Self-saucing puddings. I’d be hard pressed to come up with a more comforting, warming winter dessert.
Ever since I first encountered the magic of a pudding that is crisp and cakey on the top and then moist and saucey on the bottom, I’ve been hooked. At boarding school, one of the few edible things apart from toast, was Sister Gemma’s chocolate self saucing pudding.
I was going to share a chocolate pudding recipe with you, but last week I had the inspiration to try out a ginger version and the results were seriously good. My Irishman even gave them the highest accolade of ‘best dessert, ever’. And for me, they would beat a chocolate pudding any day.
So just in case you need an excuse to get into pudding making mode, I’ve done some research on the benefits of ginger in our diet, and a few interesting ginger facts. Would love to hear in the comments if you have a favourite ginger recipe to share.
9 things you should know about ginger
1. ginger helps digestion
Ginger is meant to aide the digestion of fatty foods as well as helping to break down proteins and has also been linked to reducing gas.
2. ginger has been linked with many health benefits
Ginger has been touted as relieving nausea, especially for motion sickness and has been recommended for morning sickness. It’s also meant to reduce inflammation and improve circulation. It’s also been linked with reducing cholesterol and relaxing blood vessels. Is there anything ginger can’t do (?)
3. fresh is best
Although you can use dried powdered ginger, candied (crystallised) ginger, or even pickled ginger in cooking, I find that the flavour of fresh ginger is the best. Apparently the health benefits are more pronounced with fresh ginger as well. To convert a recipe from dried ginger substitute in 6 parts fresh grated ginger for 1 part of ground.
4. ginger should not be wrinkly or dark
When shopping for ginger, choose fresh-looking, firm, crisp stems and keep away from the dark, shriveled ones.
5. the potency varies
Like chilli, not all gingers are equal. Generally, the younger and fresher the ginger stem, the less intense the flavour. This is probably related to simple dilution and moisture content as anything else.
6. ginger makes an excellent tea
My Irishman got me onto this one. It makes a wonderful after-dinner treat when you feel like something sweet but don’t have space for dessert. Just slice off a few rounds of fresh ginger stem and pop them in the bottom of a mug or glass. Top with boiling water and allow to steep for 5 minutes or so. Serve with honey to taste.
7. store fresh ginger in the refrigerator
Ginger is best stored unpeeled at cooler temperatures. Like most veg, best to wrap in plastic or pop in an airtight container to prevent it drying out.
8. ginger can also be stored in the freezer
If you aren’t using ginger very often, it can also be stored whole in the freezer. This has the added benefit that frozen ginger is easier to grate
9. ginger can be addictive
But with all those health benefits, surely this isn’t a problem(!)
[5 ingredients | simple baking]
self-saucing ginger puddings
serves 4
I’ve included two levels of ginger in the recipe – both are delicious. If you like your ginger subtle then just use the 1 tablespoon. But if you feel like getting a real, burning ginger hit, double up with the 2 tablespoons.
These puddings are brilliant for entertaining. Mix up the cake part and have it ready in your ramekins – a few hours in advance is fine. Then when you’re ready to cook, just add the boiling water + sugar mixture and bake.
Most steamed pudding recipes get you to cream the butter and sugar but I’ve found that just melting the butter is much easier and gives excellent results.
If you don’t have self raising flour, just use plain flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder mixed through. Big NOTE – you need 200g (7oz) brown sugar total, but it’s used in 2 different stages.
I like them best with vanilla icecream but they’d also be lovely with some thick cream.
100g (3 1/2oz) unsalted butter
1 – 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
200g (7oz) brown sugar
2 eggs
100g (3 1/2 oz) self raising flour
Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and add ginger and HALF the brown sugar (100g / 3 1/2oz). Stir and then add eggs, stirring well after each. Lightly mix in the flour until just combined. Don’t worry if there are a few lumps. Divide cake mixture between 4 x 1 cup capacity ramekins or dishes.
Combine the remaining HALF of the brown sugar with 1 cup boiling water. Pour over the cake mixture. Cover loosly with a large piece of foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes until puddings are puffy and golden.
Serve hot with vanilla icecream.
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I adore ginger – in tea with lemon when not feeling v well, in any stir fry or curry or (for a taste of the 70’s), crystallised ginger with melon.. reminds me of my mum every time I eat it! Then of course there are ginger biscuits.. sticky gingerbread.. gingerbread houses at Christmas.. should really get baking!
