David is 51!

Happy Birthday David 51 years young today!!!!!

aka hotty boy

I believe that 51 is going down the other side of the hill for most people. However, David doesn't even have any grey hair. (How lucky is that.) I met David about 3 1/2 years ago. Our sisters lined us up on a blind date. (blind dates actually work out once in a while) One day after we had been dating a few months, Davids mom was looking through her recipe box. She ran across this recipe that David had sent her from his mission (Adelaide Australia, the same one our son Kyson went to). She said it was his favorite recipe. David has not had any since he returned from Australia 30 years ago. I decided to make it for his 51st birthday!!!!!!!! I called Mom Pack and no answer. I decided to check out the internet to see if I could find it. Spotted Dick. Yes that is the name. Well come to find out it must be a pretty popular dessert amongst the Brits. I found many recipes. Most were not that easy for me to read and figure out. However, I finally found one that was a little more Americanized and actually had a video of them making it. (My lucky day). It actually tasted delicious, considering the middle wasn't quite cooked all the way. I have never steam cooked anything except vegetables, (steaming a cake for 2 hours was quite interesting) next time it should be perfect. So heres to you David, the most handsome, wonderful man in the world. Love you and Happy Birthday.

I have a request for the recipe:

(I bought a box of vanilla pudding from the store and added some lemon zest instead of making the custard sauce. It was just too much for me to make another thing I had no idea about. It tasted great!)

Spotted Dick (British raisin pudding cake)
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups plus of sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups self-rising flour or (2 ¾ C flour, 2 Tbls baking powder and ½ tsp salt)(I used pancake mix)
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 cup golden raisins
Special equipment: large ceramic heatproof bowl or 8 (8-ounce) ramekins, parchment paper
Preparation
Butter bowl, then dust with flour, knocking out excess.
Fill large, shallow, wide saucepan with 1 inch water. Add flat steamer or equally sized cookie cutters to create steaming platform just above water level.
In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat together butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until pale and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl periodically. Beat in vanilla.
Sift flour into medium bowl. Gradually beat flour into egg mixture just until combined. Add 3 tablespoons milk and beat until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add raisins and beat just until combined.
Transfer batter to prepared bowl, smoothing top. Top bowl with parchment paper. Secure edges all around. ( I also covered the bowl with a layer of foil) Over moderately high heat, bring water in steamer to boil. Transfer bowl to steamer, cover pan tightly, lower heat to moderate, and steam, adding more boiling water to pan if necessary, until pudding is set, about 2 hours for bowl, 1 hour for ramekins. ( mine needed a little more time)
Meanwhile, make custard sauce: Transfer pudding bowl(s) to rack and cool 5 minutes. Run paring knife around inside rim of bowl and invert pudding(s) onto plate(s). Serve warm with custard sauce.
Custard Sauce from Scratch
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
Preparation
Bring milk just to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and remove from heat. Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a bowl and add hot milk in a slow stream, whisking. Pour custard into pan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and a thermometer registers 170°F. Pour through a fine sieve into a pitcher and serve warm.

Enjoy!