A traditional British steamed suet pudding containing dried fruit.
First in print 1849 in Alexis Soyer's The Modern Housewife, but the dish predates that by decades as a Victorian nursery and railway-canteen pudding. "Dick" is regional dialect for pudding (likely a corruption of "dough" or "dog"); "spotted" is the dried fruit. The name is genuinely innocent in origin, occasional 21st-century menu rebranding to "Spotted Richard" notwithstanding.
1849 Alexis Soyer recipe — suet sponge studded with currants (the 'spots'), steamed for 90 minutes in a cloth. Custard is non-negotiable; jam is wrong.
A pale, dome-shaped suet pudding studded with currants and raisins (the "spots"), steamed for two hours so the inside is cake-soft and faintly translucent from the suet, served sliced with a heavy pour of yellow custard. Sweet but mostly mild — the dried fruit does the work. Eaten with a spoon, hot. A dry, dense slice means oversteamed or under-fatted.
Beef suet, not butter. Suet's high melting point (40–45 °C) means it stays solid until the pudding is well into the steamer, then melts late and creates the open, light crumb — butter would soften too early and yield a dense pudding. The pudding basin must be tightly covered with greased paper and foil with a pleat (room for expansion); a leaking lid lets in steam and waterlogs the top.
Variations
Plum duff is the rounder Christmas-leaning sibling; spotted dog (Irish soda-bread version) is the unsteamed quick-bread cousin; figgy duff (Newfoundland) uses raisins and is boiled in a pudding bag.
On the Palate
Where Spotted Dick sits in the British flavor cloud
Use beef suet, not butter — its high melting point (40–45°C) holds the fat solid until the pudding is well into the steam, then it melts late to open up a light, spongy crumb.
Ingredients
How it's made
5 steps · 30 min active + 1 hour 30 min waiting
- 15 min
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, suet, sugar, and baking powder. Add the dried fruit and mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- 25 min
Slowly pour in the milk, stirring continuously, until a thick, sticky dough forms. The dough should hold together but not be overly wet.
Watch outThe dough should be thick and sticky but hold together — wet enough to clump, not runny.
- 35 min
Transfer the dough into a well-greased pudding basin, pressing it down gently to remove any air pockets.
- 45 min
Cover the basin with a layer of parchment paper and then foil, securing tightly with string to prevent water from seeping in during steaming.
Watch outTie the string tight under the rim so no steam gets under the cover.
- 510 min
Place the basin in a large pot with enough water to reach halfway up the sides. Bring the water to a gentle simmer and steam for about 1.5 hours, checking occasionally to ensure the water level remains consistent.
Watch outKeep it at a gentle simmer, not a hard boil, for the full 1.5 hours and keep the water topped up.
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