This recipe sounds wonderful! If only it weren’t extremely hot where I live, I would absolutely try it out right away.
I discovered this blog after hearing about the eBook from Lifehacker.com, and have already enjoyed two of the recipes from it, and have a few more lined up for trying soon. Thanks for sharing these – I’m looking forward to lots more!
Ginger is amazing in warm weather and is touted for its healing properties here in Asia; when my Chinese friend has a cold, she heats up a Coke and pops a few slices of ginger in it. I’m a bit on the fence about that one, but I actually can see how it would work… sorta.
Amazing recipe! I love self-saucing stuff ;) It usually means it’s awesomely gooey :D
Wei-Wei
I love ginger in everything and anything and I am definitely going to try this recipe this winter. Looks scrumptious!
Was the ginger pudding inspired by our new PM or just coincidence? :)
Self saucing puddings are kitchen magic. I’ll definitely be giving this one a go.
sounds delicious – I keep my ginger in vinegar so I guess it is pickled when I use it but the vinegar is great to use in cooking – I agree that self saucing puddings are food of the gods – chocolate pudding is my favourite – but I would love to try this one – have had a great steamed puddings with ginger and berries and a bit of treacle
Another winner! Our summer just got rolling here, but this makes me wish for a cool autumn evening…
You have just made my day. I just discovered steamed puddings this year, and can’t wait to try this out with ginger.
Ohhhhhhhhhhh, yum.
Thank you!!!
Yum. Oh yum!
I am quite literally salivating! Or at least I was until Heather drew that PM connection, eww, Heather!! :-P
Ginger is amazing and I go through a lot of it, in spicy dishes, teas, and of course baking. I’ve never heard of it as a pudding before and I can’t wait to try it. On holiday with the Mister for a few days and it’s his birthday, might have to bust it out. Who am I kidding? I am cooking this for me, he is just an excuse!
Went to a psychic once, told me ginger was good luck.
I love Donna Hay’s chocolate self saucing pudding – I’ve made it several times and my friends love it too. I have got to try this ginger version, too – it looks fantastic!
I’m definitely going to have to try the after dinner tea idea! I’ve got to kick that sweet craving somehow and it sounds so good to have something gingery hot! Even in this summer heat!!
oh wow! i’m going to have to try these! interesting ginger facts, didn’t know i could freeze ginger :)
fortunately i had fresh ginger and ice cream on hand, and even though its summer, its still cool in san francisco… very quick and easy to make and super delicious!! thanks!
I store my ginger in a jar full of sherry. It lasts a long, long time that way. Or at least until I use it up, which these days isn’t long.
iris
glad to hear that your psychic thought ginger was good luck – that makes it 10 things everyone should know about ginger!
heather
can’t believe you’d sully my puddings with politics ;)
I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious. I only had dark brown sugar, so it may have been a little rich but it reminded me exactly of a butternut snap! The best thing about the recipe though was that it halved perfectly, ideal for 2.
These look great! Top temperature of the *summer* we are having is 7 degrees today, so according to my calculations that is similar to your ‘winter’ in Oz= excuse for tasty treat on the couch staring at the mist in the valley after dinner tonight.
Love, love, love this blog and ginger.
Is there anything I can do if I don’t have the pre-requisit one-cup capacity containers? Can I make this in a bigger dish?
I love ginger and sometime i come across recipes that i just say, why didn’t i think of that. Well this is one of those recipes that sound amazing and why didn’t i think of that. I am saving this in me delicous.com que. Thank you for posting this.
tempe
glad you enjoyed it – i should have mentioned that it’s easy to halve. I’ve made it for 2 as well.
alex – your summer sounds colder than my winter. but at least it sounds like you’re getting longer days – the mist in the valley sounds like a wonderful backdrop for these puds.
thanks KT
absolutely make it in a larger dish – one that will hold 4 cups or so. you could always bake it in normal mugs if you did want to go for individual servings.
Just made this with gluten-free flour, and it worked beautifully. And OMG it was delicious! Thank you!
thanks for letting me know nalo – i picked up some gluten free flour to bake for my dad the other day but haven’t tried anything with it yet
I love ginger! The dessert looks good but that tea idea sounds amazing! I’m going to make myself some ginger tea right now!
Wow, this looks totally delicious! I’ve never seen a pudding put to bake with liquid on top though…that was a surprise.
