In the United States puddings mean soft, creamy, usually cold desserts. Chocolate pudding being the most popular. But in the United Kingdom, puddings are steamed cakes. You make a cake batter, put it in a crock that you seal with foil, put it in a giant, covered stockpot, and steam for a couple of hours. Then you serve it with a sauce, oftentimes a boozy one.
That's why it was a no-brainer to use the sous vide machine to make a steamed pudding. You can put the pudding into the machine and leave it without having to worry about monitoring it like you would a pot on a stove.
Steamed puddings come out wonderfully moist and dense. This one did too. It was a very successful recipe and I look forward to trying other steamed pudding recipes in my SousVide Supreme in the future.
1 cup dates, chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin spice mix
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 cups of pumpkin puree, homemade or canned
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Find a glass or ceramic bowl that will fit inside your SousVide Supreme. Butter the inside walls and set aside.
Place the low rack into the Sous Vide Supreme and add about 1 inch of water. Heat the Sous Vide Supreme to 90 degree Celsius.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Stir in the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Stir in the dates. Gradually stir in the flour mixture just until blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared mold.
Cut a piece of parchment paper the size to cover the top of the bowl. Butter one side and place the butter side down over the top of the bowl. Cut a piece of foil large enough to cover the bowl and seal around the sides. Take a piece of cooking twine and tie it around the edge of the bowl, sealing down the paper and foil tightly. Cut another piece of cooking twine large enough to tie under the bowl up the sides to the top. You are creating a twine handle to be able to safely lift the bowl out of the machine at the end when it will be very hot.
Carefully lower the bowl into the SousVide Supreme. The water should come up the sides of the bowl, but be an inch shy of the top of the bowl. Place the lid on the Sous Vide Supreme and let cook for 3 1/2 hours.
Using the twine handle, carefully remove the bowl and check the pudding; it should feel set to the touch, yet slightly moist. A cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean.
Allow the pudding to cool for 10 minutes, then turn it upside down onto a plate. Serve warm with the salted caramel sauce and/or whipped cream.
Salted caramel sauce
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
In a small saucepan on medium heat, melt the sugar and water together. Let boil until the sugar mixture starts to turn a nice caramel color. Remove from heat and carefully add in the cream and butter. When fully incorporated, add butter and mix in the sea salt. Serve warm over the steamed pudding.
Recipe adapted from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Entertaining
Disclosure: I was given a SousVide Supreme Demi and vacuum sealer in exchange for recipe development.
