Steamed Apple Pudding with Homemade Custard

Ingredients

• 1 cooking apple (peeled, cored, and chopped)
• 2 tblsp golden syrup
• 25 g unsalted butter
• 40 g raisins (rehydrated)
• 120 g butter plus extra for greasing
• 80 g golden castor sugar
• 3 whole free range eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100 g plain flour (sieved)
• 100 g apple jelly
• 1 lemon
• for the custard:
• 1 vanilla pod (split)
• 375 ml whole milk
• 3 free range egg yolks
• 50 g caster sugar

Method

1. Cream the sugar and butter together, beat in the eggs one at a time.
2. Sieve the baking powder on to the flour, add the flour one spoonful at a time and beat either with an electric hand held beater, or as we did with a wooden spoon. Add the apple jelly and blend through. Add some lemon peel.
3. In a separate pot heat the 25g of butter and sweat off the apple until it has softened but still holds its shape.
4. Remove from the heat and add the raisins and golden syrup. Set to one side.
5. Prepare the pudding bowl. Smear a thick layer of butter on the inside of a 6-inch pudding bowl. Make a small disc of greaseproof paper that will sit on the bottom of the pudding bowl.
6. Pour the apple and raisin syrup mixture into the bottom of the bowl. Pour over the pudding mixture on top of the apple and raisin mixture.
7. Cover the top of the pudding bowl with a double layer of greaseproof and tin foil and secure with twine. Tip: make a little handle across the top between the two sides; it's easier to lift out of the pot.
8. Half fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil - make sure the pot has a very tight-fitting lid. Place a saucer in the bottom of the saucepan on which the pudding can rest on. (This ensures that the pudding doesn't burn). Keep the lid on the pudding as it steams.
9. Cook for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Make sure to top up with water at regular intervals.
10. When cooking time is finished lift out of the saucepan and turn out onto a serving dish and serve piping hot with custard.
11. For the Custard:
12. Split the vanilla pod in half and scrape the seeds into a saucepan. Add the milk to the pan and bring to the boil.
13. Have a shallow bowl of ice ready, big enough to take the base of the saucepan.
14. Beat the eggs and sugar together in a bowl and pour the hot milk over, whisking together well.
15. Pour back into the saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens. Take the pan off the heat and immediately plunge into the bowl of ice to stop the custard cooking any more.