One thing I’ve always been unsure of (and intrigued by) though is steamed puddings. I make a mean self-saucing pudding, it’s so simple I can do it with my eyes closed. But put a steamed pudding recipe in front of me and I get quite flummoxed and confused by the instructions. I also know there are pudding steamer contraptions available, I just don’t don’t need anymore things in my kitchen! For anyone in my position needing a bit of help in the pudding department I definately recommend checking out the Christmas Cake recipe at the Waitrose website.
Waitrose contacted me recently to ask me to check out their site; I ended up coming across my steaming saviour – a series of videos on the in’s and out’s of classic pudding making. I’m such a visual person, sometimes I don’t “get” something until I see it first hand. The Christmas Cakes and Desserts videos ran the gamut of wrapping, steaming and inverting on a plate (eeek, something that always makes me hold my breath). The videos were so spot-on in their technique that my pudding was perfect, firm and thankfully didn’t slip on the floor during inversion (like I am prone to do normally with cakes!).
This banana bread-like pudding is perfect if you’re pressed for time as the holidays close in. I always feel flat out at work as December gets closer and I’ve become very ‘fuss-free’ with my own Christmas cooking preparations as I’ve either had my parents preparing a big feast in Sydney or Polish Christmas with Kam’s mum here on Christmas Eve. This steamed tropical delight is fuss-free (besides topping up the cooking water over a couple of hours), very portable and something I can prepare well in advance as work gets busier. It’s a nice summery steamed banana pudding, perfect for hot Melbourne Christmases – a little bit banana bread and beautifully sweet and fragrant. Top it with some home-made custard and grab a huge spoon!
- Butter or oil to grease
- 125g unsalted organic butter, chopped
- 100g rapadura or coconut sugar sugar
- 3 medium overripe bananes, peeled and mashed
- 200g dried apricots, chopped
- 200g dried pineapple, chopped
- 100g dried peaches, chopped
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp dessicated coconut
- 1 cup spelt flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2½ cups fresh breadcrumbs (I made mine from day-old sourdough bread, you can also buy fresh breadcrumbs from a bakery)
- Custard to serve (see attached recipe)
- Brush a large bowl or basil with butter or spray with cooking oil, then line the bottom of the basin with a circle of baking paper. Put aside.
- Stir the butter, sugar, banana, apricot, pineapple and peaches in a saucepan over low heat until butter melts. Set aside to cool.
- Stir in the eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, coconut and combined flour and then the breadcrumbs and mix until well combined.
- Spoon mixture into the prepared bowl or basin. Place baking paper on a sheet of aluminium foil and grease paper well. Place paper face down over top of basin, making a pleat over the top and wrap around basin tightly. Use baking twine to tie wrapping on securly and tie yourself a handle. Visit Christmas Cake recipes for step by step wrapping instructions (see “Wrapping a Steamed Pudding”)
- Place a metal eggring in the bottom of a large saucepan, then sit pudding on top and add enough boiling water to come half way up the side of the basin. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat and cook for 2½ hours or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Invert pudding onto a plate and serve immediately with custard or keep refrigerated for up to 4 weeks. Visit Christmas Cake – How to for tips on inverting the pudding to serve (see "Lifting and turning a steamed pudding")
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons cornflour
- 3 cups milk (I used soy milk)
- 3 tbsp rapadura sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- In a small saucepan over low heat, whisk eggs, cornflour and milk of choice until smooth.
- Keep whisking on stove top until custard becomes very thick and creamy.
- Turn off the heat and whick in the sugar and vanilla. Serve immediately or keep refrigerated until needed.
