The Champion Dumpling Recipe

I was rummaging around in a box of recipes that my Mother had collected and came across this champion clootie dumpling recipe. The Sunday Post offered to send it out and they got over 25,000 requests for it so they printed in their paper and obviously my Mother must have cut it out at the time. I do know it was a favourite with all the family. She made one small amendment to it as you'll note in the picture. She substituted a Milk Stout for the Milk.

(Note: Milk Stout is a dark strong beer. A Cloot is a square of linen cloth - I remember cutting up a pillow case to create one. Currants are actually small raisins - the dried fruit of the Zante grape, originally from Corinth, Greece.)

This is actually a very versatile dish. I remember eating it on it's own, just taking a slice and munching away. We would have it as a sweet, hot with custard or just sprinkled with sugar. Had it for breakfast with bacon and eggs. Hot or cold it is excellent and lasts a good while.

Alastair McIntyre

PS Click on the picture to get a larger one to print out :-)

PPS As I've had several emails saying you can't print this picture out here is the text of it here...

HONESTLY, we’ve never known anything like it. Last week, we offered readers a copy of the champion dumpling recipe from Mrs Jay Baird, Howgate, near Penicuik. We were swamped. By midweek, dumpling (ever had reached epidemic proportions, w had 25,000 applications lying in sackloads around the office. We couldn’t move for them!

So please bear with us while we reprint the recipe and deal with distribution. The recipes will reach you as soon as we can get them out. Meanwhile, to help sufferers of clootie-itis who are suffering withdrawal symptoms, here is the recipe everyone is clamouring for:-

Ingredients — 6oz self raising flour, 6oz brown breadcrumbs, 6 oz suet, 1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, I teaspoon ginger, 4 oz currents, 6 oz. sultanas, 4 oz. soft dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons syrup approx. 1½ cups milk [or Milk Stout].

Method — Place your clout in boiling water. Mix all the ingredients together with the milk to make a fairly soft consistency. Make sure everything is mixed well.

Take the cloot out of the water and wring and they lay it out flat and dredge well with flour. Smooth the flour over the cloot with your hands to get an even spread.

Place the mixture on the cloot, draw it together evenly, leaving room for expansion, and tie the cloot with string.

Put a plate in the bottom of the pot and the cloot and mixture on top of that. Use a large pot, big enough to allow covering the cloot with water. That way there will be no need to top up through the cooking.

Simmer the dumpling for two to three hours. Remove from the pot and put it in a colander in the sink.

Untie the string and gently pull the corners of the cloot apart.

Put a plate over the dumpling in the colander and whip it over.

Carefully peel the cloot away from one corner and you should have a dumpling to match our champion’s.

Mrs Baird doesn't believe in drying off a dumpling, she reckons that makes it hard.

A slightly different recipe