Steamed pudding are a thick, dense desserts originating from Great Britain. They are made of cereal flour and milk and they are prepared by steaming the ingredients and hence the name. Christmas pudding is the most popular example of steamed pudding. It has a texture similar to that of a cake except that it is slightly denser.
Steamed Pudding Varieties
· Christmas pudding – It is a traditional pudding made on Christmas Eve and left to mature for a day. It is consumed on Christmas. The main ingredients are dried sultanas, raisins and currants, flour, eggs, bread crumbs, suet and ground spice mix. All the ingredients are mixed and poured in a pudding basin and allowed to steam for about 5 – 6 hours on low.
· Steamed apple pudding with toffee sauce – This is similar to eve’s pudding. Apples are cooked along with butter and sugar. It is topped with a soft batter made of butter, sugar and eggs. It is steamed for about 90 minutes.
· Classic steamed pudding – A plain vanilla flavored pudding is made by mixing butter, sugar, eggs, flour and milk to make a smooth batter. The batter is poured in a pudding basin and is steamed for about 2 hours.
· Spotted dick pudding – This is a classic British pudding made by mixing currants in the plain pudding batter.
· Treacle sponge pudding – This pudding consists of a steamed sponge topped with golden syrup.
· Clootie pudding – It is also called as clootie dumpling. It is made of breadcrumbs, flour, dried fruits, fat, sugar and spices. A dough is made and wrapped in thin cloth. It is cooked in boiling water and then dried.
Common Ingredients Used
Eggs, flour, sugar, butter, milk are the commonly used ingredients for making steamed pudding. Dried fruits like raisins, sultanas, apricots, cranberries, plums or cherries can be used. Nuts like walnuts, pecans or almonds can be used as well.
Serving
· Steamed pudding is served with custard. It can also be served with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
· Fresh fruits can also be served with the pudding.
· It tastes best served hot topped with a rich creamy sauce.
Health and Nutrition Facts
Christmas pudding
Serving size – 1 ramekin 100 g
Calories – 285 cal, Fat – 9 g, Protein – 4 g, Carbohydrates – 60 g
· Christmas pudding is a type of steamed pudding and it is very high in calories and fat.
· The fat can be reduced by avoiding usage of fat and beating egg with sugar and then folding in all the other ingredients.
· Sugar should be replaced by zero calorie sweeteners lie equal or stevia.
· The protein content of the dish can be increased by adding more nuts to the pudding.