British Pudding Day is celebrated on November 9th and isn’t it great it falls on a Monday this year?

Nothing like some comforting decadence to start the week. Puddings can be traced back to the 14th century when it was referred to as “poding” and was an animal stomach filled with meat which was then boiled. So far not so appetising. Happily by the 17th century puddings went through a transformation when boiling mixtures in special bags became popular. Savoury puddings like black pudding or steak and kidney pudding were common but sweet varieties followed as sugar became more readily available and affordable. By the 19th century baked and steamed sweet puddings like bread and butter and Christmas varieties were the bedrock of British cuisine.

Yorkshire pudding is a classic that we have embraced here. The beauty of a good “Yorkie” is their inconsistency – when you bake them they puff up into all shapes. It’s saddening when you go out for Sunday lunch to be presented with a frozen variety that’s flaccid and tasteless. Essentially its pancake batter baked in a pan or mould of smoking hot fat. You could use oil but there are many producers of great quality dripping or lard here that add extra flavour to the finished product. You can bake a big Yorkshire pudding for the recipe here or do smaller ones in muffin tins. Either way they’ve got a sausage, black pudding and onion crumble to spoon into the middle and I’ve added a recipe for onion gravy. For a big one serve in the middle of the table with a big bowl of mash. Smaller Yorkshire puddings could be filled and served as sides for roast pork. And again potatoes are a must – double carbs and double pudding makes for a happy lunch.

There are so many pudding recipes that I could share with you, and have done over the years, but I’ve added one that I’ve been making recently in a skillet. Don’t worry if you don’t have one – a baking dish will do the job. You make a batter with flour, sugar, spices, buttermilk, eggs and melted butter. Spoon into the baking dish and press pear slices over the top and then scatter over hazelnuts. A sugar and spice mix is sprinkled over the top and baked to bubbling golden perfection. The reason why I love the skillet is it cooks evenly and you can bring it straight to the table. Either way this pudding will work well with custard, cream or icecream or all three. Two hearty puddings for the colder weather…..