This week I’ve made a riff on Eve’s pudding, a simple, comforting dessert of gently cooked apples topped with a light, buttery sponge. Mine is made with pears, though, and I have incorporated walnuts for texture and depth of flavour (the crunchy, sugary topping is my favourite bit). Serve after Sunday lunch with plenty of custard.
Pear and walnut pudding
Prep 20 min
Cook 35 min
Serves 6-8
100g walnuts
5 ripe pears
35g caster sugar
Squeeze of lemon juice
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Cream or custard, to serve
For the sponge
80g salted butter, softened
80g caster sugar, plus extra to top
1 large egg
80g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Put the walnuts on a baking tray and roast for 10-12 minutes, until toasty. Remove, leave to cool, then blitz half of the walnuts in a food processor and roughly chop the rest.
Meanwhile, peel and core the pears, then chop them roughly. Put them in a pan with the sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and nutmeg, and cook on a low heat on the hob for five to 10 minutes, until the pears have softened. Transfer to a 22cm baking dish and leave to cool a little while you prepare the topping.
Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then, one by one, beat in the egg, flour, baking powder and blitzed walnuts. Stir in the milk, then spoon the batter on top of the pears (it’s fine if they’re not completely covered).
Top with the chopped walnuts and a teaspoon of caster sugar, then bake for 20-25 minutes. Leave to cool a little before serving warm with custard or cream.
