By Keighley’s Mike Armstrong, an award-winning master baker with a big passion for baking...

SPOTTED dick, a pudding as English as custard – and a name that prompted sniggering amongst teenage schoolboys queuing up down a long, cold corridor at dinnertime, reading the blackboard menu en route.

Let's get the name out of the way first.

There have been a number of attempts to explain it. 'Spotted' is the easy bit and obvious – it refers to the fruit that dots the pudding.

As for the 'dick', that's where things get a little uncertain. Many historians claim it comes from the word 'dough' or maybe refers to a slab of hard cheese or a railway cake, or is even a Yorkshire term for a plain pudding.

Way back in the 19th century, dick and dog came from an English dialect term for a pudding. Some would call the pudding 'pud dick' or 'pud dog' and over time the name simply become shortened.

Today, some restaurants have taken the dessert name one step further and renamed it 'spotted Richard' to save people the embarrassment of uttering the word dick in a formal environment, such as in Parliament, where it's less likely to cause a stir or even an election.

Anyway, that's the embarrassment bit out of the way! Those Victorians sure have a lot to answer for, but in their defence, back then the word wouldn't have any negative connotations. So there you have it, spotted dick pudding was a slang name given to us by our forebears. It's just a name at the end of the day, that didn't age at all well. This dodgy pudding name is the worst offender of all our British 'weird name foods', but whatever you want to call it, this delightful pudding is very easy to make.

If you have never had a steamed pudding before, you will be especially tickled to give this recipe a try.

Not overly sweet, the sweetness comes from the fruit and the custard, which is an absolute must. If you try serving spotted dick without custard the Keighley police of Victorian times will parade into a time machine and come clobber you with a wooden billy club!

RECIPE

SPOTTED DICK

Serves 4

Ingredients:

250g/9oz self-raising flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

50g/2oz butter

110g/4oz light shredded vegetable suet

75g/3oz caster sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

175g/6oz currants

1 medium egg, beaten

150ml/8fl oz semi-skimmed milk

Piping hot custard to serve

Method:

1. Butter a 1.2-litre pudding basin, then sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and, using your fingertips, rub in the butter.

2. Stir in the suet, lemon zest and currants, stir in the egg and enough milk to mix to a soft consistency.

3. Spoon the mixture into the basin, cover with buttered kitchen foil, make a pleat across the centre, and tie with string.

4. Steam for 2 hours or until well risen and firm – if you don’t have a steamer, place the pudding in a large saucepan on an upturned saucer.

5. Pour boiling water to halfway up the basin, then cover and steam for 2 hours; check the water level every now and then, and top up if you need to.

6. Turn out onto a plate, slice and serve with gallons of piping hot custard.