Blackberry sponge pudding with coconut

Method

1. Heat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5 and grease the baking tin with butter. Put the frozen blackberries and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat, mixing well. The idea is to defrost the blackberries without cooking them, so avoid boiling them.
2. Once the mixture is syrupy, remove from the heat. Transfer 2 tbsp of the syrup to a small bowl, mix well with the cornflour to make a slurry, then pour this back into the fruit. Stir well, then pour the entire mixture into the greased tin.
3. To make the sponge, combine the flour, coconut, baking powder and cardamom in a bowl and set aside. Put the sugar and butter in a separate bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) and beat them together until pale and fluffy. Crack in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4. Once all the eggs are added, fold in a third of the flour mixture, followed by half the coconut milk. Repeat with another third of flour, the remaining coconut milk, and then finally the remaining flour. Spoon the batter on top of the blackberries. You don’t have to spread it out very evenly – just give it a light touch with a spatula to get an even surface.
5. Put the dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch. A skewer pushed into the centre should come out clean. Sprinkle the surface with the caster sugar and coconut, then serve immediately with hot custard.