This summery dessert was inspired by my friend Aku, who makes something similar whenever she has people over. I also keep it in heavy rotation at this time of year, not least because it’s so easy. The cornmeal in the batter brings coarseness and bite to an otherwise soft dessert, topped with jammy blueberries that snuggle into the sponge as it bakes. The only other thing you could wish for is a generous pour of cream, which I wholeheartedly encourage.
Blueberry cornmeal pudding
Prep 15 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 6
60g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
350g fresh blueberries
130g caster sugar
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
130g plain flour
75g fine cornmeal
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine salt
160ml milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5 and butter a medium baking dish.
Put the blueberries, 50g of the sugar, the lemon zest and juice in a small saucepan, bring up to a simmer on a gentle heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for three to five minutes, until the berries are syrupy and the sugar has dissolved. Take off the heat and leave to cool a little.
In a bowl, mix the remaining sugar with the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the centre and pour in the melted butter, milk, egg and vanilla. Whisk briefly until you have a smooth batter, then pour into the buttered dish and top with the blueberry mixture, including all the syrup.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the sponge feels firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out relatively clean (blueberry juice notwithstanding). Leave to cool a little before serving warm with some cream.
