Woodford Pudding, Part Deux

Well, my second whack at Woodford Pudding and it’s like so. Not much to write home about, since it’s not a big improvement over the first one:

However you can see there are marked differences. What did I do differently? Compared to the original recipe (#1 on the list) I simply took out the cup of fruit jam, just to see if the thing would stand on its own two, er…feet. Clearly it didn’t, although it puffed up a little more without the extra weight. It’s lighter in color because ordinarily the jam turns to caramel in the prolonged heat of the oven.

I don’t like the tooth-sticking consistency of jam batters though. It was an old-school technique that allowed homemakers to serve a “fruit” dessert in the wintertime before imported fruit was common. My ultimate plan is to use fresh fruit, but first things first.

So, what now? Well, give it some lifting ability, that’s job one. Right now there’s next to none for some strange reason, so I’ll change the three yolks to two whole eggs, since egg whites are where the bulk of the coagulating proteins are. That should get it upright. Oh, and since the batter doesn’t pour very well without the jam now, I’m going to swap a cup of whole buttermilk for the cup of sour cream. It won’t be as rich, but the acidity (which is needed to activate the baking powder) will be the same. It’s also got that old country feel that I think is called for.

Actually I think I’m going to try it again tomorrow since the deadline is looming.