Sponge-topped plum pudding

ingredients

• • 850 gram can Black Doris plums (see recipe tip)
  • 1 teaspoon cornflour, mixed with 1 tbsp water

• Sponge

  • 125 gram butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon icing sugar
  • vanilla ice cream, to serve

method

• • 1

    Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter the base and sides of a 6-cup capacity baking dish or spray it with oil.

  • 2

    Drain the plums, reserving a ½ cup of the syrup. Cut each plum in half and remove the stone. Place them in the baking dish.

  • 3

    Stir the cornflour mixture into the reserved syrup and pour it over the fruit. Place the dish in the oven while you prepare the topping.

  • 4

    To make the sponge topping, cream the butter and sugar with an electric beater until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg, beating well. Add the vanilla essence.

  • 5

    Sift the flour and baking powder into a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk.

  • 6

    Drop dessertspoonfuls of the mixture on top of the fruit (it doesn’t matter if there are gaps). Bake the pudding in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

  • 7

    Dust the pudding with the icing sugar and serve while hot with a scoop of the vanilla ice cream.

notes

• This pudding could also be made with 2-3 cups of any stewed fruit or 2 x 410g cans of apricot halves (drain and thicken with half a cup of the liquid mixed with cornflour, as for the plum version).