On a Sunday, I love nothing better than a roast beef supper followed by an indulgent slice of steamed syrup sponge pudding topped with custard. A great British favourite that’s simple to make but tastes divine.

For this recipe you will need a steamer. Use the biggest basket and make sure it is deep enough to hold your pudding bowl.

1hr 45mins – Prep time: 15mins – Cooking time: 1 ½hrs

{Serves: 6}

Ingredients

• 4oz caster sugar
• 4oz margarine, room temperature
• 4oz self raising flour, sieved
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 6 tbsp golden syrup
• 1tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2tsp baking powder

You’ll also need…

• A glass bowl, about 16cm diameter
• A steamer
• Parchment paper
• String

Instructions

1. Lightly grease the glass bowl with some oil or butter. Then add the golden syrup to the bowl.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk sugar, eggs and vanilla essence until frothy and light.
3. Bit by bit, add the flour, baking powder and margarine into the batter, until smooth and creamy.
4. Scoop the batter gently into the glass bowl.
5. Take a piece of parchment paper and create a pleat in the middle of it (this allows for air expansion when the pudding cooks). Place over the top of the bowl. Then add a layer of foil over the top of the parchment.
6. Take the string, and wrap it around the top of the bowl, tying the foil and parchment to the bowl. Trim any excess off with scissors.
7. Place in the steamer and cook for 1½ hours. Take care when removing it!
8. Cut off string and remove parchment and foil. Place a plate on top of the bowl, then invert. The pudding will slide out easily.
9. Serve with custard, or ice cream, or both!

These little fruit cakes are great to share and look gorgeous. It was so much fun to make these and the smells from the kitchen really warmed the house with rich spicy scent of Christmas.

Tools

I used these Kitchen Craft mini pudding bowls to make my puddings, which makes about 8 from the mixture. I also used a small holly cutter, like the smallest one from these Holly Shaped Cookie Cutters to cut the leaves. You’ll also need a large round pastry cutter, sharp pair of small scissors and a cake tester.

1hr 50mins (45 mins unattended) + prep night before (20 mins) – Prep time: 30mins – Cooking time: 1hr

Ingredients

• 25oz mixed fruit
• 11oz Plain Flour
• 8oz Butter
• 8oz Dark Brown Sugar
• 3oz Ground Almonds
• 3oz Glace Cherries – halved or quartered
• 2oz Candied peel, diced finely
• 3 Large Eggs
• 1 Lemon – juice & rind
• 1 Orange – juice & Rind
• 10tbsp favourite alcohol, I used amareto but you can use more traditional rum or brandy
• 1 tbsp Black Treacle (warmed – stand tin in basin of v.hot water)
• 1tbsp apricot jam
• 3/4 tspn Mixed spice
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Bicarbonate Of soda
• 1 tsp Vanilla essence
• 1 tsp Glycerine
• 1/2 pack marzipan
• Good pinch of Salt
• A little bit of flowerpaste or roll out icing
• Red and green food colouring

Instructions

1. Soak fruit, candied peel and cherries in lemon & orange rind and juice in a large bowl. Add 3 tbsp alcohol, then cover and leave, preferably OVERNIGHT.
2. Roll out the flowerpaste and split in two. Make one half green, roll out and cut out small holly leaves (two per pudding). Make the other half red and make holly berries (two per pudding). Leave to harden, preferably overnight.
3. Grease the tins and line the bottoms with greaseproof paper.
4. Sieve flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk eggs.
5. Cream butter, sugar, treacle then add vanilla essence and glycerine, gradually add eggs with a little flour to stop curdling.
6. Fold in remaining flour, then ground almonds, add fruit and mix thoroughly.
7. Turn into prepared tins and smooth tops with wet knuckles.
8. Bake on the lower middle shelf for 45 mins – 1 hr. Keep testing with a testing spike should come out clean.
9. Remove from oven and leave to cool in tin. Then turn out and remove greaseproof paper. I pricked the tops with a toothpick and poured 1tbsp alcohol onto each cake.
10. Roll out 3mm thick piece of marzipan and cut out circles using the pastry cutter.
11. Using the scissors, cut a wobbly edge to create drips. Using the rolling pin, roll out the marzipan topping to spread the drips out more, then stick on by brushing apricot jam onto the marzipan and positioning on top of the pudding.
12. Take the hardened holly and gently poke one end into the centre of the pudding top, and stick the holly berries around their bases using a little more apricot jam.
]]> http://laythetable.com/puddings/christmas-pudding-fruit-cake/feed/ 0 http://laythetable.com/puddings/apple-daim-bar-cheesecake/ http://laythetable.com/puddings/apple-daim-bar-cheesecake/#comments Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:07:21 +0000 Becs http://laythetable.com/?p=66 tweet about Bailey's cheesecake which is an adaptation of a Nigella Lawson recipe. I liked the idea of using Daim bar in the base, but I quite fancied cheesecake with apple as I'd never tried it. In fact, this is the first cheesecake I've ever made!]]>

This was inspired by Creative Review’s tweet about Bailey’s cheesecake which is an adaptation of a Nigella Lawson recipe. I liked the idea of using Daim bar in the base, but I quite fancied cheesecake with apple as I’d never tried it. In fact, this is the first cheesecake I’ve ever made!

