Preparation time: 35 mins
Cooking time: Cakes 1¾ hours; puddings 1½ hours
Makes 4 x 10cm square cakes and 4 x 1-cup puddings

Melted butter, for greasing
500g dried pears,
finely chopped
350g glacé pears,
finely chopped
350g glacé apricots,
finely chopped
1 1/2 cups flaked almonds
1 cup Cointreau
375g butter, melted
and cooled
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
5 eggs, whisked
2½ cups plain flour
1 cup almond meal

1 Preheat oven to 160°C. Line base and sides of 4 x 10cm round cake tins with 2 layers of baking paper, bringing it 5cm above the rim of the tins. Brush 4 x 1-cup-capacity pudding basins with melted butter, refrigerate for 10 minutes, then regrease. Line the base of each pudding basin with a round of baking paper.

2 Put dried pear, glacé pear and apricots, flaked almonds, Cointreau, butter, sugar and egg in a large mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Sift flour over the mixture, add almond meal and stir until well combined. Spoon half the mixture into prepared cake tins until two-thirds full. Tap gently on the bench to settle the mixture and smooth top of cakes with the back of a wet spoon. Wrap a double thickness of brown paper around each tin and secure with a paperclip or string.

3 Spoon remaining mixture into prepared pudding basins. Smooth top of pudding with the back of a wet spoon. Cut a round of baking paper to cover the top of each pudding and put on the mixture.

4 Bake cakes for 1¾ hours or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre. Remove cakes from oven and wrap in a thick clean towel. Keep wrapped until cake is completely cold; 24 hours.

5 Put pudding basins in a large deep roasting dish. Add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the pudding basins. Cover the baking dish with 2 layers of aluminium foil, tucking it tightly around the edge of the dish. Cook puddings for
1¼-1½ hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the water and stand for 15 minutes before turning out, or leave to cool completely before storing

Photos by Chris L Jones