Basic Sponge Pudding Food

MICROWAVE SPONGE PUDDING

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and milk gradually, so as not to curdle the butter. Sift in the flour, and fold in gently. Transfer to a 1 pint microwave-safe bowl.
• Cover, and cook for 3 1/2 minutes on full powder, or until the pudding appears set when gently jiggled, and the top is sticky. Serve hot.

SYRUP SPONGE PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a two pint heat proof bowl or basin.
• In large bowl, cream together margarine and sugar. Add, a little at a time, beaten eggs, vanilla and flour, until well mixed. Fold in milk to make a smooth consistency.
• Pour syrup in bottom of prepared basin and layer batter over the top. Cover basin with firmly tied parchment paper covered with foil. Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place basin on towel, inside roasting pan, and place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the basin.
• Steam in the oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until pudding springs back when touched. Invert onto serving plate and serve warm.

10 MINUTE SPONGE PUDDING

Steps:

• Cream the butter and sugar together.
• Add the eggs and vanilla essence.
• Add the flour, milk and lemon zest.
• Put the golden syrup in the bottom of a two pint bowl.
• Spoon the mixture on top.
• Cover and place in the microwave.
• Cook on high for 3.5 minutes. Sometimes, the pudding needs another 1.5 minutes on top of this.
• Variations: Any flavourings can be omitted or added. For example, add raisins (leaving our the syrup) and you have spotted dick!

BASIC SPONGE PUDDING

Steps:

• Heat oven Gas 4/355F degrees.
• Well butter 2 1/2 to 3 inch deep pie dish.
• Cream together the butter or margarine and sugar.
• Add eggs one at a time with a little flour until smooth.
• Add remaining flour, baking powder (if used) and salt, beating well.
• Add the milk, and beat again.
• Pour mixture into dish and smooth the top.
• Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until well risen and brown.
• Variations to the Basic Sponge: Sultana Sponge; Put 2 oz sultanas in the bottom and around the sides of a well buttered dish, pour on the mixture.
• Apricot Sponge: Add 3 soaked apricots chopped small, to the mixture, put 3 or 4 apricot halves in the bottom of the dish, pour on the sponge mixture.
• Jam Sponge: Put 3 or 4 tblsp of any kind of jam in the bottom of the dish, pout on the sponge mixture.
• Syrup Sponge: Put 1 tblsp of golden syrup in the bottom of the dish, pour on mixture.
• Chocolate Sponge; Substitute 1 tblsp cocoa for 1 oz.
• flour, sieving it with the flour.
• Ginger Sponge; Add 1 tspn ground ginger to the flour and use 4 oz golden syrup instead of sugar, melted in warmed milk.
• Black Cap Pudding:Put a tblspn cleaned currants in the bottom of the dish, pour on the mixture.

EASY JAM SPONGE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Butter a 25cm square or 20 x 30cm rectangular cake tin or baking dish.
• Beat the butter, sugar, flour, eggs and vanilla extract together until smooth. Spread the jam over the base of the tin, and dollop over the cake batter. Spread over evenly. Bake for 20-25 mins until the sponge is light golden and risen, and a skewer inserted into the middle comes back clean. Serve warm with custard, cream or ice cream.

LEMON DRIZZLE SPONGE PUDDING

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter a 30 x 20cm deep baking dish.
• Put the butter and 250g caster sugar in a bowl and beat for 5 mins until pale and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs, then sieve over the flour and baking powder and fold in until you have a batter. Stir in the lemon zest, reserving a little for decoration.
• Spoon the sponge batter into the dish and smooth over the top.
• Mix the lemon juice with the cornflour in a heatproof bowl to make a smooth paste. Mix the remaining 130g caster sugar with 300ml boiling water in a jug, pour over the cornflour mix and whisk until smooth. Pour this over the sponge. Bake for 45-50 mins until golden and set, and the sponge springs back when touched.
• While the pudding is baking, make the lemon drizzle. Mix the icing sugar with enough lemon juice (about half of it) to create a loose consistency. Drizzle over the sponge while it's still warm and decorate with the reserved lemon zest. Serve straightaway with cream or custard.

BASIC SPONGE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Grease only the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan and cover with a circle of parchment paper. Do not grease the sides of the pan.
• In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until light, gradually adding in the sugar. Add in vanilla and lemon and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy, about 1 minute at high speed, then beat in the salt and cream of tartar. Continue beating until the eggs reach soft peaks. Fold egg whites, working in 3 or 4 batches, into the yolk mixture.
• Sift the flour over the egg mixture, again working in 3 or 4 batches, and gently fold it inches When the batter is uniform, pour into prepared cake pan and bake unil a tester comes out dry and the top of the cake springs back when gently pressed, about 35-45 minutes.
• Allow cake to cool in the pan before cutting around the sides with a sharp knife and turning it out.
• Slice the cake into 2 or 3 layers (or squares) and fill as desired.

EASY MICROWAVE SPONGE PUDDING

Steps:

• In a bowl cream the Butter and Sugar together untill smooth.
• Add in the Eggs, and beat quickly so that it does not curdle (You could add a tbsp of flour at this point - if you are worried about it curdling).
• Once the Eggs are combined, add in all of the Flour, and combine together, try to get as much air in the mixture as possible.
• Grease a separate bowl with a little butter. In the bottom of the bowl put in your topping, (eg - Jam).
• Once the Jam is in the bottom, add the sponge mixture on top of the Jam and level out slightly.
• Cover with cling film or a plate and microwave for about 6-8 minutes (Time may vary on individual microwaves - so if you think it needs more time dont worry - you cant over cook the sponge - just be carefull if you have used chocolate spread this can burn)
• Once cooked remove the cling film or plate (be carefull it will be hot). Place a large plate over the top of the bowl - holding the bowl and plate together - flip the bowl upside down and the sponge should land on the plate. Take the bowl off, cut into 4 and serve with custard.

EASY TREACLE SPONGE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Mix the syrup, lemon zest, juice and breadcrumbs and spread over the base of a 1.5 litre baking dish.
• Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, one by one. Stir in the flour and milk and dollop over the syrup. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden and risen, and a skewer poked into the sponge comes out clean-ish. Eat with lots of custard, cream or ice cream and extra dribbles of syrup.