Author Notes: This stemmed from an old Bakewell pudding recipe from Mrs Beeton’s ‘Book of Household Management’. Her pudding involved no pastry but lots of bread. This is a modification of it for modern tastes. —17years
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Filling
-
1.5
pounds fruit
-
3
ounces sugar, modified to taste
-
1
tablespoon brandy, or preferred spirit
-
3
tablespoons flaked almonds
-
1
teaspoon cornflour
Topping
-
1
ounce ground almonds
-
1
ounce butter
-
1
ounce sugar
-
1
egg
-
0.5
ounces flour
-
0.5
teaspoons baking powder
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 160–180°C (320–360°F).
- Prepare the fruit and place in baking dish (I used an oval dish 10 inches long), and toss in brandy, sugar and cornflour. (If using apples, soften in a pan with a little water first.) Sprinkle flaked almonds over, reserving a few for the top.
- Make the sponge topping. Cream together the sugar and the softened butter. Add the egg and the flour sieved with the baking powder, then beat together. Add the and the ground almonds and briskly beat again.
- Using a spoon or spatula, place dollops of the mixture onto the fruit. When all of the mixture has been dolloped, smooth roughly with a palette knife.
- Scatter the top with the remaining flaked almonds and bake for 30–35 minutes, until golden.
- Serve while still warm with ice cream, cream or — best of all — custard.