This Microwave Scottish Clootie Dumpling recipe is adapted from the Scottish ''Maw Broons But an' Ben Cookbook'' recipe. The Broons are a famous Scottish cartoon book family, while the ''but an' ben'' refers to their holiday cottage which is a ''hame fae hame'', with ''hame'' meaning ''home''! Clootie dumplings are traditionally enjoyed in Scotland during the festive season as well as during the New Year celebrations, and as part of a Robert Burns night meal [25th January 2023].
Our recipe is egg-free so is great for vegans and plant-based diets, but it's also a lovely recipe for anyone who loves traditional recipes and delicious easy recipes.
Slices of clootie dumpling can be eaten as a hot pudding with custard or cream, or along with a savoury meal. For example, the dumpling is traditionally sliced and fried in butter to accompany a cooked breakfast. Or enjoy a wedge spread with butter along with a nice cuppa for a festive treat.
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This Scottish clootie dumpling is light, soft, pleasantly spiced, and has hints of toffee, while the outside has a tasty sweet crisp bite. As the dumpling is cooked within a microwave it has a different shape and texture compare to a clootie steamed within water. However, this clootie dumpling tastes and can be used in the same fashion as a traditional clootie, and once cooled it can be sliced thin and fried in vegan butter, which is very traditional!
❓ What is a Scottish Clootie Dumpling?
A clootie dumpling is a steamed fruit pudding that gets its name from the cloot that is used to steam the pudding within. The cloot is a cloth or muslin bag, but wee Scottish housewives of old would have also made use of a clean pillowcase or tea towel.
A clootie dumping is a traditional Scottish dessert that is often enjoyed during the Christmas and New Year festivities, and it is often part of a Robert Burns dinner. A clootie is similar to a fruit bread or fruit cake but not quite! Its also a little like a Christmas pudding but not as moist, dense or rich in flavour.
Although the clootie is not always enjoyed as a pudding, as many Scots do like a slice of fried clootie along with a savoury meal or as a snack, sliced and spread with butter.
This is not that unusual as fruit puddings were first eaten as an accompaniment to the main meal, such as the popular medieval pairing of having beef and plum pudding together on the same plate.
Scotland has a long history of puddings and dumplings which started as a savoury dish. The pudding or dumpling was prepared with a casing of animal stomachs in which the ingredients were stuffed into and then cooked over the fire.
The first puddings was a way for hunters to use up scraps of meat, especially offal, into a make-shift meal, that could be cooked outside over an open fire. These meals were the origins of the first Scottish haggis, which is also a type of pudding.
The puddings evolved into using a cloth bag to hold the fillings which was tied up with string before being cooked over a fire or within a pan of boiling water. More modern techniques use pudding basins and bowls to steam the pudding within the simmering water.
Most Scottish puddings and dumplings are traditionally prepared with beef suet which provides flavour as well as providing the pudding with a lighter texture. There are so many recipes for clootie dumpling as each family who makes a clootie seems to have their own small variations.
Some clooties do not have any spices added and it can be quite plain tasting but this is preferred by many, while others like a nicely spiced clootie dumpling. Some recipes use golden syrup whilst others claim black treacle is a more traditional ingredient providing a richer flavour and darker colour.
🥬 Vegan Clootie dumping
Our recipe for clootie dumpling is vegan as it does not contain eggs or dairy and it uses vegetable suet instead of animal suet suet. The vegan suet was the Suma vegan suet brand, but Atora vegetable suet also works well.
Alternatively, if you can't source suet you can freeze a block of vegan butter and shred it using a cheese grater. Although, you can also just add vegan margarine, butter or shortening that is suitable for cooking or baking with to the recipe. Stork baking spread is a good choice as it works well for baking recipes.
Traditional clootie dumplings have a sort of skin that develops from the flour that is dusted over the cloth or cloot before the dumpling mixture is added. The skin also forms due to the plunging of the cooked clootie into cold water. Traditionally, after the clootie is plunged into water the dumpling is dried out beside the open fire place that most old houses used to have.
As this vegan clootie dumpling is prepared in the microwave a skin does not form but after the clootie is cooked, it is sprinkled with caster sugar and popped into the oven on a low heat for 15 minutes which results in a crispy sweet skin-like outer crust forming. Although of course the oven stage can be omitted if preferred.
