This recipe comes from New Zealand, where Gordon Ramsay went diving for paua (abalone) and foraged for edible wild plants.
The burnt sugar steamed pudding is inspired by chef Monique Fiso, who shines a light on Maori cuisine at her restaurant Hiakai in Wellington.
Burnt sugar steamed pudding
Makes: 2 loaves
Ingredients:
67g, plus 250g granulated sugar
237ml boiling water
303g all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground mixed spice or pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp kosher salt
216g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
3 large eggs, beaten
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 149C.
2. Fill a roasting pan with two-and-a-half centimetres of water and place in the center of the oven to heat. Lightly coat two one-pound loaf pans with nonstick spray.
3. In a medium heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat, add 67 grams sugar and cook, stirring gently and constantly, until it completely melts and turns a deep amber color, about 10 minutes.
4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and carefully pour in the boiling water. Stir the mixture until it thickens and becomes a syrup. Set aside.
5. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, 250 grams sugar, mixed spice, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter and use your fingertips to press the dry ingredients into the butter. Continue pressing and mixing until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Add the eggs and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
6. Slowly add syrup to the pudding mixture and continue stirring until a thick batter forms. Divide the batter between the two prepared loaf pans and cover each with aluminum foil.
7. Place the loaf pans in the roasting pan with water in the oven and cook for about two hours, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaves comes out clean.
8. Remove the pudding from the pan and let cool on a rack.
9. To serve, cut into individual slices and serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe from ‘Gordon Ramsay’s Uncharted: A Culinary Adventure With 60 Recipes From Around The Globe’ (National Geographic, £25).
