Dr Mobeus
Spotted Dick with Custard
Every school dinner argument eventually arrives at spotted dick, and the homemade version settles it: a suet sponge, dense and comforting, studded with currants and steamed until it turns into something halfway between cake and dumpling. The pudding itself costs about 98p, and proper custard made from powder adds pence rather than pounds. The only special equipment is a lidded pan and something to keep the pudding off the bottom. Suet keeps the sponge moist for days, which is why this was the pudding that fed families through the week.
Spotted Dick with Custard
Ingredients
Method
- Mix the flour, suet, currants, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the milk to a soft, sticky dough, adding a splash more if it looks dry.
- Turn onto a floured surface and shape into a fat sausage about 20 cm long. Lay it on a large sheet of baking paper and roll it up loosely, twisting the ends like a cracker so the pudding has room to swell.
- Rest the parcel on a folded sheet of foil as a sling and steam it over simmering water in a covered pan for 1 hour 30 minutes, topping up the hot water now and then.
- For the custard, blend the custard powder and sugar with 3 tablespoons of the milk into a smooth paste. Heat the rest of the milk until steaming, then stir in the paste and simmer gently, stirring, until it thickens enough to coat the spoon.
- Unwrap the pudding, rest for 5 minutes, then slice into 6 rounds with a bread knife. Pour over the hot custard.
Tips and Variations
Vegetarian suet works perfectly. Without a steamer, an upturned saucer in the bottom of a lidded pan does the same job. The pudding reheats well by steaming slices for 10 minutes. Golden syrup drizzled over is a welcome extra, and leftover sponge can be fried in butter the next day.
