Steamed Jam Pudding

 Lighter than you would think, this is a real favorite with the children.

Ingredients

2 medium eggs
85g/3oz soft marg or butter
115g/4oz caster sugar
140g/5oz self-raising flour
1 tablespoon milk
1 level teaspoon baking powder
3 level tablespoons jam (traditionally raspberry)

You'll also need a glass bowl big enough to hold 850ml/1 1/2 pints and greaseproof paper.

Instructions

Grease sides of bowl.

Put all ingredients except jam into another bowl and beat until well mixed. Put jam in the bottom of the glass bowl and cover with the mixture then level off. Cover with greaseproof paper and fix onto bowl with string or elastic, leaving enough room for pudding to rise. Steam in a steamer or large pot with some water (being careful not to let pot dry out) for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Serve with jam sauce (jam heated with water) or custard.

Alternate ideas.

Replace jam with syrup
Replace 28g/1oz flour with cocoa powder and cook without jam.
Omit jam and milk and add 60g/2oz of sultanas and the grated rind of an orange.( Needs the full  2 hours)

Cherry Cake

Ingredients

225g/8oz sr flour
115g/4oz sugar
170g/6oz glace cherries
115g/4oz marg
2 eggs beaten with 4 tablespoons milk

Mix flour and cherries. Cream marg and sugar. Stir in flour/cherries and liquids alternately until all mixed.
Place in baking tin and bake at 180C for around 1 1/2 hours - time will vary depending on what type of baking tin you use.

Microwave Gingerbread

Years ago I moved into a house where the oven didn't work and until I got around to buying a new cooker I was using my microwave for baking. Not every recipe worked but this was a good one for producing a really moist gingerbread.

Ingredients

140ml milk
115g/4oz marg
115g/4oz soft brown sugar
115g/4oz treacle
115g/4oz syrup
115g/4oz plain flour
115g/4oz wholemeal flour
4 level teaspoons ground ginger
1 level teaspoon bicarb
2 beaten eggs

Method

Melt marg, soft brown sugar, treacle and syrup with milk. Pour melted mixture into dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add eggs and beat thoroughly until mixed. Bake for 8 minutes at full power*.

* At the time I used this recipe the power on microwaves was much lower than today so you may need to play about with power and time settings.

Scones made with oil

As with the pancakes the oil keeps these scone fresh slightly longer.

Ingredients

2 cups flour
3 level teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 lightly beaten egg
1/2 cup semi-skimmed milk
2 tablespoons oil

Method
Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. If you want fruit scones toss in a handful or two of sultanas. Make a well in the centre and add egg milk and oil. Mix into a soft dough. Try to handle the dough as little as possible. Place on floured board and flatten to around 2-3 cm deep. Cut into rounds and place on baking sheets. Brush top with the remains of the egg or milk.Heat oven to 230C then once scones are in oven turn down to 210C. Cook for 10-12 minutes.

Cool on a rack.

Scotch Pancakes

 

A small sweet pancake, which needless to say contains no Scotch as the name has stuck from the old corruption of Scots. This recipe is practically foolproof if you can get the heat just right and keeps slightly  better than most pancake recipes because of the oil. I use a heavy base pan as it's easier to maintain a suitable heat. Try to use a good non-stick pan as these are better if the pan does not have to be greased.

1 cup self-raising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 beaten egg
150m milk
50ml oil

Sift flour, baking powder and sugar. Mix oil, egg and milk and add to dry ingredients as lighly as possible. Rest in fridge for half an hour. Cook on grddle or frying pan (see above) in tablespoons. These pancakes should be smaller than English pancakes. Serve with butter for the best taste.

Clootie Dumpling

A traditional Scottish Pudding, this is very rich. My aunt would make this at Chistmas and put silver sixpenses in as gifts. So you had to be careful what you were putting in your mouth.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb self raising flour
8 oz suet
1 1/2 lb mixed fruit
3/4 lb brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch cream of tartar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 teaspoon mixed spice
milk to mix

Method

Mix all dry ingredients, add fruit and mix with milk to a firm consistency.  Wet a suitable cloth (eg a plain teatowel) and wrap dumpling mix loosely, tying at the neck. Boil for approximately 3 hours in a large pot, keeping water topped up at all times. When cooked take out of cloth, place on a plate and heat for 20 minutes in a medium oven.

I expect this could be adapted to cook in a slow cooker.