Not long to go now! We went out for Christmas drinks with our friends in Bath last night and the excitement and anticipation was palpable (my friend Cat and I have nicknamed these few days in December as ‘The Christmas Foreplay’ and it makes me chuckle every year I remember it!)
I was also excited to give my new handbag its first outing.
An early Christmas present to myself and a real bargain in these pre-January sales that are gracing our high streets now! I feel very sensible having bought this leather satchel from Clarks, which to me is synonymous with good quality and that ‘back to school’ feeling. Which leads me nicely onto today’s recipe…
I have a soft spot for old-fashioned ‘school dinner’ puddings and, having inherited my Mum’s sweet tooth, this is one of my favourite!
This isn’t the traditional steamed pudding recipe that involves hours of wrapping and steaming, but a modern and simple twist on a classic, and is a great idea for an indulgent end to your Christmas dinner or Sunday roast.
I added a dash of lemon extract to cut through the sweetness of the syrup, which worked really well.
Depending on the size of the dishes you use, this recipe should make enough for four large or six small puddings
Ingredients
1 large tablespoonful of golden syrup per pudding
100g of butter or margarine, at room temperature
100g of caster sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of lemon extract or flavouring
100g of self-raising flour
How to make it
- Dollop the syrup into the bottom of the pudding dishes (then enjoy licking the spoon!)
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and the flour until smooth
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well each time
- Add the vanilla and lemon flavourings, then the flour and mix until a smooth batter is formed
- Spoon the mixture on top of the syrup, leaving a bit of room for the sponges to rise
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C, Gas Mark 4, for around 30 minutes until risen and golden
- Tip out the puddings into your serving bowl (this is a bit tricky but after the first few, you will get the hang of it!)
- Serve with lashings of custard, cream or ice cream
hannahhotcakes 