Sloe Gin Fruit Sponge Puddings With Custard Recipes

THE ULTIMATE MAKEOVER: SPONGE PUDDING & CUSTARD

Steps:

• Very lightly butter a 1-litre pudding basin. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Coarsely grate one of the apple quarters and thinly slice the rest. Combine the sliced apple and blackberries, toss with the 2 tbsp caster sugar and spoon half into the bottom of the basin.
• Mix together the flour and baking powder. Beat both the sugars and butter together in a large bowl with an electric hand beater until light and creamy. Break in 1 egg and beat well, then beat in the second egg (the mix will look curdled). Sift half the flour mixture over the sponge mixture and fold in gently. Carefully stir in half the milk, then repeat with the rest of the flour and milk, followed by the orange zest and reserved grated apple.
• Spoon two-thirds of the sponge mixture over the fruit mix in the basin and level off. Spread the rest of the fruit on top, followed by the remaining sponge mix. Place the basin in a small roasting tin half filled with hot water. Bake for 1¼ hrs (lay foil over the top for the last 15 mins if it is browning too quickly) until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• While the pudding is baking, make the custard. Mix the sugar, custard powder and cornflour with 1 tbsp of the milk to make a paste. Beat in the egg yolk. Pour the remaining milk into a pan, slit the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape in the vanilla seeds. Add the pod to the milk and bring just to the boil. Pour this over the cornflour mix, stir, then pour into a clean pan. Cook over a medium heat, stirring all the time, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the crème fraîche.
• Loosen pudding from the sides of the basin with a round-bladed knife and carefully invert it onto a serving plate. Serve with the custard.

SLOE GIN & FRUIT SPONGE PUDDINGS WITH CUSTARD

Steps:

• Soak the dried fruit in the sherry overnight, or for as long as you can - even a 10-min soak will help. Butter six 200ml pudding moulds or dariole moulds.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat the eggs, then slowly add them to the butter and sugar using an electric whisk or mixer. Sift the flour and baking powder together, then carefully fold into the egg, butter and sugar mix using a large metal spoon. Drain the fruit and fold into the mix with the mixed spice, orange or clementine zest and 4 tbsp of the sloe gin.
• Mix the jam and the remaining sloe gin, then divide between the moulds. Spoon in the batter, filling the moulds two-thirds full. Fill another mould with any leftover mix. Cover each mould with a large square of foil with a pleat in the centre to allow room, as the sponges will rise a lot. Secure with string. Place the moulds in a baking or roasting dish, then fill the dish with water to come one-third up the side of the moulds. Bake for about 1 hr or until the sponges have risen and are cooked. The puds can now be cooled, then chilled. Reheat the same way they were cooked for 20 mins or until hot.
• To serve, remove the foil. Gently loosen the puddings with a knife and upturn them onto plates. Serve with homemade or bought custard.