Eve's pudding

This recipe just became one of my favorite apple cake. Seriously, it is so good, sweet and tart from the apples and lemon, and nutty and crunchy from the almonds. Amazing.

This recipe was originally known as "Mother Eve's pudding". It would have been made with suet pastry and boiled in a basin covered with a cloth. This version is baked in the oven, and is made from a lighter lemon and almond-flavoured sponge.

For this recipe you will need caster or superfine sugar, if like me you don't have any on hand, make your own. Toss regular sugar in a food processor fitted with a metal blade for a few minutes. You can try a blender, but the results aren't quite the same.


Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter an ovenproof dish.

Beat together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until the mixture is very light and fluffy

Gradually beat the eggs into the butter mixture, beating well after each addition

then fold in the lemon rind, ground almond and flour.

and mix well. You'll get a dough that's a little stiff but spreadable.

Mix the brown sugar, apples and lemon juice, and tip the mixture into the ovenproof dish, spreading it out evenly.

Spoon the sponge mixture over the top and spread evenly. A trick to make this easy is to use an off set spatula. Run the blade under warm water to make it even easier.

Sprinkle sliced almonds over and bake for 40-45 minutes, until risen and golden brown.

And voila!!

Give this cake a try, you will not be disappointed.

Eve's Pudding :

1/2 cup (1 stick) sofened butter
1/2 cup caster (superfine) sugar
2 eggs
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
1 cup self-rising flour. Make your own by stirring together 1 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 1/2 tsp baking powder. Presto, you've got self-rising flour!
1/3 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 lbs cooking apples, cored and thinly sliced
1/4 cup sliced almonds