Jamaican Ginger Sponge Pudding Food

GINGER TREACLE SPONGE

Steps:

• Butter a 1 litre pudding basin. Mix the breadcrumbs, golden syrup and ginger syrup and place in the bottom of the basin.
• To prepare the steamer, put a small, upturned saucer or trivet into a large saucepan big enough to fit the pudding basin. Put the kettle on.
• In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the beaten eggs, vanilla and lemon zest, then sieve the flour and ginger into the mixture. Fold everything together with a big spoon or spatula. Fill the pudding basin with the sponge mixture.
• Cut out large sheets of greaseproof paper and foil, big enough to fit over the basin with a 2in overhang. Sit greaseproof on foil, fold a pleat into the middle, then butter the greaseproof. Put, butter-side down, over the pudding, and tie tightly under the rim with string. Sit the basin in the saucepan, add enough water from the kettle to come halfway up the basin sides, cover with a lid and simmer gently for 1 hr 45 mins.
• Meanwhile, candy your clementine slices by pouring 100ml water from the kettle over the sugar in a small frying pan. Heat until melted, then add the clementine slices and bubble until they are shiny and sticky with sugar. Lift out with tongs and set aside on baking parchment to dry.
• Check the pudding is cooked by inserting a metal skewer - there should be no raw mixture on the skewer, but you may find a little sticky syrup from the bottom.
• For the topping, put the syrups in a small pan and bubble to thicken for a few mins, then stir in the ginger chunks and a few clementine slices. Turn the pudding out onto a serving plate and spoon over some syrupy ginger topping. Serve with crème fraîche and custard.

GINGER & CHRISTMAS PUD CHEESECAKE WITH GINGER SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 5. Grease and line a roughly 1.3-litre ovenproof pudding basin with 4 strips of baking parchment, criss-crossing the bowl like spokes of a wheel. Beat the cream cheese, mascarpone, vanilla, eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until combined and light. Fold in the flour, Christmas pud and stem ginger, then spoon into the prepared tin. Carefully put in the oven.
• Check after 1 hr - it should be set with a slight wobble; you may need to give it 10 mins more. Remove and allow to cool slightly (it will puff up, then sink a little). Brush with 1 tbsp ginger syrup, then arrange the ginger loaf cake on top, pressing to form a base. Brush with 1 tbsp more syrup, then place a saucer on top to press down. Chill for at least 4 hrs (or up to 2 days).
• To make the sauce, bubble together all the ingredients plus 3 tbsp ginger syrup in a saucepan until syrupy. Turn the cheesecake out onto a serving plate and serve with the hot ginger sauce.