Eve’s Pudding – Apple and Ground Cherry
I have a confession to make and it may be shocking to some: this pudding has no chocolate in it – there I’ve said it! This is a pudding I used to make regularly about ten years ago following on from a Sophie Grigson cookery series on television, but haven’t made in such a long time I thought it was due for a revival. And because it is such a good one, I thought I really ought to share it. Sophie’s version didn’t contain ground cherries and I expect my method has morphed a bit from the original, but I think I’ve retained its spirit.
This is what I did:
- Mixed 1.5 lb of ground cherries and sliced peeled cooking apples with 1oz demerara sugar, 1 tbsp honey and the grated zest of 1/2 a lemon.
- Put these into a buttered baking dish and baked at 180C for about 10 minutes until fruit had started to soften.
- Meanwhile, mixed 2oz polenta in a bowl with 1oz flour (wholemeal spelt), 1 tsp baking powder, 2oz granulated sugar, a pinch of salt and zest of 1/2 lemon (unwaxed and organic).
- Made a well in the centre and added 1 duck egg, 2oz melted unsalted butter, juice of 1 lemon and enough milk to make a good dropping consistency.
- Spooned over the apples and baked for 25 mins until the sponge was risen and golden.
One of the reasons I like Sophie’s version is that it uses lemons. This one turned out a bit too lemony as I used an enormous specimen which had masses of juice in it; this was a small price to pay for a rather fabulous but simple pudding. Using polenta gives the sponge a bit of texture, which I like. It also gave the whole pudding a beautiful autumnal glow, the yellow polenta almost matching the golden ground cherries. The juice of the fruit bubbling at the base is absorbed into the bottom of the sponge which makes it delightfully moist. In effect there are three layers created: the fruit itself, the gooey sponge and a crisp yet light top. We had it hot from the oven with clotted cream – of course!
Gill the Painter
11th November 2010 at 7:14 amThis is what I would describe as my kind of pudding.
And the perfect amount of cream for me too – how did you know, Choclette?
Brownieville Girl
11th November 2010 at 7:36 amLovely winter dessert.
Anonymous
11th November 2010 at 11:36 amWhat a shocking confession! It looks lovely I have always been tempted by Eve’s Pudding. I will give your version a try one of these sundays, without the ground cherries unfortunately.
Rhyleysgranny
11th November 2010 at 12:13 pmI love Eve’s pudding. Yours looks and sounds just perfect. can you tell me what ‘ground’ cherries are?
Chele
11th November 2010 at 6:53 pmNo chocolate?!?!?! Oh my goodness, are you feeling ok Hun? Just kidding ;0)
Looks wonderful, I’ve never sampled Eve’s Pudding before but this is very tempting.
Dom at Belleau Kitchen
11th November 2010 at 7:48 pmi’ve fainted!… you not cooking with chocolate is the equivalent of a Victorian lady showing us her ankles! it’s too shocking to comment… I need to sit down with a bowl of Eve’s pudding…
Ananda Rajashekar
11th November 2010 at 8:44 pmNo chocolate oh no! ha ha but this is fantastic pudding honey and lemon wow!
Joanna
11th November 2010 at 9:21 pmAre ground cherries the fruits of the orange lantern plants? I’ve just put away a bowl of apple crumble and have loads of neighbourly apples in the garage. Could be Eve pudding next week. Looks awfully good 🙂
Alessandra
11th November 2010 at 11:26 pmWell, sometimes is good to have a little break from chocolate 🙂
Northern Snippet
11th November 2010 at 11:34 pmChef was talking about this the other day.His Mum used to make it.Thanks for the recipe!
blackbookkitchendiaries
12th November 2010 at 1:30 ammy aunt use to bake this for me whenever i visit… this reminds me of her..thank you for sharing this and for stopping by my blog.
Hanna
12th November 2010 at 10:18 amLooks really yummy! I really wanted to have a go at growing some ground cherries for this summer but I was worried it wouldnt be warm enough!
Grazing Kate
12th November 2010 at 12:52 pmwot no choc!
do you use a variety of cherries (that grow on the ground?!) or ground-up dried cherries? Sorry, being obtuse but confused by the previous comment.
Looks lovely and that wodge of cream on the top is perfect.
Kath
12th November 2010 at 7:02 pmSorry Choclette, I appear to have appeared as anonymous in my comment above – I didn’t mean to. I have no idea what I did wrong there. It was me, should you be wondering.
Choclette
12th November 2010 at 8:32 pmGill – you like your cream too then?
Thanks BVG
Kath – thanks for letting me know it’s you – I thought I had a secret admirer. I think you’d enjoy Eve’s pudding. You can always substitute flour for polenta.
RhyleysGranny – ground cherries are a type of physalis (a bit like Cape gooseberries) – easy to grow, not so easy to buy.
Chele – Eve’s pudding is a good one.
Dom – and what makes you think anyone gets a sight of my ankles. It’s a good pud, do try.
Ananda – thanks, honey and lemon in pudding form to stave of those winter colds.
Joanna – closely related, both are physalis. Ground cherries are annuals and a lot nicer to eat.
Alessandra – the break from chocolate didn’t last long.
Northern Snippet – you could always substitute the polenta for flour for a more traditional version.
BlackBook – thank you. It’s good to know others appreciate this pudding.
Hanna – these grow fine oudoors in Britain – do give them a go.
Grazing Kate – ground cherries are a type of physalis – an annual that grows well outdoors in the UK.