Eve’s Pudding

An Eve’s Pudding is a deliciously comforting dessert with a soft tender sponge on top of baked apples. This Eve’s Pudding will tempt you! Recipe with step-by-step photos.

Eve’s Pudding

One of the most comforting puddings I know of is this Eve’s Pudding. Whether it is cold and snowy outside and you need something warming for dessert, or it happens to hot and balmy but you want something familiar with your bowl of ice-cream, an Eve’s Pudding is one of my go-to desserts, no matter the weather.

What is an Eve’s Pudding?

An Eve’s Pudding is similar to an Apple Crumble or Apple Crisp, but instead of a crumble topping, it is topped with a deliciously tender cake sponge.

I tend to think of it as an Apple Tea Cake in dessert form, only warm and perhaps even easier to make.

Eve’s Pudding Recipe

I have made many variations of Eve’s Pudding over the years, substituting with different fruits and different toppings (please see my suggested variations below).

But, for me, the original version with just apples remains my favourite and reminds me of how the humble apple can be magically transformed into a delicious dessert.

My Eve’s Pudding recipe starts off a bit like my Apple Crumble recipe, except, for this pudding, I like to have a slighter sharper apple filling to offset the cake, which is why I use lemon juice in the filling.

What Type of Apples to Use

For this recipe, I recommend any apple which cooks well and breaks down easily, only because I like a soft apple filling which melts into the cake sponge. For me, the perfect Eve’s Pudding has a soft and fluffy cake sponge with an almost smooth apple filling with a few chunks here and there for texture.

Hence, I recommend varieties such as Golden Delicious and Gala apples which are soft apples and which break down very quickly.

Other varieties of apples, such as Braeburn and Granny Smith, tend to hold their shape when cooked. So if you prefer a firmer fruit filling, use one of these varieties.

If you are stuck and want a soft filling but only have hard apples, don’t worry. All varieties of apples cook down eventually – some just take longer than others. Which is why I like to start the cooking process on the stove, rather than take my chances and end up with a pudding which is too firm for my liking.

Once I see that the apples have only slightly softened at the edges, I take the pan off the heat as I know that they will continue cooking once in the oven.

How to Make Eve’s Pudding

Step 1

Peel, core and thickly slice the apples. Place the apples into a large saucepan, together with the lemon juice, sugar and water.

Cook the apples over medium-heat until they start to soften at the edges. They will continue to cook later in the oven, so you don’t need them to fully cook through at this stage. For apple varieties such as Golden Delicious, this step should only take about 5 minutes. Other varieties might take longer, depending on how well you like your apples cooked.

Regardless, it helps to give the apples a nice texture if there is still a lot of moisture. So if the apples look a bit dry, add a dash of water.

Step 2

Make the cake topping by beating together the butter and sugar until they are pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract. Then add one egg at a time, followed by a tablespoon of the flour to prevent the batter from curdling.

Add the remaining flour, together with the baking powder and milk. Beat until you have a thick and smooth batter.

Step 3

Pour the apples into a baking dish. I use one which is 23cm/9 inches in diameter.

Step 4

Dollop the cake batter on top of the apples. Use a spatula or palette knife to evenly spread the batter, but don’t worry too much about covering all of the apples. The cake batter with spread and rise as it bakes.

Sprinkle the cake generously with demerera sugar which will give the cake a nice crunchy topping, as well as a touch of sweetness.

Step 5

Bake the pudding for 30-40 minutes, or until the pudding is lightly golden and the centre is set (test with a skewer to make sure it comes out clean).

Check the pudding at about 25 minutes to make sure it is not browning too quickly. If necessary, loosely cover it with some foil.

Variations

There are so many variations that you can make to this recipe. My suggestions include:

• Reduce the apples slightly and substitute one apple for a punnet (about 250 g) of raspberries or blackberries (fresh or frozen). Simply stir the berries through the slightly cooked apples.
• Substitute the apples for the same weight in pears.
• Substitute some of the apples for the same weight in stone fruits such as apricots, nectarines, peaches or plums (this variation is delicious in summer).
• Sprinkle flaked almonds over the cake batter just before baking.

More Apple Recipes

If you are looking for more apple recipes, you might also like:

Apple Crumble

Apple Crumble Cake

Apple Galette

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