Tasty American Pudding From 1941 Honey Cookbook

American Pudding From 1941 Honey Cookbook
Welcome, friends, to another delicious episode of Sunday Morning and the Old Cookbook Show. Today, we're delving into a culinary time machine, exploring a recipe from the 1941 cookbook "Old Favorite Honey Recipes," brought to you by the American Honey Institute. This cookbook, originally published during the Great Depression, aimed to show folks that there was a local, readily available source of sugar - honey!
In the beginning, the book offers valuable hints on how to incorporate honey into your baking and what changes are needed in recipes to do so. Of course, it encourages you to try out the recipes provided in the book. The book also provides insight into the chemical composition of honey, which is quite fascinating. Did you know that honey's composition is similar to high levulose corn syrup, including the amount of levulose?
Now, let's get down to business. We're going to whip up a delightful treat called "American Pudding." It's a simple yet intriguing recipe. The process starts with creaming some butter, mixing in sugar, and combining flour, salt, and baking powder. Then, the dance begins, as we alternate adding milk and flour, creating a cake-like batter.
Next up are "currants," but hold on, these aren't the black or red currants you might be thinking of. In North American or English recipes, "currants" usually refer to Corinthian raisins. So, we'll toss those into the mix, along with some lemon zest for that zesty kick.
Now, we have a buttered baking dish ready to go, and it's time for the star of the show: honey! We're using a lighter-flavored honey today. The honey is combined with butter, a pinch of salt, and just-boiled water. Pour this delightful mixture over the batter, and it's time to preheat the oven to 350°F. Be cautious and place a baking sheet underneath in case it bubbles over.
The oven beckons, and you should bake this creation for 40 to 45 minutes. Once done, let it cool for a bit. This dish is known as an inverted pudding, where the cake rises to the top, and a heavenly sauce forms at the bottom.
And there it is, our American Pudding, or as we'd like to call it, a magical blend of sauce and cake. It's no surprise that honey is the star here, adding a unique sweetness that's pleasantly different from sugar. The currants provide a delightful contrast, and the lemon zest, well, it's there for a reason.
So, why not give this delightful and not-too-sweet treat a try? You might consider adding some dried fruits like apricots or cranberries for an extra twist. Don't forget to serve it warm with cream to cut through the sweetness. Thanks for joining us on this culinary journey, and we'll see you again soon for more delicious discoveries!
American Pudding
¾ cup sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter
⅓ cup sugar
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons currants
1½ teaspoons grated lemon rind
½ cup honey
1¼ cups boiling water
Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder and salt, and sift again. Cream 2 tablespoons of the butter, add sugar gradually, creaming after
each addition. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk and beat thoroughly. Add flour, alternately with remaining milk, a small amount at a time, beating after each addition until smooth. Add currants and lemon rind. Turn into well-greased baking dish, 8 x 8 x 2 inches. Combine remaining butter, honey, water, and dash of salt. Pour over batter. Bake in moderate oven
(350° F.) 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm with cream.
Approximate yield: 6 portions
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[@GlenAndFriendsCooking]

There have been a few comments comparing this recipe to an earlier Québécois recipe called Pouding-Chômeur (unemployed pudding or poor man pudding): kzbin.info/www/bejne/movQkHt4mrSHodE

[@nicoleturgeon-courchesne2212]

Absolutely. I still make my mother-in-law's recipe and the sauce is 50-50 water and maple syrop

[@pattynabozny1503]

That was my thought right away. Glen, you introduced me to Poudin Chomeur - and I fell in love with it! I have since introduced it to family and friends.

[@Nomortem]

I think this with dried cranberries and orange zest instead of lemon would be outrageous!

[@kanganoroo3849]

That would be a great combination!

[@chriscalon8913]

One of my favorite things is watching Glens body language when he tries food. When he moves/dances around you know it's going to be good.

[@elund408]

Buckwheat is not a large commercial crop, it is primarily used as a cover crop at the end of the season which may or may not allow blossoming, the one advantage it does have for bee keepers is that it flowers right up to freeze, so the bees can make honey where they would traditionally not have flowers to work. Buckwheat being such a strong flavored honey is not popular with consumers for table use, so most bee keepers just leave it in the hive for the bees to over winter with taking the more saleable honey to market.

