My delicious summer fruit sponge pudding combines a light and fluffy lemon sponge on top of a rich layer of summer fruits perfect to enjoy all year.

I love the mix of sponge and fruit together in the same pudding. The fruit is able to soak into the sponge a little and is just great to have a pudding you can serve straight from the oven

It doesn’t take long to make and could be easily adapted to use different fruits. Next time I think I will try adding strawberries to make it a perfect summer pudding. Especially drizzled with cold cream.

A golden brown summer fruit sponge pudding ready to be served in a chiffon pink Le Creuset shallow casserole dish.

The shallow casserole dish from Le Creuset

To make this dish I used the gorgeous shallow casserole dish from Le Creuset. It’s a hob and oven safe dish made of cast iron and since I received it, I have used it for everything.

Like great cookware it’s so versatile. I have cooked chicken dinners, pancakes, scrambled eggs, risottos and puddings in the same pan. I loved using this pan for the pudding as it started catching and browning too much I popped the lid on. It’s also easy to wash up and we can all agree that is a massive bonus aspect.

Check out the range of colours this beautiful shallow casserole dish comes in. Click here to be taken to the Le Cresuet website.

A swirl of fruit in the cake, fruit sponge using pantry and freezer ingredients in a Le Creuset rectangle oven prof dish.

Can I use fresh fruit in the bottom of the sponge instead of frozen fruit?

Yes of course. If you want to make this a fresh fruit sponge pudding then I would recommend chopping the fresh fruit in to 1cm or so chunks. Sprinkling them with a little sugar and squeezing a little lemon juice over the top. About 1 tablespoon should be enough.

If you want to make it more saucy then pop the fruit in to a saucepan and add the lemon and sugar as above. Then allow the fruit to soften on a low heat for a few minutes. They will get soften and more gooey and will make the finished sponge a lot more saucy and jammy once cooked.

Can I add frozen fruit to a cake?

It is easy to add frozen fruit to cakes and bakes. Most of the time recipes will call for the fruit to be thawed before cooking. In this recipe for summer fruit sponge pudding I have used frozen fruit which is used straight from the freezer. The cake sponge mix that goes over the frozen fruit and cooks up there. As the fruit is in the oven it will thaw and squish. The moisture from the frozen fruit will also help create that jamminess, which is one of the things which is so good about this sponge cake.

Can I add alcohol to the sponge cake?

The best way to make this sponge slightly boozie is by adding alcohol to the fruit under the sponge. The sponge will absorb some of the flavour and smell especially wonderful. The best alcohol beverage you can add to this summer fruit sponge pudding includes;

sherry
rum
whisky
brandy

When using alcohol in this recipe I would recommend using about 50ml for a sponge this big. Pour the spirit over the frozen fruit and let it melt slightly so you can mix it together. It might take a while but if you want it done quick. Pop the fruit and spirit into a saucepan and allow it all to melt together and soften. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before adding to the oven proof dish and adding the sponge toppings.

Serving up the summer fruit sponge pudding is a delicious dessert all year and can be made in the Le Creuset shallow casserole dish.

Cold cream over hot sponge and fruit. It’s a delicious!

A beautiful slice of summer fruit sponge pudding with a layer of yellow sponge and chunky berries.

How do I make the summer berry sponge pudding?

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Stir in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla extract followed by the flour and baking powder. Add the zest of one lemon plus the juice of half the lemon to the mix and stir together.

Spoon in the defrosted summer berries into the oven proof dish. Gently spoon over the sponge and pop it in the oven.

Pouring cream over the summer fruit sponge pudding. The rich red berries and golden sponge glisten on the plate.

When the cake is cooked I loved scooping into it to reveal the gorgeous bright red fruit underneath. The recipe easily makes enough for 8 portions.

The summer fruit sponge pudding served revealing the red berries under the golden brown sponge.

My gran described it as a self saucing pudding and I think she’s right! It also lasts really well when cool and then reheated the next day.

Hot fruit and sponge is a winning combo!

Serving the summer fruit sponge pudding straight from the oven is a joy and I love how warm the sponge and fruit was. Drizzling cream over the pudding added a delicious coolness to the dish. However we did discuss the possibility of adding ice cream and custard.

Pin me for later