Family Food – Fruit Sponge Dessert.

Desert or Dessert?

No matter how many little rhymes or tricks I read about I never seem to be able to remember which is which! But who cares how you spell it, as long as it tastes good right?

We don’t have dessert every day, but sometimes we have an after dinner treat and this fruit sponge dessert is one of our favourites.

The ancient Women’s Weekly Cookbook where we found the original recipe calls it ‘Apple Sponge Dessert’, but it’s works well with all kinds of fruit, and more importantly it is quick, easy and delicious – all the things I like in a recipe.

You can make this while the pasta is cooking and pop it in the oven before you serve up and it will be ready when you’are done.

It’s kind of like a cross between a fruit crumble and a cake – with a layer of fruit on the bottom and a bit of sponge cake on the top.

We usually make it with apples and rhubarb because that’s what we have, but it’s good with peaches or nectarines if you happen to have them, and amazing with berries too. You can even used tinned fruit if that is what you have.

Here is our slightly modified recipe:
 

Fruit Sponge Dessert

Yield: 6 serves

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes 30 seconds

Total Time: 1 hour 30 seconds

Fruit sponge dessert is a cross between a pie and a crumble, with cake on the top and stewed fruit on the bottom. Quick and easy to make, it will be a family favourite!

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Ingredients

For the Fruit Layer

• 4 apples peeled and chopped
• 6 large sticks of rhubarb, chopped
• Or enough fruit to cover the bottom of your baking dish.

For the Sponge Cake Layer

• 60 gms butter softened
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup self raising flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• Cinnamon sugar (optional)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius and grease or line a small baking dish.

To Make the Fruit Layer

1. Chop your fruit into similar sized pieces and cook with a little water or lemon juice in the microwave or on the stove until it is just beginning to soften.

To Make the Sponge Cake Layer

1. In a medium sized bowl, cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
2. Add the flour and milk alternatively and mix until well combined.

Putting it Together.

1. Spread the bottom of your baking dish with a later of fruit, then spoon the cake mixture over the top, spreading it out over the fruit as best you can.
2. Sprinkle the top of the cake mixture with some cinnamon sugar if you like.
3. Bake in a moderate oven for 30-40 minutes or until the top of the cake becomes golden and a skewer comes out clean.

I often double the recipe to fill a large baking dish so we can have some for dessert, and some for a sneaky treat breakfast the next day!

It reheats well, and is quite good cold too, but it’s best served warm, straight from the oven with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of vanilla yoghurt!

This is one of our favourite deserts… I mean… desserts. What’s yours?

I first shared this recipe back in 2011 (which is why some of the comments have such old dates on them) and since it has remained a firm family favourite it was time for an update and reshare.