Quoting Jamie.......
“This is a classic old English pudding made from lovely stewed fruit with a spongy batter baked around it. Absolutely delicious. If you can’t get hold of one of the orchard fruits I’ve suggested, feel free to use peaches or strawberries (not raspberries, though, as they tend to disappear!). Banana is also delicious but the end result will be like a banana cake. In the old days, this would have been made using canned pineapple; try it out but use a nice ripe fresh pineapple instead. Another fruit not to use is kiwi, as it just doesn’t work. Jersey cream is one of life’s little naughty-but-nice luxuries! You can get it from all good supermarkets. Try lacing it with a little whiskey – delicious!"
Ingredients
2½ pounds eating apples, pears and plums
a large knob of butter, plus a little extra for buttering the dish
1/2 cup of brown sugar
a pinch of ground cinnamon
a pinch of ground nutmeg
a pinch of ground ginger
3 fresh bay leaves
a little swig of whiskey (totally optional –bwahahaha...I totally used several splashes of Bushmill)
For the batter
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
4 large organic or free-range eggs
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Peel and core the apples and pears (sadly I did not have plums) and cut them into large wedges. Halve and pit the plums ...if you have them (their skins can be left on).
Place in a big saucepan with the butter, brown sugar, spices and bay leaves, give it a stir and stew gently for 20 to 30 minutes with the lid on. When the fruit is soft and cooked, remove the pan from the heat, discard the bay leaves and put to one side.
To make the batter, cream the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating them in well, then fold in the four. You can make this in a food processor.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer half the cooked fruit (without the juices) into the bottom of a round, 8-inch buttered ovenproof baking dish. Top with the batter, then spoon over the remaining fruit, reserving the juices.
Ready for the oven...
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown and risen. To check whether its cooked through, stick a skewer or small knife into the middle of the cake – if it comes out clean, you are ready to sit and wait for a treat.
What......no spoon?! No matter....I'm digging in.
Next time I will get plums...that would have made it (obviously) fruitier.
Now I am off to check out the other desserts at IHCC this week.
