Blueberry & Coconut Pudding

a very easy, fruity dessert to say farewell to August.

Hello friends,

So we’ve made it to the end of August, hooray. It’s not technically quite the end of summer but it’s close enough. As soon as the 1st of September approaches, my mind reminds me of everything I love about the best month of the year. The weather is nearly always perfect; not too hot or too cold and there’s a fresh buzz in the air. It’s a rousing mixture of that back to school energy and the anticipation of how you’re going to tackle to the last chunk of the year. My new notebooks and pens have been ordered and I’m ready to dive into all things autumnal.

Before we get there though, I’ve got a low effort, high reward fruity recipe to share with you. It uses up plenty of blueberries; a fruit that I can’t bear eating raw but if you throw it in a smoothie, muffin or cake, I’m very much in love. The blueberries are tossed in sugar along with a little Chinese five spice, which sounds more rogue than it is. Chinese five spice is typically a blend of star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel and peppercorns, all of which go very well with fruity things. Only a quarter of a teaspoon is added, just enough to add some fragrance and accentuate the blueberry-ness but not too much that it gets sickly.

The topping is a simple sponge mixture made with lots of desiccated coconut that gets all crackly and slightly chewy once baked. I served mine with cold crème anglaise because custard is my love language, although it goes without saying, ice cream or a splash of cold cream would also be right at home here.

And this weekend for paid subscribers, there’ll be an extra newsletter going out including my end of the month round up, the best kitchen gadgets you actually need and another blueberry recipe for you to enjoy.

Benjamina x

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BLUEBERRY & COCONUT PUDDING

For those who are new here, this a pudding in the British sense of the word and not an American style custard. A good pudding should have a cosiness about it and they’ll often lean into a bit of stodginess (which is very much a good thing!) Think sticky toffee, apple crumbles, bread and butter pudding and jam roly polys. This blueberry and coconut offering is much lighter than those mentioned, making it a little more suitable for hotter weather, but it still feels like a big hug in a bowl as all puddings should.

RECIPE

serves 8
equipment : 9 inch shallow baking dish

For the blueberries
350g fresh blueberries
60g caster sugar
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice

For the topping:
80g unsalted butter, softened
80g caster sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
80g plain flour
45g desiccated coconut, plus extra to top
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 160C fan/180C.

Add the blueberries to a 9 inch shallow baking dish and toss in the sugar and five spice. Give it a good mix to coat and set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar for a few minutes until pale and fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla.

Add in the flour, baking powder, desiccated coconut and salt. Mix until well fully combined.

Top the blueberries with the batter - (don’t worry if it doesn’t cover all of the fruit, it will spread as it bakes). Top with about two tablespoons of extra desiccated coconut and a teaspoon of caster sugar.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the topping is well browned and cooked through. Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving warm with custard or cream.