By Vanessa Wade

IN walks Mr R, our most regular guest, with a request of steamed sponge or at least “a pud like we used to get at school, not these fancy French/American desserts”.

The ever-willing pastry chef, I caved in and decided to make him his schoolboy memory a modern-day reality in the pub.

This recipe takes inspiration from one in The Radiation Cook Book, which sounds a little scary but is actually fascinating. The book is a family hand-me-down from 1955 and was designed for use with the first temperature controllable gas ovens. I find the thought of a gas oven that was not temperature controllable even scarier.

Being American, and having never made a steamed pudding or eaten an English school dinner, I expected this to be a fairly daunting challenge. It was actually pretty simple. I did learn that sweet steamed puddings tend to fall into two categories; the lighter egg, flour and sugar-based variety or the more dense, suet-based ones.

This is the former and the type that I prefer as they tend to have a little more finesse.

Winter fruit pudding

Ingredients (makes two medium-sized puddings)

125g Butter – and a little extra for the bowls

125g Vanilla caster sugar

100g Eggs

125g Self raising flour – sieved

60g Milk

200g Frozen mixed berries

20g Crème Friache

For the sauce

150g Port

60g sugar

100g Frozen mixed berries

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C and butter the pudding bowls.

In a mixer using a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and the sugar while slowly adding the egg. Carefully fold the crème fraiche, milk, and the flour alternately until smooth.

Divide the berries evenly between the prepared moulds, then spoon the batter over them to three-quarters fill the pudding bowls.

Cover each with a piece of foil, pleated in the middle, to allow room for expansion. Allow the foil to overlap the edge of the bowls and secure it tightly under the rim with string.

Stand the puddings in a steamer. If you don’t have one you can stand them in a deep baking tray or ovenproof dish and surround with enough hot water to come about halfway up the sides of the moulds. Steam or cook in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the sponge is springy to the touch.

Meanwhile, place the remaining 60g of sugar and port in a pan over a medium-low heat and bring to the boil. Add the rest of the berries and heat until just warmed through, stirring them carefully.

Serve with orange or blood orange segments, the winter berry and port compote and your choice of cream, custard or crème fraiche, and spoon some of the lovely port sauce over the top to soak the sponge.

Vanessa Wade, with her husband Tom, owns and runs The Vane Arms at Thorpe Thewles, County Durham.