Upside-down pear pudding

Method
Prep:25min  ›  Cook:1hr  ›  Ready in:1hr25min 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas mark 4). Grease a 20 cm (8 in) round, deep cake tin and line the bottom with greaseproof paper.
2. Heat the golden syrup gently in a small pan until it is runny, then pour it over the bottom of the prepared tin. Peel, halve and core the pears. Arrange them, cut side down and in one layer, in the syrup. Scatter over the blackberries.
3. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Fold in the flour, orange zest and milk to give a soft, dropping consistency. Add a little more milk if needed. Spoon the sponge mixture evenly over the fruit in the tin and level the surface.
4. Bake for 50–60 minutes or until risen and golden brown. If the pudding seems to be browning too much towards the end of cooking, cover loosely with foil.
5. Leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then place an inverted serving plate on top. Turn the tin and plate over, holding them firmly together, so the pudding falls out onto the plate. Serve warm, cut into wedges, with Greek-style yogurt, if liked.

Each serving provides

A, * B12, C, E, calcium, copper, iron

Some more ideas

For a quick storecupboard pear pudding, use 6 canned pear halves, canned in natural juice, well drained, in place of fresh pears. * Substitute maple syrup for the golden syrup. * Try an upside-down pineapple and blueberry pudding, replacing the pears and blackberries with 4 canned pineapple rings, canned in natural juice, well drained, and 170 g (6 oz) fresh blueberries. * Make an upside-down ginger and plum pudding. Instead of pears and blackberries, arrange 6 halved plums in the syrup. For the sponge mixture use 85 g (3 oz) each of self-raising white flour and self-raising wholemeal flour. Omit the orange zest and add 1½ tsp ground ginger and 3–4 pieces preserved stem ginger in syrup, finely chopped.

Plus points

Blackberries are high in fibre and vitamin C. They are also one of the richest fruit sources of vitamin E. * Golden syrup is derived from molasses. It is predominantly made up of the sugars glucose, sucrose and fructose, but because it contains more water and less glucose than table sugar it is not as sweet.