Small Man doesn’t like “bits” in his cakes, but he does love treacle, so I morphed Edith’s Economical Pudding into a Treacle Pudding for him.
In the process, we’ve made it even more economical! I’d like to think Edith would be proud. Here’s the reworked recipe:
Cake
- 60g (2oz) unsalted butter, very soft
- 70g (1/3 cup) vanilla sugar (or white sugar)
- 1 large (59g) egg
- 125g (½ cup) milk
- 225g (1½ cups) self-raising flour
- 3 teaspoons treacle
Sauce
- 150g (¾ cup) brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon (4 teaspoons) treacle
- 250g (1 cup) water
- 60g (2oz) unsalted butter
- juice of half a lemon
I followed the same method as before, and baked the pudding for 40 minutes in a 170C fan-forced oven. I’m not sure if it was a product of the slightly shorter baking time or the smaller casserole pot, or if the absence of dried fruit meant that the cake absorbed less liquid, but the finished dessert had a wonderful layer of sauce on the bottom.
Needless to say, Small Man was very happy!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Treacle Pudding: a winter warmer which never fails.
My daughter didn’t like certain food textures. She invented the word “mingly” to describe them when she was little. She still uses it even now that’s she big.
Peter, “mingly” is a great word! I don’t know how authentic this treacle pudding is – the golden syrup pud that Pete grew up on was always steamed – but it’s very nice nonetheless! :)
What a great success Celia! Think I would love Small Man’s treacle pudding too, with some of your microwave custard. :-D
Have a happy day.
:-) Mandy
Mandy, I love it when an experiment works! Hope you have a great day too! :)
I’ve read about treacle pudding a bunch, but have never tried it…I should try this recipe for the fam! =)
Abby, we found it very child friendly…and adult friendly too – Pete loved it! :)
It looks like something my husband would devour in a sitting :)
Cindy, my husband tried to, but I stopped him. :) It actually kept quite well in the fridge and reheated brilliantly in the microwave the next day.
I would be too!
Tandy, I wonder if you could rework the sugar in this recipe to suit?
I am willing to try!
What is treacle?
Hi there, treacle is a thick dark sugar syrup – a relative of golden syrup and molasses. There’s more about it on Wiki here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treacle
Great blog, great photos, great recipe. This looks seriously delicious!
And frugal too! :) Love the name of your blog! :)
Cheers!
Had to google “treacle”, as I had never heard the term. I have a bottle of “golden syrup” in my pantry, maybe it would work well in this type of recipe?
it seems luscious, you did a great job, as usual!
Sally, I think golden syrup would be perfect! In fact, Pete grew up on a steamed golden syrup pudding – we only used treacle because I had some in the pantry (and Small Man loves it!). Treacle is probably a little less sweet than golden syrup, but we usually use them interchangeably.
Thanks, Celia – good to know how they compare. Probably a bit like agave nectar (my favorite) and honey…
Sally, I don’t think honey would work – at least not at our place, as the boys don’t seem to like the flavour of cooked honey…
Oh oh oh that looks good. Your little man is WISE!
Hehehe…I take it you don’t like “bits” in your pudding either, Kavey? ;-)
I haven’t ever benefitted from the goodness of treacle puddings – can I come live with you? I’d qualify to be called small woman (or short….)
Oh yes, of course. Although I know you could make this in a heartbeat, Oz. :)
Oh that looks just like a pudding we used to have as kids.. I must try it!! c
Cecilia, it’s very much an Oz/NZ dessert, isn’t it? Although I’m pretty sure it probably originated in the UK.. ;-)
Small man is not the only one that would be happy with this…I would too this does look good.
Norma, I think you’d enjoy this – the caramel sauce over the soft pudding is very appealing.. :)
It does look very good. I’m thinking he must have given you a huge hug for making it just for him?
Did he get some custard on the side as well?
I’ll have to go looking for treacle- it isn’t readily available here.
You are such a loving mom, Celia!
Heidi, he was very pleased indeed, although when I asked him if it was his favourite (why do we do that to ourselves? :)), he replied, “it’s very nice, mum, but I still prefer your apple pie”. The boy is as straight as the day is long.. :)
No custard for him, just pudding and a cup of English Breakfast tea.
I’m not sure what the equivalent of treacle is in the US. Maybe it’s something like a light molasses?
I made Edith’s pudding a second time for Jim. I’m sure he will love this too. I might point out here that he weighs the same as he did when he was 18 – which wasn’t very much. It really isn’t fair.
