• 1 large quince
• 150 g (5 oz) light muscovado sugar
• 150 g (5 oz) unsalted butter
• 125 g (4 oz) self-raising flour
• 3 free-range eggs, lightly beaten

Parboil the quince until it feels yielding. When cool enough to handle, peel and thinly slice, and put in the bottom of individual buttered pudding bowls or tins. Melt 50 g (2 oz) of the butter and stir in 50 g (2 oz) of the sugar. When this has dissolved, pour it over the quince. Cream the remaining sugar and butter, and stir in the flour and eggs alternately.

Spoon the mixture into the pudding bowls, cover with foil and cook in a roasting tin with water halfway up the bowls, for about 40 minutes in a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Turn out and serve. Whilst the ubiquitous crème fraiche is a good accompaniment, real custard is even better.

You can also cook the pudding in a single, larger pudding basin, allowing about 1¼ hours. No one imagines that these are puddings for everyday eating, as they once were. We simply do not need the pile of calories that our great grandparents required in the days of much harder physical work and unheated houses. Nevertheless, as a once-in-a-while treat, I believe they do no harm. Yes, they contain sugar and butter, but at least you know exactly, down to the last teaspoon, how much of each has been used, rather than having some manufacturer decide for you.