steamed apple and vanilla pudding

Despite the poor reputation British cuisine has, it’s undeniable that the baking is extremely delicious and varied. Years ago, during my time as an English student, I discovered it and fell at its feet ipso facto, but it wasn’t until I adopted a British family as a policy that my eyes opened to homemade sweets. They’re another world.

One of the things that most caught my attention (and did so from the moment I began to delve into British baking) is the making of steamed cakes. The fact of not relying on the oven seems amazing to me, as it’s a welcome alternative in the hot months when it’s a horror to turn on that little appliance.

To make a “steamed pudding,” as they call it on the islands, or specifically this English apple and vanilla pudding steamed you need a suitable mold and a pressure cooker large enough to accommodate the former. It’s also important to cover the mold well with folded parchment paper (leaving room for the cake to grow happily) and tie it tightly so water doesn’t seep in during cooking.

This type of cooking results in a moist pudding or cake, slightly more compact than one baked in the oven. For the most “British” experience I recommend serving it with custard, a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of heavy cream. Not forgetting the cup of tea, with a splash of milk... of course!

Laura Ashley porcelain milk jug, Laura Ashley tea towel, Laura Ashley porcelain plates, Kitchen Craft pudding mold and Pallarès carbon steel knife.

Ingredients (for 6 people)

• Half a Golden apple
• 6 tablespoons of honey
• 2 tablespoons of fresh breadcrumbs
• 150gr of butter + extra for greasing the mold
• 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs (120gr)
• 150gr of all-purpose flour
• 100gr of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of chemical leavener (baking powder)
• 4 tablespoons of milk
• 2 liters of boiling water

Preparation

1. Grease a 1-liter pudding mold with a little butter, covering the base and sides well. Cover the base with the honey and sprinkle the fresh breadcrumbs over it. With a knife well sharpened peel, core and dice the apple and cover the base of the mold with them.
2. In a deep bowl cream the butter, which should be at room temperature, together with the sugar, that is, beat vigorously until the mixture is creamy and pale.
3. Grate the whole lemon and squeeze only half. Add the zest and lemon juice, the vanilla extract and the eggs, one at a time, not adding the second until the first is well incorporated into the batter.
4. Next add the all-purpose flour along with the leavener or baking powder. Do it tablespoon by tablespoon and don’t add the next until the previous one is incorporated, this way we ensure there are no lumps of flour in the batter (which are very unpleasant to bite into).
5. Finally pour in the milk, stir gently until you get a homogeneous batter and fill the pudding mold with it. It’s a dense batter that you’ll need to press down well with a spatula to spread it across the surface.
6. Take a sheet of parchment paper or baking paper and make a double fold in the center. Cover the mold with it, tie with a cord or twine and trim the excess. These types of molds have a notch a couple of centimeters from the top that is perfect as a placement point for the cord.
7. It’s important to make sure the cord is well tied and there’s no place for water to seep in, because this pudding is steamed in a pressure cooker and if water enters the result will be spoiled.
8. Place the trivet accessory (a rack also works) at the bottom of a pressure cooker (watch the size, it has to be big enough to fit the mold) and pour in the boiling water. Put the mold inside, close the cooker and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes with the valve open.
9. After this time close the cooker’s valve to position 2 and count 20 minutes. Depressurize immediately, remove the lid and, very carefully, take the mold out of the cooker. Let it cool before unwrapping, unmolding and serving.

Kitchen Craft pudding mold, Laura Ashley tea towel, Laura Ashley porcelain plates and Pallarès carbon steel knife.

Notes

• You can serve the pudding with custard, a scoop of vanilla ice cream or eat it as is. Either way it’s delicious!
• You can make the mixture of ingredients in a stand mixer, like a KitchenAid. In that case, you can use the whisk attachment in step 2, and from there work with the flexible beater at not very high speeds (at 4 or 5).
• If you prefer to work by hand, the WMF balloon whisk will work very well; with it you avoid lumps while mixing and it’s very comfortable to use.