Lord Randall's Pudding

I first cooked a Lord Randall's pudding in the early 90's when I was head chef at the Bentley Golf club, near Brentwood. Every month we held a 'Pudding Club' like feast which offered a main course and 10 different puddings served with lakes of cream and custard. Good, solid nosh! Everybody had a taste of each pudding and then votes were cast. Described as a pudding of substance, Lord Randall's pudding was always very popular. 

Ingredients

150g Plain flour
1 tsp of Bicarbonate of soda
150g of Butter
120g of Soft brown sugar
1 Egg beaten
175ml Milk
150g Dried apricots, chopped
150g Thick cut dark marmalade (I used my mother's homemade marmalade) 
Keep a few apricots and some marmalade to place in bottom of bowl.

Method

• Sift the flour and bicarbonate together. I add a pinch of salt but this is up to you.
• Cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy
• Add the beaten egg, milk, flour and apricots separately to the butter mixture. Beat vigorously and then finally stir in the marmalade.
• Grease a 2 pint (1.1 Litre) pudding basin and place a few apricots and a dessert spoonful of marmalade in the bottom. To prevent the pudding sticking cut a small circle of greaseproof and place in bottom of bowl before adding apricots and marmalade.
• Pour the mixture into the pudding basin and cover securely. 
• Steam for 1½ - 2 hours. 
• Turn out and serve with custard or cream.