3hr 30mins – Prep time: 30mins – Cooking time: 1hr – Cooling time: 2hrs

{Serves: 3-4}

Ingredients

Cheesecake base

• 125g Oat biscuits (I used Hob Nobs)
• 125g Digestive biscuits
• 80g butter
• 3 Daim bars
• 1/2tsp cinammon
• pinch of salt

Cheesecake mixture

• 500g mascarpone cheese
• 100g soft cream cheese
• 3 eggs
• 125g caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1tsp vanilla essence)

Apple mixture

• 4tsp light brown sugar
• 1tbsp butter
• 1 bramley apple, peeled and sliced into 1cm pieces
• 1tsp cinammon

Instructions

Oven temp: 160°C /320°F

1. Make the apple mixture. Melt the butter on a low heat in the saucepan and add the apple. Mix together and allow to cook for 1 minute before adding 2tsp light brown sugar.
2. Cover and allow to cook gently for 3-4 minutes when the apples will go soft. Stir in the cinnamon and remaining sugar. Leave to cool.
3. Make the cheesecake base. Take the Daim bars, put in a plastic bag and beat with a rolling pin until the Daim bars are in rough pieces.
4. Then add the biscuits to the bag and beat again until everything is in fine crumbs but not dust.
5. Melt the butter and combine with the biscuit crumbs in a medium size mixing bowl.
6. Add the cinnamon and salt and mix well.
7. In a 23cm springform pan, press the biscuit mixture down evenly in the bottom of the pan. Place in the fridge to chill.
8. Make the cheesecake mixture. In a large mixing bowl mix add the mascarpone cheese and soft cream cheese. Add each egg one at a time whisking until the mixture is smooth. Then whisk in the vanilla and caster sugar.
9. Add about half of the apple mixture to the cheesecake mixture and fold in.
10. Remove cheesecake base from the fridge and pour mixture on top.
11. By hand, gently add the remaining apple on top, then push into the mixture with a spoon
12. Place in the oven for about 50-60 mins or until the top is just browning.
13. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 hours. Store in the fridge. Serve with a dusting of cinnamon.
]]> http://laythetable.com/puddings/apple-daim-bar-cheesecake/feed/ 2 http://laythetable.com/puddings/pineapple-meringue/ http://laythetable.com/puddings/pineapple-meringue/#comments Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:01:37 +0000 Becs http://laythetable.com/?p=11

This is a recipe that’s been handed down from my grandma, I’ve adapted it a little bit and used individual ramekins but you can also use a larger dish and serve it as one dish.

1hr 40mins – Prep time: 20 mins – Cooking time: 1hr – 1 1/2hrs

{Serves: 3-4}

Ingredients

Sauce

• 1oz plain unsalted butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 1 small tin of pineapple rings (roughly 140g)
• 1/2 pint milk
• 2 dessert spoon plain flour

Meringue

• 4oz caster sugar
• 2 egg whites

Instructions

Oven temp: 120°C /250°F
1. Seperate pineapple rings from juice. Save juice for later. Chop up pineapple into small slices.
2. Heat milk until warm, but not boiling
3. In a seperate pan, melt the butter on a low heat. Mix flour in slowly whisking out any lumps. Cook for a further minute or so until the mixture goes like bread crumbs when whisked to make a roux.
4. Add the juice to the milk and stir. The total liquid should be 1/2 pint. If there’s not enough, add more milk.
5. Stir milk/pineapple juice mixture slowly into the roux whisking to prevent lumps. Stir in sugar and egg yolk.
6. Heat for a further 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens. Stir in pineapple slices.
7. Divide mixture between 3 or 4 ramekins.
8. Whisk egg whites and sugar together until stiff peaks form.
9. Divide meringue between dishes and smooth out with a spoon.
10. Put ramekins on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 1-1 1/2 hours until meringue is hard on top and has gently browned on top.
11. Serve with vanilla ice-cream if desired.
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