Treacle Pudding Recipe: How to Make British Treacle Pudding
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Nov 3, 2024 • 3 min read
Whether you have a can of golden syrup gathering dust in your pantry or a fascination with classic British sweets, it’s time to make treacle pudding. This easy dessert combines a traditional technique—steaming a cake on the stovetop—with a favorite ingredient: light treacle, also known as golden syrup.
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What Is Treacle Pudding?
Treacle pudding is a classic steamed dessert or sponge pudding consisting of a buttery sponge cake flavored with light treacle (also known as golden syrup), a thick, sweet syrup made during the sugar refining process. This old-fashioned British dish, which is most commonly eaten in England and Ireland, is frequently served during the holiday season and can be presented in a crowd-friendly casserole dish or baked in individual portions for a moist, rustic Christmas pudding. Readers outside of the United Kingdom should know that the word pudding is typically used to refer to steamed cakes, like sticky toffee pudding, rather than stovetop custards like chocolate pudding.
3 Tips for Making Treacle Pudding
Whether you’re a baking novice or cake-making pro, these simple tips will help you pull off this traditional dish without a hitch.
- 1. There is no substitute for treacle. If you’re unable to find light treacle or golden syrup at your local grocery store, try a British grocery store, gourmet foods shop, or order it online. Although you may be tempted to swap this specialty ingredient with corn syrup, the flavor is entirely different. Black treacle, also known as molasses, has a much richer flavor and should not be substituted for golden syrup either. If you have leftover light treacle, use it to make treacle tart, another classic British dessert featuring a treacle, breadcrumb, and lemon zest filling.
- 2. Keep an eye on the water level. While steaming the treacle pudding, it’s important to periodically check the pot to ensure there is still enough boiling water for steaming. Otherwise, the treacle may end up underbaked, and you can permanently damage your pan.
- 3. Let the pudding sit overnight. This moist and flavorful British dessert actually benefits from a night in the fridge. Plan ahead so that you can make the pudding the night before you want to eat it.
Treacle Pudding Recipe
makes
prep time
20 mintotal time
2 hr 20 mincook time
2 hrIngredients
- 1
Grease a 4-cup pudding basin, round souffle dish, or heatproof bowl with butter or nonstick spray.
- 2
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- 3
Add the cubes of butter to the dry ingredients. Using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until it has the texture of coarse sand.
- 4
In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the milk, egg white, vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon of the treacle until combined.
- 5
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- 6
Drizzle the remaining treacle into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- 7
Pour the cake batter into the prepared dish.
- 8
Cover the top of the pudding with a round piece of parchment paper.
- 9
Create a pleat in the center of a piece of foil by folding it over itself, and place the foil over the top of the baking dish.
- 10
Tie a string around the outside perimeter of the foil to secure it in place.
- 11
Place an upside-down ramekin or small heatproof bowl into a large pot and rest the baking dish on top of the ramekin.
- 12
Pour boiling water into the pan until it reaches halfway up the pudding dish.
- 13
Cover the pan and steam on the stovetop over low heat the dessert until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the middle of the pudding comes out clean, about 2 hours.
- 14
Add more boiling water to the pan during the steaming process, as needed, to maintain the water level.
- 15
Remove the baking dish from the pot and carefully remove the foil and parchment paper.
- 16
Run a knife along the edge of the pudding to loosen it from the pan.
- 17
Place a serving plate upside-down over the top of the baking dish and invert the pudding onto the plate. If desired, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- 18
Serve the steamed treacle pudding warm with a dollop of whipped cream or scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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