[@Ottawa411]

That is great to know, thanks.

[@Underestimated37]

These kinds of puddings are widely prevalent here in Australia, we just call them self saucing puddings

[@LukeEdward]

I dated someone like that… I think Australian, too…

[@ShinigamisBlade]

​@@LukeEdward😂😂😂😂

[@lindak8664]

I was just coming here to say that 😁

[@dvdosterloh]

Looks to me like you could increase the "cake " portion by at least 50% and still have plenty of sauce. And YES cream!

[@robviousobviously5757]

this concoction is actually new to me.. I was gobsmacked by the quantity of liquid on top of the "pudding batter" the possible combinations of sweet/acidic/fruit are endless.

[@lesliemoiseauthor]

I love the Old Cookbook Show so much.

[@singe0diabolique]

The second you poured the honey/water mixture over the cake, I said to myself, "Saucen cake." 😄

[@cindymichaud7111]

Ha, ha! Julie, "I've got some left..." Glen keeps talking, no cream for Jules! This looks nice. Have a blessed day 💖✝

[@tonyrandall3146]

Are they married? Glen can give her cream later.

[@tdm1319]

I really luv your channel, it combines my favorite subjects cooking and history/genealogy! I inherited a very similar recipe from my adopted grandmother (her father was born in Quebec c1836) "Pouding Chomeur" or Poor Man's Pudding and has been a favorite in our family for generations. Thank you for sharing the wonderful treasures you discover!

[@apathetk]

I bet putting some lemon juice into the sauce in place of some of the water would have been a nice boost to the lemon flavor.

[@lesliespann6420]

I was thinking the same. Juice the lemon used for the zest, and use the juice to replace some of the water.

[@anna9072]

My mom had books of recipes she collected from newspapers and magazines. When I went through her cakes recipes, I discovered that there were somewhere around 10 recipes for a chocolate saucing cake - virtually identical recipes, but with different names. Mom liked chocolate, so every time she ran across one of these recipes she’d try it, like it, and cut it out and put it in her book. I guess it never occurred to her that just because it was a different name it wasn’t necessarily a different recipe.

[@bathbomber]

Urban honey often tastes amazing due to the wide variety of flower species available in gardens compared to the monoculture of farmland honey

[@NotKev2017]

The texture of this reminds me very much of a dish my mother used to make that was delectable. Called Brownie Pudding. ON a cold winter day, nothing was more delightful than coming inside to the aroma of warm chocolate.

[@west8864]

There used be a Betty Crocker mix called Pudding Cake, that called for pouring hot water on the batter before baking. The chocolate version tasted like chocolate cake with chocolate sauce on the bottom. Haven’t seen it in many years

[@jenmetelski185]

Just made this with cinnamon in both the cake and sauce, plus a teaspoon of rum extract. Smells divine!

[@Adam-ox6zy]

YES YES YES Buckwheat honey!!!!! It’s the best, and so hard to come by here in Australia😢

[@itzel1735]

I’m so disappointed the lemon got lost. I love currant and lemon. Maybe juice the lemon into the honey and cut back on the water a smidge? IDK

[@donedwards5301]

Great idea itzel.

[@amme30]

There is a great lemon self saucing recipe from irish times newspaper if you google it.

[@loriki8766]

Exactly what I was thinking!

[@meganpopple9100]

Can I just say, that is an enormous lemon!

[@tracisumner251]

Excellent. Going to share with my daughter, she is the American Honey Queen.

[@bear4221]

I would love to see more recipes from this cookbook.

[@jamesgoel2256]

Keep up the great work! Love the show and it's format. Honey recipe looks delicious.

[@lesliespann6420]

Going to try this, and will juice that lemon and use it to replace some of the water in the sauce. Thanks for sharing this, folks! 💚

[@calamityjean1525]

"... juice that lemon and use it to replace some of the water...." Hey, that sounds like a great idea.

[@Camper-kw5yr]

I too LOVE buckwheat honey. I bought 3 jars this past summer from Jim's Honey at the Rosseau summer market.

[@EbonRaven]

If you use a strongly ginger ice cream, I bet that would be amazing.

