Spotted Dick

Spotted dick is a traditional sponge pudding made from a suet (mutton fat) pastry which is then sprinkled with a variety of dried fruits such as raisins or currants. Its flavor is slightly sweet since it is only flavored with a small amount of lemon juice. Instead of sugar, the sweetness comes from the custard sauce, which is always served with spotted dick. The unusual name of the dessert comes from two words, spotted, referring to the raisins and currants that are seen throughout the pudding, and dick is believed to come from the shortened Old English names for pudding such as puddog or puddick. The first recipe for spotted dick can be found in Alexis Benoist Soyer's 1849 book called The Modern Housewife.