How to steam a pudding

Steaming a pudding is easy when you know how.

What is steaming?

Steaming is a method of cooking that uses the moist heat of steam to cook the food. The heat is created by boiling water which vaporizes into steam which is traped within the food steam or pan.

Steaming produces light moist puddings including many classic Birtish puddings such as and Spotted Dick. It is the method used to cook Christmas pudding and sponge puddings such as Treacle pudding and my Orange and Stem Ginger Pudding and these indiviual Chocolate orange steam puddings on my baking blog Only Crumbs Remain.

What equipment will I need?

Different method of steaming a pudding

Using a saucepan and lid is the cheapest option as it doesnt require any special equipment. Put you will need to keep checking the water levels. The lid must be tight fitting in order to keep the steam in the pan.

Steamers which fit over a pan look like a saucepan but have holes in the bottom that allow the steam from the boilling water below to pass through. The advantage of this method is that you can put a larger amount of water in the bottom pan so you do not have to top up the water as frequently.

Electric Steamers are easy to use and convenient. If you do a lot of steaming (and steaming is an excelent way to cook a number of foods) then it mayb be worth investing in one. Make sure you buy one with a s steamer section deep enough to hold a pudding basin. Some only have shallow trays. The plus side of an electr steamer is it is automatic and they cut out if the water runs dry.

Step 1

Once you have your pudding ready to be steamed. Cover the bowl with a sheet of baking parchment or greaseproof paper with a pleat folded down the centre.

Step 2

Then place a sheet of foil with a pleat down the centre on top of the pachment. The pleat allows the pudding room to expand during cooking.

Step 3

Fold the foil and paper down around the basin, pinch the foil in around the rim,  and secure with string

Step 4

Adding a string handle will make lifting the pudding in and out of the pan easier. Do this by tying another piece of string to the string securing the foil.

Step 5

To steam the pudding, place the pudding in the top of a steamer or, if you don't have a steamer, put the pudding in a large saucepan with about 3–5 cm of boiling water in the bottom, and cover with a tight fitting lid. Allow the water in the pan to simmer gently for the required cooking time.