If Chocolate be the Food of Love

So...Valentine's day is here and what could be better than a chocolate pudding, only a pudding with chocolate, fudge and banana!  Being a celebration in February, pudding rather than dessert is the thing, served with a rich chocolate sauce.

roses are red...always

Banana Chocolate Fudge Pudding
Ingredients
2 ripe bananas
75g caster sugar
75g butter
200g self-raising flour
4 tbsp milk
1 egg
2 tbsp plain chocolate chips
2 tbsp fudge pieces

Method
Place all ingredients except chocolate and fudge pieces in a food processor.  Process until a smooth batter is achieved.  Add the chocolate and fudge pieces and stir through the cake mixture.

Put the mixture into a lightly greased 1 litre pudding basin.  Cover the top of the pudding mix with a circle of lightly oiled greaseproof paper, then cover the basin with a double layer of kitchen foil.  Place the pudding basin in a steamer and steam for 2 hours.  Remember to check the water every  half hour and top up as necessary.

When the pudding is ready run a palette knife around the top of the bowl and turn the pudding out on to a warm serving dish.  Serve with Rich Chocolate sauce.

love at first spoonful...hmm!

Rich Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients
115g caster sugar
4 tbsp cold water
175g plain chocolate broken into pieces
30ml unsalted butter
30ml Tia Maria or brandy

Method
Put the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the chocolate pieces a few at a time and stir until melted.  Once all the chocolate has been added, now add the butter and stir through until melted.  Do not allow the sauce to boil.  Finally stir in the Tia Maria or brandy and put sauce into a warmed jug and serve with the Banana Chocolate Fudge Pudding.

Summer Pudding?

I've been so disappointed in the weather this summer and have felt like I've been fighting nature making summer desserts; sorbets, cheesecakes, icecream etc.  So last night I decided to give in to my instincts and make a good, oldfashioned, comforting, pudding.

out of the oven...

The pudding in question was a lovely, creamy rice pudding.  This has been at the back of my mind since seeing Simon Hopkinson make one on his latest television series, The Good Cook, a couple of weeks ago, though the recipe I used wasn't this one. 

I can't remember where my recipe came from and I've also had to amend it.  I didn't have enough milk in the fridge or any double cream but it turned out just as I recall from those Sunday afternoons when my boys were younger and they would always vote for creamy rice pudding, baked exceedingly slowly in the oven - lovely memories, lovely pudding...


...and onto our plates

Yummy Rice Pudding
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
4ozs pudding rice (I didn't have any so I used risotto rice)
1.5ozs demerara sugar (or caster sugar)
1 litre whole milk (I used organic soya milk and 0.5oz of skimmed milk powder)
2-3 tbsp double cream (I used creme fraiche)
half a whole nutmeg, finely grated
1oz butter, finely diced

Method
Mix the pudding rice (milk powder, if using) and sugar in a large pie dish or casserole dish.  Pour in the milk and cream (or creme fraiche) and stir together.

Grate the nutmeg over the top of the mixture and dot with the butter.  Place the dish in an oven preheated to 150C.  After 30 minutes remove the dish from the oven and stir well.  Return to the oven and stir again after another 30 minutes.  Return to the oven and leave to bake gently for a further 60 minutes.

You should now have a lovely creamy rice pudding sitting under the milk skin.  Simply serve on its own or as we did with some homemade (slightly underset) plum jam - yummy!

Rediscovering Passione

Recently I've been reviewing my cookbook collection and have rediscovered an Italian cookbook that's been languishing at the back of the larder. I keep a few books close to hand in the kitchen; my most frequently used ones - Delia's Complete Cookery Course, Hugh's Everyday, Mary Norwak's baking book etc and in amongst these I found Passione from Gennaro Contaldo.  From the condition of the book I 've obviously leafed through it many times but I don't recall using any of the recipes until recently...

It's become one of my favourite books in less time than it takes to whizz up a torta alle pere - recipe to follow in another post.

So far I've been tempted by the chocolate and red wine cake (sounds so much better in Italian - torta al cioccolato e vino rosso); a lovely dense and rich, but not too rich, cake.  It makes an ideal dessert served with summer fruit compote and icecream. 



with a sauce made from Holly Grove's first raspberries of the season, yum, yum!

