The Great British Spotted Dick - A Steamed Pudding Recipe

The steamed pudding known as spotted dick has been around for as long as I remember... No, I wasn't around in 1850 when it is believed that the recipe for spotted dick was first documented (though sometimes it feels like it) but I remember eating spotted dick from my earliest days at school.

But, the profile if this traditional English steamed pudding has recently been raised when, because of the constant jokes being made about the spotted dick pudding, Flintshire Council renamed the pudding as Spotted Richard... Political correctness gone mad or what! Needless to say, the renaming of the pudding did not go down well and they have now reverted to Spotted Dick on their menus!

Well, Spotted Dick is basically a steamed suet pudding, or dessert, which contains dried fruit and which is commonly served with custard.

"Spotted" refers to the currants in the steamed pudding which are thought to resemble spots, and "Dick" is believed to derive from the word dough.

To make four individual spotted dick steamed puddings you will need:

• 175g (60z) self-raising flour
• 1 level teaspoon of baking powder
• 90g (3oz) suet
• 60g (2oz) caster sugar
• 75g (2.5oz) currants or sultanas
• 1 level teaspoon of ground mixed spice
  

• First of all, tip the flour into a mixing bowl and stir in the baking powder, suet, sugar, sultanas and mixed spice.
• Add about 150ml (1/4 pint) or just enough water to give a soft dropping consistency.
• Divide the mixture between 4 x 175ml (6 fluid ounce) buttered individual pudding tins (molds). Place a disc of baking parchment on the top of each, then cover each with a piece of pleated foil, scrunching the foiltightly around the rim of the tins to make sure they are well sealed against moisture.
• Place the puddings in the top of a steamer and steam for about 1 1/4 hours.
• Remove the puddings from the steamer and take off the foil and baking parchment before turning the puddings out of the tins.
• Serve the spotted dick puddings immediately accompanied with hot custard.
  

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