What is spotted dick? Mysterious dessert explained

Uncovering the truth behind one of the world’s most peculiarly-named foods.

It was a cosy Sunday night in 2013 and I was doing what I most love doing: watching the Great British Bake-Off.

The contestants had been asked to make a suet pudding (we’ll get to the meaning of that later) and one contestant decided to make spotted dick. A spotted WHAT?!

I was left flabbergasted… what on earth is a spotted dick and why would someone give a dessert a name like that?

It’s been a while since this moment and I’ve now learnt what spotted dick is, but I’m sure there are plenty of you who have always wondered what spotted dick is too. You might have been too scared to look it up, you may not have even heard of it… but I bet I’ve now got you intrigued.

So today, we’re learning what spotted dick is!

So essentially spotted dick is just an old-timey way to say spotted pudding!

Spotted dick: name and origin

Spotted dick is a type of steamed suet pudding from the UK. It’s very similar to your classic Christmas pudding, but one of the main ingredients in spotted dick is suet, which is a type of fat derived from around the loins and kidneys of lamb or cows.

While it’s hard to pinpoint who invented spotted dick and in what year, the steamed pudding was first mentioned in the cookbook ’The Modern Housewife’ by French chef Alexis Soyer in 1849.

Now, you’re probably wondering how this pudding came to be called spotted dick. ‘Spotted’ comes from the speckles of dried fruit that can be seen on the surface of the pudding. However, the ‘dick’ part is a bit more complicated. In the 19th century ‘dick’ and ‘dog’ were used as words for pudding in an English dialect (spotted dick is also referred to as spotted dog sometimes). So essentially spotted dick is just an old-timey way to say spotted pudding!

Spotted dick is still very much a classic in the UK (like how sticky date remains a fan favourite in Australia).

Spotted dick is a type of steamed suet pudding from the UK.

Spotted dick recipe

If spotted dick sounds right up your alley then it’s your lucky day, because we’ve got the

perfect, foolproof recipe for you to try. If you’re wondering where you can get suet from, it’s actually readily available in the baking section of all good supermarkets – look out for prepared suet mix which is what we use in our recipe. In the UK, it’s usually served with cream or custard but ice-cream is great too, if that floats your boat.

Check out our spotted dick recipe HERE.

More pudding recipes:

Traditional Christmas pudding

Apple and cinnamon scroll custard pudding

Passionfruit self-saucing pudding

For more recipe ideas, go to taste.com.au or check out the Taste Test Kitchen now.

Originally published as What is spotted dick? Mysterious dessert explained