Old New England baked pudding of cornmeal, milk and molasses, warmly spiced and slow-baked until dark and creamy, served warm with vanilla ice cream the way Durgin-Park did. Serves 8.
Indian pudding is one of New England's oldest desserts: cornmeal, then called Indian meal, cooked slowly with milk and molasses until it turns dark, creamy and fragrant with ginger and cinnamon. At Durgin-Park, the Faneuil Hall restaurant that served Boston from 1827 until it closed in January 2019, a bowl of warm Indian pudding with vanilla ice cream was the dessert to order.
It takes a couple of hours in a low oven, but almost all of that is hands-off.
Ingredients
4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, beaten
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Instructions
Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 300°F and grease a 2-quart baking dish.
Cook the cornmeal. Heat 3 cups of the milk in a saucepan until steaming. Whisk in the cornmeal slowly and cook over low heat, stirring often, until thick, about 10 minutes.
Season. Off the heat, stir in the molasses, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Stir a little of the hot mixture into the beaten eggs, then stir the eggs back into the pot.
Bake. Pour into the baking dish and pour the last 1 cup of milk over the top without stirring. Bake about 2 hours, until set at the edges and still soft and creamy in the center.
Serve. Let it stand 15 minutes, then serve warm with scoops of vanilla ice cream.
Tips
The milk poured on top at the end makes the creamy layer that is the best part; do not stir it in.
Leftovers keep, covered and refrigerated, for 3 days; warm portions in the microwave.
Use a light or regular molasses, not blackstrap, which is bitter.
Questions about this recipe
Why is it called Indian pudding?
Early New England colonists called cornmeal Indian meal, since corn came from the Native peoples. Pudding made with it became Indian pudding.
Where can you get Indian pudding in Boston?
Durgin-Park in Faneuil Hall Marketplace was famous for it until the restaurant closed in January 2019. Today it is easiest to make at home.
