Eve's Pudding


  • 400g cooking apples
  • the grated zest and juice of 1/4 - 1/2 lemon
  • 60g golden caster sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp cornflour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
  • some grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 dessert spoon water
  • 75g of butter, plus more for greasing the pudding pan
  • 75g golden caster sugar
  • 1 large free range egg
  • 75g self raising flour (or SR gluten flour)
Serves 4 (or double the mixture to make a large pudding for family meal).

This pudding proves that you can create something totally delicious with a few simple ingredients. This is an old English favourite from way back.

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F/Fan 160. Lightly butter a 1 litre baking dish. (Use the washing machine pyrex dish for large double mixture - for 8) Set aside.

Into a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients - lemon zest, cornflour, golden caster sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg.

Peel, core and slice the apples thinly. In another large bowl, add the apple slices to the lemon juice mixture, mixing as they are added, to stop the fruit turning brown. Add all the dry ingredients to the apples and mix carefully. Lastly, add as much or as little water as you think is needed - the fruit may have already started 'sweating' in the lemon juice and created quite a lot of juice already. You really don't need a lot of liquid for this pudding.

Pour this mixture into the buttered baking dish.

Cream the butter together with the caster sugar, until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, mixing it in well. Fold in the flour lightly and then spread the resulting batter over the top of the apples in the baking dish.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the apples are soft and the sponge is firm and nicely browned.

Serve warm with lashings of custard or cream!