The cottage we live in lies in the beautiful English countryside atop a hillside in rural Kent. We are almost totally surrounded by fruit orchards . . . apples of all varities and pears. It makes for great beauty in the springtime when the air is filled with the sight and smell of beautiful blossom . . . and in the late summer and early autumn, the air is filled with the smell of ripening apples.
We often walk through the orchards as there is a public footpath that runs past our humble home and on through the orchards. Jess, our Border Collie, loves to wander through them with us, quite often with one of the drops in her mouth. Playing ball is her favourite game to play and an apple is just another ball to her . . .
One of the nice things is that we are allowed to pick up the drops ourselves and we often do. I'll bring them home and make a big pot of applesauce if they are cooking apples . . . big green Bramely Apples . . . tart and full of that wonderful apple flavour. Each year I am able to make lots of applesauce with the apples that we find as well as pies, cakes and this delicious dessert, called Eve's Pudding, comprised of scrumptious stewed apples baked beneath a thatch of delicious sponge cake. Lashings of custard are a MUST have, or you can do cream . . . as you wish.
We are partial to custard though . . .
This is one tasty mess that Eve got Adam into . . .
*Eve's Pudding*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
This pudding is proof positive that you can create something totally delicious with a few simple ingredients. This is an old English favourite from way back.
400g cooking apples (about 2 1/2 cups)
the grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
75g demerara sugar (6 TBS Turbinado)
2 TBS water
75g of butter, plus more for greasing the pudding pan (1/3 cup)
75g caster sugar (6 1/2 TBS)
1 large free range egg
100g self raising flour (3/4 cup plus 1 TBS)
Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Lightly butter a 1 litre baking dish. Set aside.
Peel, core and slice the apples thinly. Place them into a bowl and mix together with the lemon zest, lemon juice, demerara sugar and the water. Pour this mixture into the buttered baking dish.
Cream the butter together with the caster sugar, until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. mixing it in well. Fold in the flour lightly and then spread the resulting batter over top of the apples in the baking dish.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the apples are soft and the sponge is firm and nicely browned.
Serve warm with lashings of custard or cream!
