Mary Berry’s Upside-down Apricot and Cointreau Pudding
This love letter to apricots from Mary Berry used tinned apricots so that you can make this crowd-pleasing pudding year round. If you happen to be making this during apricot season, use fresh instead.
Introduction
Great for family gatherings, serve this with crème fraîche for a wonderful treat. The apricot season is very short in the UK, so we use tinned apricots for this recipe, but de-stoned fresh apricots would be delicious, too, of course. The topping does not work as well in a non-stick pan, so it is best to use a stainless-steel pan.
Ingredients
| butter, melted, or sunflower oil | |
| 2 × 400g tins | apricot halves in syrup, drained well and lightly dried on kitchen paper |
| For the topping: | |
|---|---|
| 125g (4½oz) | granulated sugar |
| 75g (3oz) | butter |
| 2 tbsp | Cointreau |
| For the sponge: | |
| 115g (4oz) | self-raising flour |
| 115g (4oz) | baking spread straight from the fridge |
| 115g (4oz) | caster sugar |
| 2 | eggs |
| finely grated zest of 1 small orange | |
| 1 tbsp | Cointreau |
Essential kit
You will need: a deep, fixed-base 20cm (8in) cake tin and an n electric whisk.
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas 4. You will need a deep, fixed-base 20cm (8in) cake tin. (There’s no need to line the base.)
To make the topping, measure the granulated sugar and 4 tablespoons of water into a stainless-steel pan. Stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Stop stirring and bring up to the boil. Boil until the sugar turns a deep caramel colour. Quickly remove from the heat and add knobs of the butter and the Cointreau. Stir, then pour into the base of the cake tin.
Brush the sides of the tin with the melted butter or oil. Arrange the apricot halves, cut-side up, on top of the caramel. Place any extra apricots in a neat layer over the top.
Measure the sponge ingredients into a bowl. Whisk for 1½–2 minutes with an electric whisk, until light and fluffy. Spoon on top of the apricots and level the surface. Bake in the preheated oven for about 50–55 minutes, until lightly golden and the sponge is coming away from the sides of the tin.
Leave to stand for about 30 minutes, then loosen the sides and put a plate on top. Carefully turn the cake upside down and remove the tin.
Spoon any loose caramel sauce over the top and serve warm in wedges.
Mary’s Tips: Can be made up to 12 hours ahead and gently warmed to serve. Freezes well.
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