Microwave Blackberry Sponge Pudding

This Microwave Blackberry Sponge Pudding is a great way to do something a little different with juicy blackberries or foraged hedgerow brambles. With a quickly made fruit compote base and a simple all-in-one sponge cake mixture, the whole thing is ready to serve in only 15 minutes!

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I go bramble picking every year and there are so many think you can do with these free blackberries. I do like to do something different every year – I’ve already made seedless blackberry jam and my simple blackberry chutney. I’ve frozen more to make my wonderful blackberry turnovers with puff pastry and I still had quite a lot left so I decided to try making a microwave sponge pudding using fresh fruit rather than jam or curd.

Experience and knowledge told me that the fruit needed a bit more cooking than simply being thrown into the bowl or batter. Blackberries can be pretty juicy so they can affect the texture of the sponge. I found this step was necessary when creating my microwave version of pineapple upside down cake too.

So the first step of this recipe is to make a quick fruit compote – it takes only literal minutes. Then the quick all-in-one method sponge batter goes on top and the whole thing is microwaved before being turned out and served. Or scooped out and served if you’re of a more nervous disposition.

How to Serve Blackberry Upside Down Sponge

Hot and doused in cream or custard is my preference. Although it is worth noting that fruit part of the pudding is exceedingly hot when it comes out the microwave. So it is highly advisable to allow it to sit for 5 minutes or so.

Double cream is my go-to cream option for pouring just because it is so rich and decadent. Of course single cream works just fine too. Or you can even go old school and use evaporated milk which is an old school favourite.

I’ll die on a hill that custard powder custard is the best custard ever. It’s perfect to make in the microwave whilst your sponge is sitting and cooling a little. But for a truly luxurious option, my made from scratch ginger custard is really rather fabulous and the ginger flavour pairs beautifully with the blackberry flavours.

Microwave Blackberry Sponge Ingredients

Blackberries

You might notice that I use the terms blackberry and bramble quite interchangeably. That’s because for the most part they are the same thing, especially here in the UK. In the simplest terms, brambles are simply wild blackberries. What we forage here in late summer and call brambles are blackberries.

The slightly more complicated answer is that the term “bramble” actually refers to a whole group of wild growing berries. This can also include raspberries and a similar looking fruit called dewberries. And in the US, the term caneberry is more often used than bramble.

I do find that bought blackberries do tend to be larger and juicier than the foraged version but I strongly imagine that there are many exceptions to that rule.

If you find that your fruit has a lot of seeds and you’re not a fan, you can use a course sieve to remove some of the seeds after the fruit compote has cooked. Simply replace the strained fruit in the cooking bowl once you’re happy. If you do intend to be rigorous about this, you may wish to use a little extra fruit to take into account the amount that you filter out.

Margarine

I’ve used margarine in this recipe but you can just as easily use proper butter. You just need to made sure that it is fully softened before adding to the other ingredients.

The reason that I often use a light buttery spread when making sponge cakes is that they result is a lovely light and fluffy sponge. I’m not a fan of specific “baking margarines” however, I think things like Stork have an odd taste to them. I just use the kind of think you might spread on toast.

Sugar

You can use caster (superfine) or granulated (regular) sugar in the sponge – it really doesn’t make an awful lot of difference. Although you could use golden sugar in the sponge, I wouldn’t recommend switching in light or dark brown sugar. They have a different texture and sweetness which will affect the sponge.

Eggs

I’ve not specified a size of egg in the recipe because both medium and large eggs will work in this recipe.

Flour

Using self-raising flour which already contains baking powder as a raising agent is the quickest and easiest way to make the sponge. This is the same as self-rising flour in the US. If you do only have plain/all-purpose flour, you will need to add baking powder.

Lemon Juice

The dash of lemon just adds a little tang to the sponge mixture which works well with the fruit layer. You can use bottled or fresh lemon juice. I often use bottled juice for convenience when making quick desserts like this.

Be Flexible

This is a really good recipe to use as a base for other berries and fruits. Or even a mixture. You can buy frozen berry mixes which are ideal to keep in the house so you can make a quick pudding at any time. Canned fruit also works well too – if you buy the kind in syrup, you may wish to reduce the amount of sugar in the compote layer.

In addition to changing the actual fruit, you can add to it Some fresh citrus zest or a glug of spirits like whiskey or golden rum would be a lovely addition.

You can also add other flavours to the sponge. Omit the lemon juice and add vanilla extract for a classic sponge. Or go in the other direction by increasing the citrus element by adding zest or an orange extract. I’m always a big fan of an orange sponge but adding juice in sufficient quantity can ruin the sponge batter.

Vegetarian or Vegan Bramble Sponge Pudding

This recipe is suitable for vegetarians as written. To make it vegan, follow my suggestions below for making it suitable for both dairy and egg free.

Make Allergy Friendly Microwave Blackberry Sponge Pudding

This recipe is free from nuts.

Gluten Free: To make the sponge gluten free, switch the self-raising flour for a gluten free flour blend. Look for something designed to be switched one for one with regular flour. If the blend you use doesn’t contain a raising agent, make sure to add baking powder.

Dairy Free: Use a dairy free butter substitute. Look for something pretending to have a buttery flavour if possible.

Egg Free: Eggs are the hardest ingredient to replace. The best option is to use a vegan liquid egg replacer. If this isn’t an option, you can use 1 tbsp vegetable oil in place of each egg. This will affect the texture a little but you should still end up with an edible sponge.

Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.

Equipment Notes for Microwave Blackberry Pudding

Microwave

You will of course need a microwave to make this pudding. It is important to take note of what wattage your particular microwave is as this can affect the cooking time.

