Budget Recipe: Cumberland Pudding (Steamed) That Costs 42p Per Serving

Some desserts feel like they were made for cold nights, when you want something warm, soft, and properly filling. Cumberland pudding is exactly that kind of comfort food. It's a steamed pudding with apples, lemon zest, and golden syrup, and it comes together from basic pantry staples plus a couple pieces of fruit.

The best part, especially if you love a good budget recipe, is the cost. The full pudding comes in at £2.52 total for six servings, which works out to 42p per serving for the pudding itself (custard is extra). It's also a little old-fashioned in the best way, the kind of thing that makes the kitchen smell like autumn.

Ingredients and cost breakdown (and why this stays so affordable)

Before anything else, it helps to see what's going into the bowl. This recipe uses equal weights of flour, breadcrumbs, suet, and sugar, which makes it easy to remember and easy to scale.

Here's the full list with the costs as given:

• 75g (3oz) self-raising flour (4p)
• 75g (3oz) breadcrumbs (5p), homemade from bread toasted in the oven, then rolled out
• 75g (3oz) suet (£1.03)
• 75g (3oz) light brown sugar (27p)
• 1 lemon (12p)
• 2 apples (48p)
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup (25p)
• 2 eggs (28p)

Total cost: £2.52 for 6 servings, just 42p per serving.

A lot of "cheap dessert" recipes end up tasting thin or sugary, like they're trying to compensate. This one doesn't. The apples give it body, the lemon keeps it from going flat, and the suet makes it properly rich and stodgy (in a good way).

If you're curious how Cumberland pudding shows up in other older British pudding collections, it's interesting to compare ingredient variations like currants and nutmeg in some versions, for example this Cumberland pudding ingredient overview.

Prepping the pudding basin so it turns out clean

Steamed puddings have one big fear hanging over them: sticking. So the basin prep matters, even if it feels a little fussy at first.

A Pyrex pudding basin around 1.2 to 1.5 liters (roughly a 2-pint basin) works well here.

Use this simple setup:

1. Coat the inside of the basin with lard, and make sure you go up the sides, not just the base.
2. Cut a circle of greaseproof paper to fit the bottom, trim it if needed, then coat one side with lard and press it into place.
3. Get a larger sheet of greaseproof paper for the top, plus a sheet of tin foil slightly larger than the paper, and some string to tie it all down.

That bottom circle seems small, but it's the little trick that helps the pudding slide out later without cracking. And with steamed puddings, cracks happen fast if you rush.

A well-greased basin plus greaseproof paper on the bottom is the difference between a neat turn-out and a pudding that breaks apart.

Mixing the dry base: equal parts makes it easy

This part is straightforward, and honestly kind of satisfying. Everything starts with four dry ingredients in equal weights:

• Light brown sugar
• Suet
• Self-raising flour
• Breadcrumbs

Tip the lot into a bowl and stir until it looks evenly mixed. You don't need to overthink it, just make sure the suet isn't sitting in clumps.

Breadcrumbs matter more than you'd think. They give the pudding a softer, slightly heavier bite, instead of turning it into a plain sponge. Homemade crumbs from toasted bread also keep the cost down, which is basically the theme of this whole recipe.

Apples and lemon: where the pudding gets its flavor

Chopping the apples into small chunks

Start by topping and tailing the apples, then peel, core, and slice. After that, chop the slices into small chunks. Smaller pieces spread through the pudding better, so every slice gets apple, not just a random pocket here and there.

There's no need to be precious about perfect cubes. This is home baking. If your chunks are a little uneven, it still eats great.

Zesting the lemon right into the bowl

Zest the whole lemon directly into the dry mix, then add the chopped apple and stir again. Lemon zest does a lot here. It lifts the sweetness and makes the apple taste more like apple, if that makes sense.

If you've only had steamed puddings that taste mostly like sugar, the lemon is what changes the mood.

Adding eggs and golden syrup (and getting the texture right)

Crack the two eggs into a glass first and beat them lightly. This keeps shells out and helps the eggs mix in fast.

Pour the beaten eggs into the bowl, then add a good tablespoon of golden syrup. Not a tiny drizzle, not a scary amount either, just a proper spoonful.

Now stir until all the dry ingredients look wetted and the mix turns into a thick, spoonable batter. It shouldn't be runny like cake batter. It should look heavier, like it means business.

Once it's combined, spoon the mixture into the prepared basin and level it off gently. Don't pack it down hard, just settle it.

