Steamed Cranberry Pudding with Hard Sauce is a traditional English recipe for a classic steamed pudding of a sponge-type mix with black treacle and fresh cranberries that's served with an almost solid sauce of butter, cream and sugar flavoured with vanilla. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic English version of: Steamed Cranberry Pudding with Hard Sauce.
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This cranberry pudding is a sponge-type pudding with cranberries as the fruit. This used to be a traditional dessert for New Year, though it has fallen out of favour. In regions where wild cranberries (Vaccinium oxycoccos) were not available it was sometimes made with preserved Guelder rose fruit (aka poor man's cranberry). There is also a white version without treacle which I always associate with my grandmother (see this site's recipe for Welsh pwdin llugaeron/cranberry pudding.)
Ingredients:
For the Pudding:
2 tsp baking soda
120ml hot water
2 tsp caster sugar
120ml black treacle (molasses)
220g whole, fresh, cranberries (or wild cranberries)
190g plain flour
For the Hard Sauce:
120g unsalted butter
120ml double cream
200g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water then stir-in the sugar and black treacle before mixing-in the cranberries and flour. Add to a well-greased 1.5l pudding basin then cover with greaseproof paper and a double layer of foil, tying the pudding securely.
Place in a steamer over a pan of boiling water and cook for about 90 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the pudding emerges cleanly. (Check the level of water every half hour or so.)
When the pudding is done, loosen the edges of the foil to release any trapped steam (be careful) then place on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes before turning out onto a plate.
Whilst the pudding is cooling make the hard sauce. Heat the butter, cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring all the while, until the sauce is smooth and heated through. Pour over the pudding and serve.
