Now, I know and you know that this is an odd recipe to share in the height of a very warm Summer, but there is method to my madness.
1. We had had a salad week – that is, one piece of protein and lots of salad. I wanted something filling, darn it.
2. I fancied a substantial pudding but couldn’t bear the thought of an oven blasting away.
3. I saw a pot of tres posh ‘made-with-the-eggs-of-a-golden-hen-and-milk-from-the-Queen’s-cow-and-a-pod-of-vanilla-plucked-by-a-tame-cheetah’ custard and it was cheap. If someone else had bought it, they might have poured it over something horrible.
4. I had a dreg of raspberry jam in the bottom of the jar and the jar was annoying me in the fridge. It kept getting in the way. It even fell out of the fridge that morning, so its fate was sealed.

So, actually, this is an extremely sensible recipe for the height of Summer because it takes moments to make, doesn’t require an oven or hob and is jolly nice to eat after endless days of what is essentially the ritual munching of humans on glorified grass otherwise famed as ‘seasonal eating’. Seriously, I am this close to going off beetroot again. Don’t even talk to me about feta.

If you cannot stand the thought of eating a hot pudding in this weather, then be kind to yourself and print it out for Autumn. Having such a quick option for a pudding that usually takes hours to steam is invaluable.
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Put the butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour and baking powder into the food processor, switch it on and blend to mix

Give it a scrape to get the stuff that always, but always, hides under the blades, then add the zest and juice of a lemon and a drop of milk – around a tablespoon – to get a nice dropping consistency.

Grease a 2 pint pudding basin and put about 3-4 tbsp raspberry jam in the bottom of it

Spoon/pour the mix on top and cover with clingfilm, but be sure to leave one part naked for the steam to escape

I have an 800watt microwave and full power for 4 minutes turned it into this bouncy, golden offering:

Leave it to stand for a good couple of minutes to allow the radiation to disperse (I don’t buy the ‘continuing to cook’ theory – if it ain’t witchcraft, then it’s radiation in my book), then do the ‘plate on top and wahay! flip it over’ trick. In fact, I generally do the ‘wahay! flip it over trick’ into a bowl to catch the scalding jam, but I’m cautious like that.

Cut a wedge, serve with custard and…

enjoy.

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Speedy Sponge Pudding

adapted from a Gary Rhodes and a James Martin recipe – I’m thorough.

PRINT THIS RECIPE (opens in a new window)

150g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
125g butter, melted or extremely soft (plus some to grease the pudding bowl)
125g caster sugar
2 eggs
zest and juice of a lemon (very nice ineed, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you didn’t have one to hand)
a drop of milk
4+ tbsp raspberry jam or any other jam, or lemon curd, or golden syrup…

Grease a 2 pint/1.2 l pudding (pyrex, in my case) bowl. Spoon 3-4 tbsp raspberry jam into the bottom.

Put the melted/very soft butter, sugar, eggs, flour and baking powder into the food processor and blend to a paste.

Add the zest and lemon juice and mix, add a drop of milk to achieve a nice dropping consistency.
Spoon/pour the mixture on top of the jam – the jam will try to move around, but just ignore it. Cover it with clingfilm, leaving a gap at one edge for the steam to escape.
Microwave on full power (my microwave is 800 watts) for around 4 mins, until the sponge is bouncy and has pulled away from the sides of the bowl.
Let it stand for a couple of minutes, then turn out.
Add some extra jam on top if you like, then serve in slices with custard, cream or ice cream.

4 Responses to “Speedy Sponge Pudding”

1. Linda says:

   19 March, 2011 at 4:35 am

   Two things made me die of laughter from this blog entry.

   1. “tres posh ‘made-with-the-eggs-of-a-golden-hen-and-milk-from-the-Queen’s-cow-and-a-pod-of-vanilla-plucked-by-a-tame-cheetah’ custard and it was cheap” and
   2. “a dreg of raspberry jam in the bottom of the jar and the jar was annoying me in the fridge”.

   I too have a dreg of jam in the bottom of a jar in the fridge. It’s been annoying me for some time. Who knows, I might have to whip up this delicious pudding soon .
2. Anna says:

   25 March, 2011 at 10:54 am

   Linda, don’t encourage me!
   See, I knew I wasn’t the only one annoyed by jam dregs. There’s always just too much in the jar for one thing, or not enough for another thing. Just the presence of the jar is like rubbing salt in the wound. Get pudding making!
3. Kara says:

   28 March, 2011 at 8:31 am

   LMAO!!!!! I’ve just found this post and I’m with Linda – it made me call Jeff over to read it too. His reply – “that’s not cooking. Tell her microwaving is not cooking!!” as he wandered off down our (very short) hallway. It looks damn fine though my sweet – I may very well cook this one night when he’s working at the cafe and just not tell him. By the way, he has also just polished off the last of the Apple Doodle – that would be the 2nd batch!
   Love your work doll!!!!!! xxxx
4. Anna says:

   29 March, 2011 at 9:55 am

   Jeff is right. Microwaving is not cooking. It is witchcraft. Doing a spell on those ingredients cannot be a lesser art than cookery is LOL!