INDIVIDUAL SUSSEX POND PUDDINGS WITH LEMON BUTTER SAUCE

Johanna over at thepassionatecook is hosting another wonderful Waiter! There's Something in My........., this time round the challenge is for hot puds!

I have a real passion for puddings and if they are British, then so much the better. I have always been interested in the history of food, and particularly so, when it comes to a good honest British pud!

I chose a Delia recipe I have yearned to make for a long, long time, but have never somehow got round to making.

Sussex Pond Pudding is usually made in a large glass bowl and steamed for about 3 hours. This is, to me, the best of all the suet puddings. A whole lemon is placed inside the suet lined bowl with equal quantities of butter and sugar placed around the lemon, then topped with a suet pastry lid.
Now for the pond, once you cut into the pudding the buttery, lemony juices pour out around the pudding creating a pond. A piece of the cooked lemon is served to everyone along with the pastry and juices.







Note - if you don't prick the lemon all over with a skewer before placing in the pastry lined bowl you risk the lemon and your pudding exploding - unfortunately this happened to a friend of mine who had cooked this for us! Mary Norwak in her book of English Puddings, tells of a similar pudding where you leave the lemon whole and the pudding is called Lemon Bomb because of the exploding lemon!

There is also another version of this pudding that includes dried fruit to the mixture, and this is called Kentish Wells.

Recipes can be found in the following books, and obviously in many others - Jane Grigson in her book English Food, English Puddings by Mary Norwak, The Pudding Club and Bibendum. Bibendum Restaurant even have Sussex Pond Pudding on the menu from time to time. Now for an update on this pudding - Gordon Ramsay's Great British Pub Food - his latest cookery book that he has written with Mark Sargeant - includes a recipe for this pudding, which is very similar to Delia's recipe.

Now back to Delia's recipe - these one portion size puddings were really easy to prepare, I was a little worried that I would be short of pastry to line the pudding basins, but as usual, Delia had allowed just the right amount. The pudding basins are lined with a very thin suet pastry. The addition of fresh white breadcrumbs to the suet mix, gave a very light texture to the pastry. This pudding certainly wasn't a poor relation to the huge pudding that would normally be served. Sussex Pond pudding isn't pretty by any means, but boy does it taste good!!


Here is a lovely nineteenth-century rhyme - all about boiled puddings, of course.


Mother Eve's Pudding


If you want a good pudding, to teach you I'm willing,
Take twopennyworth of eggs, when twelve for a shilling,
And of the same fruit that Eve had once chosen,
Well pared and well chopped at least half a dozen;
Six ounces of bread (let your maid eat the crust);
The crumbs must be grated as small as the dust;
Six ounces of currants from the stones you must sort,Lest they break out your teeth and spoil all your sport;
Six ounces of sugar won't make it too sweet,Some salt and some nutmeg will make it complete,
Three hours let it boil, without hurry or flutter,
And then serve it up - without sugar or butter.

This recipe and most of the content is from a previous posting. Johanna has kindly agreed to let me enter this very worthy pudding.

INDIVIDUAL SUSSEX POND PUDDINGS WITH LEMON BUTTER SAUCE

Antonia over at Food, Glorious Food is hosting her first blogging event British Food Fortnight Challenge.

Antonia and I share a passion for puddings and so with this in mind, I have made Sussex Pond Pudding, I chose a Delia recipe I have yearned to make for a long, long time, but have never somehow got round to making.

Sussex Pond Pudding is usually made in a large glass bowl and steamed for about 3 hours. This is, to me, the best of all the suet puddings. A whole lemon is placed inside the suet lined bowl with equal quantities of butter and sugar placed around the lemon, this is then topped with a suet pastry lid.

Now for the pond, once you cut into the pudding the buttery, lemony juices pour out around the pudding creating a pond. A piece of the cooked lemon is served to everyone along with the pastry and juices.








Note - if you don't prick the lemon all over with a skewer before placing in the pastry lined bowl you risk the lemon and your pudding exploding - how do I know this you may ask, it happened to a friend of mine who had cooked this for us! Mary Norwak in her book of English Puddings, tells of a similar pudding where you leave the lemon whole and the pudding is called Lemon Bomb because of the exploding lemon!

There is also another version of this pudding that includes dried fruit to the mixture, and this is called Kentish Wells.

Recipes can be found in the following books, and obviously in many others - Jane Grigson in her book English Food, English Puddings by Mary Norwak and The Pudding Club.

Antonia has asked, as far as possible, to use British produce. For this challenge I used the following:

Self-raising flour Leckford Estate, Hampshire (purchased from Waitrose).
Wyke Farms, Somerset, farmhouse butter.
British milk.

Now back to Delia's recipe - these one portion size puddings were really easy to prepare, I was a little worried that I would be short of pastry to line the pudding basins, but as usual, Delia had allowed just the right amount. The pudding basins are lined with a very thin suet pastry. The addition of fresh white breadcrumbs to the suet mix, gave a very light texture to the pastry. This pudding certainly wasn't a poor relation to the huge pudding that would normally be served. Sussex Pond pudding isn't a pretty pudding, but boy does it taste good!!

Here is a lovely nineteenth-century rhyme - all about boiled puddings, of course.

Mother Eve's Pudding

If you want a good pudding, to teach you I'm willing,
Take twopennyworth of eggs, when twelve for a shilling,
And of the same fruit that Eve had once chosen,
Well pared and well chopped at least half a dozen;
Six ounces of bread (let your maid eat the crust);
The crumbs must be grated as small as the dust;
Six ounces of currants from the stones you must sort,
Lest they break out your teeth and spoil all your sport;
Six ounces of sugar won't make it too sweet,
Some salt and some nutmeg will make it complete,
Three hours let it boil, without hurry or flutter,
And then serve it up - without sugar or butter.

SYRUP SPONGE

This challenge is to reassure Sam from becksposhnosh that English food is well worth consuming and that we have 'proper puddings' that are reassuringly comforting.
In the Cotswolds way back in 1985 The Pudding Club was set up for pudding lovers and is still going strong today. The Club meets at
The Three Ways House Hotel in Mickleton, Chipping Campden.
The Club's philosophy is 'A little bit of what you fancy does you good'. Wonderful words of wisdom.
All of the puddings are served with lashings of Bird's Custard and apparently they have got through hundreds of gallons of this!
I have made individual puddings, no doubt the Pudding Club would go for the large pudding option.

THE PUDDING CLUB

ISBN 0747220492 - Page 96

Serves: 4 to 6 people

Take 120g each of butter and caster sugar, cream until light and fluffy. Sift 120g self-raising flour and add this to the creamed mixture along with 2 beaten eggs, a little at a time, beating well. Put 2 tablespoons of golden syrup into the base of a buttered 1.1 litre pudding basin, and pour the sponge mixture over the syrup. Cover securely and steam for 2 hours. For the individual puddings use four greased 175ml pudding basins and steam for 45 minutes.
Serve with Syrup Sauce and custard.

Syrup Sauce - 1 dessertspoon cornflour, 150ml water, 2 tablespoons golden syrup, juice of ½ lemon.
Mix the cornflour with a little of the water, then add all the other ingredients. Heat in a small pan, stirring all the time, until the sauce thickens. Serve hot.

For further reading see English Puddings, Sweet & Savoury by Mary Norwak.