Slow Cooker Jam Sponge

Slow Cooker Steamed Jam Sponge Pudding is an absolute stonker of a comfort food pudding. Light but wonderfully filling it is a huge hug in a bowl and one of my favourite Sunday Lunch desserts ever. You can make it by steaming in a saucepan too. But I just love the ease of the slow cooker here. It is an absolute breeze.

WHAT IS A STEAMED PUDDING?

A steamed pudding is a mixture that is sweet or savoury and cooked with steam in a saucepan or slow cooker. The steam is created by water that surrounds the mixture which is cooked in a heatproof bowl.

The puddings usually consist of a sponge batter with a variety of toppings. Treacle Sponge is perhaps the most well known of them.

The Christmas Pudding is an exception to the sponge rule, being rammed full of dried fruit and a generous splosh of alcohol.....hooray!

I find it super easy to cook mine in the slow cooker and I love to serve this jammy version for Sunday Lunch. It is always a crowd pleaser and another noise maker. It makes my Sunday every damn time, it's so lush.

The recipe card with full ingredients & instructions can be found at the bottom of the post.

Recipe

I make my steamed jam sponge in my free standing mixer because that is always the way I roll but a large mixing bowl and electric hand held mixer is great too.

If you're feeling energetic then a plain old wooden spoon and mixing bowl will do the same job.

Equipment Required

• mixer, mixing bowl and hand held electric whisk or wooden spoon
• scales
• kettle
• 2 pint pudding basin with lid or baking paper and silver foil square & string to secure
• large spoon
• spatula
• slow cooker or saucepan

Ingredients and Substitutions

150 grams (5.3 oz) Jam - I use my favourite strawberry jam

150 grams (5.3 0z) Butter - unsalted or you can use baking spread.

150 grams (5.3 oz) Flour - self raising or you can substitute plain with a tsp of baking powder

150 grams (5.3 oz) Sugar - Caster sugar refined or unrefined or you can substitute granulated

3 Large Eggs 

3 tbsp Milk - semi skimmed or full fat.

Method

• Grease a 1.2 litre/2 pint pudding basin with butter. I use the plastic lidded bowls that are made for steamed puddings as I struggle/cannot be bothered with all the pleating and tying of string that is required for the ceramic bowls. Sometimes I miss the greasing out and it hasn't stuck yet but don't hold me to it.
• Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and thickened a little. This takes a couple of minutes.

• Whisk or beat in half the beaten eggs followed by half the flour for a couple of minutes. Add the remaining eggs and flour all at once as well as the milk. Whisk or beat again for another minute.
• The batter should be a soft dropping consistency. Add a splash more milk if it's not.

• Spoon the jam into the bottom of your pudding bowl.

• Carefully spoon the sponge mixture into the bowl so that it stays on top of the jam.

• Smooth over and place the lid or your coverings over the top.
• Place the pudding bowl carefully in the slow cooker and pour just boiled water into the slow cooker bowl so that it comes ¾ of the way up the pudding bowl.
• Place the lid on and cook for 3 hours on High.
• If using a saucepan to steam your pudding then steam for 2 hrs 30 minutes.
• To serve take it carefully out of the slow cooker or saucepan. Remove the lid and invert the pudding carefully onto a large serving plate. To do this I put the plate on top of the bowl and very carefully rotate so the plate is on the bottom and then slowly lift the bowl clear.

Cooking Tips

• Grease your pudding bowl generously.
• Use a plastic lidded pudding bowl for ease.
• Add a splash of milk extra if needed to make sure the batter is a soft dropping consistency.
• Reheat leftovers covered in the microwave
• You can steam this pudding in a saucepan too for 2 hrs and 30 minutes.

Serving Suggestions

I serve it with either vanilla custard, vanilla ice cream or double cream.

If you like this slow cooker jam sponge recipe then you may like these other beauties.

Steamed Chocolate Sponge Pudding

Slow Cooker Sticky Toffee Pudding

Apple Crumble

Apple Pie

Meringues

Steamed Lemon Sponge Pudding

Jam and Coconut Sponge

Do let me know how you get on in the comments below or why not come on over and join me on my social media pages. I would love to see you there.