👩🏻🍳 Why prepare clootie dumpling in the microwave?
Clootie dumpling cooked in the microwave is so easy and quick compared to steaming for hours within a boiling pot of water. The microwave is cheaper to operate compared to stove-top cooking so its an ideal method for cooking during the current cost of living crisis.
Best of all no excess cooking water is evaporated into the kitchen which can be a concern as it can contribute to condensation on windows, and damp on the walls and ceiling, especially when homes can't be heated as normal due to rising costs.
Cooking a clootie dumpling in the microwave does result in a differently shaped dumpling, which is not traditional, but the end result is a tasty clootie that tastes just like a regular clootie dumpling.
🥣 How to prepare
Preparing a clootie dumpling in the microwave is the perfect way to save money, fuel and time, and the result is a great big tasty muckle lump of a pudding, that will keep your family in tasty puddings for a good few days! Depending on family size and serving sizes of course!
Oh and by the way, a Muckle lump is a Scots dialect phrase meaning a great amount or a generous portion!
Step 1: First, add all the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl -
Self-raising [self-rising] flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, vegetable suet [or a vegan margarine/butter], breadcrumbs, dark brown sugar, currants, sultanas [or a dried fruit mix], cinnamon powder, ginger powder, and mixed spice powder [or pumpkin spice or apple pie spice mix].
Step 2: Next add the golden syrup [or black treacle/light molasses] and soya milk [or your usual milk].
Step 3: Give all the ingredients a good mix and decant into a greased microwave-safe bowl. We used a 4 pint [2 litre/ just over 2 quarts] glass circular Pyrex casserole bowl.
Step 4: Cover with microwave-safe food wrap and poke a few holes to allow steam to escape.
Step 5: Cook in the microwave. We used a 700 watt microwave and the clootie was cooked after 23 minutes, higher watt microwaves will cook quicker.
Step 6: Once cooked leave for 5 minutes in the bowl before removing.
Step 7. Place the clootie onto a baking tray, sprinkle with sugar, and bake on a low heat within the oven for 15 minutes. This will dry out the crust creating a crispy sweet edge.
🥄 Serving suggestion:
Clootie dumpling can be served hot with custard, cream, or ice cream.
If you have any brandy or orange butter then add a pat of this over the top of the hot clootie just as you would for a Christmas pudding. We have an easy recipe for a vegan brandy or orange butter over on our slow cooker Christmas pudding recipe.
Once cool, the clootie can be easily sliced and is traditionally enjoyed spread with margarine or butter along with a nice cup of tea.
Or, once cool, fry each side of the clootie in butter or margarine and have it as an accompaniment with a cooked breakfast.
A slice of clootie dumpling spread with margarine or butter is a delicious way to start the day especially during the cooler and darker months. Or reheat until piping hot for supper with a good dollop of hot custard - for a cosy way to end the day!
📋 Recipe notes
⏲️ Storing
Store the dumpling in a cool and dry area for up to 7 days, possibly a few days longer if stored within the refrigerator and the clootie is kept wrapped in a layer of parchment paper and a second layer of kitchen foil. Or freeze pieces of clootie for up to 4 months.
♨️ Reheating
Slices of clootie dumpling can be reheated within a microwave. Place a slice onto a microwave safe bowl and cover the bowl with microwave-safe food wrap or a microwave-safe plate. Poke holes in the food wrap and if using a small plate place it over the bowl loosely leaving a small gap at the sides for steam to escape.
Using a 700 watt microwave it takes about 60 seconds for a small slice to reheat through to piping hot, but exact times will depend on your microwave and thickness of the clootie. So reheat for 60 seconds and check to see how hot the clootie is.
If you have any leftover custard then just add this in with the clootie and reheat both within the microwave. This is a sure-fire winter warmer! So tasty.
🧾 FAQ'S
We often get messages and comments from irate visitors to our blog that seem confused about why there are vegan options for traditional recipes.
Our decision to offer vegan versions of family favourites such as clootie dumpling comes from a commitment to inclusivity for those who have an animal-free diet, as well as a passion for keeping cultural recipes alive.
