Eve's Pudding

So called because this is, apparently, the recipe Eve used to tempt Adam into eating the forbidden fruit. This is a different way of baking apples, an alternative to apple pie or apple crumble with a sponge topping.

Timings: Prep: 20 minutes. Cooking: 5 min for the apples, 40 to 50 for the pudding, 5 min for the custard. Four of us polished it all off inside 5 minutes.

Ingredients

Filling:

600 g Bramley apples

Caster sugar (about 60 g)

Mixed dried fruit (optional)

Splash of lemon juice

Butter (for buttering the dish)

Topping:

100 g salted butter

100 g caster sugar

2 eggs

100 g self-raising flour

Custard:

100 ml double cream

350 ml full fat milk

2 egg yolks

1½ tbsp cornflour or sauce flour

50 g caster sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

If you can't get Bramley apples because they're out of season or you don't live in the UK, Granny Smiths, Breaburn or a local cooking apple will do but you won't need as much sugar.

Bramley apples are the best cooking apples. They stay firm, yet fluffy when cooked. They are very sharp, though, so you will likely need to add sugar to them. Unless you're like my grandad, who used to eat them raw.

Butter a baking dish.

Peel and thinly slice the apples. Cook dry in a saucepan over a medium heat until they go fluffy. Add caster sugar until the apples are as sweet as you like them and a splash of lemon juice to stop the apples browning. Tip them into the buttered baking dish to cool.

Peeled and sliced apples.

If you're adding dried fruit, sprinkle this on top of the apples. Mincemeat would do just as well for this.

Cooked, sliced apples and dried mixed fruit. just need to add the sponge batter and then it's ready for the oven.

Preheat oven to 160 °C (fan), gas 3.

To make the sponge topping, cream the butter and caster sugar until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is light. This will take about 5 minutes with an electric whisk. Beat the eggs, add them a little at a time to the sugar mixture with stirring. If the mix looks like it's curling add some of the flour to the mix to bind. Once all the egg has been added, sift the flour into the mixture, make sure it's all blended well.

Sponge batter ready to add to the apples.

Spread the sponge batter over the apples. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the top is firm and well tanned. Don't be tempted to open the oven door - this is exactly like baking a cake and you risk the sponge collapsing.

Eve's pudding, just out of the oven.

Dust with icing sugar to look even better. You could also sprinkle some sliced almonds on top 5 minutes before the sponge is baked.

Served up, in a bowl with custard.

Serve with custard. Either use Bird's or make your own:

Put the cream and milk in a pan and warm through to just below boiling. We used a thermometer, we heated the milk to about 85 °C.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, cornflour, sugar and vanilla. A hand whisk will be fine for this.

Egg yolk, sugar, vanilla and corn flour mixed and ready for warmed milk.

Gradually pour the hot milk onto the sugar mixture, whisking constantly. Two of us did this together (I had help from younger daughter, who made crème anglaise in Food Tech at school); she poured and I whisked.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Heat gently with stirring until it thickens to your liking. Don't heat for too long or it might curdle.

Custard, ready to serve!