Boiled Lemon Pudding

Ingredients

• 0.5 cup suet, chopped
• 1 pint bread crumbs
• 1 lemon
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• as needed milk

Method

Rub the suet through the breadcrumbs with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse sand — this distributes the fat evenly so it aerates as the pudding steams, creating the characteristic light, almost spongy crumb. Whisk together the flour and salt, then fold both dry mixtures together. Zest the lemon directly over the bowl (use a microplane to catch only the yellow part; the white pith is bitter), then halve the fruit and squeeze the juice through a fine sieve to catch the pips. Add both to the dry ingredients and fold through until the zest is distributed evenly — you want visible yellow flecks throughout.

Beat the eggs in a separate bowl until the whites and yolks are fully combined, then add them to the mixture along with enough milk to reach a thick batter consistency — not quite double cream, but loose enough that it drops reluctantly from the spoon. The batter should fall in one or two seconds, not immediately pool. This is where egg binds the fat and flour together while milk tightens the crumb; the balance between them controls whether you end up with a heavy pudding or something light enough to collapse on the plate.

Pack the batter into a well-buttered mould or pudding basin, leaving roughly 1 cm headspace to allow for expansion. Cover the top with parchment or a clean cloth tied down with string — this lets steam escape without letting water pool on the surface. Boil continuously for three and a half hours, keeping the water level about two-thirds up the outside of the mould. Check every hour and top up with boiling water; a break in the heat will cause the pudding to sink and toughen. The pudding will pull slightly from the sides of the mould when it's done and should feel just firm to the touch on top.

Run a palette knife around the inside edge, place a warmed plate over the basin, and invert smartly. The pudding should slide out whole. Dust with caster sugar while it's still steaming — it will adhere to the moisture on the surface and add a light crunch. Serve immediately with a sharp lemon sauce made by heating 200 ml of water with 100 g sugar and the juice of two lemons, thickened with a teaspoon of arrowroot slaked in cold water. The sauce cuts the richness of the suet.