Health and environmental reasons are also important, but ultimately the main reason is that we prefer not to eat any animal ingredients as we simply love animals and wish them no harm.
At the same time we love traditional recipes and learning about the culture and tradition behind them so why should we not offer vegan adaptations?
Adapting traditional recipes to suit modern dietary preferences, makes them accessible and enjoyable for everyone. But, it's also fascinating to note that historically, especially during medieval times, meat and dairy consumption was often restricted on certain days or periods like Lent. This historical context makes our vegan adaptations not just modern but, in some ways, a return to traditional customs.
Besides, many people still have meat and dairy fasts so having traditional favourites that are animal-free are a great help, and at the same time encourage people to eat less meat and dairy which is always a good thing!
By offering a vegan Clootie Dumpling, we cater to a diverse audience, including those following vegan, vegetarian, or other special diets due to health, ethical, or religious reasons. No-one should miss out on enjoying a tasty bite of history!
Cooking the clootie in a microwave saves time so also saves money in cooking fuel. While it may not produce a traditional round clootie, it still has all the tasty flavours of the traditional clootie so its a great alternative. Besides, using a microwave to cook the clootie means that you can prepare and cook a clootie in less than an hour!
If you can't find vegetable or vegan suet, you can substitute it with vegan shortening, vegan butter, or a vegan margarine like Stork baking spread. It's best to avoid using 'lite' or 'light' margarines as they may contain too much water for the recipe.
If you have a baking fat that you normally use with success then you can use that.
Alternatively you can freeze a block of vegan butter and use a cheese grater to shred it up and add it directly to the recipe.
If mixed spice isn't available, you can use pumpkin pie or apple pie spice mix. These blends usually contain similar spices and will provide a similar flavours.
Golden syrup is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup, made in the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar. It's sweet and has a unique buttery flavour. If you don't have golden syrup, you can use black treacle - which is a traditional ingredient for clootie dumpling but light molasses, or a darker molasses can also be used.
The recipe calls for self-raising (self-rising) flour, which contains leavening agents so if you only have plain or all-purpose flour, you can make your own self-raising flour by adding an extra 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and a ¼ teaspoon of salt to the recipe.
For baking we like to use soya milk, but you can use any type of milk according to your dietary preferences or what you have available. Other plant-based milks we like to use for baking are almond and oat milk.
You can use fresh or stale wholemeal or whole-wheat breadcrumbs or white plain breadcrumbs. We used wholemeal breadcrumbs prepared from slices of ordinary supermarket sliced bread.
Add slices of bread to a food processer and pulse until crumbs are formed. Or use a cheese grater to shred the bread into crumbs. Stale bread is perfect for preparing home-made breadcrumbs, any leftover breadcrumbs can be frozen.
🎉 More festive puddings and dumplings
The festive season is a time for cosy homely delicious puddings and sweet dumplings! So we have a few more of our traditional family favourites to share with you - our Slow Cooker Christmas Pudding, and this 1940s Christmas Pudding that can be cooked on the stove-top or microwave.
Although this cake recipe is called a Scottish Smiddy Dumpling its actually baked in the oven and is akin to a traditional delicious sultana loaf cake.
And for a Christmas pudding alternative for those who are not too keen on dried fruit and spices you can't go wrong with a Slow Cooker Steamed Jam Pudding.
***please note: for US measurements click the 'US customary button' within the recipe and the measurements will switch to tablespoons, cups, and ounces.***
📖 Recipe
Microwave Scottish Clootie Dumpling
Equipment
- microwave
- 2 litre [4 pint] microwave safe bowl [such as a glass Pyrex casserole bowl]
- micro-wave safe food wrap [such as cling film or an alternative suitable for microwaving]
Ingredients
- 170 grams self raising flour [self-rising flour]
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda [baking soda]
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 170 grams breadcrumbs [such as whole-meal/ whole-wheat or white]
- 170 grams vegetable suet [or vegan margarine such as Stork baking spread]
- 2 tablespoons golden syrup [or black treacle/light molasses]
- 115 grams dried currants [or replace the dried fruit with a dried fruit mix]
- 170 grams sultanas [golden raisins]
- 170 grams dark brown sugar [or light brown sugar]
- 380 millilitres soya milk [or your usual milk]
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons mixed spice powder [or apple pie or pumpkin spice mix]
After microwaving:
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar [or granulated sugar]
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir until well combined.170 grams self raising flour, 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 170 grams breadcrumbs, 170 grams vegetable suet, 2 tablespoons golden syrup, 115 grams dried currants, 170 grams sultanas, 170 grams dark brown sugar, 380 millilitres soya milk, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 2 teaspoons mixed spice powder
- Grease the microwave-safe dish with margarine.
