STEAM POWER
Ovens that combine conventional cooking and steam function make light work of meals.
As the weather cools down, our craving for comfort food goes up, and what could be more comforting than a steamed pudding? One of the most simple and rewarding of desserts, it becomes more effortless yet when cooked in a steam oven, such as the Smeg Black Linear Touch Screen Compact Combi-Steam Oven. No clanking saucepan lid, no monitoring the pot in case it boils dry – this oven takes the stress and guesswork out of the equation. It combines conventional cooking with steam and is fully programmable, allowing you to relax. Then there’s the Smeg Touch Control Thermoseal Oven. Sharing its compact companion’s trademark Italian style, its foolproof SmartSense Plus function likewise takes the fuss out of meal preparation. Roast a chook in one oven, steam the pudding in the other, and dinner is done.
100 ml dark rum
40 gm seedless raisins (see note) 150 gm caster sugar
125 gm butter, softened
2 eggs
125 gm plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
60 gm dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped CINNAMON CUSTARD
6 egg yolks
150 gm caster sugar
450 ml pouring cream
375 ml (1½ cups) milk
2 cinnamon quills, plus extra to serve
1 Warm rum in a small saucepan over medium heat, remove from heat, add raisins, cover and stand until raisins are plump (20 minutes).
2 Preheat steam oven to 100°C and butter and flour a 1.8-litre pudding bowl. Beat sugar and butter in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy (4-5 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift in flour and baking powder, stir to combine, then stir in chocolate and rum-raisin mixture. Spoon into pudding bowl and cover with a circle of buttered baking paper, then with a lid. Transfer pudding to steam oven and cook until top is golden (2½ hours). Set aside to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
3 Meanwhile, for cinnamon custard, whisk yolks and sugar in a large bowl until well combined (1-2 minutes). Bring cream, milk and cinnamon to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat, then add to egg yolks, whisking to combine. Return to pan and stir continuously until mixture coats the back of a spoon (3-4 minutes). Strain into a jug, and serve warm or refrigerate until required. 4 To serve, invert pudding onto a plate, finely grate cinnamon over the top and serve with cinnamon custard. Note Seedless raisins are available from select health-food shops. If they’re unavailable, use regular raisins.