Hampshire Drove Pudding
A rich, dark steamed suet pudding packed with treacle, warming spices, and dried fruit. A deeply comforting rural Hampshire classic.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 120 min
- Total
- 140 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 480 kcal
Equipment
- •1-litre pudding basin
- •Large mixing bowl
- •Greaseproof paper
- •Aluminium foil
- •Kitchen string
- •Large lidded saucepan with trivet
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- fat
- 21 g
- carbs
- 68 g
- fibre
- 3 g
- protein
- 6 g
- calories
- 480 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Generously grease a 1-litre pudding basin with softened butter.
- 2
Combine the flour, breadcrumbs, shredded suet, brown sugar, mixed spice, and salt in a large bowl.
- 3
Stir in the mixed dried fruit until the fruit is thoroughly coated by the flour mixture.
- 4
Add the warmed black treacle and whole milk to the dry ingredients.
- 5
Stir firmly with a wooden spoon until a thick, uniform dropping batter forms.
- 6
Spoon the batter into the prepared pudding basin and smooth the top gently.
- 7
Make a centre pleat in a sheet of greaseproof paper layered over aluminium foil.
- 8
Tie the pleated sheets securely over the rim using kitchen string, creating a lifting handle.
- 9
Place the basin onto a trivet inside a large saucepan filled halfway with boiling water.
- 10
Cover with a tight lid and steam over low heat on the hob for two hours.
- 11
Top up the pan with boiling water from a kettle as needed to prevent boiling dry.
- 12
Carefully lift out the basin, remove string and paper, and turn out onto a warm plate.
Chef's tips
Pleating the paper and foil gives the pudding room to expand as it steams. Crafting a simple string handle over the top of the basin makes lifting it safely from the boiling water effortless.
Ingredient substitutions
- shredded beef suet → shredded vegetable suet
- black treacle → dark molasses or golden syrup
- whole milk → oat milk or semi-skimmed milk
Storage
Store leftover pudding wrapped tightly in the fridge for up to four days.
Reheating
Reheat thick slices in a microwave for one minute or steam gently until piping hot throughout.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Allowing the steaming pan to boil dry, which will scorch the basin and burn the pudding.
- •Failing to grease the basin thoroughly, causing the suet sponge to stick on turning out.
Serving suggestions
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