 On the savoury front we've tested the peperoni ripieni - stuffed baby peppers.  I'll definitely make this one again with a couple of tweaks to the recipe - simple and delicious with a green salad. 

Very soon I'm going to attempt the fagottini di zucchini when my courgette plants start to mass produce, any time now, and then there are the delicious sounding Italian salads: insalata di zucchine con menta fresca, insalata di arancie e finocchio.

So a book to keep us well fed through the summer months and dreaming of the Amalfi coast!

Torta al Cioccolato e Vino Rosso
Ingredients
200g unsalted butter, softened
250g caster sugar
4 eggs, beaten
25g cocoa powder
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (I didn't include this)
100ml red wine
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
150g plain chocolate drops (I mixed plain, milk and white chocolate drops as I didn't have enough of the plain ones)

Method
Heat the oven to 180C and grease and line an 20cm cake tin.

Cream the butter and sugar together then gradually beat in the eggs.  Sift in the cocoa powder, flour and baking powder (and cinnamon, if using) and fold in gently.  Mix in the red wine and vanilla extract and then fold in the chocolate drops.

Pour the mixture into the tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour until the top of the cake springs back when gently pressed.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.  Cut into wedges and serve with a summer fruit compote and good vanilla icecream.

Traditional Pud with a Twist

Conscious of the amount of food wasted in this country I try wherever possible to use up all of our leftovers and mostly do this quite successfully. However the one area where I struggle to avoid waste is with the common loaf.

A standard loaf of bread proves to much for the two of us and, more often than not, is stale before we're half way through it. Freeze it in two halves I hear you cry, but I have a small freezer and to fill it with bread would be wasteful. So with my conscience pricking me I have made a bread and butter pudding for our meal tonight...a pudding with a twist...

Boozy Bread and Butter Pudding
Serves 4
Ingredients
butter, for greasing
castor sugar
4 thick slices of stale bread, cubed
3 tbsp apricot preserve, heated to make a glaze
a good handful of sultanas, soaked in 3 tbsp Port for at least 2 hours

Creme Anglaise
3 egg yolks
3 tbsp castor sugar
16 fl ozs milk
1 tbsp Port

Method
Butter the inside of the dish you will be using to bake the pudding and then dust with castor sugar. I used my favourite 6" pie dish.

Make the creme anglaise by beating the egg yolks and sugar together in a large measuring jug. Heat the milk until almost boiling and then add to the egg mixture beating all the time. Return the egg mixture to the pan and heat gently until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Note: the custard will be quite liquid at this point, do not allow the custard to boil or the eggs will scramble. Leave to cool and when cool stir in the tbsp of Port. Set aside.

Spoon the apricot preserve into the bottom of the dish. Then add the cubed bread, sultanas and custard in layers until you have used up all the ingredients. Leave the mixture to settle.

Heat the oven to 180C. Put the dish in a roasting tin and fill the tin 3/4 full with boiling water (a bain marie). Sprinkle a little demerara sugar over the pudding and bake in the oven for 10 mins then turn the heat down to 160C and continue to bake for another 15-20 mins. Remove from the oven, the pudding will continue to cook in the bain marie. Wait 5 mins and then serve with single cream or creme fraiche.

Wedding Cake Trimmings

When marzipaning the wedding cake I had to level the tops of each tier and consequently ended up with a box of rich trimmings.














This was my first chance to taste the cake and the Handyman hastily volunteered to become taster-in-chief, and the result...

a delicious, rich, moist, fruity, boozy...10/10!

I managed to stop him eating his way through the boxful in time to make a very festive version of a bread and butter pudding...any rich fruit cake will provide the base for this most delicious pudding, so Christmas cake leftovers, even slices of Christmas pudding would fit the bill.














Festive Cake Pudding
Serves 4
Ingredients
Enough wedding cake pieces to two thirds fill a deep 7" pie dish
6 fl ozs doouble cream
6 fl ozs milk
2 large eggs
1 tblsp golden castor sugar
few drops vanilla essence
1 dessertspoon golden granulated sugar

Method
Put the wedding cake pieces into the pie dish. Then put the milk and cream into a small saucepan and heat gently.

