Spotted Dog

Spotted Dog is Spotted Dick’s close cousin, boiled in a cloth instead of steamed. The name comes from the currants “spotted” through the pale suet dough, and the technique dates back centuries to when every British kitchen had a pudding cloth hanging by the stove.

Real shredded suet gives this pudding its distinctive richness and tender crumb. There’s no substitute that quite matches it. Mixed with self-rising flour, sugar, and dried currants, then rolled into a cylinder and boiled, the result is dense, satisfying, and unapologetically old-school.

Two hours of gentle boiling might seem like a commitment, but the hands-on work is barely 20 minutes. Turn it out onto a hot dish, smother it in custard, and serve it to people who appreciate food with proper history behind it.

Kitchen Tips

• Wring the pudding cloth in boiling water and flour it before wrapping. This seals the surface and prevents a soggy, waterlogged crust.
• Leave room in the cloth for the pudding to expand. Tying it too tight will give you a dense, heavy log.
• Keep the water at a steady boil and top it up with more boiling water as needed. Cold water will shock the pudding and affect the texture.
• If you can’t find suet, frozen butter grated on a box grater is the closest workaround, though purists will have words.