Mary Berry’s apple sponge cake is a soft, golden sponge baked over sliced cooking apples, demerara sugar and lemon. The fruit turns sharp and juicy underneath while the top rises light and springy. It takes about an hour from start to table.
Berry calls it Eve’s pudding, and this version comes from her Complete Cookbook (2024). The apples go into the dish raw, and the sponge is a one-bowl mix spooned straight on top. She’s printed it in at least three books since 2009, each with a different fat.
The dish size decides whether this works. In her rhubarb version in Foolproof Cooking (2016), Berry warns that a dish “too deep and narrow” burns the sponge before the fruit cooks. So use the 1.25 litre dish she asks for, with the apples spread in an even layer.
Mary Berry Apple Sponge Cake Recipe
Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy6
servings15
minutes45
minutes415
kcal1
hourThis is Berry’s latest printing of her Eve’s pudding, from the Complete Cookbook (2024). The all-in-one topping uses baking spread straight from the fridge, so there’s no waiting for butter to soften. She says to bring it to the table hot.
Ingredients
- For the apples:
butter, for greasing
500g (1lb) cooking apples, quartered, cored, peeled and sliced
90g (3oz) demerara sugar
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- For the sponge topping:
125g (4oz) baking spread, straight from the fridge
125g (4oz) caster sugar
2 eggs, beaten
125g (4oz) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
Directions
- Prepare the apples: Lightly butter the ovenproof dish and arrange the apples in the bottom. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and the lemon zest and juice.
- Make the topping: Put the baking spread, sugar, eggs, flour and baking powder in a large bowl and beat until smooth and well blended. Spoon it over the apple slices and level the surface.
- Bake: Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (160°C fan, Gas 4) for about 45 minutes, until the sponge topping is well risen, golden and springy to the touch. Serve hot.
Notes
- Recipe note: Berry bakes this in a preheated oven, so switch it on before you start step 1.
FAQs
Can I use butter instead of baking spread?
Yes. Berry used butter herself in Traditional Puddings and Desserts (2009): 125g softened butter, plus 2 tablespoons of milk that the later versions leave out. Her Ultimate Cake Book (2003) says spreads are “specifically useful for the all-in-one method,” and that’s why the 2024 version uses one. If you go with butter, I’d follow the 2009 quantities exactly, milk included.
How do I make Berry’s spiced Eve’s pudding?
She gives the spiced version right under the main recipe. Add 1 tsp ground cinnamon to the sponge topping, then stir 60g (2oz) raisins, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp mixed spice into the apples. If you like apple and cinnamon together, her apple and cinnamon loaf cake is the same pairing as a slice for teatime.
Can I make it with rhubarb instead?
Yes, Berry has a Rhubarb Eve’s Pudding in Foolproof Cooking (2016). She uses 400g young pink rhubarb with orange instead of lemon, and bakes it in a bigger 1.75 litre dish for 35 to 45 minutes. For another fruit pudding that comes out of the oven bubbling, her blackberry and apple crumble is the obvious next bake.
Can I make Eve’s pudding ahead?
Berry gives no make-ahead note for this one, and she says the rhubarb version is “best made and served on the day.” Her Baked Apple Lemon Sponge in the Baking Bible (2010) is different, because she keeps that unbaked pudding covered in the fridge for up to 6 hours. If you need a pudding you can prepare in the morning, that’s the one I’d make instead.
Should I use cooking apples or eating apples?
Stick with cooking apples, because that’s what Berry lists, and they give the sharp layer under the sweet sponge. She only says dessert apples work for her Bramley Caramel in Mary Berry at Home, a different apple sponge baked under a demerara crust. For a warm apple pudding that’s steamed rather than baked, try her toffee apple steamed pudding.
