Molasses is a staple in the south – we use molasses for everything and Molasses Pudding is a southern tradition.
It seemed like everybody’s grandmother made Molasses Pudding and it was always a treat. In some parts of the country, it might be called Molasses Cake, but southerners call it Molasses Pudding. Once you add the Bourbon Sauce, it does seem more like a pudding.
Friend Nancy and I set out to recreate this old-fashioned southern recipe and we did it! We added the Bourbon Pecan Sauce to spice it up. Southerners love molasses and use it everywhere.
Ingredients
For the Pudding
- ½ cup raisins dark
- ¼ cup Bourbon
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 egg if doubling recipe use 1 large egg
- 4 Tablespoons butter ½ stick butter, melted
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 cup self-rising flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For The Bourbon Sauce
- 4 Tablespoons butter 1/2 stick butter
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons cream
- 1/3 cup Bourbon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 1½ quart glass baking dish using something like Baker's Secret cooking spray
Put raisins and Bourbon into small deep Pyrex dish or measuring cup and microwave for 30 seconds. Set aside to steep.
In medium mixing bowl stir together the egg, molasses, melted butter and buttermilk. Add the sugar, flour, baking powder and ground cinnamon. Stir to mix. Drain raisins and add drained raisins to the batter mix. Stir to combine.
Pour batter in to baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a straw inserted into the center of the batter comes out clean.
TO MAKE BOURBON SAUCE
In a small saucepan on low heat add the butter, Bourbon, brown and white sugars, cream, Bourbon and salt. Heat on low until all is dissolved. Continue to keep warm and add chopped pecans. Pour over each piece of Molasses Pudding.
This makes 1 cup sauce.
Serving Suggestions
Serve warm or hot or else it will be grainy. Do not cook too fast or too long; sauce will become grainy.
Serve hot with warm Bourbon sauce drizzled over each piece of pudding cake. If wanted you can add dollop of whipped cream.
Notes
Nutrition
There has been much written about the medicinal uses of molasses. You can read about treating hemorrhoids on the Peoples Pharmacy. Old folks used it for everything.
When my mother was a child, they made their own molasses and the process is fascinating. Melvin Price from Jamesville, NC, still makes molasses and I took a video of making molasses. Lucy (the mule) is certainly the star of this video.
The music in this video is by Molasses Creek, a great string group from Ocracoke Island, part of North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Click on photo to SHARE or PIN for LATER
Molasses is a real southern treat and it is good for you. I can’t wait to make some old-time biscuits with lard and smear them with homemade butter and molasses. Give this recipe a try-it is a good thing to make for a crowd and they will love you.
Big Mill Bed and Breakfast 252-792-8787
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