[@MichaelBoyle514]

The thing that strikes me about this is the now-archaic use of the term "pudding" here, in what we now would assume is an exclusively non-US use of the term. This is still a pudding in the UK sense of the word, and here it is in an American recipe. Language shifts in action!

[@west8864]

Yes! Though still around in: Indian Pudding, bread pudding, Christmas pudding

[@rowanrobbins]

I love buckwheat honey,too. I have used it in place of molasses when I ran out of molasses at Christmas. It worked very well. Thanks for another great recipe.

[@antheapeter7843]

Looks perfect for our xmas New year summer holidays. Almost like my nanas Australian lemon delicous puding.Anyway love your retro & older baking shows.

[@lornabrownlee968]

We call this a Quick pudding because it is self-saucing pudding and use brown sugar instead of honey. My family likes it with chocolate chips instead of currents.

[@margarethutchens5463]

I agree. Buckwheat honey is wonderful. I found it at our local farmer's market. The first time I tore through a jar of honey. This recipe book sounds interesting.

[@anthonydolio8118]

Yum. Thanks.

[@donnaclayton8644]

Creme fresh or butter on top would be fabulous

[@larsen8059]

I'm so trying this! How intriguing!

[@YvonneSt.Louis81789]

We just finished our first ever jar of buckwheat honey. Got it at a local farmers market here in upstate NY.

[@lynnegordon6749]

Buckwheat honey is my favourite!😋

[@charliegruchy530]

We used to eat a lot of cakes like that when I was a kid, my Mom made them in the 1960s and 70s

[@sharonkinsman4083]

I have been making recipes from the depression for a Museum . . They often used , larger pans to stretch the serving sizes . They were brilliant feeding family’s on so little

[@west8864]

I have a large collection of 30’s cookbooks and as well as personal recipe collections from the period. What museum is are you doing this for?

[@wendywiese419]

That sounds yummy. Comfort food. Thanks Glen.

[@MichaelReidOttawa]

It reminds me of a photo I saw in National Geographic Bees next to a Candy Factory were producing neon coloured honey. Red. Blue Green 😂

[@carolanncamp754]

I would have upped the lemon flavor by replacing part of the water with the juice of that lemon. My mother used to make both lemon pudding cake and hot fudge pydding cake.

[@ubombogirl]

this looks really good says this honey loving gal! on a side note...i usually screenshot when shown info pages out of these old cookbooks...quite interesting that quite a paragraph written about how great honey is for infants and even added to formulas...it actually wasn't until 1978 when the advisories to abstain from feeding honey to babies till after 1 year old due to the risk of infant botulism...wonder how many babies may have contracted it over the course of time before then and there was never a connection made to honey in those cases...nerds like me notice this stuff 😁

[@becausetrains]

I was just looking at that 0:47 and wondering what physicians today would think of recommending honey to infants!

[@sharoncraven3787]

My mother in law made this...but the sauce was made with brown sugar. She called it Hasty Pudding.

[@amartini51]

Maybe the makers of “high levulose corn syrup” should start calling it “corn honey” 😆

[@glass1258]

Thanks for another great show Glen !

[@crystalwright1504]

Yum!! When my husband and I were in those first, broke years we used to love to buy the Sauce'n Cake boxed mixes from the local store for a nice treat once in a while. I love these recipes!!

[@donnacameron4515]

Me too, was a treat.

[@traumajock]

A going-away treat for your feet! Come on, DKA. Looks yummo. I agree with a previous commenter, I'd use cranberries and orange zest, maybe some orange crystal light powder in there too and cut out some of the table sugar.

[@lizajane55555]

This looks so good!

[@robertberns3661]

I liked all comments, from both folks

[@NannaCarlstedt2]

Hi Glen, please, show us more on the exchange sugar/honey theme!

[@petersebborn306]

I always learn something when I watch Glen and Jules. I never new that currants were a type of grape.🍇

[@west8864]

They aren’t - as Glen mentioned they are a different plant altogether. Commercial growers like Sunkist use small sweet grapes instead, and call them “Zante Currants” on the box. Fresh currants are tart and contain small seeds, maybe that’s why I’ve never seen them dried.

