Figgy Duff Recipe (Ready in 70 Min)

A crowd-pleasing Canadian dessert built around allspice, raisins and molasses — roughly 70 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 8 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.

You'll mainly reach for pan and large pot. At medium difficulty across 8 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's meat-free.

How to make it

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and spices.
Add raisins and stir well, making sure to coat the raisins in the flour mixture.
Add melted butter, molasses and water and mix with a wooden spoon.
Form a ball with the spoon or your hands and put the dough ball in a cotton pudding bag.
Tie the bag, leaving at least 1 inch of room to allow the pudding to expand while cooking.
Boil pudding for 1.5 hours. (In NL, this is typically done in the pot along with Jiggs Dinner, but it can be done independently.)
When the duff is firm, remove it from the boiling water and let it cool slightly before removing it from the pudding bag.
Slice pudding like a cake and serve with the warm sauce of your choice: rum butter sauce, warmed molasses or Molasses Coady sauce (1 cup (250 mL) molasses, 1/4 cup (60 mL) butter, 1/4 cup (60 mL) water) is common in Newfoundland.

You'll use: Pan · Large pot · Saucepan · Whisk

Tips & common questions

How long does Figgy Duff take to make?

About 70 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 8 steps and 10 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.

What can I use instead of brown sugar?

Try white sugar + 1 tbsp molasses per cup. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.

Can I scale this recipe up or down?

Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.

Is Figgy Duff vegetarian?

Its ingredients contain no meat or fish, so it's suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheeses for animal rennet if that matters to you.