Prune Pudding

Name: Prune Pudding
Total time: 2 h 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 1/2 pound (about 2 dozen medium-size) pitted prunes; 1/2 cup sugar; 1/4 teaspoon powdered cinnamon; 1 1-inch cinnamon stick; 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Recipe from the White House

Adapted by Steven Kurutz

Prune Pudding — Lisa Nicklin for The New York Times

Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes, plus an hour for chilling
Rating: 4(65)
Notes: Read community notes

This smooth, satisfying pudding recipe served at Franklin Delano Roosevelt's White House originally called for leaving the prunes in water overnight. But now that pitted prunes are readily available, an hour’s soak is all you need to speed the cooking process. Sweet, but not overly so, it lends itself to delicious variations: add a bit of cardamom; sprinkle with walnuts; spoon some over thick, creamy yogurt; or try all of these together. The strong cinnamon flavor and dark color make the pudding ideal for autumn and holiday desserts. The portions here may seem small, but as with any dish involving prunes, a little goes a long way. —Steven Kurutz

Featured in: The Depressing Food of the Depression, in ‘A Square Meal’

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

½pound (about 2 dozen medium-size) pitted prunes
½cup sugar
¼teaspoon powdered cinnamon
11-inch cinnamon stick
3tablespoons cornstarch

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Place prunes in a medium-size saucepan, pour in 2 cups hot water and let stand for 1 hour. Transfer saucepan to the stove and bring prunes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes until soft.
Step 2
Drain prunes, reserving the liquid, and roughly chop. Add more hot water to the reserved prune water so it totals 2 cups. Place prunes and prune water back in the saucepan and add the sugar, powdered cinnamon and cinnamon stick. Stir to combine and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, make a slurry by mixing the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water. Add the slurry to the prune mixture and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, to thicken mixture. Remove the cinnamon stick and ladle the pudding into ramekins. Let cool, then chill in the refrigerator. Serve cold.

Ratings

4 out of 5

65 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Virginia6 years ago

I add a half cup of cocoa and it was delicious

Cedarglen6 years ago

Cardamom? Walnuts? Let us not forget that this was depression era food and such added luxuries may not have been used even for FDR's table. Mrs. Nesbitt would not permit it.

Aimee Risch6 years ago

Since it's not the depression, used this recipe as a template and made apricot pudding with cardamom.

Peggy Herron6 years ago

The food was so bad at the White House that FDR hired his own Philippine cooks & had the commissioned in the Navy so they could cook for him on his yacht . No prune pudding was alowed .

Lynn in DC6 years ago

I made this recipe minus the sugar as prunes are sufficiently sweet on their own. I quite enjoyed it but then I ate stewed prunes regularly (no pun intended) for breakfast when I was a child.

Darren6 years ago

Just because that is how it was then, doesn't mean it's not an interesting variation to try now...

Besides, walnuts are a handy windfall foodstuff that probably got well eaten during the depression

carol8 months ago

This pudding is very similar to my Grandmother’s Norwegian sviskegrit (or svedskegrød) which we all loved. She used prunes which she stewed and then removed the pits, added apple sauce and cinnamon. Her son, my father, added a little cream to his dish. No sugar, no thickener! Always a welcome visit to childhood

alacarte1 year ago

My riff: soaked the prunes in hot water along with 2 Earl Grey tea bags for some extra flavor. I removed the bags after the hour of soaking. Added 1/4 tsp cardamom, 2 tbsp cocoa powder and 1/4 cup sugar to the cinnamon (stick and spice). Turned out well! I do wonder why the prunes are soaked whole, drained and then chopped, rather than chopped first before soaking.

Betty1 year ago

I had problems. It seemed to me the corn starch to water ratio for the slurry was off because when I added it to the prune mixture the corn starch turned into gelatinous chunks. So I fished out the chunks and tried again with 3 T. corn starch to 3 T. water and that seemed to work better, but the moment you add the cornstarch and water mixture to the hot prune mixture you have to immediately beat it quickly because if you're too slow, little white pieces that look like cartilage form.

Aimee Risch6 years ago

Since it's not the depression, used this recipe as a template and made apricot pudding with cardamom.

Paula6 years ago

What is the advantage of making stewed prunes into a pudding.
Cornstarch + prunes = ???
Seems like stewed prunes might serve here.

Virginia6 years ago

I add a half cup of cocoa and it was delicious

Lynn in DC6 years ago

I made this recipe minus the sugar as prunes are sufficiently sweet on their own. I quite enjoyed it but then I ate stewed prunes regularly (no pun intended) for breakfast when I was a child.

Rebecca6 years ago

Has anyone made this with brown sugar?

Teresa Hall Briggs6 years ago