[@windlessoriginals1150]

Thank you

[@lindab1792]

My Grandparents kept bees for honey to preserve fruit. Especially helpful during the WW2 years when you had to use coupons for sugar

[@quarlow1215]

I would have to go with cranberries. I have never liked the grittiness of currents. But cranberry orange sounds awesome.

[@norbertlabossiere9402]

Hi Glen -In Manitoba we call this pudding --Poor Man pudding

[@ChrisStefancik]

If you’re looking for a good and robust flavored honey, try Florida palmetto… a little goes a long way but it’s absolutely delicious and unique.

[@hildajenkins9497]

I make a pudding which is very similar to this one except that instead of honey I use golden syrup. I'm in the UK.

[@MichaelReidOttawa]

I love golden syrup

[@irishpixierose]

I've never heard of this before, but is sounds good. Especially with cream. I purchased black honey once and it was delicious, but I've never been able to find it again.

[@sennest]

Glen! 😎👍👍You eat buckwheat honey? I didn't think people even knew about it😯 We are done to the last quarter of our 1 liter jar😢 Very hard to find. Amazing must try recipe, like all your recipes!🎉🤯🤙🤙

[@pflick13]

Yaaahhh, another recipe from the old cook book!! sorry... I just get so excited to see posts from my favorite KZbinrs!!

[@benkramer3194]

We would call that a self-saucing pudding here is Australia.

[@johnniewoodard648]

Too Funny, just last night I made a pecan cobbler. Pecans mixed in melted butter, the cobbler batter poured/spooned over the pecans, brown sugar sprinkled over the batter, and boiling water poured over everything, NO mixing as you build the layers, baked for 45 min. I was very worried how it would turn out. It actually turned out pretty good. Somehow the pecans, water, and brown sugar cooked into a gooey filling, and the batter cooked and mostly floated to the top.

[@rabidsamfan]

That looks like something I should try while visiting family later this year. Just so I don’t eat it all myself!

[@applegal3058]

As soon as you said the cake is at the top and the sauce sank to the bottom, i thought "Sauce N Cake ", and then Julie said the same thing lol

[@brockreynolds870]

Here in Missouri the strong flavored honey is produced by bees that feed on Spanish Needles (Bidens Bipinnata).

[@cathpeterson1944]

luv these sauce cakes, been making few of these since childhood with old fashion recipes handed down in our family

[@michaelfeola6371]

Hi Glen, I enjoy watching your videos and the history behind many recipes. Can you do a video about Italian wedding soup if you have not done one already. I would love to know about its origins and variations. I know what my Sicilian grandmother made although she did not call it wedding soup. it was just chicken soup with meatballs. please and thank you

[@ronaldburleson1099]

I planted buckwheat this fall for my 🐝 here in NC. It was over $100 for a 50 lb bag of seed. That may be y no one has buckwheat honey.

[@HealthyDisrespectforAuthority]

I've never heard of this pudding before but I might have to try it.. I think I can mostly "keto" it. I was going to make shortbread, but I think now, pudding! I have elderberry's..and they go so well with honey. hmmmm *"goes to find pencil and paper*. I need to be able to scratch things off as I go.

[@eastonradio]

Buckwheat honey is the best!

[@Ohmslaw1]

90% sure this is a ENE German recipe. My Oma Suedmeier made something very similar. She called it coffee cooking. It was seasonal and you used what was on hand.

[@sharonkinsman4083]

You have to taste and enjoy thinking about the time this was eaten in..right !

[@geoffspence4997]

Currently having honey with my coffee. Sooths throat nicely. Bloody covid.....

[@littleshopintheshed]

Love your videos, after bingeing for a few days, I knows Glens answer before he says anything. Tasty food dance. Would 50/50 rum/water work aswell?

[@steve1311]

Looks good.

[@Wiencourager]

This would be good with Clover or Knapweed honey, and dried cherries instead of raisins

[@donnacameron4515]

I was so happy to get buckwheat honey this year at the Manitou honey, garlic, maple syrup festival this year. (Manitoba)I agree can’t always get it, when talking to the producer he said as soon as he heard someone had planted buckwheat he zipped over to see if he could put hives up.

[@anenglishlife7210]

I bet thats lovely with creme fraiche/ greek yoghurt..a bit of tang.

