Indian Pudding, which is sort of like a soft spiced gingerbread or custard, will never win an award in the looks department, but is an oddly delicious, comforting sweet dessert dish, served warm often under a scoop of vanilla ice cream, in New England.
It’s also one of the first uniquely American recipes, likely adapted from British hasty pudding by early settlers coming to this country with Indian cornmeal standing in for the more traditional wheat flour.
While cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg are traditional spices used, feel free to experiment with cardamom or other spices you prefer.
(Scroll down for the printable recipe)
New England Indian Pudding
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
4 cups milk3 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing
½ cup yellow cornmeal
½ cup molasses
½ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
3 eggs, lightly whisked
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, optional
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Grease and sugar an 8x8-inch baking dish or pie plate.
In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, bring the milk and butter to a simmer. Stir in the cornmeal and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is bubbling, smooth and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the molasses, sugar, vanilla, and spices until well combined. Pour the eggs into the pan in a slow drizzle, whisking to prevent the eggs from curdling. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish - it will be very runny.
Bake for two hours, until the edges are set and the top is glossy. It’s okay if the middle is still a bit jiggly.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 30 minutes, then spoon into individual serving dishes and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Refrigerate leftovers.
Recipe adapted from the Old-Fashioned New England Thanksgiving episode of Welcome to my Farm.
