Spotted Dick

Name: Spotted Dick
Prep time: 11 min
Cook time: 19 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 250g Self-raising Flour; pinch Salt; 125g Suet; 175g Currants; 80g Caster Sugar; Zest of 1 Lemon; Zest of 1 Orange; 150ml Milk; to serve Custard

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Dessert recipe with British flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 45 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Step-by-step instructions

Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the suet, currants, sugar, lemon and orange zest.
Pour in 150ml milk and mix to a firm but moist dough, adding the extra milk if necessary.
Shape into a fat roll about 20cm long. Place on a large rectangle of baking parchment. Wrap loosely to allow for the pudding to rise and tie the ends with string like a Christmas cracker.
Place a steamer over a large pan of boiling water, add the pudding to the steamer, cover and steam for 1 1/2 hours. Top up the pan with water from time to time.
Remove from the steamer and allow to cool slightly before unwrapping. Serve sliced with custard.

Why this works on a weeknight

Spotted Dick genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Sweet Finishes collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Spotted Dick actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍮 Sweet Finishes Dessert British ⚡ 30-Min Dinner Fruity Pudding Desert