Nothing beats a warm apple sponge pudding fresh out of the oven on a cold night.
If you're partial to a good apple dessert, my Apple Crumble and Easy Apple Pie are also worth bookmarking. This one's ready in under an hour and uses just a handful of pantry staples.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Apple Sponge Pudding
🕒 Ready In: 50 minutes
👪 Serves: 6
🔥 Calories: 429kcal per serve
🍎 Main Ingredients: apples, butter, self-raising flour, eggs
🌿 Dietary: Vegetarian, can be made gluten-free
⭐ Why You'll Love It: An old-fashioned British pudding with soft stewed apple and a fluffy golden sponge, on the table in under an hour with barely any fuss.
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The pudding went down a storm & is now in the family favourites list. A beautiful light and fluffy sponge, I've not managed to create until this!
- Samm
Samm's not the only one who's turned to this on a busy weeknight. If you love an old-fashioned pudding, my Sticky Date Pudding and Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding are just as fuss-free, and a jug of my Homemade Custard on top never goes astray.
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Why You're Going To Love This Recipe
- Old-Fashioned Comfort Food - a timeless dessert that feels like a warm hug.
- Soft Sponge & Tender Fruit - the combo of fluffy sponge and sweet apple is hard to beat.
- Ready In Under An Hour - from pantry to table in less than 60 minutes.
- Thermomix Or Conventional, Make-Ahead & Freezer Friendly - make it your way and stash extras for later.
Pudding Ingredients
You'll only need a handful of pantry staples to make this classic apple sponge pudding.
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredient quantities and full detailed method.
- Apples - use a mix of Granny Smith and Pink Lady (or Fuji) for the best balance of tart and sweet. If you're peeling them ahead of time, toss the chunks in a squeeze of lemon juice so they don't go brown while you get everything else ready.
Variations
- Gluten-Free - use a gluten-free self-raising flour blend and check all other ingredients are GF-friendly.
- Add Spice - stir a little cinnamon, nutmeg or mixed spice into the stewed apples for extra warmth.
- Berry Twist - add a handful of frozen raspberries or blueberries to the apple layer before baking.
- Caramel Apple - swap some of the sugar in the stewed apple base with brown sugar and a spoon of golden syrup.
- Individual Puddings - spoon into a greased muffin tin instead of one big dish for cute mini puddings, just cut the bake time down to about 15-18 minutes. My Individual Lemon Puddings work the same way if you love the mini version.
How To Make Apple Sponge Pudding
This easy dessert comes together in four simple steps, whether you're using the Thermomix or the traditional method.
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredient quantities and full detailed method.
- Step 1: Stew the apples. Cook the apple chunks in a saucepan with sugar and water for about 10 minutes, or until just soft. Drain any excess liquid (a soggy base makes for a soggy sponge) and spoon into the baking dish.
- Step 2: Make the sponge. Cream the butter and sugar, then add vanilla and eggs and beat until smooth. Gently fold in self-raising flour and milk until just combined.
- Step 3: Assemble. Spoon the sponge mixture over the stewed apples. Don't worry if it doesn't completely cover them, it will spread as it bakes.
- Step 4: Bake. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and cooked through. For the fluffiest sponge, don't overmix the batter once the flour goes in, you want to keep as much air in there as possible.
Recipe Tips
- Stew the apples just until tender, not mushy, so they hold their shape when baked.
- Use room-temperature butter, milk, and eggs to help your sponge batter blend smoothly.
- Too much liquid in the apples? Drain it off properly before adding the sponge on top; otherwise, you'll end up with a soggy bottom instead of a light one.
- Browning too quickly? Loosely cover with foil for the last 10 minutes.
- Best served warm, straight from the oven with cream, custard or ice cream.
- Storage - keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- Reheat in the microwave or oven until warmed through.
- Freezing - freeze for up to 3 months in individual portions for an easy dessert later. Defrost in the fridge overnight, then reheat in the oven or microwave.
Apple Sponge Pudding FAQs
Yes, but stewing gives a softer texture and more flavour. If you're short on time, use thinly sliced raw apple instead and just increase the bake time by 5-10 minutes.
