Name: Plum and cinnamon self-saucing pudding
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 500g ripe plums (8-10), halved and stoned; 60g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the dish; 125g plain flour; 1½ tsp baking powder; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 75g light brown soft sugar; 1 large egg; 125ml whole milk; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 75g light brown soft sugar; 1 tbsp cornflour; 25g unsalted butter; 200ml boiling water; Cold double cream, clotted cream or vanilla ice cream; A 2 litre ovenproof dish, about 25cm x 18cm and 6cm deep

Plum and cinnamon self-saucing pudding

The holidays are over and pudding is back: a plum self-saucing pudding for 4 that bakes a cinnamon sponge over ripe plums and makes its own toffee sauce.

Vegetarian

Serves4

Hands-on15 min

Oven40 min

DifficultyEasy

Pour a jug of boiling water over a cake batter and it looks like a mistake. Give it 40 minutes in the oven and the sponge has risen through it, the sugar has sunk into a sauce and the September plums underneath have softened into the lot, which is the whole trick of this pudding.

Why it’s so good: The fruit sharpens the sauce so it never turns cloying, the cinnamon does the warming, and every spoonful comes up with all three layers, with nothing to make separately and no custard to stir.

Make it easy: The batter is stirred together in one bowl with melted butter, so there is no creaming, and the dish can go into the oven as you sit down to the main course.

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4 and butter the dish. Arrange the plum halves cut side down in a single layer over the base; they should sit snugly but not overlap.

Mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, 75g of the sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. In a jug, whisk the egg, milk, vanilla and melted butter together, pour into the dry ingredients and stir until you have a smooth, thick batter with no floury streaks.

Spoon the batter over the plums and spread it gently to the edges with the back of the spoon so the fruit is covered. A few plums showing through do not matter.

For the sauce, mix the remaining 75g sugar with the cornflour and sprinkle it evenly over the batter. Put the 25g butter in a heatproof jug, pour over the boiling water and stir until melted, then pour the liquid slowly over the back of a large spoon held just above the pudding, so it floods the surface without breaking through the batter. The pudding will look soupy at this stage, which is right.

Sit the dish on a baking tray to catch any drips and bake for 35-40 minutes until the sponge is risen, golden and springs back when pressed in the centre, and the sauce is bubbling up thickly at the edges.

Leave to stand for 10 minutes so the sauce thickens, then spoon into bowls, digging down to bring up the plums and sauce from beneath the sponge, and serve with cream or ice cream.

Per serving (Serves 4)

Calories

525kcals

Fat

23g (14g saturated)

Protein

6.8g

Carbohydrates

76g (50g sugars)

Fibre

Salt

0.7g

Quick wins, tips & make ahead

Plums: Victorias are the classic choice at this time of year, but any ripe plum works, and greengages or stoned damsons can stand in with an extra tablespoon of sugar over the fruit. If the plums are firm, give the pudding 5 minutes longer.

Sauce: the cornflour keeps the sauce glossy rather than watery once the plum juices join it. Use dark brown soft sugar for the topping for a deeper toffee flavour, and add ½ tsp ground ginger to the batter if you want more warmth.

Serve it hot from the oven, when the sauce is at its runniest. Leftovers keep, covered, in the fridge for 2 days; reheat single portions in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until piping hot and the sauce loosens again.

To serve 6, use a 2.5 litre dish, 750g plums and one and a half times the batter and sauce, and bake for 45-50 minutes.