Peach and walnut upside-down puddings

Ready in 1 hour Serves 8-10

½ a spray-free orange, unpeeled and

coarsely chopped

2 eggs

1 cup milk, warmed

100g butter, melted

¾ cup soft brown sugar

½ cup golden syrup

3 tsp ground ginger

2¼ cups self-raising flour

½ cup chopped crystallised ginger ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional) 1 tsp baking soda

3-4 thinly sliced peaches

1 cup cream, softly whipped, to serve

(optional)

CARAMEL SAUCE 100g butter

¾ cup soft brown sugar ¾ cup golden syrup 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180C fan bake. Place orange, eggs, milk, butter, sugar, golden syrup and ginger in the bowl of a food processor and whizz until smooth. Add flour and baking soda and pulse until just combined (do not overmix). Stir through crystallised ginger and walnuts if using.

To make caramel sauce, bring all ingredients to a boil in a small pot, then remove from heat. Spoon a tablespoonful into each of 8-10 texan muffin pans or ramekins, reserving the rest for serving. Place a few slices of peach on top, then divide the pudding batter over the top. Bake until the puddings are risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (about 30 minutes). Stand for 5 minutes before running a knife around the edges and cutting off any peaks so they sit flat when inverted.

Turn out on to a tray, then top with the remaining sauce. Serve hot or warm with softly whipped cream, if desired.

NOTE: Whizzed together in a food processor, these puddings are light and moist. This recipe makes extra sauce, so you’ve got some left over to spoon over the puddings just before serving.

Match this with ... Fino Valley Peach Liqueur 375ml ($14.40)

Fino Valley is one of the oldest wineries in Auckland, Established on Henderson Valley Rd in 1966 by Croatian immigrants Ivan and Milka Tvrdeich and their sons, it’s a place where liqueurs and fortified wines are still very much a focus. Made from estate-grown grapes wild-fermented into wine, fortified to 18 per cent abv with neutral spirit then infused with natural peach extract, a little splishy-splash (technical term there) of this sweetie is perfect while nibbling on these peachy, walnutty puddings. finovalley.com

— Yvonne Lorkin