Plum and Stem Ginger Pudding with Custard

It’s a bit of a cheat, putting this recipe in, because it is in fact Andrea’s Steamed Ginger Pudding again, only with a couple of sliced plums arranged artistically at the bottom of the bowl.  To compensate, however, I will include a foolproof recipe for homemade custard.

175g soft butter

175g self-raising flour

175g caster sugar

3 large eggs

a teaspoonful of ground ginger

3-4 tablespoons milk

stem ginger in syrup

150g golden syrup

Put the kettle on to boil and butter a pudding bowl.  A bowl which is purpose built with its own lid is handy here.  I used these ones:  http://www.lakeland.co.uk/13871/2-pint-Lidded-Pudding-Basins

Put the first six ingredients plus four balls of stem ginger into the food processor and whoosh up until smooth.  Add a little more milk if necessary to make it a pourable mixture.

Put the boiling water into a large, lidded saucepan and turn on the heat.

Slice a couple of plums and layer them over the bottom of the basin.  Pour about 50g stem ginger syrup and 150g golden syrup over the plums.  Pour the sponge mixture over the syrups.  Put the buttered lid on top, then pop it into the pan of hot water.  Keep it boiling, but not ferociously and keep the pan lid on.  Keep topping up the hot water; it should more than half fill the pan.

Let it cook for at least two hours.

When you’re ready to serve it, make the custard.

Bring 300ml double cream gently to a simmer with a vanilla pod (cut open along its length).

Meanwhile, whisk 3 egg yolks with a dessertspoon of sugar.

Just as the cream is starting to wrinkle, pour it into the eggs, whisking all the time.  If it looks right, serve immediately; if you want it thicker, pour it back into the pan through a sieve and warm it a bit more, whisking all the time.  This will probably take no longer than 30 seconds.  If you do get a few lumps, pour it into your jug via the sieve again!

C-L’s Banoffee Pie

It’s years since I ate Banoffee Pie, but this version that the multi-talented Claire-Louise made for us on Thursday was so much more delicious than the ones I’ve eaten in the past.  Why multi-talented, you wonder?  Well, she makes exactly the sort of jewellery that I love – vivid glass beads in all sorts of wonderful colours and combinations.  Purple and orange, indeed!  Have a look at http://www.cielcreations.co.uk/ if you’re interested.  If you’re not, then at least enjoy her banoffee pie!

Biscuit base

8oz digestive biscuits
4oz butter (I used slightly salted)
1tbsp golden syrup
3 bananas
1 lemon

Top

4oz butter (I used slightly salted)
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 tin of sweetened condensed milk
1 large double cream tub
2 Cadbury’s flakes

Method

Crush the biscuits.
Melt the butter and syrup in a saucepan.
Add crushed biscuits and stir.
Grease a large dish and press the mixture firmly into it.
Slice banana and dip in the juice of the lemon.
Arrange the sliced banana onto the top of the biscuit base.
Place in the fridge.

Melt the butter, syrup and condensed milk in a pan.
Bring up to the boil.
Now let it simmer until it turns a toffee colour whilst stirring all the time (about 15 mins).
Pour the mixture onto the banana and biscuit base and place back into the fridge and leave for a hour.
Once cool, whip up the double cream and add as much as you like to the top.
Sprinkle a crushed flake onto the top and serve.

Eat within 2 days.

C-L x

Andrea’s Steamed Ginger Pudding

My very clever but very modest best friend made this for us last night.  It’s totally delicious.

175g soft butter

175g self-raising flour

175g caster sugar

3 large eggs

3-4 tablespoons milk

stem ginger in syrup

150g golden syrup

Put the kettle on to boil and butter a pudding bowl.  A bowl which is purpose built with its own lid is handy here.

Put the first five ingredients plus four balls of stem ginger into the food processor and whoosh up until smooth.  Add a little more milk if necessary to make it a pourable mixture.

Put the boiling water into a large, lidded saucepan and turn on the heat.

