17 nov

Joy Pudding

Mrs BF Cox, Mudgee Branch

SERVES 8

240 g (4 cups, lightly packed) fresh breadcrumbs

100 g (²/₃ cup) self-raising flour

250 g (1 cup) shredded suet (see note)

170 g (1 cup) raisins, chopped

350 g (1 cup) treacle

250 ml (1 cup) milk

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 egg, beaten

custard or vanilla ice cream, to serve

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil for steaming, placing a small heatproof plate upside down in the water to keep the pudding basin off the base of the pan. Grease and flour a 2 litre (8 cup) capacity pudding basin.

Combine the crumbs, flour, suet and raisins in a bowl. In another bowl, mix the treacle and milk. Stir the soda into the milk mixture, then stir in the egg. Add to the crumb mixture and stir to combine well.

Spoon the batter into the basin, cover tightly and lower it into the boiling water. Steam for 3 hours, or until cooked through, adding more water to the pan as required.

Serve pudding hot with custard or ice cream.

Note: shredded suet is available as a packet mix at supermarkets, or fresh from your butcher.