Steamed lemon pudding recipe from Winter in the Highlands

Serves 6–8

Ingredients

• 150g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 75g light brown soft sugar
• 25g marmalade 
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 50g soft fresh breadcrumbs (cut the crusts off some bread and pulse in a food processor)
• 100g self-raising flour
• 2 eggs
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 25g marmalade
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 25g golden syrup 
• Double cream, to serve

Method

Use a little butter to generously grease a 14 cm (5½ inch) diameter ceramic pudding basin.

Put the butter, sugar and marmalade into a bowl and beat until pale and fluffy. Add the lemon zest, breadcrumbs, flour, eggs and ginger and mix again until smooth and well combined.

Mix together the marmalade, lemon juice and syrup then pour into the bottom of the pudding basin.

Next spoon the batter into the pudding basin and spread level. Cover the top of the basin with two 24 cm (9½ inch) baking parchment squares. Tie some string around the top to secure it as tightly as possible, then cover with a layer of foil and tie with string again to be on the safe side – you don’t want any water leaking into the pudding.

Place the pudding in a large lidded saucepan and pour in enough boiling water to reach two-thirds of the way up the pudding. Cover with the lid, then place over a low heat and simmer very gently for 60–70 minutes or until you have an internal temperature of 80°C (176°F). If it’s lower, simmer the pudding for another 5–10 minutes and check again. Once fully cooked, allow to rest in the pudding mould for 15 minutes.

Place a plate on top of the pudding basin and flip it over to tip out the pudding. If the sponge has stuck, run a very fine knife around the edge to loosen it.

Serve warm with a generous amount of double cream.

Note

If you are making this ahead of time, simply cover the pudding basin with foil and reheat it in a low oven (100°C fan/250°F) oven for 15 minutes, or until warm throughout.

From Winter in the Highlands by Flora Shedden (£26, Quadrille)

Photography by Kimberley Grant