This pudding is reminiscent of wintry walks in the frosty woods, log fires and long Sunday lunches.
Sticky, sweet and reviving, this pudding is made for those wintry days – best lingered over with a strong coffee or revitalising cup of tea.
Serves 8
Grease a 1.2 litre pudding basin and line the base with a circle of baking parchment. Spoon a little of the golden syrup over the base.
In a large pan over a low heat, heat the milk and syrup together until the syrup has melted. Remove from the heat and then mix in the breadcrumbs, flour, suet and bicarbonate of soda. Add the eggs, stem ginger, ground ginger, mixed spice, baking powder and salt. Fold together until combined – the mixture should be quite runny. Pour the mixture into the prepared pudding basin.
Cut two large squares of baking parchment or foil and make a wide pleat in the middle of each one. Lay them both over the top of the pudding basin – the pleats will allow room for the pudding to rise. Secure the paper or foil with string tied tightly around the rim of the pudding basin, leaving a length of string to make a handle so that the pudding can be lifted out of the pan easily.
Gently lower the basin into a large pan of boiling water – the water should come halfway up the basin. Cover and leave to steam for 2.5 hours. You may need to top up with more boiling water – do not let the pan boil dry.
When the pudding is ready, very carefully lift the basin out of the pan. Cool a little then remove the foil or paper and loosen the edges of the pudding with a knife before turning out onto a large plate. Serve the pudding with custard, cream or ice cream.
Winter in the Cotswolds is a season of retreat and refuge. Fields lie pale beneath the cold sky, villages seem suspended in stillness and a rare sense of calm and quiet descends over the landscape.
