Rhubarb Pudding

Vanilla flavoured steamed pudding topped with rhubarb

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

•     500g rhubarb
•     100g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
•     Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
•     100g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
•     3 tbsp golden syrup
•     1 vanilla pod, split and scraped
•     2 large eggs
•     Grated zest of 1 lemon
•     100g self-raising flour
•     50ml milk

Method

1. Cut the rhubarb into bite-size pieces and set aside a few of these. Combine the remainder with a sprinkling of caster sugar and the orange zest and juice in a pan and gently   cook for 5-10 minutes until the rhubarb begins to soften. Set aside to cool.
2. Butter a 1-litre pudding basin and place the reserved rhubarb pieces in the bottom of the basin, then drizzle over the golden syrup.
3. In a bowl or mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together until creamy and light. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the lemon zest.
4. Sift over half the flour and gently fold into the mixture. Add a little milk to loosen, then sift in the rest of the flour and fold into the mixture with the remaining milk.
5. Put the mixture into the pudding basin, cover with a circle of baking paper and tie under the rim of the basin with kitchen string to secure. Before cutting the string, take it up over the top to create a loose handle, then tie securely. Trim off any excess baking paper. Place the basin in a large pot and pour hot water into the pot until it reaches two-thirds of the way up its sides. Cover and steam for 1½ hours. Allow the pudding to cool for about 5 minutes before turning out onto a serving dish.