I had never heard of Kentucky Pudding until I ran
across it years ago in the Woman’s Day
Encyclopedia of Cooking. I’ve never come across it since, which makes me
wonder whether they made the name up for the cookbook. I can’t remember why I
tried it in the first place, since I don’t usually get very excited about fruit
desserts, but I do remember that I made it with peaches from a tree at work.
They were soft, slightly wrinkled, very juicy peaches, and they needed to be
used right away. They made an excellent Kentucky Pudding. And that is the key—use
good fruit. This is the dessert to make when you find you’ve bought slightly
too many strawberries or peaches at the farmer’s market or produce stand, but
not so many that it’s worth making jam.
I ended up modifying the recipe, as it seemed to
use way more butter than was necessary (about 6 tablespoons, as I recall.)
This dessert tastes wonderful, but it doesn’t look
very impressive, so no photos. I recommend serving it warm in a bowl with some
milk poured over it—or better yet, half-and-half. It reheats well.
Yum.
Kentucky
Pudding
Fruit mix
2 cups diced or sliced fresh fruit (peaches,
strawberries)
½ or more teaspoons sugar, depending on sweetness
of fruit
Dry mix
¼ cup cornmeal
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Liquid mix
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla
For the casserole
2 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400. Melt butter in a round 1-quart
casserole, coating the sides, and sprinkle cinnamon over it. (You may not have
a round 1-quart casserole. An 8x8 glass casserole dish works, or even a large,
oven-safe pottery bowl. If you use the 8x8 or other shallow pan, check the time
early. It may not take much more than 20 minutes.)
Mix cut-up fruit and sugar and set aside. Note:
you can leave the skin on the peaches. It won’t hurt.
Mix dry ingredients and liquid ingredients
separately, then mix together. Add fruit and mix it in. Scoop it into your
prepared casserole. Put it in the oven.
Bake for 20 minutes at 400, then reduce heat to
350 and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until firm. It may not need the
full time.
Cool slightly, then scoop into bowls and serve
with whole milk or half-and-half. Makes about 4 servings.
Till next post.
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