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Spotted dick
Steamed suet sponge studded with currants
BritishSpotted dick is the steamed suet pudding of English school dinners and gentlemen's clubs in London, the 'spots' being the currants and 'dick' an old word for pudding. Suet makes it light and moist; this recipe uses vegetarian suet, so it is meat-free. It is rolled, wrapped and steamed, then served in thick slices with hot custard. Chef's tip: leave a pleat in the paper and foil so the pudding has room to swell.
- Total time
- 105 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 8 oz self-raising flour
- 3 ½ oz vegetarian suet
- 2 ⅝ oz caster sugar
- 5 ½ oz currants
- 1 pinch salt
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 cups hot custardto serve
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Mix the 8 oz self-raising flour, 3 ½ oz vegetarian suet, 2 ⅝ oz caster sugar, 5 ½ oz currants, 1 lemon zest and 1 pinch salt in a bowl.
3 minStep 2: Stir in the ¾ cup milk to make a soft but firm dough, then shape it into a fat log about 20 cm long.
4 minStep 3: Lay a sheet of baking paper on a sheet of foil, make a 3 cm pleat across the middle, put the log on it and wrap loosely, twisting the ends like a sweet wrapper.
5 minStep 4: Set on a trivet or upturned saucer in a large pan, pour in boiling water to come a third of the way up, cover and steam for 1½ hours, topping up with boiling water. A common mistake is letting the pan boil dry.
90 minStep 5: It is done when firm and springy and a skewer comes out clean. Unwrap, slice thickly and serve with hot 2 cups hot custard.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does spotted dick take?
- About 105 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 90 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of self-raising flour?
- Plain flour + 2 tsp baking powder per 150g (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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