16. Saucy fruit pud

Saucy, crunchy, fluffy, hot.

Hello,

Welcome back to another edition of the newsletter, it’s great to have you here!

This week I’ve been staying at my parent’s house in the beautiful Sussex countryside. I’m very lucky to have it as a secret getaway when everything feels a little overwhelming. And it’s safe to say I’ve made it my new test kitchen!

What I love most about being down here (apart from my family of course) is how the light reflects off the South Downs in the evening. The orange hue is like the yolk of an egg. Rich and vibrant. The glimmering light between the endless waves of green fills me with calm and makes it easier for me to tap into my creative energy.

This is a dessert to feed the family, after dinner or whilst having a cup of tea. Perhaps you could make it this bank holiday weekend? It’s a light vanilla sponge that bounces on top of the end of summer fruit. It must be served with cold cream and lots of it!

Much love,

Cissy…xo

---

Self Saucing Fruit Pudding

Serves 4-6

Equipment

• 28cm x 20cm falcon pie dish or similar sized casserole dish. You want it to be deep enough that you can pour the water on top of the batter without it spilling over the edges. 

• Electric beaters or a stand mixer 

Ingredients

250g cherries (or other seasonal fruit. For September, think greengages, damsons, plums, pears).

10g golden caster sugar

Juice of ½ a lemon

120g butter, softened

120g golden caster sugar

100g eggs (2 medium)

120g plain flour

5g baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract 

100g ricotta

A pinch of flaky sea salt

For the sauce

150g boiling water

25g golden caster sugar

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180c (160c fan).  

• Halve and de-stone the cherries (if using other fruit, remove stones or cores and chop into similar sized chunks) and place in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. 

• Sprinkle over 10g of golden caster sugar and the juice of ½ lemon. Stir to coat and set aside. 

• In a bowl cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. 

• In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs.

• In stages, beat the whisked egg into the creamed butter and sugar. (Don’t worry if it splits!).

• Add in the vanilla extract and salt. 

• Sift in the dries and fold until combined. 

• Fold in the ricotta. 

• Spoon this mixture on top of the cherries and spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon. 

• To make the sauce, put the sugar in a glass measuring jug. Pour in the boiling water and mix to dissolve. 

• Using an upturned spoon, carefully and slowly pour the sugared water over the pudding. 

• Place the dish in the oven and bake for 20 mins. 

• After 20 minutes, carefully cover the top of the dish with tin foil to prevent it from colouring too much.

• Return the dish to the oven and bake for a further 20-25 minutes or until the pudding is cooked. To check, insert a skewer in the centre; it should come out clean. 

• Allow to cool slightly before dusting with icing sugar and serving with cold cream.