Put about 50g stem ginger syrup plus 150g golden syrup into the bottom of the pudding bowl.  Pour the sponge mixture over the syrups.  Put the buttered lid on top, then pop it into the pan of hot water.  Keep it boiling, but not ferociously and keep the pan lid on.  Keep topping up the hot water; it should more than half fill the pan.

Let it cook for at least two hours.  Serve with cream or custard.

 

Crème Brûlée

Cultivating a taste for the small pleasures!

Ingredients:

500ml cream

6 egg yolks

50g golden caster sugar

1 vanilla pod

extra caster sugar for sprinkling

Method:

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees.

Put the cream and a split vanilla pod into a non-stick pan and heat gently to simmering point.

Beat the egg yolks and vanilla sugar in a large bowl until well mixed.  Pour the hot cream onto the egg mixture, gently whisking it in. Pour through a fine sieve into a large jug, then fill 4-5 small ramekins with the custard and place in a baking tin of boiling water. Place in the oven for about 15-25 minutes until the centres shiver just slightly when wobbled.

Remove the ramekins from the baking tin after 5 minutes’ standing time, and allow to cool.

About 1 hour before serving, sprinkle each one with a teaspoon of caster sugar and toast it with a blowtorch until you have  a nicely melted caramelised top.

Based on the recipe in ‘Classic Conran’ by Terence and Vicki Conran

Plum Frangipane

You know the Billy Connolly quote:  ‘There is no such thing as bad weather – only the wrong clothes.’  Substitute the word clothes for food and you pretty much have my philosophy.  Snow and drizzle in mid-March?  Time for plum pies and nutmeg.

This is just a variation of the September Strawberry Frangipane.  I always seem to be out of season.

Use either a 26cm tart tin or a rectangular baking tray about 20 x 32cm. (It shouldn’t be too shallow, at least 1.5 cm deep).

Pastry

175g flour

30g almonds

40g icing sugar

125g butter, straight from the fridge and cubed

1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons tap water

Mix the first 4 ingredients in the processor, pulsing.  Keep pulsing as you add the egg/water until it starts to clump.  You might not need all of the liquid.  Gently press into a lump and wrap in clingfilm.  Keep in the fridge for 20 minutes or until you’re ready.

When you are ready, cut a piece of greaseproof paper a bit bigger than your tin.  Roll your pastry onto the paper and gently lift it, paper and all, into your tin.  Ease it in and tidy up the edges.  If the pastry rips, just patch it up with some of the excess.  Remember that it will shrink as it cooks.  Don’t blind bake it.  Just stick it in the fridge till you’ve made the filling.

The greaseproof lining works well:  it means that you can lift the whole thing out after cooking and cooling without any disasters.

Filling

125g butter, melted but no longer too hot

125g golden caster sugar

150g ground almonds

3 eggs, beaten

nutmeg

2 teasp vanilla extract

2 level tablespoons self-raising flour

3 tablespoons apricot jam

4 fresh plums

light muscovado sugar (a tablespoon) and a little spiced rum.

Quarter and stone the plums, sprinkle with some spiced rum and a tablespoon of light muscovado sugar and bake hot (200 degrees) for 25 minutes until slightly singed.  Put the plums to one  side and reserve the juices.

Whoosh up the almonds,flour, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and a good grinding of nutmeg in the food processor.  If the mixture is stiff, add a tablespoon of wine or lime juice and whizz up again.  Make sure it’s well blended.

Spread the apricot jam carefully over the pastry base, then pour the filling mix evenly over the top.

Decorate artistically (!) with the quartered plums, skin side up.

Bake for 30 – 45 minutes at 180 degrees.  When you start to smell it baking, check it, turn it round and if necessary, turn the oven down.  When the middle bounces back, it’s ready.  Do check, because all ovens are so different.  In mine, it only takes about 25 minutes at 170 degrees.

Glaze

3 tablespoons apricot jam

juice of one lime

the juices reserved from the baked plums

As soon as the frangipane comes out of the oven, gently warm the glaze ingredients in a small pan until just melted.  Push through a tea-strainer into a mug, then brush evenly over the whole pie.

Serve at room temperature.