Covering and sealing: the "don't let water in" part

This is the part that makes steamed puddings feel like a small project. Still, once you've done it one time, it's pretty simple.

Pleat the greaseproof paper so it can rise

Cover the top of the basin with greaseproof paper, but add a pleat (a little folded ridge) so the pudding has room to expand as it cooks. Then coat the underside of that paper with a little lard.

Add foil, tie it tight, then make a string handle

Place tin foil over the paper, fold it down around the sides, then tie it on with string. A double knot helps. After that, tie a second piece of string across the top like a handle, so you can lift it out of the hot water safely.

If you skip the handle, you'll miss it later. Hot basin, hot water, slippery hands, it's not the moment to improvise.

Steaming the pudding for 1.5 hours

Steaming is gentle, but it takes time. The good news is you don't need an oven, and you don't need to babysit every second, just check the water level once in a while.

Setting up the pot

Use a large pan with an upturned saucer in the bottom, so the basin doesn't sit directly on the hot metal. A cooling rack works too if it fits.

The steaming method

1. Place the wrapped basin on the saucer in the pot.
2. Pour in boiling water until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the basin.
3. Put the lid on the pot and simmer gently for 1.5 hours.
4. Top up the water if needed so it stays around that halfway mark.
5. Test with a skewer. If it comes out clean, it's done.

When the skewer comes out clean, lift the pudding out carefully (that string handle earns its keep), and let it cool a bit before turning it out. Hot steamed puddings can break if you rush the unmolding.

If you like seeing how other home bakers handle steaming setups (especially if they don't have a traditional basin), this home adaptation of Cumberland pudding steaming is a useful read.

Homemade pouring custard to serve alongside

This pudding is good on its own, but custard turns it into a real "sit down and enjoy it" dessert. The custard here is a classic pouring style, thick enough to coat a spoon, but still fluid.

Custard ingredients used:

• 300ml double cream
• 200ml whole milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons cornflour
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Custard method, kept simple:

1. Mix the yolks, cornflour, and sugar in a jug.
2. Add the warm milk and cream slowly, stirring the whole time so the eggs don't scramble.
3. Return it to gentle heat and keep stirring until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

The key is steady stirring and not blasting the heat. A little patience here beats fixing lumps later.

Turning it out, slicing, and what it tastes like

Once the pudding cools a little, cut the strings, peel off the foil and paper, and turn it out onto a plate. With the lard and greaseproof circle, it should release cleanly.

Give it another moment to cool, then slice in. The texture lands somewhere between sponge and dumpling, and that's the charm. It's stodgy, warm, and filling, with little apple pieces throughout.

Flavor-wise, it's sweet but not harsh. The apples and brown sugar bring a mellow sweetness, while the golden syrup adds a deeper note. And that lemon zest is quietly doing its job the whole time, keeping it from tasting heavy-sweet.

There's also a quick historical note that floats around with this dessert. It's often described as an older recipe, possibly linked to the Duke of Cumberland. Versions vary, but it clearly has that old British pudding DNA. You can even see people swapping notes and ingredient lists in places like this Cumberland pudding recipe discussion, which is fun if you like comparing methods.

If you want a winter dessert that fills you up, steamed puddings don't mess around.

What I learned making this (and what I'd do the same next time)

The first thing I learned is that steamed puddings aren't hard, they just feel unusual if you're used to oven baking. Once the basin is wrapped and sitting in simmering water, it's almost relaxing. You're not opening the oven door every five minutes. You're not fiddling with timers. You just let it do its thing.

I also didn't expect the breadcrumb base to work as well as it does. On paper, it sounds like it might turn gummy, but it doesn't. It turns hearty, and that's different. In a good way. The apple chunks mattered too. Cutting them smaller made every bite feel balanced, instead of getting a big wet section in the middle.

The last thing, and I'm saying this because I'd forget it myself, is the string handle. It seems like a tiny detail, but it saved the whole moment when it was time to lift the basin out. No panic, no awkward tongs, no sloshing hot water. Just lift, set down, breathe.

Conclusion

Cumberland pudding is the kind of dessert that makes sense the second you taste it: warm, sweet, and properly satisfying, especially with hot custard. It's also proof that a smart budget recipe doesn't have to feel like a compromise. If you make it, keep the basin well-greased, don't skip the pleat in the lid, and give it the full 1.5 hours so it sets through. Then slice it up, pour the custard, and enjoy that old-school comfort in a bowl.