Steamed Puddings with Caramel Sauce

We have been on dinner party overload at our house of late. I guess after 8 months of not having anyone over, and then lots of friends wanting to come to see our new house, it’s a probable outcome. The pudding pictured above was one had when friends were over a couple of weeks ago.

For nibbles when they arrived, I had marinated some olives, had a dish of salted mixed nuts and made a delicious pea and feta dip which we had with mini grissini. I was actually a bit disappointed with the main, which was another recipe from Dish – chicken pieces stuffed with Italian sausage and cooked in a tomato and onion sauce, with crispy roast potatoes and a green salad. The chicken was nice for an everyday meal but didn’t seem quite special enough for a dinner party.

Pudding was very yummy though. The pudding was pumpkin and chocolate individual steamed puddings with a caramel sauce. The recipe is a Julie Le Clerc one that I pulled out of your home and garden magazine when she was the food editor (which tells you how long I have held onto the recipe for – it must be at least 8 years I think!). I love pumpkin, chocolate, steamed pudding and caramel all on their own, so the combination was going to be a great one for me and it was.

The puddings used steamed, mashed pumpkin which keeps the puddings very moist. The highlight for me was the caramel sauce – I love caramel anything and I eventually had to throw the rest of the sauce out as I kept going back to the fridge and dipping my spoon in!!

Pumpkin & Chocolate Puddings with Caramel Sauce (adapted from a Julie Le Clerc recipe – makes 6)

1/3 c rice bran oil
1/3 c raw sugar
1 egg
¾ c mashed pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp each baking powder and baking soda
¼ c wholewheat flour
½ c plain flour
½ c chopped dark chocolate

• Beat oil and sugar together, then beat in egg until thick and pale.
• Mix in pumpkin, vanilla and spices and then dry ingredients and lastly the chocolate.
• Spoon into 6 greased ramekins and bake for 25-30 minutes at 170c or until a sharp knife comes out clean
• Serve with the following caramel sauce:

100g butte
½ c cream
1 c brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

• Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and stir over a gentle heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves
• Increase heat and boil for two minutes or until syrupy