Delicious tangy gooseberries hidden under a blanket of light sponge. Serve warm with custard, cream or ice cream for a delicious easy to make family dessert.
Gooseberry Eves Pudding
It seems that gooseberries are a fruit that are either loved or hated. I fall into the former group.
I have 3 gooseberry bushes one which produces sweet red dessert gooseberries and two of the more familiar and tart green gooseberries. Growing them I can see why they might have fallen out of favour; the plants are very prickly and picking the gooseberries is a bit of a pain, quite literally, but I think they are worth it. Apart from that, they are very easy to grow, don’t need to be in full sun unlike some berries and will tolerate most soil types and a bit of neglect.
They can be hard to find in the shops, I cannot remember when I last saw fresh gooseberries for sale but I have found frozen gooseberries in a couple of farm shops. Frozen gooseberries can easily be substituted for fresh when cooking, just add them while still frozen.I have also seen a few pick your own sites that sell them.
This gooseberry Eves Pudding is a variation on the traditional English dessert Eves Pudding which is made with apples. Replacing the apples with gooseberries gives the pudding a delicious tang. I used a mixture of the sweeter red gooseberries and tart green gooseberries and just sweetened the fruit with a little elderflower cordial, as elderflower and gooseberries go together so well. I like a dessert that is not too sweet but if you prefer yours sweeter then add a little caster sugar as well.
To me this dessert is the epitome of good home cooking. Simple cheap, tasty comfort food. The perfect weekend family dessert. Serve with custard, cream or icecream.
This simple to make variation on a traditional Eves pudding can be made with fresh or frozen gooseberries. It makes a delicious family dessert
- 350 g fresh or frozen gooseberries topped and tailed
- 2 tbsp elderflower corial
- 125 g butter softened
- 125 g light muscovado sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 125 g self-raising flour
Preheat the oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan)/350°F/gas mark 4. Butter a 1.25l/2¼pt (5 cup) ovenproof dish.
Place the gooseberries in the dish and drizzle over the elderflower cordial.
Beat the butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
Fold in the flour. Then carefully spoon the cake mixture over the gooseberries and level the surface.
Bake in the centre of the oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until the cake is risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Allow to stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.
More Family Puddings Made Easy
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Balvinder says
I have only used gooseberries in chutney, quick stir fry or preserve. This is the first time I am seeing in a pudding. Would certainly love to try pudding.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Thank you Im sure you will like it. Gooseberries are ideal for those who dont like too sweet a dessert.
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
Ooh this certainly brings back some tastey memories Jacqui. Mum often used to make Eves Pudding and, like you, occassionally substituted the apples for gooseberries. To be honest I can’t remember the last time I had some gooseberries, like you say they’re not often found in the shops these days sadly. I think those of us who don’t grow them need to start asking our local supermarkets for them – perhaps they’ll then get the idea that some, granted not all, folk love them.
Angela x
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Thanks Angela
It’s always worth a try asking at the supermarket. I think its a shame they have fallen out of favour but I think they are making a come back so I shall do my bit to encourage people to seek them out and use them.
Corina Blum says
This would definitely be my kind of pudding and I am certainly in the loving gooseberries camp too! It’s such a shame you don’t see gooseberries in the shops very often. We picked ours from our local pick your own farm but the children were not very keen on the prickles so I didn’t manage to pick as many as I wanted – they wanted to move on the strawberries instead!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Ha Ha Corina I have to confess as a child I was only interested in picking strawberries too!
Monika Dabrowski says
Oh, how delicious! I love the idea of using gooseberries in this recipe. And it makes so quickly too! If I wasn’t so busy packing and getting ready for my holiday I’d be seriously tempted to make it:) Thank you for bringing it to #CookBlogShare!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Thanks Monika. Hope you have a great holiday.