Daring Bakers: British Steamed Pudding

As soon as I started thinking that the Daring Bakers challenges weren’t as challenging as I had feared I met suet.  Yes, suet.  An animal fat from the kidney area of sheep and cows that is rendered and then used in steamed british pudding.  Unfortunately I couldn’t bring myself to render an enormous hunk of animal fat, I rarely eat meat as it is.  At first I feared that I would have to sit out this challenge, but my hopes were raised when I learned steamed british pudding could also be made with butter.  So that’s what I did!

This challenge was quite a change for me.  I really wanted to make a pudding that I could serve with the aztec hot chocolate ice cream I had made recently, but I couldn’t find a recipe that would pair well with the flavors.  So… I made my own recipe!  I even surprised myself, especially since it was my first time making steamed pudding.  But I figured that you couldn’t really go wrong with butter, flour, and sugar.

After much contemplation and seeking the advice of my friends with whom I would be sharing the dessert I decided on a cinnamon banana steamed pudding.  It turned out to be perfect with the cinnamon and cayenne spiced chocolate ice cream.

Although I didn’t go to far out of my comfort zone I did venture a bit farther than I normally do by creating my own recipe.  Thanks Esther of The Lilac Kitchen!

Steamed Banana Cinnamon Pudding

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• water, for steaming

Topping Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon brandy
• 1 banana, sliced into 16 slices

Directions

1. Make topping by melting two tablespoons butter, 2.5 tablespoons brown sugar, pinch of salt and add brandy at the end.  Pour into 4 lightly oiled ramekins evenly, arrange banana slices in ramekins.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
3. Cream the butter with sugar until fluffy.
4. Stir in egg, milk and extracts to make a smooth batter.
5. Pour the batter evenly into the ramekins.  Cover tightly with tinfoil.
6. Place the ramekins into a large pot and fill with water until it reaches half way up the side of the ramekins.
7. Place lid on the pot – you may need to check the water level occasionally if the lid does not fit tightly. Bring water to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer and cook for approx 30-45 min. Poke the top of the cake by pressing lightly on the foil to check for doneness; the cake will spring back when it is ready.
8. Carefully remove the ramekins from pan and turn the puddings out onto serving dishes.
9. Serve with ice cream!

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

You know those little brown packets filled with over-processed oats and pathetically, dry, shriveled up dehydrated apples, and stale cinnamon?  Well, this isn’t it.

Take the flavor of instant oatmeal and multiply it by 100.  Then take the the time it takes to make instant oatmeal and multiply it by 10.  Flavor outweighs time by 90.  Therefore, if you wake up just 10 minutes earlier you can have a delicious, healthy, hearty breakfast that will start off your day better than a pathetic little packet of dry oats and apples could.  And that is the extent of my mathematic abilities.  Here I come SATs.  Especially if I have this brain-fueling oatmeal before, those SATs are going down.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1/2 cup dry, rolled oats
• 1 cup milk (any kind you have)
• tiny pinch of salt
• two pinches of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger
• 1 apple cored and diced into small cubes
• 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 1 tablespoon chopped pecans
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar (divided in half)

Directions

1. Put oatmeal, milk, and pinch of salt into a small saucepan over medium high heat.
2. Once it boils turn it down to medium and simmer.
3. While oatmeal simmers, heat canola oil (or butter) in a small skillet over medium high heat and toast pecans in toaster oven at low temp (200-250) until lightly browned.
4. Toss the cubed apples with a pinch of the spices and 1 1/2 teaspoons of brown sugar.  Sauté apples until caramelized (about 5 minutes).
5. When almost all the milk is absorbed add a pinch of each spices, ground flaxseed, toasted pecans,brown sugar, and apples.  Mix until combined, spoon into a bowl, and enjoy your well-earned breakfast!