- Scoop the clootie dumpling mixture into the bowl. Cover the bowl with food wrap and pole a few holes to allow the steam to escape whilst cooking.
- The cooking times for this dumpling will depend on the wattage of your microwave. [we used a 700 watt microwave so cooking took about 23 minutes with an extra 5 minute resting period at the end. An 800 or 900 watt microwave will be quicker]
- Cook on the full setting for 10 minutes.
- Remove the food wrap and turn the bowl around in the microwave.{if using a high wattage microwave your pudding may be already cooked by now, so if it is leave it to sit for 5 minutes before turning it out. But if it looks underdone once removed simply pop it back into the bowl and cook for a few minutes longer]
- Cook for a further 5 minutes. Pop a skewer into the dumpling to see if it comes out clean and look down the sides to see if the colour looks like its evenly cooked. The dumpling will be firm and look evenly cooked over the surface.If not ready, cook for an extra 5-7 minutes.
- Remove the dumpling from the microwave and leave for 5 minutes before removing -food continues to cook for a few minutes when removed from the microwave.
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 130 Fan, 150 C, 300 Fahrenheit, or Gas 2.
- Run a cake palette knife or an ordinary cutlery knife around the edges of the bowl to loosen the clootie sides.
- Place a plate over the top of the bowl and quickly flip the bowl upside down. The clootie should slip out. If once removed the clootie looks under-cooked in the middle simply flip back into the bowl and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Once cooked, place the clootie dumpling onto a baking tray with the bottom side facing upwards. Sprinkle all over with the caster sugar.2 tablespoons caster sugar
- Bake for 15 minutes to dry out the edges a little and form a crispy crust.
- Serve immediately or cool on the baking tray.
- Enjoy warm with cream, custard or ice-cream.Or at room temperature with a slice of clootie spread with butter. Once cold the clootie dumpling can be sliced more easily. It is traditional to fry a slice of clootie and have as part of a cooked breakfast. ***We are a vegan family recipe blog so all our ingredient suggestions are for vegan and plant-based ones but if you have different dietary requirements you can use your usual ingredients.***
Notes
- Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not intended to be an exact analysis as ingredients vary.
- Clootie dumpling will keep in a cool and dry place for up to 7 days, possibly a few days longer if stored within the refrigerator.
- Store the clootie is wrapped in a layer of parchment paper and a second layer of kitchen foil.
- Or freeze slices for up to 4 months.
- Can't find vegetable or vegan suet? Replace it with vegan shortening, vegan butter or vegan margarine such as Stork baking spread. Don't use a lite/light or diet margarine as this may contain too much water for the recipe.
- Mixed spice powder can be replaced with pumpkin pie or apple pie spice mix.
- Instead of golden syrup - black treacle, light molasses or a darker molasses can be subbed in.
- Replace the dried currants and sultanas with a dried fruit mix [those intended for Christmas pudding and cakes].
- If preferred the oven stage can be omitted, and the dumpling will be a softer texture on the outside. It can still be sprinkled with the caster sugar or granulated sugar.
- Prepare your own breadcrumbs by placing slices of bread into a food processor or blender. Pulse until crumbed.
- Not got a food processor? Simply freeze the bread slices and then use a cheese grater to shred the bread into crumbs.
- Wholemeal breadcrumbs was used for this recipe but any type of bread can be used.
Nutrition
💬 Comments
Prepared our Microwave Scottish Clootie Dumpling? We would love to know how you got on with the recipe. Do drop us a comment below and click the star ratings. All feedback very much appreciated. Thanks so much! Jacq x
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