Dessert

Steamed vanilla pudding with pears and vanilla crème anglaise

There’s something amazingly comforting about a steamed pudding, especially when it’s drizzled with warm vanilla crème anglaise and served with poached seasonal fruit
The best from the April issue of Taste
8
3H 30M

Ingredients

Vanilla poached pears
Vanilla crème anglaise

Method

Steamed vanilla pudding with pears and vanilla crème anglaise

1.Beat butter, sugar, vanilla seeds and lemon zest in an electric mixer until light and fluffy (4-5 minutes).
2.Scrape down sides of bowl, then add eggs and yolk one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat until smooth.
3.Combine cream and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside to curdle (1-2 minutes; mixture will separate into clumps).
4.Sift flour and baking powder into butter mixture and beat to just combine, adding cream mixture at the end.
5.Beat until just smooth, then spoon into a buttered and floured 2.25-litre pudding bowl lined on the base with a round of baking paper.
6.Place a buttered round of baking paper over surface of pudding batter. Cover bowl completely in foil, pleating it in the centre, and secure with string.
7.Place in a large saucepan lined with a tea towel (this provides insulation and prevents the pudding rattling around too much).
8.Pour in boiling water to halfway up sides of bowl, cover and simmer until pudding is cooked through, adding water as necessary (3-3½ hours; it should feel springy in the centre and an inserted skewer will come out clean).
9.Remove from pan, remove foil and paper and stand for 15 minutes then invert onto serving plate.

Vanilla poached pears

10.Meanwhile, for poached pears, stir sugar, wine, vanilla beans and seeds, citrus juice and water in a large pan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves.
11.Bring to the simmer, add pears and cover with a lid. Return to the simmer, reduce heat to medium and simmer until pears are tender (20-25 minutes, depending on the ripeness of the pears). Set aside in liquid until required.

Vanilla crème anglaise

12.Meanwhile, for vanilla crème anglaise, bring cream, milk, vanilla bean and seeds and rind to the simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
13.Whisk yolks and sugar in a bowl until sugar dissolves, add cream mixture and whisk to combine. Return to pan and stir continuously until mixture thickly coats back of a wooden spoon (4-5 minutes). Strain to remove bean and rind.
14.Drizzle a little crème anglaise over warm steamed vanilla pudding and place a few pears on top. Serve remainder on the side along with leftover anglaise.

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