Caramel Apple Steamed Pudding

They were sealing the asphalt at our townhome complex the other day. You can’t drive on the asphalt for 24 hours after it is sealed, so my husband and I discussed what we wanted to do. We could park in a different part of the complex, but parking was really limited. We decided that my car would stay in the garage, and that we’d get lunch, run some errands and then park and stay in for the rest of the day. We decided to make a steamed pudding to have for dessert that night, as they take a little time to make.

Steamed pudding is a classic British dessert, but this recipe is from Martha Stewart. You can have just about any flavor you want in a steamed pudding; sticky toffee pudding is probably the most common. This one with apples sounded fantastic. It also had quite a few steps, so it was a good recipe for the two of us to work on together. The steps do take a while, and I think nearly every bowl and pan needed to be washed after making this! Martha Stewart obviously has a big staff to wash the dishes for her.

I think this recipe works best with two people working on it, you can divide and conquer. Since there are only two of us, we have smaller pudding molds, half the size that this recipe uses. We just used half of the ingredients. You really need to eat the pudding right after steaming, so you can’t really save leftovers for another day. We could have made two puddings, but didn’t have anywhere to take the second one. The one that we did make was fantastic. I love anything with apples and fall spices like ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg, so I was in heaven! 

Caramel Apple Steamed Pudding

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks

1/2 cup plus 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

9 tablespoons butter, divided

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup molasses

1 1/4 cups flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup bread crumbs

Have a two quart pudding mold (or bowl) ready.

Make the caramel: place 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat until the sugar has melted. Continue cooking, swirling the pan to prevent burning, until the sugar turns deep amber. Pour the caramel into the pudding mild.

Make the applesauce: Place half of the apple chunks in a saucepan, and add 2 tablespoons water, 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Place over low heat, and cook, covered, until the apples fall apart, 10 to 20 minutes. Uncover, and cook 5 minutes more, stirring often.

Make the apple topping: Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet; add remaining apple chunks and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Cook over medium-high heat until apples are soft and browned, about 5 minutes. Place apples in the bottom of the mold, distributing evenly.

Make the pudding: in a large mixer bowl, cream together 8 tablespoons room temperature butter and the brown sugar. Add the eggs and molasses; mix well. Add the applesauce and mix well. In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and bread crumbs. Add to the batter and stir until just combined. Pour the batter into the pudding mold with the caramel and apples. Seal the top of the mold with foil (or with the lid of your pudding mold if it has one).

In a pot large enough to hold the pudding mold with a 2-inch space all around. Place a wire rack in the bottom of pot; fill with enough water to reach halfway up sides of mold. Or heat water in a large pasta pot with a pasta insert. Set the pudding in the pasta insert. Cover pot, and bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.

Steam the pudding for about 1 hour and 40 minutes, refilling the pot with water as needed. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before unmolding on to a serving plate.

Recipe from Martha Stewart