An Old-Fashioned Apple Pudding: Series 1, Recipe 2

In last week’s post, we read about Martha’s misadventures in the kitchen as a new army wife. Over time, Martha transformed from a cook who could barely boil an egg to one who compiled two cookbooks of her own. The recipes in these books are far superior to the failed lunch she served for her friends, the Wilhems!

These two cookbooks are currently housed in the Arizona Historical Society‘s collections. According to the AHS, the first cookbook dates from 1885 when Martha was at Fort Halleck, Nevada, and the second dates from 1895 while Martha was at David’s Island in New York (MS 1161, Martha Summerhayes Cookbooks). I reached out to the AHS to inquire if obtaining a digital copy was possible, and an incredibly helpful Librarian and Archivist sent me digital scans of a number of Martha’s recipes!* It was such a delight to make one of the recipes Martha herself collected and surely made: Brown Betty.

As you are likely aware, Brown Betty is a traditional American fruit dessert, according to Wikipedia. The fruit is typically nestled between layers of some sort of crumbs, either cracker crumbs, as mentioned in Wikipedia, or breadcrumbs, as in Martha’s recipe. It seems as if most modern recipes for Apple Brown Betty call for baking the dessert in the oven, such as this recipe from Food Network. Martha’s recipe, on the other hand, calls for steaming the pudding in a manner reminiscent of the Christmas plum pudding made famous by Charles Dickens’s Mrs. Cratchit. I had never before steamed a pudding, so I approached this adventure with some trepidation; but, I’m pleased to report that the dish turned out well, all things considered!

To create Martha’s Brown Betty, I followed the recipe as Martha wrote it, with some help from online sources to round out the less explicit details. I cut two apples into small chunks and ripped up some bread to create the breadcrumbs. I certainly could have used a food processor to make the breadcrumbs, but I opted for the easier – or shall I say, more historically accurate – hand method. In a separate dish, I combined one half cup of sugar with a generous amount of cinnamon. Since cinnamon is one my husband’s top favorite flavors, I usually add more than the recipe calls for. I also cut about half a stick of butter into small chunks.

Next, I generously buttered a glass bowl before putting the Brown Betty together. I followed Martha’s directions by first adding a layer of apples, then some cinnamon and sugar, some pieces of butter, and finally a portion of the breadcrumbs. I continued this process until all of the ingredients were in the dish. Much to my relief, it was a near perfect fit!

At this point, Martha’s directions are less explicit. She must have had great trust in her readers’ cooking skills, because all the instruction she provided was to “Cover closely, and steam.” As I mentioned, this was my first time steaming a pudding, so I felt that I needed a little more help than that. Thus, I turned to one of my favorite historical cooking YouTube channels for advice. English Heritage has produced a tremendous series based on the recipes of the head cook at Audley End House, Mrs. Crocombe. The video entitled, “How to Make Eve’s Pudding – The Victorian Way,” features an immensely helpful tutorial on steaming a pudding. Following the basic steps as explained in the video, I buttered and floured a damp tea towel. Next, I wrapped it firmly around the dish, knotted the ends into a sort of handle at the top, and tied the cloth around the dish with some fabric tape.

I then carefully placed the dish into a large pot filled with hot water. Inside this pot, I had placed another dish to elevate the pudding above the water. As an important safety note, please use a steamer basket or something specifically designed for steaming to raise your baking dish above the water. The container I used was entirely wrong, and it bobbed around in the hot water in a most alarming, dangerous way (though I’m pleased to report that injury was avoided). If you attempt this recipe, please do not be like me!

Martha’s recipe does not indicate how long the pudding should steam, but based on some other recipes I looked at, I left the Brown Betty on the stove for an hour and a half. I kept a close eye on the water level to ensure it did not completely steam away and added more boiling water once or twice. I kept the stove set at low, just enough so that the pudding would continue to steam without the water simmering too violently.

Once the hour and a half had passed, I carefully lifted the pudding out of the pot and waited for it to cool before untying the cloth. When I finally did, the pudding had fallen slightly, but it smelled delightful! Most steamed puddings I’ve seen are usually turned out of their buttered dishes; however, I left the Brown Betty in its dish with the rationale that the chopped apples and breadcrumbs would not hold together if unmolded.

When served, the Brown Betty’s appearance was homey and old-fashioned. From a food styling perspective, it was not the prettiest dish I’ve ever made, but the apples, breadcrumbs, and cinnamon and sugar made for a look similar to a cobbler or crisp. The pudding tasted wonderful! It was reminiscent of a buttery, cinnamon apple pie in its flavors, and its texture was pleasant. The apples were not overcooked, but nor were they crunchy. The breadcrumbs absorbed the sweet juices from the apples and the sugar, and the cinnamon permeated the whole dish in a most pleasing way.

I would absolutely recommend this dish if you are looking for some easy comfort food! Though Martha did not give any indication of how she served her Brown Betty, I think a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream, or some whipped cream would be lovely additions. I hope you will try making this to experience first-hand a small, tasty part of Martha’s life. Tune in next week as we follow Martha on the first step of her journey to Arizona!

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*Many, many thanks to Perri Pyle at the AHS for sending me the recipes, and for all her help along the way!

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Bibliography

Arizona Historical Society, MS 1161, Martha Summerhayes Cookbooks. https://www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/upLoads/library_Summerhayes-Martha1.pdf.

Cleere, Jan. “Martha Summerhayes’ Culinary Adventures.” Persimmon Hill Magazine, Winter 2004. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57892bbbb3db2b558b7e34dd/t/5832599ce58c625a7380dd20/1479694755975/jan-cleere-martha-summerhayes-article.pdf.

“Brown Betty (dessert).” Wikipedia. Last modified October 18, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Betty_(dessert).

English Heritage. “How to Make Eve’s Pudding – The Victorian Way.” YouTube. October 20, 2021. Video, 7:57. https://youtu.be/UhQZ4w_RgEw.