A mix of Granny Smith (tart) and Pink Lady or Fuji (sweet) works best for flavour and texture. If you can get your hands on Bramley or other cooking apples, they work a treat too.
Absolutely. Bake it, let it cool, then store covered in the fridge. Reheat portions in the microwave or oven as needed.
Yes, just use a larger baking dish (around 20cm x 30cm works well) and increase the bake time by 10-15 minutes. Check the centre is cooked through with a skewer before pulling it out.
Custard, cream or ice cream are all perfect pairings. Try my Homemade Vanilla Custard for the ultimate combo.
More Pudding Recipes
Who can resist an old-fashioned dessert pudding? Certainly not me. Here's a few more of my favourites.
Apple Sponge Pudding
Ingredients
For The Stewed Apple
- 6 (approx 750g) apples
- 50 g caster sugar or brown sugar
- 2 tbs water
For The Sponge Pudding
- 125 g butter softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (110g) caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (150g) self raising flour
- ¼ cup (60g) milk
Instructions
Conventional Method
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Grease a 6 cup capacity baking dish and set aside.
- Peel, core and chop the apples into chunks. Place into a saucepan over medium heat with the sugar (50g) and water. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until the apple has just started to soften.
- Drain the excess liquid and then spoon the apple into the base of the prepared baking dish. Set aside.
- To make the sponge pudding, cream the butter and sugar with hand-held beaters or a stand-mixer until pale and creamy.
- Add the vanilla extract and one of the eggs and beat through. Add the remaining egg and beat to combine.
- Sift in the self raising flour and beat on low speed until combined.
- Slowly add the milk while beating on low speed. Once combined, spoon the sponge mixture over the top of the stewed apples.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden on top and cooked through.
- Serve immediately with ice-cream, cream or custard.
Thermomix Method
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Grease a 6 cup capacity baking dish and set aside.
- Peel, core and chop the apples into chunks. Place the apple chunks into the Varoma dish and sprinkle the 50g of sugar over the top. Fill the Thermomix bowl with 500g water and cook for 10 minutes, Varoma temperature, Speed 2 or until the apple has just started to soften.
- Drain any excess liquid from the apple chunks and then spoon into the base of the prepared baking dish. Set aside.
- To make the sponge pudding, clean and dry the Thermomix bowl.
- Place sugar and butter into the Thermomix bowl and and mix for 15 seconds, Speed 5.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix for 15 seconds, Speed 5. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula, then mix for a further 10 seconds, Speed 5.
- With the blades turning on Speed 2, slowly alternate adding the self-raising flour and the milk through the MC hole. Mix until combined and then spoon the sponge mixture over the top of the stewed apples.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden on top and cooked through.
- Serve immediately with ice-cream, cream or custard.
Notes
- Stew the apples just until tender - not mushy - so they hold their shape when baked.
- Use room temperature butter, milk and eggs to help your sponge batter blend smoothly.
- Don't worry if the sponge batter doesn't completely cover the apples - it will spread as it bakes.
- If the top is browning too quickly, loosely cover with foil for the last 10 minutes.
- Best served warm, straight from the oven with cream, custard or ice cream.
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- Reheat in the microwave or oven until warmed through.
- Freeze for up to 3 months in individual portions for an easy dessert later.
Lucy says
I have been trying several recipes recently & according to my family this is the best, so thank you, it was delicious 🙂
Samm Grant says
Needing a pudding to bulk up dinner last minute. I came across this recipe & it worked a treat. Thank you for the thermomix conversions! That made life so much easier. The pudding went down a storm & is now in the family favourites list. A beautiful light and fluffy sponge, I've not managed to create until this!
Lucy says
Fantastic!
Beverley Edwards says
I measured 1/2 cup castor sugar and it only came to 58g. Is there a typ in recipe?
Lucy says
Hi Beverly, no it's not a typo (1/2 cup caster sugar is definitely not 58g). Please refer to this chart for info: https://bakeplaysmile.com/baking-conversion-chart/
Holly says
Amazing. I made these in a muffin tray as I only had half the ingredients and they turned out great. Thanks for the recipe.
Lucy says
Fantastic!