Gooseberry puddings

I think these have a bit of a vintage feel to them. I can imagine these being baked in an Edwardian kitchen or even in a big Victorian manor house. Of course there they would be baking them individually in little pudding basins and then carefully turning them out onto dainty plates to be served.

Gooseberry puddings


250g gooseberries
1 vanilla bean
5-7 cardamom pods
4 eggs
100g ground almonds
100g sugar
100g butter
2tbsp Cognac
120g cream cheese


Take a saucepan and a mixing bowl. Carefully halve the vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds and put them into the bowl, then toss the scraped bean into the saucepan.

Top and tail the gooseberries and add to the saucepan with the cardamom and a spoonful of sugar. Cook this over a low heat for about 15 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the berries soften a little but are still holding their shape. Set aside and let cool.

Crack the eggs into the mixing bowl, add the sugar and ground almonds and whisk through. Next, melt the butter and pour it into the batter while you keep whisking.

Add the Cognac and whisk until your batter seems smooth. Lastly, add the cream cheese and mix only a little.

Place a layer of gooseberries on the bottom of four ramekins or teacups and divide the batter among them. Scatter some more gooseberries on top and bake in a 180C oven for 30 minutes.