Foodie Friday - A Real Winter Warmer - Microwave Lemon Sponge Pudding

I don't know about where you are tonight but in my little part of Co Durham the SNOW has arrived - It's not even November yet :(  and here was I still crossing my fingers for an Indian Summer. The cold weather to me means comfort food and this is nothing more comforting than a lovely sponge pudding, apart from a sponge pudding that takes less than 20 minutes to make! This recipe originally came from Juvela a coeliac food and advice site, but it can be made using "normal flour" for you lucky people that can eat consume gluten with no side effects - I've stayed pretty true to the original recipe but I haven't been quite as precise with certain ingredients

 

Microwave Lemon Sponge Pudding

100g Flour (Either Self Raising or Plain - It Won't Rise As Well If You Use Plain But It Doesn't Alter The Taste - I Used Juvela Gluten Free White Mix - A Gluten Free Self Raising Flour Blend)

4 tbsp Lemon Curd

1 tsp Baking Powder

100g Light Muscovado Sugar (Any Sugar Will Do I'm Using a Natural Caster Sugar Here)

100g Softened Butter 

2 Medium Eggs

2 tbsp Water

Grated Rind Of A Lemon (Optional)

1 tsp Vanilla Extract (Optional

1. Add your butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl and cream together till lighter in colour, smooth and combined

2. Weigh out your flour and add your baking powder powder, set aside

3.Crack your eggs into a smaller bowl, add the water, and either the vanilla or the lemon rind, beat together till combined (I had no lemon zest so I used 1 tsp of vanilla instead to give the sponge a nice flavour)

4.Put the flour, and the egg mix into the bowl with the butter and sugar, don't panic and mix it all together, you can use and electric mixer or like I did a wooden spoon. Mix it all together until the flour is mixed in and the mixture is relatively smooth

5.Take a pudding basin (mine holds and 1.5 litres) and put the lemon curd in the bottom of the bowl

6.Pour your sponge mix into the bowl on top of the lemon curd

7. Loosely cover the dish with cling film, then pop it into the microwave for 6 minutes on high.

8. When your microwave pings, be patient and leave the pudding in the microwave for 5 minutes to stand.

9. After your 5 minutes, carefully take the dish out of the microwave, carefully peel back the cling film, this will be very hot so mind your hands. Pop a plate on the bottom of the bowl then carefully turn it out and your pudding should come loose - Voila a gorgeous sponge pudding with lots of lemon sauce

OK, eagle eyes readers will actually see that this pudding didn't turn out perfectly, in fact some of my erm pudding remained in the bowl!

I've made this about a dozen times and I've managed to turn it out perfectly every time, I had to sit and think what I'd done then it hit me I hadn't greased my pudding basin!!! At step 5 before you add your lemon curd, rub the bowl over with a butter paper or a piece of kitchen roll with a bit of butter on it.

10. The pudding  and the lemon sauce will be very hot once you've turned it out so leave it for a few minutes to cool, then serve with custard, ice cream, cream, or my fave the very retro topping - evaporated milk. This pudding will serve 4 people easily.

This is a really good basic and quick pudding recipe, obviously you can use other varieties of jam or syrup, and add other flavourings to your sponge, for example you could replace 50g ish of flour with cocoa etc.

This went down a treat last night it's so easy to make and you only need a couple of basins, a wooden spoon and a microwave. Hope you try this recipe it really is yum, what puddings do you like? let me know in the comments xx