Orange and Ginger Steamed Cake
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In the UK and South Africa this is a steamed pudding, in the US where steamed puddings are really not a thing, this would be described as a cake with a weird texture. The fact that this can be steamed in a big pot, can be cooked if you just have a gas ring or even an open fire and it can be served with tea or coffee means that it’s a cake accessible to everyone. Given that electric pressure cookers and electric multi-cookers (with a steam option) are becoming more accessible steamed cakes can be more energy efficient than oven baking. I’m giving the recipe for stove-top steaming here. Multi-cooker timings will be the same, but in a pressure cooker (stove top or electric it will take 40 minutes [plus warm up time]).
I think ginger works very well in steamed cakes and here I’m adapting a lime recipe I had from years ago to use oranges (you can also use lemons). If you are serving as a cake, just prepare as the recipe below. If serving as a pudding you can accompany with vanilla custard, cream, cold condensed milk or ice cream. For this you will need a 1l (4-cup) pudding basin or heat-proof bowl. If you don’t have stem ginger, I provide a method to make your own at the bottom of the recipe.
60 mins prep time/140 mins cook time/serves 8
Ingredients:
To prepare the pudding bowl:
3 tbsp golden syrup (thick sugar syrup or light corn syrup)
1 tbsp ginger syrup (from jar of stem ginger)
2 large, thin-skinned oranges, rinsed, then sliced thinly (you can substitute clementines)
For the sponge:
175g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
175g (3/4 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
4 eggs
175g (1 ½ cups) self-raising flour (or plain flour + 2 tsp baking powder)
½ tsp baking powder
finely grated zest of 2 large oranges (either eat the flesh or separate the segments to use as a garnish)
60g (1/3 cup) drained stem ginger, finely chopped
Method:
First prepare the pudding basin. Grease the basin with butter or margarine then combine the golden syrup and the ginger syrup in a small bowl, then spoon into the base of your basin or bowl. Starting at the base and working your way up the sides, use the orange slices to line the inside of the bowl (discard any pips). Transfer to the refrigerator and chill until needed.
Place an upturned saucer or trivet on the base of a large, deep pan, and quarter fill the pan with hot water. Cover with a lid, place on medium heat and bring to a simmer.
In the meantime, if you don’t have a snap-on lid for the basin/bowl, prepare a lid as follows: Cut out a 27cm (11 in) diameter circle of baking paper and grease the top surface. Fold the greased disc of baking paper, greased side down, so it has a 3cm crease in the centre. Turn by 90 degrees and fold again, to create a cross. Repeat with a 27cm foil disc of kitchen foil. Set aside. This allows the lid to expand during cooking so it doesn’t burst.
For the sponge. Combine the butter (or margarine) and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon, or with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly to combine after each addition and adding 1 tablespoon of the flour with each of the last 3 eggs (this prevents the eggs from curdling).
Sift the remaining flour and the baking powder into the bowl. Add the orange zest and the chopped stem ginger then fold with a spatula until thoroughly combined. Spoon the resultant mixture into the prepared pudding basin, without dislodging the orange slices.
Cover the basin with the lid; or with the oiled baking paper (greased side down), and then the foil, then tie under the rim with the string. Using a doubled length of string, make a loose handle to go over the top of the basin (for lifting the pudding out of the pan) and tie to the string at each side.
Set the basin on the upturned saucer (or trivet) in the pan and add more boiling water, if necessary, so the water comes about one third of the way up the sides of the basin. Cover the pan and simmer for 2 hours 15 minutes. Check regularly and top up with hot water, if necessary. Alternately prepare your pressure cooker or multi-cooker steamer according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
When the pudding is ready, lift the basin out of the pan. Remove the covering and leave for 5 minutes. Loosen the sponge (without dislodging the orange slices), then turn out onto a plate.
If serving as a pudding, bring to the table warm, slice into wedges and serve with a jug of custard, cream, or a scoop of ice cream. If serving as a cake, allow the pudding to cool completely before slicing and serving with a cup of tea. The cold cake can also be served with cream or ice cream.
So, here it is, a tasty cake that you can make pretty much anywhere.
If you don’t have stem ginger, you can make ginger in syrup by taking ginger, peeling it and cutting into 3cm (1 in) lengths. Make a syrup by dissolving 200g in 300ml (1 ¼ cups) water. Heat in a pan until the sugar has dissolved, add the ginger and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for 40 minutes, until tender, then take off the heat and allow to cool. Pour into a bowl, allow to cool completely and chill in the refrigerator over-night. The next day you can use this lightly-candied ginger instead of the stem ginger.
For even more citrusy flavour, add the zest and juice of 1 lime to the orange zest.
For a different (and richer) flavour, why not add some sweet spices. For example, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, or even better ½ tsp ground cardamom would work well in the sponge batter.To convert this to a Christmas pudding, stir 4 tbsp mincemeat into the sponge cake batter along with ½ tsp mixed spice (pumpkin pie spice).