I know all about reason #9 as I have been a self-professed ginger-holic for years. And I’m darned proud of it, too! ;)
Will have to add this lovely ginger treat to my fave baking recipes.
carolyn
yay for ginger-holics
WP
I know it looks a little weird going into the oven but you completely forget about that when it comes out.
kelly
you can also make black tea and infuse ginger in it for extra depth. there’s been a lot of tea drinking going on here this week
These Puddings were (and will continue to be) excellent!! I took a tumble running out in the forest yesterday – so misty valley view+easy puddings=excellent recovery (feeling sorry for myself) food. I just wish there was a way to get rid of bruises as quickly as putting together these self saucing puddings and eating them! The ginger was so warming and mood lifting too (maybe the amount of sugar has something to do with that feeling but I would like to think it was the ginger…). I added a dash of cayenne to mine too for more lingering warmth.
Ginger is a very important part of South East Asian cooking. During confinement every meal served to the new mother is full of ginger. Ginger warms the body and help to combat “wind” in the stomach.
Here are some receipe my mother pass on to her generation.
Fry ginger rice.
Boiled rice.
Carrot (cut them into small cubes), french beans (cut them into small bits)
Some chicken meat. (cut into small bite bits and marinate with seasoning-salt, papper)
Ginger (cut them into bits bits)
Sesame oil for frying
Fry ginger till the aroma fills the house. Add in chicken meat and rest of the vegetables.
Last add in the cooked rice and stir fry, when chicken bits are cooked. Season to your taste.
Ginger on steam meat.
Ginger.
Mince meat with carrot. (Season with salt and pepper)
Fry the ginger till it crispy.
Steam the mince meat and carrot till cooked.
Served with fry ginger.
Ginger helps to remove the fishy smell of seafood. Just blend some ginger for the juice and add to the seafood for few minutes. Cook or wash off the ginger taste first if your wish.
Ginger Tea.
Boil some tea leaves. Add in cardamon and ginger. (add in mint leave if your wish) One the aroma of ginger is smell add in fresh milk and serve it hot.
Small sprain injury to tummy pain.
I remembered my mother using fried ginger and wrapped in a small handchief, each time i sprain my legs or hands during games in school or when i have a bad tummy pains. Just apply fried ginger to the area that hurts.
Young ginger are good for duck dish, while mature ginger has strong aroma and more effective. Over here in Malaysia we have a few varities. the local ones grown wild in the jungle of sabah, cultivated varities are grown in the state of Pahang or the imported one from China. It is sold everywhere from RM4 to RM16.00 per kilogram.
Interested in more receipe on ginger………….. Have fun cooking.
I just did a post on ginger as well. I think people should use more of it in both savory and sweet dishes. Great suggestions!
I have never heard about self-saucing pudding…you made me discover something new, I love that…and I love the idea of ginger tea, I will try that one too…
I just made and ate this. Amazing! So easy and tasty. I had half a banana laying around from lunch too, so I put that in. It worked wonderfully! The best recipes are the versatile. Thanks for the posting.
Oh, and just an extra thing – I’m vegan, so I made it with nuttlex instead of butter and with an egg substitute. It worked out just about the same as the above pictures!
I’m in the process of making this, and I just licked the spoon…..I need to echo your Irishman here and say ‘Best Batter, Ever.’
monique
thanks for sharing – glad your vegan version worked out well.
lyn
thanks for sharing your ginger ideas – so many options!
alex,
hope the bruises are better – great idea to add some cayenne for extra warmth (and mood enhancement!)
Once a month I get together with a group of photographers/artists and we share what we’ve been working on. But first we have a potluck dinner.
Well, last night I took this ginger pudding (baked in a med/large souffle dish rather than individual ramekins) along with vanilla ice cream and lemon sorbet. But, for the first time in a year, I didn’t have a photograph to share.
As we were having dessert (amidst moans and sighs of pleasure and delight), someone asked me what I brought. “Nothing,” I replied.
“That’s ok,” they said, you brought THIS.”
I made this last night – a cold windy Melbourne night – to much acclaim and many requests for the recipe. A touch of allspice gave the puddings more of a gingerbread flavour (I can never resist fiddling with recipes) and the recipe has gained immediate inclusion in the ever increasing ‘to be made again’ list we have running at our house!
I made the lemon ones the other day and loved them – would really like to see a chocolate version – you mention it in this post – do you have one?
