I adore mince pies – but are they a pudding? I always think not, but I want them to be; to transpose all those rich, spiced, fruity and buttery flavours into something that rounds off a meal a little more lightly. So that’s what I’m giving you today: a divine cross between a mince pie and a steamed sponge. These mini puddings are heaven, and I urge you to try them this Christmas. I like serving them piping hot, with generous lashings of custard or cold cream.
Steamed mincemeat sponge
You will need four dariole moulds or mini pudding basins.
Prep 10 min
Cook 50 min
Makes 4 mini puddings
180g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra to gread
160g caster sugar
3 eggs
200g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
A splash of milk
200g mincemeat
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4, and boil the kettle. Brush each mould with butter and put them in the fridge to chill.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition.
In a second bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and spices, then beat into the butter and sugar mix, and add the milk to make a cake batter.
Divide the mincemeat between the four dariole moulds, followed by the batter, filling each mould right to the top.
Cut out four circles of greaseproof paper each the same size as the rim of the moulds, and use to cover the cake batter. Take four 20cm x 20cm pieces of foil, then fold each one in half. Fold one side of each piece of foil back on itself to make a pleat of about 5cm in the middle, to give the puddings space to rise in the oven, then put the foil seam in the middle on top of each mould. and crimp around the edges of the rims to seal.
To steam, put the moulds in a casserole dish for which you have a lid (or a roasting pan with foil that can act as a lid), and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the moulds. Cover the dish or pan and bake for 35 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Take the puddings out of the oven, carefully lift them out of their water bath and leave to cool briefly. Peel off the foil and paper lids, then use a small palette knife to loosen around the edges. Flip out each pudding into a bowl and serve with cold cream or custard.
