Steamed Syrup Sponge

Last Sunday night, I was invited to dinner at my friend's place. She has long been appreciative of my baking, so of course I thought that the perfect hostess gift would be baked goods. Given it was a chilly, cold winter evening, I decided to make the a warm, sweet indulgence - and Nigella's steamed syrup sponge seemed just right.



The recipe for this sponge pudding can be found at p132 of Nigella Lawson's How to Be A Domestic Goddess.

As you can see from the photos, this pudding consists of a beautiful, golden, light and sweet sponge, with its own rich syrupy sauce.




The rather unglamorous container into which I upended the completed pudding was necessary so that I could transport it to my friend's house, as Nigella warns that you shouldn't wait more than a few minutes before turning out the pudding once it has finished steaming - presumably because the sauce would solidify and refuse to pour out over the delicious sponge once cool.



My friend didn't have any icecream, cream or custard to serve with this pudding, but it was delightful on its own. Even better, there was plenty left for both of us to have another night.

This pudding is exceptionally easy to make, and although it takes two hours to steam, it only requires you to check on the water levels every now and again while it is steaming to make sure that the pudding doesn't boil dry.

This is the perfect sweet for a chilly winter's evening - it truly warms the cockles of the soul.