This steamed pudding is no more difficult to mix than a sponge cake. The cooking of it is slightly more tricky, but if you keep your eye on the pan and make sure it doesn’t go dry, then you will be fine.
You can serve it with fresh cream, custard or this delicious crème anglaise. A crème anglaise is lighter and thinner than a custard, as it contains no flour, which is generally used as a thickening agent, so I think it is perfect for a steamed pudding. The vanilla seeds give the crème anglaise a lovely flavour and, although they are quite expensive, I think they are worth it.
You can make the crème anglaise in advance and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to use it. The steamed pudding is best eaten immediately (although you could microwave it) so try and time the cooking of it for when you have eaten your meal.
This recipe makes a pudding large enough for 4 – 5 portions.
Ingredients for the Treacle Sponge Pudding:
100g butter
100g white sugar
3 eggs
110g self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
115g golden syrup (50g and then a further 65g)
1 tablespoon black treacle
To make the pudding, you will need a basin which holds 1 litre of water and a pan which is large enough to fit the basin in, with a lid on. You will also need some baking paper, foil and string to make a lid on the basin.
Grease the basin well with plenty of butter and then pour 50g of golden syrup into the bottom of the basin. Put to one side for now.
Whisk the butter, sugar and eggs together and when they are properly combined, add the flour, baking powder, treacle and 65g of golden syrup and whisk well for a couple of minutes. Pour this mixture into the basin, on top of the golden syrup. The basin should be around three quarters full.
Use a large piece of baking paper and a large piece of foil to make a lid to go over the pudding basin, making sure that the baking paper is on the bottom and the foil on the top. Tie this lid around the pudding basin with some string. Then tie some more string around the basin, from the bottom to the top, so you can lift the basin out of the pan when it is cooked.
Put the basin in a pan and pour boiling water into the pan, so it reaches half way up the basin. Then simmer for 1 hour 10 minutes with the pan lid on. Keep checking on the water level about every 15 minutes and top it up with more boiling water.
To get the pudding out, lift it from the pan using the string and carefully cut the string and take the foil lid off. Using a knife, go round the edge of the pudding, just to loosen it, then place a large plate upside down on top of the basin and then quickly tip it up, so that the pudding slips out onto the plate.
Ingredients for Crème Anglaise:
280ml full fat milk
3 egg yolks
40g white sugar
Full vanilla pod
Pour the milk into a small pan.
Run a sharp knife down the centre of your vanilla pod to get the seeds out and add them to the milk. Start to warm the milk gently on a low heat.
Whisk the sugar and the egg yolks together in a separate bowl until they are fully blended and then add them to the milk in the pan.
Stir the milk for around 2 minutes until it thickens. When it thickens, take it off the heat immediately. In order to arrest the cooking process, pour the crème anglaise into a cold jug and put the jug in the sink or a large bowl which is partly filled with cold water. This stage is important as you need to stop the crème anglaise from continuing to cook and from getting any thicker. Don’t expect it to look like a custard. It should have the consistency of fresh cream.
Keep it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
Comments