Useful as this light pudding is for using up the last dab of mincemeat and the final, slightly stale wedge of panettone, I like it enough to buy the ingredients specially. It is one of the fastest winter puddings I have ever made (it takes five minutes to peel and chop a couple of Bramleys). I do think 100g of mincemeat is enough, though. More than that and its lightness will be lost. You will probably need cream or ice cream for this. At least, I do.
SERVES 4
500g apples, preferably sharp
2 tablespoons water
up to 100g mincemeat
60g butter
250g panettone
1 tablespoon demerara sugar
TO SERVE
vanilla ice cream, crème fraîche or cream
- Set the oven at 180C/gas 4. Peel and core the apples, then cut into large pieces. Put them into a saucepan, add the water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, leaving the apples to soften and collapse to a purée. Remove from the heat and stir in the mincemeat, taking care not to overmix. A craggy ripple of glossy mincemeat running through the creamy white of the apple is preferable to turning the whole thing pale brown. Transfer to a baking dish.
- Melt the butter in a medium-sized pan. Blitz the panettone in a processor until you have coarse crumbs. Stir the crumbs into the melted butter and mix thoroughly but not so much that you compact the mixture. You should have a loose, moist jumble of crumbs and dried fruit.
- Tip the crumbs over the apple, leaving the surface rough. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and bake for about 20 minutes, until the top is a deep golden brown.