Annie Smithers Oven Baked Sponge Pudding

Ingredients

  • 800 gm of your favourite stewed or tinned fruit
  • 200g butter, softened
  • 200g golden caster sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 50g self-raising flour
  • 140g ground almond
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 50g flaked almond
  • icing sugar, for dusting
  • cream or custard, to serve

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/baking, or turn on our AGA Baking Oven.

2. Depending on what fruit you are using you will need to make sure it is not too wet. If using tinned fruit it is best to tip the syrup from the fruit into a saucepan and boil until the liquid has reduced by half and is thick and syrupy, then adding the fruit to pan to combine.

3. Pour into a baking dish, roughly 18 x 25cm, then set aside.

4. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs one by one, mix in the flour, almonds, almond extract and a pinch of salt.

5. Dollop the sponge mixture over the fruit and spread to a smooth layer, trying not to disturb the fruit underneath too much.

6. Scatter over the flaked almonds, then bake for 45 mins until a skewer inserted into the sponge layer comes out clean.

7. Leave to cool for 5 mins, then dust with icing sugar and serve with cream or, better yet, custard.

Recipe by Annie Smithers. Image by gourmettraveller.com.au