Steamed Self-Saucing Plum Pudding

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Steamed Self-Saucing Plum Pudding

serves 4 – 6

Feel free to play around with the flavourings for this pudding. A little cinnamon or mixed spice would add a lovely Christmassy touch. If prunes don’t float your boat, most dried fruit would work, especially fresh dates.

I’ve given quantities and baking times below for different serving sizes. For individual puddings you could bake these in 4 x 1cup capacity ramekins or even tea cups or mugs.

Ice cream of some sort is a must with these puddings. If you’re in the mood for a bit of DIY, I highly recommend the lemon ice cream I featured recently on stonesoup – no machine required!

To tell whether your dish is big enough, measure 4 cups of water into the dish – if they all fit, you’re good to go.

If you don’t have self raising flour, just use plain flour with 1 teaspoon baking powder mixed through. Big NOTE – you need 200g (7oz) brown sugar total, but it’s used in 2 different stages.

100g (3 1/2oz) unsalted butter
200g (7oz) brown sugar
2 eggs
100g (3 1/2 oz) self raising flour
120g (4oz) deseeded prunes, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).

2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and add HALF the brown sugar (100g / 3 1/2oz).

3. Stir and then add eggs, stirring well after each. Lightly mix in the flour until just combined. Don’t worry if there are a few lumps.

4. Stir in chopped prunes.

5. Pour into a 4 cup capacity oven-proof baking dish OR divide cake mixture between 4 x 1 cup capacity ramekins or dishes

6. Combine the remaining HALF of the brown sugar with 1 cup boiling water. Pour over the cake mixture.

7. Cover loosely with a large piece of foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes until puddings are puffy and golden and feel firm on top.

Quantities for Different Serving Sizes

This recipe is super versatile in adjusting. The trick is to get the baking time right, but it’s pretty forgiving.

Serves 2
Halve the recipe and cook in 2 x 1 cup capacity ramekins for 25 minutes covered and 5 minutes uncovered.

Serves 18- 20
300g (10oz) unsalted butter
600g (21oz) brown sugar
6 eggs
300g (10oz) self raising flour
360g (12oz) deseeded prunes, chopped
Bake in a dish that holds 12 cups or in multiple smaller dishes. Baking time for the large dish would be 40 minutes to start then anywhere from 5-20 minutes uncovered.

Prepare Ahead?

You could mix up the cake mix and have it ready to go in your baking dishes up to 4 hours in advance. Then when you’re ready continue from step 6. The best idea is to pop them in the oven to cook while you’re eating your main course. Just remember to set a timer so you don’t forget about them!

Variations

dairy free – replace the butter with vegetable oil.

vegan – I haven’t tried this but I have seen recipes where the eggs are replaced with a ripe mashed banana. And of course replace the butter with oil.

gluten-free – I’ve made these with almond meal (+1 teaspoon baking powder) in place of the flour and they were even better (but more expensive!) than the original. That’s saying something. Gluten free self raising flour would also be fine.

Problem Solving Guide

dry texture – over baking or not adding enough water will both give a dry texture. Next time bake less but for now up the ice cream.

soggy or gluey texture – sounds like it hasn’t been cooked enough or that it hasn’t been baked for the uncovered step – this is critical for getting a lovely golden, slightly crunchy crust. You could pop it back in the oven, uncovered for an extra 5 minutes or so.

don’t like prunes? – replace with 1 -2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger or another dried fruit such as dates or apricots.

not enough sauce – sounds like they’ve been cooked a little too long. Not much we can do now except be generous with the cream or ice cream or try a drizzle of honey.

Serving Suggestions

They’re OK cold, but really come into their own when they’re warm with ice cream gently melting into the sauce. Yum!

Leftover Potential

Fine, although the sauce will probably be absorbed by the cake part. You can either eat cold or reheat in a warm oven for a few minutes. Or roughly slice and toast under the grill (broiler) and lavish with butter.

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