Melva Pudding

To make the batter:

1. heat oven to 180C (350F).
2. Cream the butter and 100ml sugar together, then beat in the egg until light and fluffy.
3. Add the 30ml apricot jam and beat.
4. Dissolve the bicarb in the milk and add to the mixture.
5. Sift the flour and salt together and add to the mixture slowly.
6. Lastly, add the vinegar and mix in gently. The bicarb and the vinegar react to make bubbles, which give a light batter mixture.
7. Pour the mixture into a buttered deep ovenproof dish (approximately 2 litres). This does rise quite a lot, so make sure the dish is deep enough.
8. Pour half the sauce (see instructions below) over the uncooked batter. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
9. After 30 minutes, remove the pudding from the oven, pour the remain sauce over it and return to bake, uncovered, for a further 20 minutes.

It’s ready when the centre is firm but the sauce should still be bubbling around the outside.

To make the sauce:

Put the sauce ingredients together in a small sauce pan. Heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to gently boil. Simmer, stirring all the time, for 2 minutes.