These individual golden syrup sponges will evoke a warming feeling of nostalgia. A light and fluffy sponge (that’s very simple to make) is covered in a sweet and sticky syrup. We all need a little indulging comfort to get us through these colder months, and these foolproof puddings will certainly do the trick!
Usually, a steamed pudding is cooked as one large sponge, but for ease we've turned the golden syrup sponge recipe into individual single-serving mini puds, which take a quarter of the time to cook compared to one large one!
Unlike standard baked sponge cakes, these ones get placed in a roasting tray filled with boiling water so they steam gently so the resulting sponge is incredibly light, fluffy and moist.
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Yields:
4
Prep Time:
25 mins
Cook Time:
25 mins
Total Time:
50 mins
Cal/Serv:
583
Ingredients
4Tbsp.
golden syrup (plus extra to drizzle over at the end)
125g
softened butter, plus extra to grease
125g
caster sugar
2
medium eggs
finely grated zest ½ lemon
125g
self-raising flour
1/2tsp.
ground ginger
5Tbsp.
milk
YOU WILL ALSO NEED
4
x 175ml metal dariole/mini pudding moulds
Directions
Step 1
Use softened butter to grease heavily four 175ml dariole moulds, then spoon 1tbsp golden syrup into the bottom of each.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. In a large bowl, beat together softened butter and caster sugar with an electric hand whisk until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in eggs, followed by the zest of the lemon.
Step 3
Next, fold in the self-raising flour, ground ginger and milk until smooth. Divide among the darioles, then cover each mould tightly with aluminium foil and put into a roasting tin. Pour enough boiling water into the tin to come 2cm up the sides of the moulds, then bake for 25min or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Step 4
Leave to cool in tins for 5min, then run a cutlery knife around inside of tins to loosen. Turn out on to plates and drizzle over extra syrup, if you like. Serve immediately.
What should I serve with my puddings?
They're equally delicious with custard - warm or cold - or cream. Or try a dollop of real vanilla ice cream on the hot sponge for an extra special treat.
Don't steamed puddings need a baking parchment and string lid?
We've also used foil to cover each individual mould, rather than the usual fiddly process of using baking parchment and string, it works perfectly for these mini puds.
I usually steam my puddings on the hob, why have you used the oven?
Our individual sponges are done in the oven in a roasting tray, rather than the usual process of placing the pudding in a pan on the hob. This means that the pan won't boil dry, so there is no need to periodically check to see if the water needs topping up. This works for mini puddings as you can surround them with water in a deep tin - you'd need a bucket-sized tin to do the same thing with a large pudding!
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).