Heart warming comforting old fashioned hedgerow blackberry and apple steamed pudding, from the first sumptuous mouthful you are transported back to those comforting memories of warmth and love, for me it is my nan and grandads, the quietness of the house, the ticking of the kitchen clock and the excitement of going out to pick blackberries for pudding and jam, then helping or hindering to make the jam and pudding for tea that night, the anticipation was worth every mouthful.
Prep time 10 minutes / Cook time 11/2 hrs
Ingredients
(serves 8)
500g blackberries foraged
4 apples, peeled and rough chopped
180g self raising flour
150g suet or butter room temperature
150g golden caster sugar
3 free range eggs beaten
1 lemon juice and zest
1/2 jar of blackberry jam
Blackberry and lemon drizzle
250g of your above blackberries
1/2 jar blackberry jam
Juice of one lemon
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
Place all the ingredients in a pan and bring to a simmer for a few minutes, then push through a sieve and reserve as your gorgeous sweet but sharp drizzle that will complement your pudding.
Custard ingredients
4 egg yolks
150g golden caster sugar
250ml whole milk
250ml double cream
1 vanilla pod seeds scraped out
Place the milk, cream, vanilla pod and seeds on the heat to almost simmer, remove, beat the yolks in a bowl with the sugar, add the warm milk and cream whisking all the time, return the mixture to the pan and gently heat for a couple of minutes until you can coat the back of a spoon, take off the heat and pass through a sieve, this is now ready to go.
Steamer equipment
large pudding basin and lid
1 large pan with a trivet or up-turned saucer
1 parchment circle for base of pudding dish
1 parchment circle for lid of pudding dish
1 circle lid of tin foil
string
Place the butter or suet and sugar in a bowl and cream together until light and fluffy, add the beaten eggs and two tbsp of the flour, this is to stop the mixture curdle, not a worry if it does, beat in the eggs and then gently fold in the remaining flour, chopped apple and zest of the lemon.
Line the base of the pudding basin with parchment paper and place half the blackberries in the bottom of the pudding basin, fill the basin with the batter mix. Fold a pleat in the parchment lid and place on the top of the batter mix, again fold a pleat in the foil lid and cover the top of the pudding basin, take your string and tie around the edge lip of the basin leaving a length of six cm hanging loose on the first knot, now tie another knot on the opposite side of the basin, now tie the two ends of string from both knots together to make a handle over the basin lid.
Take your deep saucepan and place a trivet (or a up-turned saucer) in the bottom of the pan and place your pudding basin, pour in boiling water three quarters of the way of the basin and pop the lid on, keep the water at a mild bubbling level and steam your pudding for around one and a half hour, to check if your pudding is cooked, insert a skewer and if it is clean when your remove it is done.
Best served warm with indulgent gorgeous amount of custard and a generous drizzle of the zesty sharp but slightly sweet blackberry and lemon drizzle.
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