Blueberry, basil + almond pudding pie

I’d never tasted blueberries like the ones I ate in Vancouver, where punnets of them set you back just a few bucks during the summer season. Baked into this simple dessert with ground almonds and fragrant basil leaves, they make for a squishy, sweet, gorgeously light dessert that’s just the ticket for summer. I use half ground almonds and half whole, skin-on blitzed-up almonds to give a bit of texture and rusticity, and the result is rather lovely – the squidgy, ever-so-sweet fruit melding with the sponge and the crunchy almonds.

INGREDIENTS

butter, softened, for greasing

5 large basil leaves

380g blueberries

20g plain flour, sifted

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

90g ground almonds

90g whole, skin-on almonds, blitzed until roughly ground

60g golden caster sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

sour cream, plain yoghurt or creme fraiche, to serve

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

20 cm round springform

cake tin or flan dish

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease the cake tin or flan dish with butter and place the basil leaves on the bottom of it. Pour over the blueberries and set aside. Combine the flour, baking powder and almonds. In another bowl whisk the sugar and eggs for about 3 minutes until frothy. Gently fold in the flour and almonds, keeping as much air in the mixture as you can. Pour the mixture on top of the blueberries, let it settle for a couple of minutes, then cook for 35–45 minutes, until the batter is golden and the blueberries’ juice is bubbling up the sides of the cake tin.

Remove the tin from the oven and run a palette knife around the edge to loosen the pudding. Leave to stand for a few minutes, then put a wire rack on top of the tin and flip it upside down to cool on the rack. This is nice served warm, with a big dollop of sour cream, plain yoghurt or crème fraîche, or kept in the fridge and eaten cool at any time of the day.

#bleberries #basil #almond #pudding #rosibirkett