Sussex pond pudding is a traditional English pudding from the South East county of Sussex. Made of a suet pastry which encases a whole lemon, with butter and sugar, it is boiled or steamed for several hours. The dish is first recorded in Hannah Woolley's 1672 book, The Queen-Like Closet.

This rich and heavy pudding has gone out of fashion over the years due to health and diet consciousness, although the British chef Heston Blumenthal has served it as part of his campaign to revive historic British foods.

While cooking, the filling ingredients create a thick, caramelized sauce, which upon serving and cutting of the pudding, runs out and pools around the plate, creating a “pond”. After cooking for so long, the skin of the lemon almost candies like a marmalade in its own juices and that of the butter and sugar.

The most authentic recipes call for beef suet for making the pastry which is available in all supermarkets in the UK, but vegetable shortening, or even cold butter, can be substituted for similar results.

The best lemons to use in this pudding are thin skinned, juicy ones that have not been waxed.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org