If you’re lucky enough to have a mulberry tree in your backyard, now is the time to put those delicious berries to good use! In this video, we demonstrate an 18th century recipe for a mulberry pudding that’s surprisingly simple and absolutely delicious.

We are using a recipe from Hannah Glass’s classic 18th century cookbook, “The Art of Cookery.” The recipe features a recipe for an apple pudding that can be easily adapted to use any type of berry, including mulberries. The recipe calls for making a “good puff paste”, which we simplify to a standard pie crust. The berries are mixed into a ball made from the pie crust, tied up in a cloth, and boiled for about 2 hours.

Once the pudding is cooked, we poured in a generous amount of butter and sugar, creating a sweet and fruity treat that’s perfect for any occasion. We suggest serving the pudding hot, with slices of the crust and berries dished out to each guest.

The recipe is adaptable to any type of berry, making it a versatile and seasonal dessert. So, next time you’re looking for a sweet treat to make with your freshly picked mulberries, give this recipe a try!


Ingredients:

1 pound of fresh mulberries

4 cups of flour

1.5 sticks of butter

4 tablespoons of sugar

1 Pudding bag [Available here]

Instructions:

1. Gently wash and dry the mulberries.
2. Chop up your butter, cold, and mix it in with your flour. Avoid over handling, as you do not want your butter to melt.
   • The ratio, by weight, should be 1-part butter to 3-parts flour, and will differ based on how large you’d like your pudding.

3. Once your butter is mixed in, add small amounts of cold water and mix until it forms up into a dough.

4. Flour the inside of your pudding bag, and place in a mixing bowl.

5. Form your dough into a bowl shape and place in the open pudding bag.

6. Fill the dough bowl with the berries, and carefully pinch the dough up and together to cover them. Take care to ensure the crust is totally sealed. Any holes will ruin the pudding while boiling.

7. Close your pudding bag, and boil for 2 hours.
8. Remove the pudding bag from and dip it in cold water before taking the pudding from the bag.
9. Cut open the top to add sugar and butter (to taste).

Hannah Glass tells us to, “serve it up warm.” You can put the lid back on, bring it to the table hot, and cut slices to serve with a portion of the crust and berries for each guest. The texture will be that of a “ball of cobbler.” Enjoy!

Why not grab your slice of mulberry pudding, and maybe a scoop of ice cream (we won’t tell), and head over to Townsends Plus to check out the Townsends Plus original “Unpacking the Pantry: Fixing Herb Pudding.” In this episode, we try to salvage a seemingly cursed pudding recipe, and we get a peek behind the curtain to see the temperamental nature of historical cooking. This, and more original episodes are available exclusively over on Townsends Plus, along with ad free versions of the Townsends content you already love!