Summer pudding traybake

Serves: 8

When we were developing this recipe in the tasting kitchen we were looking for a pudding that had all the flavours of a summer pudding but the practicality of a traybake. We love the result; a zesty lime sponge with rich, gooey fruit on top, ideally served with a bowl of softly whipped cream. Try it and tell us whether you're hooked or prefer the traditional summer pudding....

Ingredients

• 175g soft unsalted butter
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 100g ground almonds
• 75g self-raising flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1 x 300ml carton double cream
• grated zest of 2 limes
• 2 tbsp shredded mint or lemon verbena
• For the summer pudding topping: 4 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cassis
• 750g mixed summer berries – raspberries, blackberries, red and black currants, strawberries

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan 160°C, gas 4. Whisk the butter, sugar, almonds, flour, eggs, 2 tablespoons of the double cream and the lime zest in an electric mixer with a pinch of salt for 1-2 minutes to combine.
2. Tip the mixture into a lightly buttered, lined 4cm-deep 20 x 30cm tin; spread it out with a knife to make it even. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
3. For the topping, heat the sugar and cassis together in a large pan for a few minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
4. Tip in the fruit (except the strawberries, if using), gently stir and simmer together for a few minutes until the fruit just begins to soften; you want all the berries to stay intact.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and, if using strawberries, stir these into the other berries now, halving any large ones.
6. Gently tip the fruit into a sieve set over a bowl and leave to cool.
7. Take the cake out of the oven, prick all over the top with a fork and leave to cool.
8. Whip the remaining cream and spoon into a bowl. Just before serving, mix the berries with the mint and spoon on top of the cake with a little of the fruit syrup.
9. Serve with the rest of the syrup and the whipped cream to add as you eat. Berry heaven!

Tip

Try with an autumn fruit mix, too – plums, pears and blackberries work well.