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Steamed Sponge Pudding

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Today I bring you a very old fashioned Steamed Sponge Pudding that is so easy to knock together. Served with fresh custard it is a delight in the late afternoon as a family treat, or, after an early Sunday roast when you've had time to let dinner go down! I'm going to put mine into a pressure cooker for 25 minutes as this is the fastest way to cook it. However, this can be made with a microwave, a pan of water or, in an electric steamer; the options are endless! The topping could be marmalade, strawberry jam or golden syrup, you could even use chocolate sauce, let your desires be fulfilled ;-)

Click the Method tab below to see a step by step guide on how to make my Steamed Sponge Pudding along with some pictures as a guide.

steamed pudding with jam topping

ingredients

Here's what you need :¬)

cake ingredients

  • 100g salted butter
  • 75g granulated sugar
  • 25g dark brown sugar
  • 2 beaten eggs
  • 100g self raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 Tbls milk

topping

  • 3 Tbls strawberry jam*

*The topping of your choice that will go into the base of your pudding bowl and make the topping when you tip it out.

method

I love the 'moment of truth' when you finally tip this pudding out. Up until that point it's like a mystery parcel hidden from sight! It really is easy to make and cooking it in a pressure cooker has the job done in no time at all. The most important thing is to make sure that no water can get into your pudding as it is cooking away. I do this by covering the pudding bowl with baking paper and tin foil and then sealing it tightly with rubber bands, then I reinforce that with some string tied tightly around the bowl just to make double sure!

  1. Blend all your cake ingredients together to a smooth cake batter
  2. Grease a pudding bowl or an old plastic Christmas pudding bowl
  3. Spoon your Jam into the base of the pudding bowl
  4. Top with your sponge batter
  5. Cover with grease proof paper
  6. Cover the paper in tin foil
  7. Seal the coverings onto the bowl with rubber bands
  8. Tie some string tightly around the covering
seal the paper & foil
pudding sealed with paper and foil
  1. Place the bowl into the pressure cooker
  2. Carefully add water to a third of the way up the bowl*
  3. Seal the pressure cooker lid
  4. Cook for 25 mins
  5. Remove the pudding bowl from the pressure cooker
  6. Carefully remove the lid**
  7. Pierce the centre with a wooden skewer***
  8. Turn out onto a high sided bowl

*Be careful not to pour water onto the pudding bowl, you want the water to come up to a third of the hight of the bowl.

**Remove the baking paper and foil carefully as the boiling hot steam will burn you!

***The skewer should come out clean when the pudding is cooked. If it comes out with cake mix stuck to it, re-seal the pudding bowl with the paper and foil and put it back in the pressure cooker for another 5 - 10 mins.

steamed sponge pudding
steamed pudding with jam topping

Hmmm! I really expected that jam to melt more than it did! Maybe I'll warm the jam and give it a whisk next time before spooning it into the pudding bowl. But, as it is, I don't think anyone's going to complain :¬P

Serve with hot home made custard to delight the crowd! Or, you can use shop bought ready-made if you like, I just find that a little too sweet for my taste.

no complaints so far...
steamed pudding sliced
...until it's all gone!
just one more slice please
a slice of steamed pudding and custard
thank you :-x

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did :¬)