Deb, that really isn’t fair.. ;-)
I’m glad Jim likes the pudding – a second time already! :)
i love your treacle rendition of edith’s pudding..treacle is a fabulous ingredient with such a complex and interesting flavour..
Jane, you’re so right! Treacle does have a really amazing flavour – almost smokey in some ways..
Small man is a man after my own heart… I don’t like dried fruit either! I bet this would be fantastic with vanilla bean ice-cream. Yum!
Claire, you’d like this! Pete and Big Boy had their share with microwave custard!
Mmm, I love a pud with custard.
You are setting the bar very high for any future partners for your boys, Celia!
Nah Amanda, that’s why I’m writing this blog! The recipes are all here.. ;-)
Yum!
I do a similar one but with golden syrup and I make the cake-bit more like a sticky dough and roll into balls. I cook the syrup on the stovetop and when it’s boiling add the doughy balls, whack on the pot lid, turn down the temp and cook for about 20 mins until they’re good to go. Basically syrup dumplings, in our (classy) house/ family group they’re known as ‘dumpers’. Classy. It’s a no-fail favourite and wins everytime!
:)
Shelley, syrup dumplings sound amazing! The dough on this one is too sticky to shape though. “Dumpers”..yes, very cool.. :)
Hehehe, my next post is golden syrup pudding. Your Edith was the push. I had too many puddings to make before the cooler weather leaves and it’s suddenly all about icecream and summer fruits.
We’re having a late flurry too, Brydie, with spring starting tomorrow! :)
I’m with Small Man, I love treacle too! It adds a rich depth of flavour (and yumminess) that’s hard to match. This really is an economical pudding, but why not make him a tradditonal treacle tart with breadcrumbs mixed with treacle and baked in a pie crust. Mmmmm…….
I’ve never seen a real treacle tart, Becca, I’ll have to look up the recipe! Thanks for the suggestion! :)
Lovely, don’t let Brian see…. I will store this one away for dark November days !
Shhh…I’ll keep mum about it, Jo. :)
Mmmmm, this one looks even more delicious! I think my hubby would be in agreement w/ small man and not prefer the bits of things. I had to look up treacle too. I wonder why that ingredient has never made it over here?? I’ll have to keep my open for it when I get back to Jungle Jim’s. They have a large section in the store for each region of the world. A small scoop of french vanilla ice cream would go good w/ this and yes a cup of tea would be a nice finish.
Mel, I think it would be quite similar to a very light molasses? I don’t think honey would work though..
This is what I love about reading blogs across the globe, I am always learning new things. I had to look up the word treacle. That’s new to me. Looks delish though! Almost like a light caramel sauce at the bottom. Mmmm.
KK, that’s exactly what it was – a light caramel sauce! :)
I’ll admit I don’t cook alot with treacle, and being so hard to find in Europe, just hasn’t been on my pantry shelf for many years. Close at hand these days I’ll have to try some treacle recipes. This pudding looks divine and Edith would be proud!
Thanks Yvette! I think it would work equally as well with golden syrup – I just like the darker taste of the treacle.. :)
Yum! The sauce at the bottom looks amazing. I’d love a ladle of this with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream …
Keely, thanks, the sauce was divine! :)
Oh Yeh Celia!,
Whoops Wrong Planet Boy is very happy! Yum. I’ll make it again for Father’s Day on Sunday.
Thanks
Hahaha…looks like we managed to make both of our quirky sons happy! :) Glad he liked it, Lisa – our Small Man is so fussy that sometimes it’s hard to get things past him.. ;-)
Oh treacle pudding, that takes me back. It was my mother’s speciality when I was growing up and I haven’t had it for years. She makes hers with suet – a classic English suet pud and it was delicious. Will have to try yours now.
Morning Choc! :) I don’t know if this is in any way an authentic treacle pud, it’s just something we made up to keep SM happy. I’ve never been able to bring myself to bake with suet! :)
I don’t know about Edith but I was ecstatic. Apparently it is possible to make more pudding that a teenage boy can eat. I am the beneficiary of this unlikely situation. Waddling off now …
Glad you liked it, love. Easy to make! :)
Wow, I’m not surprised small man was happy with that – I definitely would be too :-) I think I’m in agreement with him about dried fruit in sweet/baked puddings, and prefer without. Must make this soon. Winter draws on!
C, I think you’d probably have a variety of treacles to play with over in the UK! We made it again last night for a friend from Cornwall, and he was pretty chuffed (and ended up eating the custard out of the serving bowl with a spoon!).
Got to be good if your 76 year old mother’s eyes light up when you offer her the bowl and spoon to lick. Went down a treat on Father’s Day :)
That’s great news, thanks Lisa! :)