Cranberry and Apricot Sponge Pudding with Caramel sauce
The almonds in the sponge give the pudding a slightly firmer texture which helps stop the fruit pieces from sinking, but make sure you cut the apricots into small pieces.
Ingredients
For the Pudding
- 150 gr Self-raising Flour
- 200 gr unsalted Jersey Butter at room temperature
- 200 gr Golden Caster Sugar
- 200 gr free-range Eggs ( 4 medium sized eggs )
- 50 gr ground Almonds
- 75 gr Dried Cranberries
- 75 gr Dried Apricots cut into small pieces
- 50 gr Sultanas or Golden Raisins
- Juice and zest of 2 Lemons
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground Ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground Nutmeg
For the Caramel Sauce
- 250 gr Caster Sugar
- 60 ml cold Water
- 150 ml Jersey Double Cream
- 50 g butter
Equipment
- 1 Festive non-stick cake tin
Instructions
- Heat oven to 165C / 325 F / Gas Mark 3. Grease a twenty-centimetre cake tin and sprinkle with a little extra caster sugar to prevent the cake from sticking. I used a Christmas tree shape tin.
- In a large bowl beat the softened butter and sugar together. Then add in the eggs and sift in the ground almonds, flour, baking powder and spices. Beat together until smooth and creamy.
- Gently stir in the fruit and tip into the prepared cake tin. Tap a few times on the work surface to remove any large air bubbles and level out the mix.
- Place in the centre of your preheated oven and bake until golden brown for approximately thirty minutes. At this time cover the top of your pudding with a piece of pre-cut baking paper, to prevent burning and return to the oven for another ten to fifteen minutes.
- Carefully prick the centre of the pudding with a small metal knife or skewer and remove. If the knife is clean the pudding is done if not return to the oven for a few more minutes.
- Remove from the oven using oven gloves and allow to cool for ten minutes before tipping onto a plate.
- For the caramel sauce
- Pour the sugar into a medium sized, heavy-bottomed pan and add the water. Set over a gentle heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Stop stirring, increase the heat and bring to a boil and bubble until you have golden brown caramel. Quickly remove from the heat, and then carefully stir in the cream and butter.
- Leave to cool before adding the vanilla then serve with the warm sponge and some thick Jersey cream.
Notes
Sulphites in the dried fruit Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!