Basic Sponge Pudding Recipes

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.

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.

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.

Steps:

• In a microwavable bowl, put the jam or syrup so that it covers the bottom. This will be the top of your cake.
• Here it is best to use a food processor, although if you want to you can do it by hand. Put all of the remaining basic ingredients into a bowl (or the mixer) with one of the flavour ingredients. If you want to, you can keep it plain.
• Mix or blend all of the ingredients together until smooth.
• Put in bowl on top of jam/syrup and microwave without a lid on full for 5 mins. Leave for 1-2 mins to stand.

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.