A delicious desert that works well with most soft fruits, but grapes are my favourite.

150g self-raising flour
2 eggs
50g to 100g caster sugar
100g butter
Generous splash of milk
300g to 500g of red or white grapes, halved and deseeded.

Make a fairly wet sponge mixture by creaming the fat and sugar together, whisking in the beaten eggs, and folding in the flour. Add sufficient milk to get a mixture that is a little looser than a soft dropping consistency.

Line a 25cm dish with greaseproof paper and cover the base with two layers of halved grapes. More grapes make for a very moist desert, fewer and the final result will be more like an upside-down cake. Spoon over the cake mixture, you need to make it wet enough so that it will flow around the grapes, but not so wet that you get a soggy base. Better to err on the slightly dry side if you are not in the mood for experimenting.

Bake in a moderate oven at 180º C for 35-50 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with custard to 4-6 diners. This pudding freezes well, but is best defrosted then reheated in a conventional oven rather than warmed in a microwave.