Butterscotch apple pudding

Serves 4-6 You will need:

• 2 large cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into 2cm dice

• 125g self-raising flour

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 200g brown sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling

• 100g butter, melted

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 egg

• 200ml milk

• 2 tablespoons golden syrup

• 150ml boiling water

1

You will also need a 1.2 litre pie dish or a 20cm x 30cm ovenproof dish. Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas 4.

2

Place the apple pieces in the bottom of the pie dish or ovenproof dish, whichever you are using, spreading them out to form an even layer.

3

Sift the flour and the salt into a large bowl and mix in 100g of the brown sugar. In another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, the vanilla extract, the egg and the milk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones, then whisk briefly to bring everything together. Pour the mixture into the dish, distributing it evenly over the apples.

4

Next, place the golden syrup in a saucepan with the boiling water and the remaining 100g of sugar. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then pour this evenly over the mixture in the dish. Most of it will sink through the pudding mixture to the bottom of the dish, but don’t be alarmed — this creates a beautiful butterscotch sauce underneath the sponge when baked.

5

Now sprinkle over the 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, then place in the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until the top of the pudding has a very light spring when you press it with your finger. This is best served warm, with softly whipped cream, warm custard or vanilla ice-cream.