Hot marmalade pudding recipe

This dessert is so popular that it has never has been off the menu since Eddie and Shirley Spear took over the restaurant 24 years ago. Local legend has it that customers return year after year from all over the world for Hot Marmalade Pudding. Shirley believes the secret lies in the flavour of the homemade marmalade that she always uses. This is made by many Scottish housewives during the month of January when the bitter-sharp Seville oranges are available from Spain. Every winter, Shirley and her team makes pounds and pounds of marmalade, just to keep up with supplies of pudding during the summer months.

It is not, as some people imagine, a stodgy suet pudding with a dollop of marmalade at the bottom of the basin. The marmalade is combined throughout, giving the dessert a rich, amber colour. Serve with Drambuie custard.

Nick Nairn chose this pudding for his Great British Christmas Menu screened on BBC TV. It is a brilliant alternative to a traditional Christmas Pudding and can be made in advance. It also freezes well, whole, or in portions. It can be steamed to re-heat it, or a portion could be warmed quickly for a few seconds in a microwave.

150g fine brown breadcrumbs
120g soft brown sugar
25g self-raising wholemeal flour (white self-raising would do)
120g fresh butter, plus extra for greasing the bowl
8 tablespoonfuls well-flavoured, coarse-cut marmalade (homemade is always the best)
3 large eggs
1 rounded teaspoonful bicarbonate of soda plus water to mix

Butter a 3-pint pudding basin well. Place the breadcrumbs, flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter together with the marmalade in a saucepan over a gently heat. Pour the melted ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix together thoroughly. Whisk the eggs until frothy and beat gently into the mixture until blended together well.

Last of all, dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in 1 tablespoonful of cold water. Stir this into the pudding mixture, which will increase in volume as it absorbs the bicarbonate of soda. Spoon the mixture into the prepared basin. Cover it with a close-fitting lid, or alternatively, make a lid with circles of buttered greaseproof paper and foil, pleated together across the centre and
tied securely around the rim of the basin.

Place the pudding basin in a saucepan of boiling water. The water should reach halfway up the side of the basin. Cover the pan with a close-fitting lid and simmer the pudding for 2 hours. The water will need topping up throughout the cooking period. Turn out on to a serving dish, slice and serve hot, with fresh cream, ice cream, or - as we do at Three Chimneys - with Drambuie Custard.

Drambuie Custard

This is a proper egg custard flavoured with Drambuie liqueur. It is served warm, poured around the pudding. Alternatively flavours could be added, such as vanilla, ginger, or crushed cardamon, if you prefer. A tablespoonful of fresh ground coffee can be added, which is delicious with hot or cold chocolate desserts.

275ml fresh milk
275ml fresh double cream
6 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
2 tablespoonfuls Drambuie liqueur

Whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar until pale, slightly thick and creamy.

Gently warm the milk and cream until it is just beginning to bubble. Pour the milk and cream on to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk together. Return the mixture to the saucepan.

Bring to the boil very slowly, stirring all the time. As soon as it begins to thicken, or coats the back of the wooden spoon, remove from the heat and pour into a bowl or jug for serving. Stir in the Drambuie, or flavouring of your choice.

Serve immediately. Alternatively, cool the custard quickly in a bowl sitting on ice and refrigerate when cold, until required. The custard can be used cold for assembling a trifle, serving with frozen or chilled desserts, or reheated carefully for serving with a hot pudding.

This recipe is taken from The Three Chimneys: Recipes and Reflections by Shirley Spear (Birlinn, £16.99). Order a copy for £13.59 from the Guardian bookshop

• Dessert
• Food
• recipes

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaKSZm7KiusOsq7KklWR%2FcX2QaJipql9lgnC0zq1kppmioq6trcOeZKmtlJm2r7OMq5ycoaCa