Steamed syrup pudding

Here’s a little sweet something.

Cooking syrup pudding when you are out bush is a real delight and the task is made easy if you have an Ozpig. This compact stove is your best friend in the outdoors.  It burns very efficiently and requires far less wood than an open fire. You have full control over the heat of the fire by simply opening and closing the door.

I use a large pot on the Ozpig for this recipe, and you will also need a steamer with a clip-on lid. The steamer I use is round with an 18cm diameter and a depth of 10cm. The ingredients are placed in the steamer and positioned in the water in the pot. Water needs to reach 2cm up the side of the steamer when it is placed in the water. The idea is to bring the water in the pot to the boil and the heat from the water and the steam cooks the pudding.

Don’t overfill with water. If the water boils over the lid it can leak into the pudding, which will become soggy. Use aluminium foil to help prevent this from happening. You need to keep the water on a steady boil and top up the water as it evaporates.

Regulate your fire with wood as needed to keep the water boiling in the pot. One and a half hours later your pudding will be cooked. Remove the lid and foil from the steamer and turn it upside down on a plate to serve. Do this while hot to avoid the pudding sticking to the side of the steamer. This is another of my mother’s old recipes that she has cooked for the family for years. It’s normally cooked indoors on the gas or electric stovetop but is certainly worth adding to your camp recipe book.

It’s hard to beat this sweet, hot, saucy pudding to top off an evening meal after a hard day’s fishing.

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup syrup
• 1 tbsp self-raising flour (extra)
• 1/2 cup sultanas
• 1/2 cup freshly grated coconut

Method

1. Grease steamer and dust with extra flour.
2. Place syrup in bottom of steamer.
3. Add a layer of sultanas.
4. Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
5. Add eggs and mix.
6. Add flour, milk and coconut to mixture and stir until all ingredients are combined.
7. Place mixture on top of sultanas.
8. Cover the top of the steamer with aluminium foil and clip on the steamer lid.
9. Place steamer in a boiler and add enough water so that the water reaches 2cm up the side of the steamer.
10. Bring water to the boil. Top up the water as it evaporates. The pudding needs to steam in the boiling water for 1.5 hours.

Serve with custard or whipped cream.

Serves six to eight

Tip

For an easy-to-prepare custard when you are camping, and one that you just add water and sugar to, try Foster Clark’s Seriously Creamy Custard Powder.

It comes in a sachet and takes two minutes to make.