Baked Indian pudding with molasses

Name: Baked Indian pudding with molasses
Total time: 3 h
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 800ml whole milk; 60g fine polenta, or fine yellow cornmeal; 4 tbsp black treacle; 50g dark brown sugar; 25g butter, plus extra for the dish; 1 large egg, beaten; 1 tsp ground ginger; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 0.25 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

A slow baked New England pudding of cornmeal, milk and treacle, dark, spiced and wonderfully soft.

Time3 hr
LevelEasy
Costabout £0.47 a head
Oven150°C (130°C fan)

Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.

6 servings

Ingredients

Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.

800 mlwhole milk
60 gfine polentaor fine yellow cornmeal
4 tbspblack treacle
50 gdark brown sugar
25 gbutterplus extra for the dish
1large eggbeaten
1 tspground ginger
1 tspground cinnamon
¼ tspnutmegfreshly grated

Method

1
Heat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan). Butter a 1.5 litre ovenproof dish.
2
Heat 600 ml of the milk in a pan until steaming. Whisk in the polenta in a thin stream and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring, until thick like porridge.
7 min
3
Off the heat, stir in the treacle, sugar, butter and spices until the butter melts. Cool for 5 minutes, then beat in the egg.
4
Pour into the dish and pour the remaining 200 ml cold milk gently over the top without stirring.
5
Bake for 2 hours, until the top is deep brown and the pudding is set with a gentle wobble. A skin of milky curds will form underneath.
120 min
6
Rest for 20 minutes before serving warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a little cream.

Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.