Pear and cranberry flapjack pudding

Method

1. Lightly butter 8 small individual metal pudding basins, or a 1·2 litre (2 pint) pudding basin (its base lined with a circle of greaseproof paper). Preheat the oven to Gas 4, 180°C, fan160°C.
2. Place 150g (5oz) sugar, with the butter and golden syrup in a large saucepan and heat until melted. Boil for 1 minute, then add flour, oats, mixed spice and eggs. Mix well. Set aside to cool while making filling.
3. Peel, core and roughly chop the pears. Using a potato peeler, pare off orange rind, then cut into fine strips and set aside. Remove the peel and pith, and segment the orange. Put pears and orange into a saucepan with the dates, cranberries, remaining sugar and most of the orange peel (reserve a little to decorate). Place over a low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Turn up the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until the fruit has just softened.
4. Press ¾ of the oat mixture into the base and up the sides of the pudding basins, ensuring the rim around the top is even.
5. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the fruit mixture, then pack the remainder of the filling into the oat-lined basins. Spread the rest of the oat mixture over the top, making sure the edges are sealed well.
6. Cover the pudding with foil and bake for 25 minutes (or 50 minutes for a large one) until golden and firm. Then set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
7. When ready to serve run a sharp knife around sides to loosen, then carefully turn out onto a plate. Gently reheat the reserved fruit filling in a pan. Pour it over the puddings (or pour over slices of the large one). Decorate with orange peel.