[@rebeccaturner5503]

Shoveling it in..... ice cream? Plain cream makes more sense.

[@brockreynolds870]

Unsweetened whipped cream is my go to for anything excessively sweet it really helps to tone it down. I espceially use it on pecan pie.

[@tjs114]

Your downtown honey? Is there a large botanical garden, or park nearby? Unless it is an area where everyone has window planters full of annuals, those bees are working hard to make honey, or they are being fed a lot of sugar water or sugar board. I live in ground zero of the Almond growing part of California, so almond honey (with some light crossing with peaches, cherries and walnuts) is what all of the local source honey is. This recipe would be interesting if you used Sorghum syrup in place of the honey. Maybe diced up dried apricots in place of the currants.

[@GlenAndFriendsCooking]

Toronto has large urban parks and ravines - but these hives were smack dab in the centre of the downtown core. They are feeding on whatever is around.

[@symetryrtemys2101]

It’s not for me to choose which recipes you do, but I noticed there is no pumpkin spice in this recipe?

[@AvivaHadas]

Can you replace honey with Silan (date syrup)?

[@palaceofwisdom9448]

I also really like buckwheat honey, but a little does go a LONG way. I would more closely liken it to a dark molasses than regular honey.

[@ZachsMind]

Is the American Honey Institute even a thing? I googled it and found an American Honey Tasting Society, but if the American Honey Institute ever existed I guess it has since ceased to exist. I wonder how it started and what happened to it..?

[@vlmellody51]

I just made my very first bread pudding, to which I added WAY too much sugar. I wish I had known about this trick with lemon zest. I think it might have made my pudding somewhat more bearable to eat. 😖

[@ventrue24601]

Oh oh....the cousins got put on notice

[@jdub1371]

I know this as a "Sponge Pudding". Lemon is the best flavor as far as I'm concerned but there is also a chocolate version. Sometimes also called a "self-saucing" something or other.

[@west8864]

Betty Crocker boxed version used to be called Pudding Cake

[@gillesallouche7335]

Very reminiscent of pouding chomeur or poor man's pudding cake as the English call it.

[@aconsideredmoment]

Does some fruit (e.g. fresh stone fruit or apple) on the bottom of the dish work in sauce and cake?

[@laris2328]

I'm kinda upset with you Glen. I saw the recipe for the Honey Steamed Pudding. It looked interesting. BUT I couldn't see the whole thing. PLEASE do a video on that one or put a screenshot of it in the comments. I'm always looking for new and different recipes for the holidays. Thank you.

[@coloringanddoodling9751]

!ALGORITHM!

[@asdisskagen6487]

As a second generation American ... I have never seen nor heard of such a thing 😆

[@west8864]

The lemon and chocolate versions seem to be the most popular- have seen recipes in Sunset and Cooks Illustrated. There’s even a chocolate cake topped with vanilla custard version that uses the same inverted batter idea.

[@hdeaver86]

Do you more commonly refer to fructose as levulose in Canada? I'm in America and had never heard that, had to Google it.

[@GlenAndFriendsCooking]

No - it was more of a joke about how language can be used to 'hide' what is sitting in plain sight.

[@57WillysCJ]

My glucose meter just exploded.

[@TokyoJim618]

I saw "American Pudding", so I was expecting a custard pudding or 'Jello' pudding type dessert.

[@calamityjean1525]

I'd be tempted to make the cake part with less sugar if the recipe as given is too sweet.

[@sinswhisper9588]

its a sauce n' cake ... but without using an egg

[@kristinaginorio1344]

Or maybe cut back on the quantity of honey&water.

[@trevornichol6913]

Make this a with brown sugar. We called it “poor man’s pudding”. And no lemon

[@GlenAndFriendsCooking]

Maple syrup - Pouding-Chômeur (unemployed pudding): kzbin.info/www/bejne/movQkHt4mrSHodE

[@theuglybagelcompany5525]

Whipped Cream with no sugar with a citrus extract?

[@suzannebrown945]

💕

[@seano1642]

CREAM is always good on stuff! So this is really a "Bread Pudding"????🤔 I love Honey! Got to get more! Honey and Cream! " The land of CREAM and HONEY!💪🏻👊🏻👋🏻✌🏻