Sussex Pond Pudding: A History and Its Delish Dessert Recipe

Sussex pond pudding is a traditional English dessert that’s a suet pastry pudding that has a whole lemon, butter and sugar. You read that right and you need to try its intriguing delish dessert recipe. It has a whole lemon that becomes softened because it is encased inside the pastry shell that is steamed for hours. While the traditional recipe uses suet, which is the hard fat found around the kidneys and livers of four legged animals, you can also use vegetable suet or vegetable shortening. Sussex pond pudding has vanished from British tables over the years, but celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal is one figure who has tried to revive its popularity.

This pudding has a buttery and flaky outer crust, while its inside is tangy and citrusy. When you cut into it, the thick and lemony filling oozes out. Sussex pond pudding goes all the way back to the 17th century, and was popular among rural communities in Sussex. Originally it was boiled in a cloth, but modern renditions call for the pastry to be steamed.

Sussex pond pudding is a great dessert if you’re looking to try something completely different and unheard of. There aren’t many desserts that involve cooking a whole lemon inside a pastry crust. It’s also easy to make because the recipe is relatively fuss-free and the pastry is very forgiving.

Here is the recipe for Sussex pond pudding:

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

• 110 g flour
• 50 g fresh white breadcrumbs
• Zest of 1 small lemon
• 75 g vegetable suet or shortening
• 50 ml whole milk

For the filling:

• 125 g unsalted butter, cubed
• 125 g light muscovado sugar
• 1 large lemon

For the creme anglaise:

• 250 ml whole milk
• 250 ml double cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 egg yolks
• 65 g caster sugar

Instructions:

• Sift the flour into a large bowl, then add the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, and the vegetable suet or shortening.
• Mix the milk with the same quantity of water, then pour it into flour and shortening. Mix with a wooden spoon and spatula then use your hands to knead it into a smooth dough.
• Then knead it into a large enough circle for your pudding mold.
• Fit it into the pudding mold and leave a long enough overhang so you can tuck the lemon in.
• For the filling, mix the butter and sugar together and place a quarter of this in the bottom of the pudding base.
• Place the entire lemon in the base of the filling.
• Cover the lemon with the overhang and crimp using a fork. Cover loosely with a foil.
• Place the pudding mold in a steamer for 2 hours. Replenish the water in the steamer if necessary.
• Create the creme anglaise while the pudding cooks by heating milk, cream, and vanilla extract on a saucepan.
• Whisk the caster sugar and eggs together in another bowl.
• Pour the warm milk and sugar mix over the whisked eggs, then back into the saucepan and cook on very low heat for 3-4 minutes.
• This is enough time for the mixture to become thick and coat the back of a spoon.
• Once the pudding is done, remove from the steamer and let it sit for 5 minutes.
• Invert the pudding onto a serving plate and serve with the creme anglaise on the side.