Eve’s Pudding is a classic British dessert that is simply comfort food in a bowl. Soft, fluffy baked apples underneath a light vanilla sponge. This easy apple sponge recipe is incredibly easy to make and tastes wonderful with custard or cream.
Hands up if you made Eve’s Pudding in school? I certainly remember making the classic apple sponge pudding in home economics class. It never made it home – I always ended up eating it either for lunch or on the way home.

Apple sponge was a permanent feature on the school dinner menu – just like this retro school sponge cake with sprinkles and chocolate concrete!
I didn’t make Eve’s pudding for several years, but lately I’ve been drawn to old fashioned, simple comfort food.
I love baking with apples at this time of year – see my other recipes for spiced apple crumble muffins, apple and blackberry Crumble, apple and blackberry flapjacks, a classic apple pie or a gorgeous caramel apple bundt cake.
Why You’ll love this recipe
- It’s a simple, old fashioned recipe that is child’s play to make.
- makes a lovely treat on a chilly evening.
- A perfect, easy pudding – after a Sunday roast, for example.
what type of apples should i use?
Cooking apples are the best type of apples to use for Eve’s pudding. They fluff up wonderfully under the light, fluffy sponge. I always use Bramley apples.
You can use ordinary eating apples if you like, but you probably won’t need to sprinkle them with sugar before cooking.
apple sponge ingredients
Scroll to the bottom of this post to find the printable recipe card with ingredient amounts and instructions!
- Bramley apples (cooking apples) are perfect for making apple sponge. They break down and fluff up beautifully when cooked. The combination of the slightly tart, soft apples and vanilla sponge is delicious! You’ll need 650g of apples (peeled, cored and sliced weight)
- caster sugar to sweeten the apples. If you’re using sweet eating apples, you can omit the sugar.
For the sponge:
- Butter – unsalted or salted is fine, just as long as it is soft enough to cream with the sugar. You can also use a baking margarine such as Stork.
- caster sugar
- two large eggs, at room temperature
- vanilla extract
- self raising flour
- whole or semi-skimmed milk
- ground cinnamon and a little white sugar, for sprinkling over the top of the sponge (optional)
How to make Eve’s Pudding
It couldn’t be simpler to make. Let me take you through the easy steps to making this classic British dessert:
Step one: Preheat the oven to 180C/160Fan and grease a large, fairly deep baking tin with a little butter.
Step two: Peel, core and slice the apples, place them in the baking tin and sprinkle with the caster sugar.
If you’re concerned about the apples turning brown, squeeze a little lemon juice over them. But honestly, it’s nothing to worry about. This will not affect the quality of the pudding at all. If it does bother you, you could always make the batter for the sponge before you peel the apples.
Step three: Make the sponge by creaming the soft butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy with an electric mixer or a wooden spoon and a little elbow grease. Slowly add the eggs, a little a time to prevent the mixture from curdling, then stir in the vanilla extract.
Using a large metal spoon, fold in the flour, followed by the milk. You should have a soft cake batter that drops easily from a spoon (this is called “dropping consistency”).
Step four – Place spoonfuls of the sponge mixture over the apples in the tin, making sure the apples are completely covered in the batter. If the covering seems a bit thin, don’t worry – it will puff up and rise during baking.
Step five – Sprinkle the top with the cinnamon sugar, if using.
Step six – Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the sponge is risen and golden brown. It will smell incredible.
variations
- For a change, add some fresh berries to the apples. I love using blackberries in the Autumn. Raspberries are also a lovely addition.
- For a crunchy top, sprinkle the pudding with some flaked almonds before baking.
storing leftovers
Leftover apple sponge can be placed in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to two days.
To reheat the pudding, place it in the oven (160C/140Fan) for 15-20 minutes or until nice and hot. Cover the top with tin foil so it doesn’t get too dark.
You can also reheat individual portions of the pudding in the microwave.
more crumble recipes to try
Eve's Pudding
Eve's Pudding is a simple, classic British dessert that feels like being wrapped up in a warm hug. Soft, fluffy baked apples underneath a bed of light vanilla sponge. This easy apple sponge recipe is so easy to make and tastes wonderful with custard or cream.
Ingredients
- approximately 4 or 5 large cooking apples (you need 650g after peeling, coring and slicing)
- 2-3 tablespoons caster sugar
- 125g soft butter
- 125g caster sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 125g self raising flour
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tablespoon caster sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160Fan/Gas Mark 4. Place the apple slices in a large, deep baking dish (the one I use measures 15x11 inches) and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar. If you know the apples are very sour, add the third tablespoon.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Slowly add the eggs, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Using a metal spoon, fold in the self raising flour and milk. If the mixture seems a little stiff, add a little more milk until the mixture falls off a spoon easily.
- Evenly spoon the batter over the apples, trying to cover the apples as best as you can. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle all over the top.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the sponge is risen and golden. Place a skewer through the middle of the pudding - it should emerge with no raw batter and the apples should feel soft.
- Serve the pudding warm with custard or cream.
Notes
Tips: Make sure your sponge ingredients are at room temperature before you start making the recipe. This will result in a lightly, fluffy sponge.
If you're using sweet eating apples to make this recipe, you might not need to sprinkle them with sugar before cooking. For best results, I highly recommend using cooking apples (Bramleys).
variations: Add about 50-70g of fresh berries to the apples - blackberries and raspberries are lovely.
For the crunchy topping, sprinkle the sponge with 25g flaked almonds before baking.
Storage: Any leftover pudding can be stored in the fridge for up to two days. To reheat, place in an oven (160C/140Fan) for 15-20 minutes or until hot. Cover the top with a piece of tin foil to prevent the sponge from turning too brown.
Individual portions of the pudding can also be reheated in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
Freezing: Eve's Pudding can be frozen for up to three months. Wrap the cold pudding in a double layer of cling film or tin foil before freezing. Defrost at room temperature before reheating.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 455Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 100mgSodium: 408mgCarbohydrates: 70gFiber: 5gSugar: 48gProtein: 5g
Calories and Nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.