Steamed Cherry Bakewell Pudding

 

We had the missionaries over for supper again tonight.  I do so love to have them over.  There's nothing I like better than cooking for and fussing for big strapping lads!  I feed them pretty regularly, at least once a month in any case!  (That's all we are allowed to do.)  I do so like to spoil them just a tiny bit.



I like to cook them a little bit of something which reminds them of home, and so tonight I did them a big macaroni and cheese,  (which I topped with some sliced tomatoes and crisp strips of bacon), those sausage patties that I did the other day (they were soooo good, I just had to make them again!), a variety of vegetables, and some nice rolls.  I also served a cranberry chutney that I like to make.  It all went down a real treat.  Seconds all around!

 

I wanted to make them a special pudding though . . . or, rather I wanted to make the Toddster a special pudding . . . you all know how much he likes pasta of any shape or form . . . and I wanted to make up for the mac and cheese!

 

Enter Steamed Cherry Bakewell Pudding, served up with a custard sauce.  A dessert right after Todd's old school, school dinner, stodgy heart!!

 

Picture this . . . a lovely moist and buttery steamed pudding . . . filled with the lovely flavour of almonds . . . coming from both the ground almonds and the almond essence used in making the batter . . .

 

Topped with some lovely sweet/tart morello cherry preserves . . . sitting there all scrummily on top of the pudding . . .  and then gilded with an unctuously delicious custard sauce.

 

Dare I say it?  TO DIE FOR!

 

Yep, the mac & cheese was forgiven in a single bite.  RESULT!





*Steamed Cherry Bakewell Pudding*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A delicious steamed pudding stogged full of scrummy almond flavour and slathered with morello cherry preserves.  Served with a custard sauce, this is old school, stodge, deliciousness!

For the pudding:
110g of butter, softened (1/2 cup)
110g of soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
2 medium free range eggs, beaten
a few drops of almond essence
75g of self raising flour, sifted (2/3 cup)
75g of ground almonds (14 TBS)
2 TBS semi skimmed milk
3 heaped TBS of morello cherry preserves (jam)

For the Sauce:
150ml (5 fluid ounces) of milk
250ml of heavy/double cream (8.5 fluid ounces)
50g of caster sugar (1/4 cup fine sugar)
6 large free range egg yolks
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds removed

To make the pudding.  Butter a 1 1/2 pint pudding basin.  Set aside.  Take a large piece of greaseproof paper or foil, make a pleat in the centre and then spray it lightly with nonstick cooking spray, or spray oil.

Cream together the softened vutter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, a bit at a time, until well incorporated.  Stir in the almond essence and then fold in the flour and the almonds.  Stir in the milk to give a dropping consistency. 

Spoon the jam into the bottom of the buttered basin.  Pour the batter over top.  Cover the pudding basin with  the prepared paper or foil and secure in place with some string or a rubber band.  Place into the top of a steamer or large saucepan which is half filled with boiling water.  Cover and steam the pudding for 1 1/2 hours, checking periodically to make sure that  your pot of water does not go dry, and topping up as necessary.

About 20 to 25 minutes before the pudding has finished cooking make the sauce.  Place the milk, cream and one tsp of the sugar into a heavy bottomed saucepan.  Bring to a gentle simmer and then turn the heat down to the lowest setting.  Place the sugar and egg yolks into a bowl and whisk together with a hand whisk until creamy. light and pale in colour.    Continue to whisk and slowly pour the warm cream mixture  into it at a slow drizzle.  Strain the mixture through a fine sieve back into the saucepan.  Add the vanilla pod and the seeds.  Cook, whisking constantly, over low heat until the mixture thickens somewhat.  Don't be tempted to rush this process, or you will end up with scrambled eggs.  The mixture should coat the back of a metal spoon when it is done.  Pass through a fine sieve again and keep warm until needed.

Many thanks to those of you who purchased my little cookbooklet, "A Very Royal Teaparty."  I've gotten some really good feedback from you  on it and it really made my day today!  I do so love it when people appreciate and like what I've done!   (If you haven't seen it, you can take a gander up in the top of the right hand column of this page.)  Thank you all so very much!  You're a peach, as they'd say down in South!