Labour of Love - The how to for Sam's steamed pud!

Recipe: Rhubarb steamed pudding with vanilla custard, gingerbread biscuit, candied pistachio and rhubarb syrup.

Alright, get ready to whip up something that's a proper showstopper, courtesy of our sweet treat extraordinaire - Sam! 

Rhubarb steamed pudding with all the trimmings: vanilla custard, gingerbread biscuit, candied pistachio, and a lush rhubarb syrup. It's a bit of a project, but oh, it's worth it. Let's crack on, shall we?

You'll be needing:

For the Steamed Pudding:

4 or 5 small pudding moulds. 

• 175g fresh rhubarb (the star of the show!)

• 100g caster sugar (to sweeten the deal)

• 1 tsp ground ginger (a bit of spice, because why not?)

• 63g unsalted butter (the more, the merrier)

• ½ tsp vanilla extract (little dash of magic)

• 1 medium egg (to bind it all together)

• 88g self-rising flour (to puff it right up)

Vanilla Custard (because pudding needs its custard):

• ½ a vanilla pod (for that fancy flavour)

• 300ml whole milk (the base of any good custard)

• 2 egg yolks (for that creamy dreaminess)

• 1 tbsp caster sugar (just a touch)

• 1 tbsp cornflour (to thicken it up)

Gingerbread Biscuit (for a bit of crunch):

• 112g fine oatmeal

• 1 tbsp ground ginger

• ¼ tsp bicarbonate soda

• ½ tbsp golden syrup (sticky and sweet)

• 112g soft brown sugar

• 63g butter

Candied Pistachios (because we’re fancy like that):

• 20g pistachios

• 15g maple syrup

• 1 tbsp soft brown sugar

Poached Rhubarb (double the rhubarb, double the fun):

• Another 175g of rhubarb

• 400ml red wine (get the good stuff)

• 1 orange

• 1 star anise

• 2 tbsp brown sugar

Rhubarb Syrup (for that extra zing):

• 5 tbsp brown sugar

• The left over poaching liquid from your poached rhubarb

Let's get to it:

1. Pudding Prep

   Dice your first lot of rhubarb, toss it into a sauce pan with with 38g of sugar and ground ginger, cook on a gentle heat until it's getting soft. Cream the butter and the rest of the sugar in a bowl, then mix in the vanilla and eggs. Fold in the flour gently, once combined mix in your cooked rhubarb. 

   Grease your moulds well and pour your batter into each one, filling it 3/4 of the way up. Put the moulds into a deep sided baking tray or oven dish and fill the baking tray 3/4 of the way up with cold water. Place in the oven and bake at 160°C for 40 minutes or until a knife or skewer comes out clean.

2. Custard Time: Mix sugar, egg yolks, and cornflour. Warm the milk with the vanilla pod, then mix it slowly with the eggs and sugar. Heat it gently back in the pan until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

3. Biscuit Business: Melt your butter, mix together the dry ingredients, stir in the melted butter and syrup, spread it on a silicone mat or baking paper lined tray, and bake at 160°C until it's golden. Chop it up while it's warm and set aside.

4. Candied Pistachios: Chuck them in a bow with the syrup and sugar, give it a good mix and bake a silicone mat or baking paper lined tray at 160°C until the sugar's melted and they're looking glossy. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. 

5. Poached Rhubarb: Slice the rhubarb, zest and juice the orange, chuck it in a pan with wine, star anise, and sugar, and let it simmer away, cut a just larger than pan size circle of baking paper and lay it over the water to keep all the rhubarb submerged equally. 

6. Rhubarb Syrup: Once you’ve got your poached rhubarb, strain off the liquid, add the sugar, and reduce it down until it’s nice and thick.

We will leave the plating creativity to you, our advice would be a plate or shallow bowl with your pudding in the centre, sprinkle your rhubarb and toppings around it and have your custard in a jug on the side ready for pouring. 

And there you have it! Seems like a bit of a faff, but, it’s a proper treat once it’s all done. Dig in and enjoy!