Steamed treacle pudding

This steamed treacle pudding makes a great, lighter alternative to a steamed fruit pudding. You can serve this comforting pudding with a warm treacle sauce drizzled over the top and a cup of traditional Australian Billy tea.

Credit: Tammi Kwok

• serves

  6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1:50 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 300 g (2 cups) plain flour
• 50 g full cream milk powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 110 g (½ cup) caster sugar
• 100 g suet or butter, chopped, at room temperature (see Note)
• 180 g (½ cup) treacle or golden syrup
• ½ lemon, juiced, plus extra slices to garnish

1½ cups milk may be substituted for water and powder.

Instructions

1. Process flour, milk powder, bicarbonate of soda, 55 g (¼ cup) sugar and suet in a food processor until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. With the motor running, add 375 ml (1½ cups) water and 90 g (¼ cup) treacle until combined. Grease a 1.75-litre pudding basin with a lid, line the base with baking paper and pour in the mixture. Place a large piece of baking paper over the basin and secure the lid on top. (If the basin has no lid, use foil secured tightly with string).
2. Place a clean tea towel in the base of a large pan. Place pudding in pan and fill the pan with enough warm water to reach halfway up the side of the basin. Bring to the boil over medium heat, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 1½ hours or until cooked through and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove pudding and stand for 5 minutes before turning it out onto a plate.
3. To make treacle sauce, heat 2 tbsp water, lemon juice, remaining 55 g (¼ cup) sugar and 90 g (¼ cup) treacle in a small pan over medium heat. Serve drizzled over pudding.

Note

• Suet is fat that surrounds the kidneys of beef or lamb and is available from butchers.

As seen in Feast magazine, December 2011, Issue 4. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.