BTW Loving your site, it was the first time I ever baked anything using a scale!
Just tried making this tonight with some friends and Loooved it! We actually accidentally used some strange ginger infused dark brown sugar (the packaging was Chinese and the only english words were ‘Brown Sugar’) and thought it might be too gingery…but it was perfect. Thanks so much for this recipe! I love your site.
Oh, these turned out so much more delicate than I thought they would… delicious! I had anticipated… I don’t know, liquid caramel … but they’re feather light and moist. Yum.
I made these last night. So simple and so yummy! Thank you.
PS Great chocolate version from Nigel Slater:
Serves 6
Ingredients
150g self raising flour
2 lightly heaped tbsp cocoa powder
45 g ground almonds
200 g light muscovado sugar
75 g dark chocolate (70%), finely chopped
200 ml milk
20 g unsalted butter, melted
2 – 3 drops vanilla extract or 1 tsp vanilla paste
1 large egg
For the sauce:
175 g golden caster sugar
75 g cocoa powder
500 ml freshly boiled water
Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly butter a heatproof oval baking dish, about 1.5 litre capacity, or 6 individual dishes.
Put the flour, cocoa, almonds, muscovado sugar and chocolate in a mixing bowl. In a jug, lightly whisk together the milk, melted butter, vanilla and egg. Pour this into the dry ingredients and mix, then pour into the buttered dish.
For the sauce, mix together the golden caster sugar with the cocoa powder, then scatter over the pudding. Pour over 500ml freshly boiled water.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until the top is springy. Leave to settle for 10 minutes, then serve, with cream, crème fraîche or ice cream.
wow, we just had it, how fantastic & how easy! Thank you!!
So glad you enjoyed Kylie!
Thanks for reporting back
Made this last night and it was a total hit. Cooked some pears in butter, lemon and sugar first and put them in the bottom of the ramekins. Served with fresh strawberries and cream. Yummo!!
I love how you’ve simplified this recipe. I’ve actually adapted it to make chocolate puddings for a group holiday (ginger isn’t always a crowd-pleaser!) but I definitely want to try your proper ginger version too!
(to make the choc puddings I used a bar of very dark chocolate, melted half with the butter and broke the other half over the top before adding the hot water. I also added a pinch of salt, as chocolate needs that, and some vanilla. They’re looking good but I don’t get to taste them til Saturday!).
Love the chocolate idea!
MMMmmm…can not wait to make these! One question, though. Are the eggs whisked at all, prior to stirring them into the butter mixture, or are they added whole? I’m just trying to get a better idea of how much of a mixing the eggs actually get. Thanks!
Hi Nina
I just pop them in whole
I made these tonight , I thought I followed it perfectly but the tops aren’t crispy at all :( I wonder what I may have done wrong?
Hi Renee
They’re not really meant to be crispy… sorry for the confusion.
It’s more of a cakey texture
These are out of this world delicious and so easy! I love to half this recipe and it always comes out lovely! Thanks for the recipe!
We don’t use processed sugar in our house, do you think this could be made with honey instead? Would you hvae any advice on how to adjust the other ingredients? Thanks!
I just mixed a cup of fat free yogurt, a squirt of honey and a teaspoon of powdered ginger. It was so good and best if all low calorie and healthy!
I love this recipe, and make it often for guests and pot luck suppers (it works great in a souffle dish instead of individual ramekins. I’ve successfully substituted olive oil for the butter and, since I have several vegan friends, I’m wondering if there’s a reasonable substitute for the eggs? Thanks, Susan
Hi Susan!
I’m not that experienced with egg-free baking. But if you use a flax egg – it should be fine – ground flax seeds + water – Best to google it to get the ratios right :)
This is a sensational pudding for ginger lovers. I added another half a cup water to the sauce, and a dessertspoon cornflour with the brown sugar topping, to give more sauce with a slightly thicker consistency. It also works well as a steamed pudding on a metho/gas stove if you steam it with an inner container within the top section of a pot steamer. ( camping option.) 150 celcius and about 40 minutes if you want to use one dish, rather than ramekins. Aldi have wonderful ginger ice cream that completely compliments this dish, but vanilla is a close second.
Glad you enjoyed Amanda!
I made this last night! Very easy (thank you for including the conversion of self-raising flour to ordinary flour + baking powder — I always forget), and I could do a half-recipe in my toaster oven in two ramekins.
Glad you enjoyed Lu!