Self Saucing Pudding

A New Zealand classic and a family favourite, Self Saucing Pudding has to be one of the easiest and tastiest puddings in all the land. It’s also extremely versatile and can be made at the drop of a hat.

The classic is usually made to be a chocolate pudding with a delicious and sticky sauce that is found at the bottom of the bowl, after it has been in the microwave. Sliding your spoon under the sponge is always satisfying as soon as you find the pool of chocolaty sauce. You can also add coconut to the coconut sponge and it makes it taste like heaven. It is comprised by mixing a basic batter and then pouring over the ‘sauce’ mixture with consists of a cup of sugar mixed with a tablespoon or two of cocoa powder, and a cup of boiling water. These three components with the help of nuclear power create the richest sauce which accompanies a fail safe pudding.

However, having a creative mind *cough* I decided I wanted to broaden my horizons and wanted to make the pudding see a different flavour other than the classic chocolate and coconut. I decided to make the pudding a toffee flavoured. I substituted the cocoa powder in the pudding and sauce for golden syrup. This meant that instead of a chocolate brown, the pudding was a light golden colour. So inviting.

I had to cook this for a few minutes, I think as there was more liquid in the pudding, so it needed more time. This pudding was much sweeter than the chocolate but still tasted great.

The next winter’s night I made this pudding, I swapped the cocoa for blackcurrant jam, and added 1tsp of cinnamon and a handful of raisins. I was trying to make it seem like a classic steamed pudding. To my delight, it turned out rather well. It still had the classic ‘Self Saucing Pudding’ texture but had the taste of a steam pudding that had been cooking for hours.

Although you can’t replace the taste and tradition of a chocolate self saucing puddings, the cinnamon, jam and raisin comes as a pretty good alternative to hours of steaming in the kitchen.

~Caker~