Self Saucing Caramel Pudding

Recipe: Caramel Pudding Recipe »

This caramel pudding recipe is one of those magical self saucing puddings. A light textured brown sugar sponge sits atop a thick pool of luscious caramel sauce below. This pudding also just requires a bowl and a jug and no mixer so it's super easy to make and economical too. One pudding serves from 8-10 people!

About This Caramel Pudding

Winter is the self saucing pudding season and after the lemon delicious pudding recipe was so popular I had to share my other favourite winter pudding, this caramel pudding. Unlike the lemon delicious, you don't need to whisk any egg whites, this is simply a whisk and mix recipe (don't you love those?). And I promise that that you will get plenty of that delicious caramel sauce because we know that's the best part of a pudding!

I know some recipes use a water for the caramel sauce base but IMHO this caramel sauce is so much better and made with just three ingredients: cream, brown sugar and salt. You will taste the difference!

Ingredients for Self Saucing Caramel Pudding

• Cake flour - Cake flour can be bought at the supermarket. You can also make it at home. To make 1 cup/150g/5.2ozs of cake flour replace 2 tablespoons of plain all purpose flour with cornflour/fine cornstarch and whisk well. I usually mix up a big batch of this and keep it in a container ready for baking cakes as it produces a softer cake.
• Brown sugar - I use light brown sugar but if you like a deeper, more molassess-y flavour try dark brown sugar.
• Baking powder - always check that your baking powder is in date so that your cake rises properly.
• Salt - use fine salt (not rock salt but I'm sure you knew that! ;) ).
• Milk - you can use full cream or skim milk for this or a milk alternative too.
• Butter - I always use salted butter in all recipes
• Eggs - go for large eggs, mine were

• Vanilla - that means vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract or vanilla essence

• Cream - Use single, pure or thickened cream.

Tips For Making Caramel Pudding

This is a really simple recipe so I don't have a lot of notes on it.

1 - Vanilla is important flavouring here along with salt so I use a tablespoon of vanilla just to give it that real vanilla hit!

2 - One thing that is important is to make sure to have a baking dish that is large enough for this. The cake part will not take up much of the dish but once you pour in the sauce it will fill up and the cake will rise in the oven too. If you're worried it will overflow (nothing worse than baked on stuff in the oven), bake it on a large baking tray to catch any over flow.

3 - Don't be alarmed when pouring the sauce over the cake. It will look like a mess and you may feel like you've done something wrong. But the cake and sauce will separate due to their different weights and properties and the sauce will pool at the bottom. I promise!

4 - Rest this pudding for 30 minutes before serving.

5 - Serve this with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!

BTW if you're looking for a creme caramel pudding, that's a bit different but I've got you! Here is my Creme Caramel or Leche Flan pudding and this incredible Coconut version of Creme Caramel Pudding recipe.

Caramel Pudding Recipe

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Recipe Overview

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves: 8-10 people

Ingredients Needed

• 1.5 cups/225g/7.9ozs cake flour* see note above in ingredients
• 140g/5ozs light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 180ml/6.3flozs milk
• 80g/3ozs butter, melted
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

For Sauce

• 375ml/13.2flozs single, pure or thickened cream
• 250g/8.8ozs light brown sugar
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F or 160c/320F fan forced. Have a 3 litre/3 quart baking dish ready. First sift the cake flour into a bowl and then add brown sugar, baking powder and salt using a balloon whisk to combine all dry ingredients. Then using a spatula, to press out any lumps of brown sugar.

Step 2 - In a large jug whisk the milk, melted butter, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Pour this wet mixture gradually into the flour mixture stirring gently. Do not overmix, just mix until combined making sure to catch any flour at the bottom of the bowl. Don't worry about little lumps (see pic). Scoop into the baking dish.

Step 3 - Heat the cream up in a large jug in the microwave or in a saucepan until warm. Whisk in the brown sugar and salt until smooth. Pour over the cake - yes all over and don't worry about doing this, it will look messy. Bake for 25 minutes and then carefully turn the dish around in the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Rest for 30 minutes and then serve with vanilla ice cream.

Personal Note

We have one month to go until the end of winter and this recipe is one of those things that is getting me through the cold of winter. The saying goes that Australian houses are built for neither summer nor winter and I get sick of having to pile on lots of layers just to sit in my house and work. It's honestly a bit ridiculous.

I don't know about you Dear Reader, maybe it's winter or maybe it's just me but because life is so frantically busy all I want to do is stay at home on weekends and do nothing. I don't want to move from my bed and I set myself up with my drinks, tv and Milo and Teddy and Mr NQN if he isn't wing foiling. A "nothing weekend" if you will.

I used to fill my weekends with so many things to do but nowadays I push them all to week days and nights if I can. And then I save those two precious days to laying in bed, watching tv, playing with the dogs and I relish those days. I will cook something but it won't be something complicated, it will be either something that takes a while like Osso buco or something simple like this caramel pudding that doesn't take long to put together and provides dessert for the whole week ahead!

So tell me Dear Reader, how often do you have nothing weekends?