This vegan microwave Scottish Clootie Dumpling recipe is adapted from the Scottish Maw Broons But an' Ben Cookbook recipe, and is 100% vegan deliciousness. 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].
Slices of clootie dumpling can be eaten as a hot pudding with custard or cream, or along with a savoury meal where the dumpling is traditionally sliced and fried in butter to accompany a cooked breakfast. Or enjoy a wedge spread with vegan butter along with a nice cuppa for a festive treat.
This vegan Scottish clottie 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 acts the same as a traditional clootie, and once cool it can be sliced thin and fried in vegan butter, which is traditional, if liked!
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
This vegan clootie dumpling recipe does not contain eggs, butter, or dairy, and it uses vegan suet as opposed to beef suet. The vegan suet was the Suma vegan suet brand, but Atora also have a vegetable suet available.
If veggie suet is hard to come by or too expensive, then just use a vegan margarine, butter or shortening that is suitable for cooking or baking with. Stork baking spread is a good choice as its always worked for my family's baking.
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 cloot into cold water, before leaving the dumpling to dry 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 vegan 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 in that 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 treat that tastes just like a regular clootie dumpling.
How to prepare microwave vegan Scottish clootie dumpling
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!
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].
Next add the golden syrup [or black treacle/light molasses] and soya milk [or your usual milk].
Give all the ingredients a good mix and decant into a greased microwave-safe bowl. I used a 4 pint [2 litre/ just over 2 quarts] glass circular Pyrex casserole dish.
Cover with food wrap or an alternative and poke a few holes to allow steam to escape.
Cook in the microwave at the full setting until done. I used a 700 Watt microwave and the clootie was cooked after 23 minutes.
Once cooked leave for 5 minutes before removing from the bowl.
Place the clootie onto a baking tray, sprinkle with caster sugar, and bake on a low heat within the oven for 15 minutes.
This will dry out the crust creating a crispy sweet edge.
Clootie dumpling can be served hot with custard, cream, or ice cream. For an easy vegan custard recipe that uses custard powder, there is a method included within the recipe notes section [above the recipe] of our jam and coconut sponge recipe.
If you have any brandy or orange butter then add a pat of this over the top just as you would for a Christmas pudding. We have an easy recipe for vegan brandy or orange butter over on our slow cooker Christmas pudding recipe.
Once cool, the clootie will be more easily sliced into thinner pieces 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 vegan butter or margarine and have it as an accompaniment with a tasty vegan breakfast, brunch, or supper.
Recipe notes
Storage
Clootie dumpling will keep somewhere cool and dry for up to a week, possibly a few days longer if the area is very cool 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 even 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.
More tasty vegan bakes to enjoy over the festive season and beyond!
Traditional Scottish Smiddy dumpling
Classic British spotted dick steamed pudding [prepared in slow cooker and a great alternative to Christmas pudding!]
Classic Scottish fruit slice [otherwise known as fly pie/fly cemeteries! tasty alternative to festive mince pies]
Three ingredient Christmas cake [perfect for an emergency festive cake and ideal for kids to prepare]
Old-fashioned spice applesauce cake with cinnamon butter cream frosting [a delicious bake great for impressing any festive guests!]
A slice of clootie dumpling spread with vegan margarine or butter is a delicious way to start the day! Or reheat until piping hot for supper with a good dollop of hot vegan custard, its the perfect way to end the day: tasty, cozy, and warm!
Recipe
Microwave Scottish Clootie Dumpling [vegan]
Equipment
- microwave
- 2 litre [4 pint] microwave safe bowl [such as a glass Pyrex circular casserole bowl]
- food wrap [such as cling film or alternative suitable for microwaving]
Ingredients
- 170 gram self raising flour [self-rising flour]
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda [baking soda]
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 170 gram breadcrumbs [such as whole-meal/plain]
- 170 gram vegetable suet [or vegan margarine such as Stork baking spread]
- 2 tablespoon golden syrup [or black treacle/light molasses]
- 115 gram currants [or replace the dried fruit with a dried fruit mix]
- 170 gram sultanas
- 170 gram dark brown sugar [or light/soft brown sugar]
- 380 millilitres soya milk [or your usual milk]
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 2 teaspoon ginger powder
- 2 teaspoon mixed spice powder [or apple pie spice mix/pumpkin spice mix]
After microwaving:
- 2 tablespoon caster sugar [or granulated sugar]
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir until well combined.170 gram self raising flour, 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 170 gram breadcrumbs, 170 gram vegetable suet, 2 tablespoon golden syrup, 115 gram currants, 170 gram sultanas, 170 gram dark brown sugar, 380 millilitres soya milk, 2 teaspoon cinnamon powder, 2 teaspoon ginger powder, 2 teaspoon mixed spice powder
- Grease the microwave-safe bowl with vegan 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. [I was using 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, as food continues to cook for a few minutes even when removed from the microwave.
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 130 Fan / 150 C / 300 Fahrenheit / Gas 2.
- Run a cake palette knife or an ordinary cutlery knife around the edges of the bowl to loosen them up.
- 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 tablespoon 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 vegan cream, custard or ice-cream.Or at room temperature spread with vegan butter. Cold dumpling can be sliced more easily, and fried with vegan butter and enjoyed along with a vegan cooked full Scottish or English breakfast or with a nice cup of tea.
Notes
- Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not intended to be an exact analysis as ingredients vary.
- Clootie dumpling will keep somewhere cool and dry for up to a week, possibly a few days longer if the area is very cool and the clootie is kept 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 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. Whizz for a few minutes until it is 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
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Thanks so much! Jacq x
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