Treacle steamed pudding with custard

Michael Craig

For me, nothing brings memories flooding back like Lyle's Golden Syrup, a sweet and sticky luxury that is the nectar of the gods, in my opinion.

Suet is a little-known fat from cattle and sheep. It is a rich, creamy fat surrounding the kidneys and has a very high melting point. It's extremely robust and tasty in pastry. It is little known by the younger generation but I couldn't believe my eyes when I found a vegetarian equivalent which seems to work equally as well.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp	Treacle, I used Lyle's treacle, available at specialty English produce shops, plus 3 Tbsp to serve
3 Tbsp	Golden syrup, I used Lyle's golden syrup
175 g	Self raising flour
1 tsp	Baking powder
175 g	Butter, softened, plus additional soft butter for the basin
2	Eggs
75 g	Suet fat, I used Atora (from British specialty food stores)
175 g	Brown sugar
1	Custard, to serve

Directions

1. Butter your pudding basin, then add the golden syrup. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl then add the softened butter, eggs, sugar and treacle. Beat for about 2 minutes until blended.
2. Spoon the mixture into the basin and level the top using the back of a spoon. Cover the basin with greaseproof paper and foil, leaving enough excess to fold down over the basin. Tie some string around the basin to secure the paper/foil lid and then in a loop over the top of the basin to use as handle to lift. Trim off the excess paper.
3. Place the basin in a pot and fill the pot with water to half-way up the basin. Bring the pot to simmer, place a lid on the pot and cook on a low heat for two hours. Check the water level every now and then and top up as necessary.
4. To serve, loosen the pudding all around with a butter knife, invert on to a plate, pour over the treacle and serve with custard.