Pear and blackberry sponge flan with elderflower, gin and tonic jelly

For Christmas, my mum gave me a sponge flan tin. This was my first go at testing it, and the results were lovely – really light, airy cake which I topped with fresh pear and blackberries and a jelly made with elderflower cordial, gin and tonic water.  You could use any fruit or jelly combination you like though.

Ingredients

2 large eggs

2 oz caster sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract
2oz plain flour

For the jelly

5 leaves of gelatin

100g caster sugar

150ml water

100ml gin

75ml of elderflower cordial

100ml tonic water

For filling

1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and sliced

300g blackberries

Method

1. To make the sponge flan case, preheat the oven to 180°C and grease an 8 inch sponge flan tin.
2. Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, add the caster sugar and vanilla extract and beat with an electric whisk for about 10 minutes, until really thick and creamy (it should leave a trail behind when the beater is lifted out).
3. Gently sift the flour into the bowl and use a large metal spoon to carefully fold together.
4. Pour the mixture into the greased flan tin and bake for 10–12 minutes, or until well risen, springy to the touch and slightly shrunken away from the sides of the tin.
5. Allow the flan sponge to cool in the tin for 5 to 10 minutes.   If the sponge has risen over the edge of the tin, trim the edges, then carefully turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To make the jelly, place the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water and soak for 15 minutes, until softened.
7. Meanwhile, heat the sugar and water over a low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil, then boil for 5 minutes, until syrupy. Set aside to cool slightly.
8. Squeeze out the excess water from the gelatine and stir into the warm sugar syrup until completely dissolved.  Stir in the gin, elderflower cordial and tonic water. Set aside to cool until about half set.
9. Once the flan case has cooled, arrange the pear slices on top of the sponge and then arrange the blackberries on top. 
10. When the jelly is half set, spoon it over the fruit.  (If the jelly is too liquid, it will soak into the sponge – but if it has set too much to spoon over the fruit, add a spoonful of boiling water first and stir well to soften enough to use.)  Refrigerate to allow the jelly to set completely.