• 1 lb. fresh fruit (e.g. apricots, peaches, gooseberries)
• sugar to taste
• 3 oz. butter or margarine
• 3 oz. castor sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 oz. self-raising flour

Prepare the fruit according to kind. Grease a 1½-pt. pie-dish and arrange the fruit in the bottom. Sprinkle with sugar to taste and add a little water if required. Cream together the fat and 3 oz. sugar. Add the well-whisked eggs gradually, beating well between each addition—if sign of curdling, add some flour. Sift flour and stir lightly into the creamed fat and egg. Spread the sponge mixture over the fruit, and bake in the middle of a moderate oven (350° F., Gas 4) for 35–40 min. Serve hot or cold.