Great British Bake Off: The Final

As we often like to match up wine with key savoury dishes, we thought it might be nice to do something a bit different and test out a ‘sweet treat’ recipe instead.  So, in celebration of the Great British Bake Off final we tried the Good Food Magazine’s baked fruity autumn pudding recipe.

Big congratulations of course go to Series 5 winner, Nancy Birtwhistle, after her triumphant efforts in the final episode with both the technical challenge and the show stopper round in which she created an impressive pièce montée consisting of choux pastry, caramel, sponge, and petit fours.  Nancy's final creation took her a total of 5 hours to make, but I'm sure you all don't have that kind of time put aside for baking, so this little recipe should hopefully be a little more achievable...

This deliciously autumnal fruity bake suits a quietly confident baker, no expertise necessary, just someone who is quite happy in the kitchen.  It’s a relatively simple pudding to make, with basic and individual steps, so no overwhelming timing issues to trip you up, and it works just as well prepared in advance and reheated in oven the following day.

I enjoyed a Bogle Viognier from Clarksburg California with this, and would happily do so again!  The refreshing pear and apricot tastes compliment the mix of fruit flavours in the filling of this dessert perfectly.  Finish it off with a dollop of creamy vanilla ice cream to melt over the dish and you’re good to go!

Baked fruity autumn pudding (serves 4-6)

Method (Prep 25 min – Cook 2 hours)

Lining the tin:  Heat the oven to around 180C (gas mark 4).  Cut 2 x 5cm strips of parchment and lay them up the sides of the basin, forming a cross at the bottom of the dish and leaving some overhang at the edges.  Grease again.  Lay a square of foil and square of greased parchment paper on top of each other, folding a pleat down the middle.  Put aside.

Making the filling:  Chop the fruit into 1cm cubes and place in a bowl.  Break up the butter and add to the bowl with the cinnamon and 125g of the sugar.  Stir and put aside.

Making the case:  Sift the flower into a mixing bowl.  Mix in the suet, remaining sugar and zest.  Add a sprinkle of water, working through with a cutlery knife, and keep adding until you have soft dough.  Bring the dough together into a smooth ball using your hands.

Tear the dough into ¾ and ¼ parts and roll the larger portion into a rough circle (approx 20cm).  Drop this into the basin and press up the sides until you have a slight overhang left.  Tip the filling into the pastry case.  Roll out the remaining ¼ to make the lid, and press the casing edges together to firmly seal, tucking the remaining parchment pieces over the pastry.

Getting it in the oven:  Put pre-made foil/parchment layer on top (foil side up), pressing and squeezing the foil around the edges to create a fitted lid.  Tie string securely around the top, making a handle with extra doubled up string preventing any tricky manoeuvres once the dish is piping hot!  Put bowl in a deep roasting tin and poor boiling water to around 1-2cm below foil line.  Cook for 2 hours, topping up water levels when needed.

Unwrap, release edges using parchment tabs and invert onto a plate, taking care when hot.