Who says it can’t be done?

What can’t be done? Making something crisp and brown in the microwave. Today I proved that it is possible, but to be truthful the pictures show something that is a total mistake!

I’ve just been writing about steamed puddings and in particular Sussex Pond Pudding, a suet pudding filled with whole lemons, butter and brown sugar. The one my grandson made for me was perfect (see the previous post), but he disappeared during the long 3 hour cooking, while I stayed around to make sure the boiling water was regularly topped up.

That got me thinking that one could probably get a similar result using the microwave in a fraction of the time. This method should be perfect for the moist heat of microwave cooking, as opposed to the dry one of an oven.

Having a little of the suet pastry left over from yesterday’s experiment, I lined a large cup with it, leaving a little for the lid. I filled the pastry with half a lemon, a few teaspoons of butter and brown sugar and then covered it with the remaining piece. Then it went into the microwave where it was cooked for two minutes, then a further two minutes. It looked quite puddingy when I turned it out (top picture). I left it to stand for a couple more minutes (as recipes so often suggest) and then used the spoon. It was not spoonable. Not even knifeable. I really needed a hammer and chisel to break the pastry!

I’d obviously cooked it for too long, not including in my guessed-at calculations that I was making a very small amount. Having said that - it wasn’t really bad. The over cooking turned it into something crisp (not at all the consistency of a pudding) but I have to admit to eating it all.

I’ve decided not to give you exact details of the recipe for a very serious reason: I was slightly worried that I might break a tooth biting into it and I wouldn’t like this to happen to any of you!