There is an abundance of oranges available locally this time of the year so it's silly not to make use of them while they are plentiful, ripe and cheap – and they are particularly good for desserts, particularly baked puddings such as today's orange and lemon bake.

Like steaming bowls of soup and hearty stews, a warm baked pudding is as pleasant as a duvet cuddle when the rain buckets down and temperatures drop. Today's dessert is perfect for a family treat as well as entertaining friends and it actually surprisingly easy to prepare.

We always prefer warm, sweet custard with a baked pudding, particularly when it is an all-grown-up affair because I can tipple in a dash of Amarula or liqueur to give the custard some extra flavour.

To serve four portions of orange and lemon bake you need:

Ingredients

50g self-raising flour

150ml milk

25g butter

100g caster sugar

2 eggs, separated

Grated rind and juice of one lemon

1 tablespoon honey

Icing sugar for sprinkling

1 orange, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

Method

In a mixing bowl cream together the sugar, lemon rind and butter.

Beat in the egg yolks the add the milk and flour.

(Don’t worry if the mixture looks slightly curdled).

Add the lemon and juices and mix really well.

Whisk the egg whites until it starts forming peaks and then gently fold the egg into the mixture.

Pour the pudding mix into a lightly buttered oven dish.

Place the dish in a roasting pan and pour water into the roasting dish to the height of about 2.5 cm.

Place the dish into an oven pre-heated to 190 deg C and bake for about 35 minutes.

Remove dessert from oven.

Spoon the honey over the pudding in a thin stream.

Top with the orange slices and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Serve warm.