Pineapple Upside-Down Pudding

I saw this on the menu at Mildred's, a vegetarian restaurant in Soho. It's quite an old-school pudding - the kind of thing I used to be forced to make in food technology. Only then we just used a tin of pineapple rings and, if you were lucky, some glace cherries. I tried to update it a little with fresh fruit, mint and a pineapple juice syrup that I poured over the sponge when it was cooked.









Pineapple Upside-Down Pudding (Serves 6-8)

1 medium pineapple
Handful of fresh mint
4 tbsp caster sugar
110g butter, softened
110g caster sugar
2 eggs, beaten
110g self-raising flour, sifted
4 tbsp caster sugar
8 tbsp pineapple juice
Greek yoghurt, mixed with a tablespoon of honey

1) Pre-heat the oven to 200c. Grease a sandwich tin.
2) Now for the pineapple. Cut off the peel, getting rid of any black bits. Cut it into quarters and slice out the core. Then cut the pineapple into one inch slices. Chop the mint and put in a pestle and mortar with the sugar. Give it a good bashing until it is all combined and put it in the bowl with the pineapple, Mix it all around with your hands and place the slices in the bottom of the sandwich tin. Set aside.
3) Now for the sponge. Cream the butter and sugar together with a mixer until light and fluffy. Then with the mixer running, just add a little beaten egg at a time. Fold in the sifted flour. Spoon the sponge mixture over the top of the pineapple and place in the oven for 40 minutes. Do check it after about half an hour though. If it is spongey to touch and a skewer comes out clean it is done.
4) While the sponge is cooking you can make the pineapple syrup. Just put the pineapple juice and the rest of the sugar in a small pan, turn the heat up and cook until it has reduced to a syrupy consistency. When the sponge is ready, prick holes in the top with a skewer and spoon the syrup over a tablespoon at a time. It will soak into the holes.
5) Invert a plate over the top of the sandwich tin and flip it over to turn it out. Serve with spoonful of yoghurt mixed with honey.

It's not often that I make deserts, let alone one using my own recipe so I was quite pleased with this. There's something so satisfying about turning out an upside-down pudding. It didn't feel heavy after the roast monkfish as the pineapple and mint tastes so fresh. Also, thanks to the pineapple juice syrup, the sponge was quite moist and sweet. It was a good end to great weekend with my Mum. Interestingly, when I went Mildred's in the week, it wasn't on the menu any more so I had passion fruit creme brulee instead - that's another pudding I'll have to make...