Steamed golden syrup, walnut and raisin pudding with homemade custard

Name: Steamed golden syrup, walnut and raisin pudding with homemade custard
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 30 g Butter; 75 g Sugar; 2 Eggs, beaten; 1 tsp Ground ginger; 1 pinch Salt; 1 ¾ cups Flour, sifted; 1 tsp Baking soda; ½ cup Hot milk; 70 g Walnut pieces (Main); 50 g Golden raisins (Main); 1 ½ cups Golden syrup (Main)

for 6 people

Ray McVinnie

Chef and food writer

VIEW PROFILE

This is my adaptation of a 1968 Edmonds Cookbook recipe for a steamed pudding. It is served with custard, what the French called creme anglaise. Once you know how to make real custard, powdered packet custard is a poor substitute.

Ingredients

30 g	Butter
75 g	Sugar
2	Eggs, beaten
1 tsp	Ground ginger
1 pinch	Salt
1 ¾ cups	Flour, sifted
1 tsp	Baking soda
½ cup	Hot milk
70 g	Walnut pieces (Main)
50 g	Golden raisins (Main)
1 ½ cups	Golden syrup (Main)

Directions

Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and pale. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the ginger, salt, flour and baking soda dissolved in hot milk, then stir in the walnuts and raisins.
Pour the golden syrup into the bottom of a heatproof bowl (I use one that has a 1 litre capacity). Put the pudding mixture on top and gently smooth the top.
Cover well with foil and place in a saucepan just big enough to hold it. Fill with boiling water so that the water comes about halfway up the pudding bowl. Place on the heat and bring to the boil. Cover and boil gently for 1 hour.
Test with a skewer inserted into the middle. It will come out clean when the pudding is cooked. Remove from the heat, lift the bowl out, uncover, run a knife around the sides of the bowl to loosen the pudding and invert on to a serving plate. Serve hot, in wedges, with custard.

Custard

1 tsp cornflour
5 egg yolks
350ml full cream milk
½ tsp pure vanilla extract.
4 Tbsp sugar

Put the cornflour and egg yolks into a heatproof bowl and beat well so there are no lumps. Reserve.
Put the milk, vanilla and sugar into a saucepan and gently bring to the boil.
Remove from the heat and gradually add the hot milk mixture to the egg yolk mixture, beating continuously.
Place over a saucepan of barely simmering water and stir until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Don't let it get too hot or it will curdle. (If it does curdle, pour into a blender or use a wand mixer and blend until smooth. It will be runnier than it should be but will still taste good).