Spiced pear and chai pudding

Method

1. The night before you make your pudding, put the raisins, sultanas and chopped dried pear in a large mixing bowl and cover with the hot tea and sweet sherry. Cover and leave overnight to soak.
2. The next day, grease a 1.25 litre pudding basin with butter and line the base with a small circle of baking paper. Lightly crush the cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar, then remove the pods and grind the seeds to a fine powder. Mix in the ground cinnamon, cloves and ginger until well combined. Measure 1 tsp of the spice blend into a small mixing bowl. Quarter and core 1 of the peeled pears, then cut into 1cm thick slices. Put in the bowl with the spice mix and toss together. Spoon the salted caramel sauce into the bottom of the pudding basin and top with the spiced pear.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the plain flour, baking powder, breadcrumbs, light soft brown sugar and remaining ground spice blend. Coarsely grate in the cold butter and the remaining peeled pear. Add the soaked dried fruit, plus any remaining sherry at the bottom of the bowl, and the beaten egg. Mix everything together and spoon into the pudding basin.
4. Cut a 30cm square each of baking paper and foil. Put the foil on top of the baking paper and fold a pleat around 4cm wide down the middle. Lay this on top of the basin, foil side up, then scrunch it down around the sides, tucking the paper into the foil. Secure with string tied tightly around the lip of the basin, then use the string to create a handle over the top to help lift the basin out of the cooking pan. Put a trivet or upturned heatproof saucer in a large pan, then set the basin on top so it doesn’t touch the bottom. Pour in enough water around the side to come halfway up the basin. Cover the pan, bring the water to the boil over a high heat, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook for 3½ hours, checking the water level from time to time and topping it up as necessary.
5. Remove the basin from the pan, set aside for 10 minutes, then turn out the pudding onto a serving plate. Serve with the remaining salted caramel sauce to drizzle over and a jug of cream and/or custard.