Dorothy’s Cottage Pudding

DOROTHY’S COTTAGE PUDDING

As I approach Mother’s Day, it’s a very mixed bag. First and foremost, I am grateful that my mother is still with us; she is doing remarkably well at age 87. I am thankful, each and every day. As a mom, I am saddened that my children are grown, but they are healthy and happy, and that makes my heart happy, each and every day. It’s some of the hardest work I’ve ever done, but I love being a mom.

I am equally saddened that my mother-in-law Dorothy is no longer alive, and that my Brazilian mother, Vanda, lives so far away.

I’m lucky to have had many mother figures as well as my mother, even some aunties who have been influential throughout my life.

This post, Recipe #3 in my GOOD EATS series, is a tribute to them all.

❤ Vanda, um grande abracao e muitos beijos da sua filha Americana. Saudades. ❤

As I think of mom and the mother figures I’ve had, I celebrate them all with a recipe my husband grew up with and loves to this day. The recipe below is doubled.

***DOROTHY’S COTTAGE PUDDING***

3 1/2 C flour                                                                        1 1/2 C sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder                                                2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt                                                                   1 1/2 C milk

1/2 C shortening                                                                 2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat with rotary beater or spoon until smooth. Pour into greased and floured 9″ square pan. Bake. Cut into 3″ squares. Serve warm with hot Vanilla, Lemon, Nutmeg, or Chocolate Sauce. TEMPERATURE: 350 (mod. oven), TIME: Bake 25 to 30 min. AMOUNT: 9 servings. Recipe is from a cookbook Dorothy gave to her mother Lucy, whose Shortcake I featured in my first post in GOOD EATS. The year was 1950.

BUT WHICH SAUCE?

Mix together in sauce pan 1 C sugar and 2 T cornstarch. Stir in gradually 2 cups boiling water. Boil one minute, stirring constantly. Stir in 4 T butter, 2 teaspoons vanilla OR 2 teaspoons lemon juice with 1 T grated lemon rind OR 2 teaspoons nutmeg. Keep hot until time to serve.

When I told my  husband what recipe I was making today, he disappeared for a while.

Later when I walked into the kitchen, I saw this on the counter.

Got it.

For this very basic recipe, I mixed the dry into the wet ingredients, later switching to my power mixer (because I doubled the recipe). I am an old fashioned girl and it filters into my cooking. As such, I prefer hand mixing. There is just something about hand mixing.

I usually use a rectangular pan, but I wanted to see how it came out using my round Pyrex pie pan. It turned out well. It just took a bit longer to bake and I used foil part way through to keep the edges from burning.

While my “bun” was baking, I made the sauce.

And…drum roll, please…the finished product with lemon sauce:

When I gave my husband a plate of Cottage Pudding with Lemon Sauce on it today, his comment was, “Oh, yeah…”

Thank you, Dorothy, for passing down a great recipe.

A Mother’s Day tribute:

❤ Barbara, you are very missed ❤

Here are some of the mother figures in my life. Some I never met, some were never mothers. Each and every one has been influential.

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Please let me know if when you try this recipe, and please come back and comment.

❤ HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!  ❤