Apple, Date and Butterscotch Puddings

Preheat the oven to 180 ̊C. Grease 4 x 1 1⁄4 cup (300 ml) capacity ramekins.

Peel, halve, then quarter the apples. Cut out the core and slice thinly. Arrange neatly in the base of the ramekins.

Put the flour, cinnamon, salt, sugar, orange zest and dates in a bowl and toss to coat the dates in flour to stop them clumping together. Make a well in the centre.

Whisk the butter, milk and egg together and pour into the flour. Use a large spoon to fold together until just combined.

Place the ramekins on a baking tray and spoon the mixture over the apples. Don’t pack it down as the topping needs to seep through to the base.

Topping: Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Ladle some of the hot topping over the puddings then spoon over the rest as it seeps into the batter. The liquid will cover the batter by about 1 cm but will be absorbed during cooking.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the puddings are firm to the touch and pulling away from the sides of the dishes. Leave for 5 minutes to let the apples “set up” before turning out.

To serve: Carefully run a knife around the edge of the dishes and invert them onto serving plates. Serve with softly whipped cream, custard or ice cream.