Meanwhile using a fork gently beat the eggs, castor sugar and vanilla essence together in a bowl. When the milk is hot, but not boiling, remove it from the heat and add to the egg mixture stirring to combine.

Place the pie dish on a baking tray and pour the milk and egg mixture (the custard) over the cake - the mixture will be very liquid and will fill the pie dish. Leave to stand for 10 mins to allow the cake to absorb some of the custard mixture.

Sprinkle the golden granulated sugar over the top of the pudding and carefully place in the preheated oven at 180C for 30 minutes. The pudding should be golden on top and just set. Serve whilst still warm with double cream poured over the top - yummee!

Happy Birthday Dear GW

Happy birthday to my elder son, GW! A bit awkward to have a birthday in December, it can be in danger of being overshadowed by the Christmas celebrations. However we ensure that no sign of Christmas is visible in or around the house until after the 8th of December, so no tree, no lights and definately no birthday presents wrapped in Christmas paper! This has been the rule since GW was born thirty-one years ago - where has the time gone!

GW doesn't live locally so a birthday cake for him is out of the question and he doesn't have that much of a sweet tooth, so I'll be making his favourite dessert when he visits us over the Christmas period - apple pie. Here's a favourite recipe...

Festive Apple Pie

Ingredients
For the Pastry
4 ozs butter, cold and diced
7 ozs plain flour
1 tblsp icing sugar
zest of 1 orange
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tblsp orange juice and 1 tblsp very cold water

For the Filling
4 large HG cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 HG eating apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 tblsp cornflour
1 tblsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
grating of nutmeg

Method
Place all the ingredients for the pastry, except the egg yolk mixture, in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add the egg mixture and process until the dough just comes together. Remove from the processor and form into a ball, cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 30 mins but no longer then a couple of hours.

Meanwhile prepare the apples and place in a bowl of water with a good squeeze of lemon juice to keep them from going brown.

Then roll out the pastry between 2 sheets of clingfilm so that it is large enough to line a deep 7" pie dish and fold over the top of the apple filling. Place the pastry in the lightly greased pie dish with the excess overlapping the sides of the dish.

Drain the apples and place them in the pie dish in layers, sprinkling some of the cornflour, sugar and spices between each layer of fruit. Finally pull the pastry over the top of the apples so that they are covered leaving a gap in the middle for the steam to escape. Don't worry if the finished result looks a little untidy, it will look scrumptious when it is baked.

Brush the pastry with a little beaten egg or milk and place in the oven at 190C for about 30-40 mins until the pastry is golden. Serve warm with custard or, as it's Christmas, cider cream.

Bonfire Pudding

I've found a recipe for our Bonfire party pudding. Bonfire night requires warming, comforting and tasty food to stave off the cold November air and what better than a pudding made with autumn harvested apples. Add seasonal mixed dried fruits, some mixed spice and a spoonful or two of yummy, yellow custard...need I say more?

Spicy Bread and Apple Pudding

Ingredients
8ozs wholemeal bread, crusts removed
10fl ozs milk
grated rind of 1 lemon
grated rind of 1 orange
2 apples, peeled, cored and grated
2ozs butter, melted
2ozs soft brown sugar
2tblsp mixed spice
6ozs mixed dried fruit

Break the bread into bite sized pieces place in a bowl with the milk and soak for 30 mins.

When the bread has absorbed the milk add all the remaining ingredients and mix well to combine all the ingredients.

Lightly grease a pie dish and Place the bread and fruit mixture into a lightly greased pie dish and press down lightly, smoothing the top. Put into an oven preheated to 180C for 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and serve warm with homemade custard.

This pudding can also be eaten cold as a cake or with ice cream.

Rhubarb and Crumble

I know it's a bit of a strange cottage garden image, but the crumble made with Holly Grove rhubarb last night was worthy of a photo - just a pity you can't taste and smell photos.














The rhubarb is doing well this year; the third season for one variety and the second for the other. It's tempting to pull all the stalks, but not good for such relatively young plants - so it's selective picking and looking forward to next season. In the meantime there are still apples, plums, damsons and blackberries to come along later this year! Now here's the recipe...

Ingredients