Juicy Fruit Pud

I’ve found that desserts are the hardest thing to get healthy without risking them being boring. I remember when it came down to a family meeting about desserts (I wish I was joking, but it was more of a mummy intervention than a family meeting) because for a phase, I used to just lump fruit cocktail and yoghurt in front of the kids and my husband and let them go at it. I should have noticed when the ‘actually mum, I’m already a bit full I don’t want any pudding’ excuse started to come up more frequently.

Thankfully this easy and tasty dessert is one that has stood the test of time. Usually, I make it more often in the winter but I’ve made this pudding over and over again and not a single time have I heard an excuse not to eat it. It’s warm, fruity and filling and I’ve not had an intervention because of it… as of yet.

You’ll need:

  • 350g frozen forest fruits, defrosted (if you have fresh blackberries, raspberries, blueberries etc then they would be fine to use, I just use the frozen stuff as it can tend to be cheaper and a lot easier)
  • 3 tbsp of light muscovado sugar
  • 4 tbsp no sugar blueberry jam
  • 6 medium ripe pears, peeled, cored and quartered
  • 50g of fresh white breadcrumb
  • 25g of melted butter

Step one:

Preheat the oven to 190°C and mix the forest fruit mixture in a bowl adding the sugar and jam, then toss the pears in the mixture making sure they’ve been coated with the sugar and jam as this will help them caramelise and soften in the oven.

Step two:

Tip the fruit mixture into a deep baking dish, or you can even use a casserole dish if it can fit all of the mixture. and cover with foil. Put in the oven to roast for around 20 minutes. After that, pierce the pears to see if they have softened and tenderised. If they haven’t, don’t panic, just return them to the oven for another 5 minutes and check again.

Step three:

In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs with the melted butter making sure they are well coated and scatter over the roasted fruit mix making sure that for the most part there is a crumb coating on top. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes until the crumb coating is golden and the fruit is bubbling hot.

Depending on how naughty you want your dessert to be you can serve it on its own, or you can serve with a scoop of low-fat ice cream, yoghurt or low-fat custard. You can also make amendments to this recipe if you feel that you want it a little less healthy, such as adding a scattering of chocolate chips on top or using full sugar jam. This is definitely a winter warmer but surprisingly it does actually taste pretty nice if you leave it to cool in the fridge and eat the day after.

Phillipa

Written by Phillipa

I am a mother to two gorgeous twin girls and wife to a wonderful man who serves our country. I love to cook and am fortunate enough to be able to dedicate my life to my art. A healthy lifestyle is the best lifestyle and I can show you how.

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