This clootie dumpling reminds me so much of my husband’s Granny Alice MIlne, she was a lovely lady and treated us to many a plate of Traditional Scottish Broth and a slice of her clootie dumpling over the years.. Everytime its simmering away I think of her and her delicious clootie dumpling that I had the pleasure of tasting a few times.

This delicious clootie dumpling is made and cooked in the traditional way. The whole recipe is really rather easy to put together but is time consuming in the cooking process so bear in mind you will need 3 hrs to cook the clootie dumpling. You can watch the full recipe video below:

So the recipe itself is rather easy to put together but as I mentioned you will need to set aside three hours for the simmering of the pudding and I like to let it rest for about an hour before serving. You can serve it straight away but I feel it cuts a bit better after an hours rest.

Equipment you may need:

• a muslin cloth large enough to hold your clootie dumpling in while it is boiling in the pan
• a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon or kitchen aid style mixer
• a large soup pan big enough to hold your clootie dumpling with water over it too

A thick slice of clootie dumpling is a delicious but heavy pudding. If you wanted to make it a three course meal I would opt for light options for the other two courses like my Scottish Crowdie Cheese and perhaps some Cock a leekie soup as a light main course. You can view these recipes below:

Tips for making this recipe:

• make sure you mix all the ingredients through well to ensure that the flavours and textures are evenly distributed.
• Leave enough space when tying the clootie for the pudding to rise.
• Keep the tempetature on a medium heat on a steady simmer for the entire length of the three hours.

Clootie Dumpling Recipe

• 450g of plain flour
• 450g of raisins
• 225g of suet
• 3tsp of mixed spice
• 2tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of ground cloves
• 225g of caster sugar
• 1tsp of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 3tbsp of treacle
• whole milk

Recipe Instructions:

1. Add the flour, suet, mixed spice, cinnamon, ground cloves, caster sugar, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl or stand alone mixer.
2. Mix really well together and add in the raisins and treacle.
3. Add a splash of milk and stir together. Keep adding a little milk to form a large soft ball of dough. It shouldnt be too sticky and not too dry. You can also add some flour if it gets too sticky.
4. Bring a large pan of water to the boil.
5. Take the muslin cloth and carefully dip it into boiling hot water. Place the hot muslin on a plate to cool.
6. Lay the muslin flat over a large clean bowl and sprinkle carefully with plain flour to cover the muslin.
7. Place ball of dumpling dough into the muslin cloth, which should still be resting over the bowl. The bowl helps to keep the round dumpling shape.
8. Gather the top of the muslin up and over the dumpling dough and tie with some string. Be sure to leave enough space between the dumpling and the knot to let the dumpling rise in size whilst boiling.
9. Place a plate in the bottom of the boiling pan and place the dumpling in to rest on the plate. Add some more water if nessecary to the pan to ensure it is a covered as is possible without any chance of overflowing.
10. Simmer gently in the pan with a lid on for three hours.
11. After the three hours fill a bowl with cold water. Remove the dumpling from the pan and dip into the cold water in the bowl for ten seconds. Remove swiftly and empty the water from the bowl.
12. Place the wrapped dumpling carefully back into the empty bowl and untie the knot. Open out the muslin out to the sides of the bowl. Place a plate over the top of the bowl and carefully tip the dumpling out onto the plate.
13. Sprinkle the entire dumpling with caster sugar.
14. You can start slicing straight away but I like to leave it for an hour or so before slicing as I find it solidifies a little better. Serve with cream and jam or custard.

Tip: Several people have told me that left over clootie dumpling is delicious fried in the pan and served with cream or even breakfast.

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