pudding recipes

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