War & Peace Pudding, a Canadian Christmas Pudding Recipe
This pudding came to me from Canada, but received it’s name and fame in England during WWII, though it appears England credits Canada with it’s genesis during WWI. (Will someone just claim it for themselves, please?? I’m getting confused!)
The British Ministry of Food was promoting the consumption of carrots and potatoes in desserts to replace more expensive ingredients, such as those found in a holiday Plum Pudding. It caught on, made a home in Canada, and became a holiday staple for many families.
This steamed pudding is chock full of unexpected ingredients, and tastes like spicy, holiday comfort. Steam it for 3 hours, then finish it with a hot toffee sauce.
This recipe is from the kitchen of Grandma Shirley Eason, beloved grandmother of Wendy Eason. Read more about her life and the history of the recipe here.
Though these sorts of recipes aren’t as common in our kitchens these days, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be. These puddings are special events in and of themselves, and really scream “THE HOLIDAYS!”
This recipe calls for #3 size cylinder can. The weight will be somewhere between 40-56 oz of product. They hold 5 3/4 cups of liquid. I recommend sourcing yours from a local supermarket, scrumpf down it’s contents, then wash it out and reuse it. Here’s a picture of what mine looks like.
I ate (most) of the beans, and washed it out. Now it’s my Forever Steamed Pudding can. Wendy repurposed a candied yam can.
Probably the trickiest part of this recipe is finding the right size can. If you’re in doubt, go bigger. Your pudding might end up being a different shape than mine, but it will turn out just fine!
Leave a few inches of room at the top as the pudd’ will expand as it cooks.
Steamed Christmas Pudding
Equipment
- #3 cylinder can
- Large stock pot, with tight-fitting lid.
- Rack for steaming (needs to fit on the bottom of the stockpot)
- Aluminum foil
- Box grater
Ingredients
For Pudding:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup currants
- 1 cup bread crumb, finely ground
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 T buttermilk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda, dissolved in 1 tsp cold water
- 1 T cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1 cup grated Russet potato (peeled)
- Non-stick spray
For Toffee Sauce:
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 T corn starch
- 2 T butter (Shirley's recipe calls for margarine)
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In large bowl, combine all ingredients except grated potatoes and grated carrots. Mixture will dry and crumbly.
- Give grated potatoes a slight squeeze to remove a bit of moisture (they will still be quite wet). Add squeezed potatoes to mixture. Add carrots. Mix thoroughly. From the moisture of the potatoes, it will start looking a bit more like a cake.
- Put large stock pot on stove, with steaming rack in bottom. Put three inches of water in bottom of stock pot.
- Thoroughly spray inside of #3 can with non-stick spray. Pack entire mixture into can, and pack down lightly (not too much.) Make sure there is at least two inches of clearance to the top of the can. Cover with aluminum foil.
- Place aluminum foil covered can on top of rack in stock pot. Cover with lid, and turn on stove to medium high. Steam pudding for 3 hours, checking water level on occasion.
- After 3 hours, remove aluminum foil and touch pudding. It should feel bouncy and fully-cooked. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then invert onto plate. Pudding should slide right out. While pudding cools, make toffee sauce.
For Toffee Sauce:
- In a small sauce pot, whisk together brown sugar and corn starch. Add butter, water and vanilla extract. Whisk over medium low heat until thick and smooth. (Sauce will take awhile to get thick, and you will doubt that it might, in fact, ever get thick. Wendy assures me this is tradition.)
- Serve toffee sauce while still hot over warm slice of steamed pudding.