Synaesthete's Steamed Carrot Pudding

Synaesthete writes in her blog: The last few years the making of the carrot pudding has fallen to me, and frankly, if I can make it, anybody can. I have very little patience with fiddly recipes that take all afternoon (or worse, all day) to put together, or which involve ingredients nobody has ever heard of. But if you want a rich, hearty, fruity pudding to serve to guests during the holidays, this one is a good bet.

Blend or sift together:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice

Stir in:
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup currants

Combine well to coat the fruit and set aside.

Cream together:
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar

Dissolve:
1/2 tsp. baking soda in 1 well-beaten egg

Gradually add soda/egg to the creamed mixture.

Stir in to creamed mixture:
3/4 cup grated raw carrot
3/4 cup grated raw potato
3/4 cup soft bread crumbs

Add fruit/flour mixture and combine thoroughly.

Turn batter into well-greased one-quart mould, cover with a double layer of aluminum foil and tie in place with string to keep foil from popping off as pudding expands.

In a large covered pot of boiling water, steam pudding for 2 1/2 hrs (you may have to turn a heatproof bowl upside down and set the pudding on this to keep it out of the water -- me, I use my pressure cooker with the steamer insert and it works great). Remove string and aluminum foil, and place pudding in a preheated 350-degree oven for 10 minutes. Re-cover, and store in fridge or freezer until needed.

Serve hot with lemon or hard sauce. To reheat, steam 30 minutes or microwave until warm.

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HARD SAUCE

1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups warm water
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. vanilla

Combine brown sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Add warm water gradually, stirring constantly.

Cook and stir over low heat until thick and smooth (about 3-5 minutes). Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla. Serve hot.

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All I can add to this is: yum.