Self Saucing Apple Caramel Pudding

Fruit base

1. Set the oven temperature to 180 C / 350 F ready to bake this pudding. Make sure the oven rack is set in the middle of the oven.
2. Grease the sides of a 10 x 10 x 3 inch (25 x25x 6 cm) baking dish. NOTE: This baking dish can be used to cook the apples in the microwave too if you would like to save on washing up as I have done.
3. Peel and slice the apples (or other fruit) and put into an oven proof dish, as above I use the same dish to microwave and bake. (See below for variations) Toss the apples with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Put into a microwave uncovered for 5 minutes (1100watts) . They will be just tender. Set aside to cool a little.
4. **If your microwave is small or you are making your pudding in a metal baker then use a flatish bowl to cook the fruit and then transfer to your baker (to cook your pudding) **or you prefer to cook the fruit on the stove use a medium pot and cook them in with 1/4 cup (60 ml) of water till very slowly stiring occasionally till tender.

The sponge

1. Melt 100 gm of butter set aside.
2. In another bowl mix the egg and milk.
3. In a medium bowl add the flour, baking powder and brown sugar and mix well with a whisk till there are no lumps. (you can also run your fingers through this to get rid of any lumps).
4. Now, add the milk / egg mixture to the flour and then the melted butter on top and mix with a whisk till smooth. The batter will be thickish, so pour over the cooled apples and spread flat with a palette knife or spoon

Caramel Sauce

1. Take a small bowl and mix the extra brown sugar and cornflour till well combined. Then sprinkle this over the batter and apples in the baking dish in an even layer right to the corners. Put the dish onto a tray to make it easier to transfer to the oven once it has water in it
2. Boil the jug and once boiled pour the water into a measuring jug up to exactly 350 ml. Pour the golden syrup into the water and stir to dissolve. Then pour this over the batter covered with the sugar sprinkles in the baking dish.
3. Then transfer the whole dish on its tray to the middle rack of your preheated oven. the sauce will end up on the bottom!!
4. Bake for 30- 40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Don't dig in too deep when testing just the top layer. ( underneath the sponge there's caramel and apple). The caramel sauce will be bubbling on the sides of the dish.
5. It is best served as soon as possible as the caramel sauce starts to soak in sponge. This is still perfectly fine (NO, still amazing), and you can make the sponge ahead of when you need it and rewarm BUT I love it hot with ice cream straight from the oven.