I use the microwave on full power and the times given are for a 700/800w microwave. If you have a more or less powerful microwave, you may need to adjust the cooking times by 30 seconds one way or the other.

Although this is technically a microwave recipe, providing that you use an oven safe pyrex dish, you could easily cook this in the oven. But it would take about 45 minutes to cook. You can make the fruit compote on the stove top in a pan.

Electric Mixer

I almost always use some kind of electrical mixer to make a quick sponge. It is much easier to get an all-in-one cake mixture to mix properly this way.

For this fairly small amount of mix, I find whipping out my Electric Hand Mixer preferable to using my big stand mixer bowl. But if that is what you have, use it.

If needed, you can mix this by hand using just a spatula or wooden spoon. If doing this, I would usually mix the butter and sugar together first then add the eggs and vanilla and mix then the flour. Its going to take a couple more minutes but this will ensure that everything is properly mixed together and it will cook evenly.

Cooking Dish

Despite the images in the recipe showing me using a glass pyrex bowl to make this blackberry sponge, I often use a basic thin plastic mixing bowl. I own several of them in various sizes and use them for nearly everything. But they’re not very clear and are not helpful to show you what I’m doing.

You can really use any microwave safe dish you like. Plastic will not absorb as much heat as pyrex glass or ceramic so the cooking time I’ve given is less as the food itself will cook faster. The pryrex bowl that I have used in the recipe process images is 1 litre in size.

What you should avoid using is melamine or bamboo dishes. They absorb all the heat, get far to hot and leave your food uncooked.

A comprehensive list of the equipment used to make this recipe is included in the main recipe card below. Click on any item to see an example. There are no hard and fast rules so many items can be sensibly substituted to achieve the same results.

Get Ahead

I don’t find that microwave sponges are terribly suitable to being made ahead. This fruit version is a little different in that the fruit layer can in fact be made ahead of time, up to several days in fact, or even frozen.

But the sponge batter doesn’t take well to being made and then left to sit. And whilst any leftover cake can be reheated and eaten, it really is by far at it’s best made fresh. You can get away with making the batter maybe an hour or so in advance. But it is so quick to make, there isn’t generally a hgh time advantage in worrying about how to make it further in advance.

Leftover Blackberry Sponge

Leftovers can be stored for several days and reheated in the microwave. Single portions will only take 30 seconds or so to reheat. These microwave sponges are never quite as good once they’re not eaten freshly cooked but they are perfectly serviceable and any leftovers certainly don’t need to be wasted.

Microwave Blackberry Sponge Pudding Tips

Hot fruit is very very hot so please be extra careful when turning out the pudding. If you’re worried, don’t turn it out and simply serve from the bowl using a large serving spoon.

You can always pop a microwave on for another 30 seconds but you can’t rewind time. So if you are not sure about the power of your microwave, err on the side of caution.

This recipe says that it serves 6. This is the kind of portion that you’d serve after a decent roast dinner. If you want a heartier portion, this recipe will serve 4 as written.

Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?

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The Recipe

Microwave Blackberry Sponge Pudding Recipe

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This Microwave Blackberry Sponge Pudding is a great way to do something a little different with juicy blackberries or foraged hedgerow brambles. With a quickly made fruit compote base and a simple all-in-one sponge cake mixture, the whole thing is ready to serve in only 15 minutes!

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time7 minutes mins

Cook Time8 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Servings 6

Author Chloe

Equipment

• Mixing Bowl – Medium 1 litre – microwave safe
• Mixing Bowl – Medium
• Measuring Scales
• Measuring Spoons
• Silicone Spatula
• Electric Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
• Microwave

Ingredients

 

MetricUSA Measurements

 

0.5x1x2x4x

• 200 g Blackberries - fresh or frozen
• 2 tbsp Caster Sugar (Superfine Sugar)
• 1 tbsp Cornflour (Cornstarch)
• 120 g Margarine
• 120 g Caster Sugar (Superfine Sugar)
• 120 g Self Raising Flour (Self-Rising)
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Instructions

 

• Check over 200g Blackberries and discard any that look past their best and any little pieces of stalk etc. Add them to your microwaveable bowl.
  
• Sprinkle 2 tbsp Caster Sugar and 1 tbsp Cornflour over the fruit.
  
• Stir well to coat the berries with the the sugar and cornflour.
  
• Microwave for 2½ minutes on full power. Stir the fruit mix and if it hasn't yet thickened nicely, keep heating in 30 second bursts.
  
• Measure 120g Margarine, 120g Caster Sugar and 120g Self-Raising Flour into a medium sized mixing bowl (or stand mixer bowl).
• Crack in 2 Eggs and add 1 tbsp Lemon Juice.
  
• Use an electric hand whisk or stand mixer to beat the ingredients together until fully combined.

  Note – Do not continue mixing past this stage as you could make the sponge tough.

  Note – Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is properly mixed in.
  
• Transfer the sponge batter into the microwaveable bowl on top of the blackberry layer. Roughly smooth out the top.
  
• Microwave on full power for 5 minutes if using a glass/pyrex bowl and 4 minutes if using a plastic bowl.
  
• Once cooked the sponge may look a tiny bit wet on the top but don’t be fooled, the sponge will be fully cooked.
  
• Use a plastic knife or spatula to loosen the edges of the sponge from the side of the bowl.
  
• Carefully turn the sponge out onto a serving plate or you can simply use a large spoon to serve straight from the bowl.

  Note – Be very careful as the fruit will be piping hot.
  
• Serve hot with lashings of custard.
  

Nutrition (Approx)

Calories: 349kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 211mg | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 866IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg

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