English Steamed Pudding with Persimmon

The Brits do love their steamed puddings, from the Christmas “figgy pudding” to all kinds of sweet and savory renditions. After making this persimmon steamed pudding, I echo their pudding love. It was delicious, and doesn’t require specialized equipment. Most of the “time” is down time while it is steaming away.

Jump to: Recipe | What is a Steamed Pudding? | The ”Molds” | The Steaming Process | Removing the Pudding from the Mold

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What is a Steamed Pudding?

The Brits definition of “pudding” isn’t the same as an American one for sure. American puddings are similar to custards with a soft, creamy texture.

The British definition of a “sweet English pudding“ can include any number of desserts. It is generically referred to as the sweet ending to a meal (aka dessert in the US).

A steamed pudding however, is a little more specific. It can be savory or sweet, and it is boiled or steamed in some sort of container.

The sweet steamed puddings are generally steamed in a “pudding mold”, but the savory puddings might be steamed in cloth or an animal intestine. Yeah, well….

The traditional sweet steamed puddings are super rich and have the texture of a moist cake or quick bread. Think zucchini bread for texture and chocolate cake for richness.

Most Americans think of figgy pudding or plum pudding when referring to the classic English pudding, perhaps because of the words in a popular Christmas carol, but many different fruits can be part of a steamed pudding.

In the recipe below we used persimmons and the flavor and texture was excellent.

What to use for a pudding mold

Old fashioned pudding molds look like a bundt pan with a lid, sometimes with a handle on top to pull it out of the steamer pot.

Pudding molds are not that easy to find however, and many people will only use them once a year. I find a bundt pan covered tightly with aluminum foil worked just fine.

If you want to get very fancy for a holiday gathering, you might be able to find some more elaborate molds with intricate carvings on them, but they are fairly difficult to find.

Some of the bundt pans can be intricate but they don’t come with a lid. It’s not really a problem to place aluminum foil over the bundt pan, but if you want a mold with a lid, this is the standard mold (picture below)

The Steaming Process made Easy

Steamed puddings have fallen out of favor, primarily because the process appeared difficult and the equipment was specialized. Neither of these need be the case.

The steaming process is hands off and quite easy, and the equipment can be as simple as a bundt pan, some foil and a large pot.

Basically it is like making a cake from scratch, pouring the batter into some sort of mold and placing the mold in a large covered pot filled 2/3 of the way up the mold with water.

The rest of it is just letting it steam away on the stove for several hours, checking to make sure the water hasn’t evaporated every 1/2 hour or so.

The Details of Steaming

Here are the specifics of how to steam the pudding:

1. When you have decided on your pudding mold, get out a pot that is large enough for the mold to fit inside of it, and tall enough that you have an inch or two from the mold to the top of the pot. A canner with a lid works well, but it could be a tall stockpot or spaghetti pot. Make sure you have a lid that fits over the pot.
2. I used a metal trivet on the bottom of the pot to set the mold on and keep it off the bottom of the pot.
3. Place a penny in the bottom of the pot (some people use glass marbles). If you water level gets too low while the pudding is steaming away on the stove, the penny or the marbles will start banging around and alert you to the need to add more water.
4. Set the prepared mold on the trivet in the stockpot and add enough water to the pan that it comes up halfway up the mold. If you fill it too high the water might boil into the mold, so just 1/2 way up. Cover the pot and turn the heat to high or medium high until the water comes to a steady, gentle boil
5. Once it comes to a boil, turn the heat down to medium low so that the water stays at a strong simmer. Turn a timer on to 30 minutes to check the water level.
6. The pudding will need to steam for about 2 1/2 hours. Check the water level every 30 minutes, using a timer to remind you. You don’t want to burn the bottom of your pot.

How to get the Pudding out of the mold

If you have thoroughly buttered your mold, and if you have steamed it for at least 2 1/2 hours, it should come out of the mold fairly easily.

Here are the steps and tips to unmolding:

1. After the 2 1/2 hour steaming process is over, remove the pudding from the heat. Don’t worry if you go 10-20 minutes longer than the 2 1/2 hours. The cake will still be rich and moist. Just don’t shorten the time or it might not be fully cooked in the middle.
2. Let the pudding sit for about 10 minutes. Take the lid off and let it sit for another 10 minutes.
3. Take a blunt knife and slide it around the edges of the cake where it meets the sides of the mold. Don’t forget to use the knife to loosen the inside hole part of the bundt cake also.
4. Find a serving plate that is flat and larger than the mold. Place it on top of the mold and flip over. Tap with a spoon and lift the mold away. If it doesn’t come out readily, repeat step 3.

It might look a little wet at first, but it will dry out more as it cools and the steam comes out.

When it reaches room temperature, either keep it covered on the countertop for several days until ready to serve, or wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

It also freezes beautifully.

How to Serve

English steamed puddings are typically served with some sort of sauce or whipped cream. The “hard sauce” is another British term for a sweet sugar and butter sauce.

The sauce is not actually hard at all, but rather is quite pourable. I found most of these sauces to be overly sweet and therefore I prefer whipped cream. I did leave a recipe for a classic hard sauce in the recipe notes below however.

It’s traditional to sprinkle a little bit of powdered sugar on top and place a sprig of holly if you are serving this at Christmas time.

Now if you really want to take it over the top at your gathering, you can flame it. The steamed pudding is on the table, out of the mold and you pour some brandy over the top and light it on fire. Quite dramatic!!!

Frequently Asked Questions

Other British Pudding Recipes:

This English Summer Pudding (with blueberries, raspberries and currants) is an easy pudding that I make in the summer. While not steamed, it also involves a “mold” that you can easily make with a large bowl.

Do not let that deter you….I used a simple bowl and foil and it turned out beautifully!

The recipe below was inspired by Theresa Loe from Home Grown Living. Details on the steaming process can be found above. For a detailed tutorial check out the video in the recipe below.

Persimmon Steamed Pudding