A: Welcome to Food Delight. A and B here, with many recipes to diversify your menu. 

B: Hello, guys. In today’s edition, we’ll introduce a traditional British sponge pudding called “Spotted Dick”. 

A: “Spotted what?” That’s the most common question asked the first time people hear the name of this dessert. "Spotted" refers to the spots of dried fruit spread throughout the pudding, typically raisins or currants, and “dick” is derived from "puddick," an Old English spelling of “pudding”.

(Photo: nicolhughes.com)

B: This mouth-watering spotted dick recipe will become a family favourite that you'll want to make time and time again, according to Sanny Hoskins, an English University student.

“It’s called spotted dick, which is really a fun name for us. It’s another dessert and this one is made without the oven. So, you’ve got flour, and salt, and then you add sugar, butter, lemon, and raisins. It’s very fruity kind of dish. It’s in a kind of pudding shape and on top of it you can add custard again. So it’s just a little tiny fruit cake,” said Sanny.

A: The dessert is really easy to make at home, and if you’ve never had a steamed pudding before, you will be especially tickled to give this a try.

B: All you need is to mix together the flour, salt, sugar, butter, and dried fruit and grate lemon zest over it. Add some milk or water slowly and stir well. Then pour the batter into a mold. 

A: The cake is not too sweet as the sweetness comes mostly from the currants, raisins, other dried fruits, and the custard sauce.

“It’s more like a moist cake instead of a firm cake. So when you make the dough you have to keep adding milk until it’s firm but moist so it’s still kind of wet. What you do is you get a steamer and you put it over some boiling water. Some people wrap a Christmas ribbon around it to keep it in shape. And then you just leave it upon the steamer for about an hour and a half. So it’s a long time,” said Sanny.

(Photo: goodhousekeeping.com)

A: You'll need a pan that's large enough to hold your pudding. Bring water in that pan to a boil and steam the pudding for an hour and a half, 2 hours for a large pudding. 

B: Check the water level regularly and keep an eye on the pot and add more boiling water if necessary.  You’ll likely need to weight the pudding down with something heavy to keep it from bobbing up and down in the water.  

A: Once the pudding has cooked through, carefully transfer the pudding mold to a cooling rack and let it sit for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pudding to loosen it before you flip it onto a serving plate, so the cake won’t stick to the mold. 

“And when it comes off, it’s just a kind of really moist and nice cake. It should be moist on the inside but dry looking on the outside. Normally people have it at Christmas but you can have it all year round. I know that most pubs in England have it,” Sanny added.

B: Steaming the pudding is what gives “spotted dick” its lovely soft texture, as it keeps the sponge moist and springy. Cut the pudding into wedges and serve warm with vanilla custard or thick ice cream. You just can't beat a bowl of this spongy steaming pudding. 

A: If you liked this recipe, please let us know by visiting our Facebook fanpage, VOV5 English Service, and leaving a comment. And mention what you’d like us to cook next time. Good luck and bon appétit!