SARAH RAINEY BAKES

For those days when you just need some good, old-fashioned comfort food, it's hard to beat a stodgy, spongey lemon pudding. The sort your Grandma just to make, to cheer you up and put a smile on your face for the rest of the week. Self-saucing, which means it has a gooey underneath that keeps the sponge nice and moist, this pud is a failsafe favourite - and still tastes good the next day, and the day after that, paired with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. If you don't like lemo

Zesty, sweet and comforting on a grey afternoon like this one, my marmalade loaf is the perfect tea-time cake to tuck into as you slump on the sofa after a busy day. It uses big, juicy oranges - Seville or any other variety will do - and makes them the stars of the show, incorporating their mouthwatering juice, zest and pulp into a fluffy sponge, flecked with orange, which rises and turns golden in the oven in just 45 minutes. You could try making this with other citrus fruit

These mellow yellow pots are like little bursts of summer – fresh, citrussy sponge with a gooey centre and a sticky lemon curd glaze on top. The problem with lemony puddings is that they often taste bland, but these are properly zingy, and though the lemon curd is sweet it isn’t overpowering. You can eat them hot or cold but I like mine piping hot – with even more lemon curd dolloped on the side. Makes 4 Ingredients: 325g jar of lemon curd 60g self-raising flour 2 large egg