Sweet Treats for a Winter's Night

Lemon, stem ginger and cardamom sponge puddings

These are lovely at any time of year, however they make a delicious alternative to those who don’t like Christmas pudding as these are light enough to not need to lie down for an hour to digest. 

I do suggest upping the calorie content further with a generous amount of cream or custard so this is no diet friendly recipe.

I have made these with gluten free self raising flour but the recipe is equally good with normal self raising flour and the quantities are the same.  

Ingredients

100g golden caster sugar
100g softened butter
180 ml milk
2 eggs
200g gluten free self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
5 green cardamom, crushed seeds
5 stem ginger pieces, 3 sliced, 2 roughly chopped and a little of the syrup
Pinch of sea salt
Butter for greasing pudding bowls
Pudding bowls with lids, I made 4 individual 1/4 pint puds and a 1/2 pint pud from this mix, you could do a larger pudding and adjust cooking time. Always test with a skewer in the centre of the pudding, it should come out nearly clean.

Method

• In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together, add milk and eggs and whisk to a smooth batter.
• Sift in flour and bicarbonate of soda and add zest and juice of one lemon.. Whisk in thoroughly ensuring a lump free mixture.
• Add roughly chopped stem ginger, the crushed cardamom seeds and a pinch of salt and stir in gently.
• At the base of each pudding bowl place slices of stem ginger to cover and add mixture 3/4 of the way up each container.
• Put lid on securely and steam. The 1/4 pint puds took 70 minutes, the 1/2 pint just 85 minutes in an electric steamer.
• Serve with cream or custard. Delicious