Pudding, hāngī style
Chef Lyall Minhinnick’s burnt sugar steamed pudding served with plenty of custard and cream is a family favourite, he tells David Skipwith.
For many Kiwis, particularly Ma¯ ori, steamed pudding is the king of desserts. Cheap and easy to make, it is a Christmas classic, traditionally served with homemade custard and cream, and can provoke plenty of arguments during the rush to grab seconds.
It’s also a staple marae dessert, often served during a tangi or at special occasions.
It can feature as part of a ha¯ ngı¯ meal, but it’s also a perfect family treat on a cold winter’s night.
‘‘It is very easy to make, and I think that is why it is so popular,’’ says Lyall Minhinnick, head chef at Fleur’s Place at Moeraki, run by chef Fleur Sullivan.
‘‘Back in the day, Ma¯ ori wouldn’t always have had top-notch ingredients on hand, so with basic staple ingredients they tried to make something nice, as opposed to making a souffle or a meringue pie.
‘‘There are lots of variations you can try – golden syrup, burnt sugar, sticky date, butterscotch, and plenty more.
‘‘It’s a real comfort food for Ma¯ ori, and it’s something you want to eat while sitting down together with the family.’’
A traditional English dessert that landed on our shores with the early settlers, steamed pudding recipes are often shared and passed down through Ma¯ ori families, with nans or aunties teaching younger generations how it is made.
It is particularly popular among Te Arawa people, and was proudly served to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, during their 2017 visit to Rotorua’s Te Papaiouru Marae.
The Duke and Duchess even took time to visit the wharekai (dining hall), where they were shown how the pudding is prepared and made in the outdoor steam boxes that draw on the region’s natural geothermal heat.
‘‘Nan first taught me how to make the burnt sugar version when I was 10,’’ says Minhinnick, who originally hails from Waiuku and is of Nga¯ ti Te Ata descent.
‘‘You can cook it in a tin, and in a pot with boiling water, or we put it in a roasting bag and steam it in the ha¯ ngı¯ machine, which is easier than the pot version.
‘‘You can cook it in a traditional ha¯ ngı¯ in the ground as well, but that’s a whole different level.
‘‘I remember Nan using the same old pot – the thing we would always hate as kids is cleaning it at the end of the night, because the bottom of the pot was really sticky.
‘‘Each time I make it, the aromas take me back to my childhood, and memories of awesome laughs with the wha¯ nau.’’
Feel free to experiment with the different versions of steamed pudding, though in Ma¯ ori families this can be problematic, as everyone will have firm opinions on what the best one is.
Versatile and warming, steamed pudding can be modernised, be suet free, or you can try adding ginger or star anise, and serve with poached tamarillos or feijoa compote.
‘‘There were a lot of protests initially, when I suggested, ‘Why don’t we try it with the butterscotch sauce’,’’ Minhinnick said.
‘‘My aunties and uncles were saying, ‘Nah, you’ve got to have it with custard and cream.’
‘‘I had to push for them to let me experiment, but once they tasted their first mouthful with the butterscotch sauce they changed their minds and said, ‘OK, you’re on steamed puddings from now on’.’’