My Great Granny’s Clootie Dumpling

Some recipes aren’t written—they’re carried. Our Clootie Dumpling is one of them.

My mum taught me the way her own granny once did: a widow with five children, long grey plaits twisted neatly behind her head, stirring this very dumpling over an open fire in a great iron pot. On Hogmanay, after bowls of Scotch broth and a proper Scottish steak pie, she would slice into it—soft, spiced, and studded with her signature grated carrot, a quiet rebellion against tradition.

A silver sixpence was always tucked inside, waiting for the lucky one who’d make a wish for the year ahead.

This year, I’ve folded in my own touch: a whisper of miso and vanilla, a nod to the past but made for the family and friends I am shaping now. A bridge between generations, warm with memory, ready for new wishes.

Here’s to heritage, to Hogmanay, and to the hands that taught us how to cook with heart.

Simple ingredients, cooked the traditional way…

Sometimes that feeling of ‘home’ comes from the tiniest of details, like the sound of this pudding bubbling on the stove.

The miso may be modern but it adds a subtle salinity to counter the sweetness of the fruit

This is naturally vegan too, perfect for feeding a crowd..

My Granny used to fry the leftover slices in butter for breakfast, a tradition that we certainly follow…

So why not bring the holidays and Hogmany home this year with this simple tradition, you may just adopt it as your own..

clootie dumpling, christmas pudding, holiday desserts, scottish food, scottish recipes, hogmany, traditional scottish food, traditional food, dumpling, suet pudding, steamed pudding, spotted dick

Yield: 12-14

Author: Suze Morrison

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My Great Granny's Clootie Dumpling

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 3 HourTotal time: 3 H & 20 M

Some recipes aren’t written—they’re carried. Our Clootie Dumpling is one of them.

My mum taught me the way her own granny once did: a widow with five children, long grey plaits twisted neatly behind her head, stirring this very dumpling over an open fire in a great iron pot. On Hogmanay, after bowls of Scotch broth and a proper Scottish steak pie, she would slice into it—soft, spiced, and studded with her signature grated carrot, a quiet rebellion against tradition.

A silver sixpence was always tucked inside, waiting for the lucky one who’d make a wish for the year ahead.

This year, I’ve folded in my own touch: a whisper of miso and vanilla, a nod to the past but made for the family and friends I am shaping now. A bridge between generations, warm with memory, ready for new wishes.

Here’s to heritage, to Hogmanay, and to the hands that taught us how to cook with heart.

Ingredients

• 280g Self Raising Flour, plus extra for dusting
• 40g Caster Sugar
• 40g Light Muscovado Sugar
• 50g Vegetable Suet
• 30g Breadcrumbs
• 2tsp Ground Cinnmaon
• 1tsp Ground Ginger
• 300g Sultanas
• 1 Apple, grated
• 1 Carrot, grated
• 2tsp Treacle
• 1tsp White Miso
• 1tsp Vanila Bean Paste
• 280ml Whole Milk/ Oat Milk

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugars, suet, breadcrumbs and spices with a wooden spoon until homogenous.
2. Stir through the apple, carrots and sultanas. In a separate bowl, whisk the treacle, miso, vanilla and milk and stir through the dry mix.
3. Mis until you have a sticky batter, somewhere between dough and cake batter. Boil a kettle and fill a bowl with boiling eater. Soak a large muslin and lay flat on a surface to air dry for 1 minute. Sift over flour to create a layer (this will form the skin of the dumpling)
4. Spoon your mixture into the centre of the muslin and pull together adjacent corners. Form into a ball and leave enough room for the dumpling to expand before securing with string.
5. Upturn a saucer in the base of a large pan and fill with boiling eater. Carefully lower your dumpling into the pan and boil for 3 hours, taking care to ensure that the dumpling always remains immersed.
6. Remove from the heat and carefully peel back the muslin. Allow to air dry for 1 hour to form a skin. Serve in wedges with plenty of custard, cream or ice cream.

https://gourmetglow.co.uk/recipes/great-grannys-clootie-dumpling

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