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May I introduce you to Apple Doodle? Thank you. We had this a lot during my childhood and I never tired of it. It’s a sponge sweetened with golden syrup and punctuated with the sharpness of Bramley apple; served, of course, with lashings of Bird’s custard. The golden syrup adds a surprisingly significant extra layer of flavour to it – takes it from the standard baked sponge pudding to one with a real character.
Never mind ‘Cream until fluffy’; maybe I should re-name my blog, ‘Crumble on everything’.
More Crumble. (Yay!)
I have a new, exciting love-affair with marzipan. I still don’t adore it in its usual, raw, out of the wrapper state and I shall probably continue to peel it – with the fondant icing – from my slice of Christmas cake, but cooked? Well, hello sailor.
So I had some cooking apples from Mum and Dad’s tree and was reaching for the frozen raspberries from our garden (how very ‘The Good Life’), when it hit me. Of course! Marzipan! Why didn’t I do this before? (Because I didn’t like it before, is the answer.) Exit stage right raspberries, and a spotlight for Marzipan! *the crowd goes wild*
I had another thought too. I don’t much like cherries, but if you do, try that! Marzipan and cherry sounds like a nice combination. Let me know, hey?
AKA how to use up the reduced items from the bakery that you bought and stashed in your freezer.
You have Ian to thank for this. He was supposed to go fishing, but the forecast was very, very wrong so when he arrived at the beach he decided against being drowned for the sake of a potential Dover Sole. I’m still undecided on that one because Dover Sole is extremely nice and arguably worth some level of sacrifice, but most importantly gives us the delicious opportunity to say ‘ahhhhhhhhhh … sole’ to each other quite a lot.
So you think that because he came home dejected and damp, I prepared him a bread and butter pudding? No.
He wasn’t alone on his return.
He had 2 boxes of frozen squid with him. Useless things; wouldn’t know one end of a hoover from the other, but they needed a home, well, a freezer for the night.
I rifled through the freezer, (good GRIEF we have a lot of berries, and some pork ribs that I have no memory of purchasing, ever) and found a little niche for them.
Only problem was, that spot had been inhabited by some croissants…oh dear… what to do…
So, I asked them, but they just said ‘meh’ and scowled at me – about as much use as the squid. Inflamed by this, I found 2 hot cross buns that had resided with us since Easter and left them all out to defrost.
Thanks Ian!
It doesn’t get much more Brit dish than this warm, spiced, silken, custard pudding.
Tangy, zesty, sweet, voluptuous lemon curd. Friend to families across the ages. Too poetic? Maybe, but it’s so easy to make and doesn’t so much knock the shop-bought stuff out of a cocked hat, so much as push it over and laugh at it. It stores for a good 3 weeks in the fridge, so it makes sense to make it. I bought really good shop stuff for my lemon and sultana buns, but one reminding taste of the home made stuff and I’m reassured that it is no substitute for the real thing. Spread on a slice of brioche, it is unbeatable.
Morning, steeping fruit and sugar! Sleep well? My, haven’t you grown? You’re looking a bit swollen, love.
Best make you into a tea loaf then.
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Now this IS a traditional British recipe – the cold tea loaf; a good keeper, moist, fruity, delicious and very low fat. What’s not to like?
This is in 2 parts simply because before you fling together the ingredients, you first have to soak your dried fruit in cold tea.
Ian’s Mum is overloaded with windfall pears, so we helpfully brought a bag of them home with us. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them so poached them and had a think whilst they rested in the fridge. I also had 4 peaches that were looking at me with attitude.
What to do.
I had loads of recipes for what is in essence a sponge/pound cake hybrid with fruit chucked in, but they all had one thing in common – best served warm. Now anything is better warm; chocolate, bread, your dinner, your body….
… but if a cake is BEST warm, that indicates to me that as far as cakes go, it isn’t going to be a great recipe. Not only that, it also means that tomorrow, that cake is going to be soggy and that’s just unpleasant.
So I thought, well better do a dessert then. Couldn’t be bothered with pastry, had discarded the cakey-pudding concept, so that left me with crumble.
We like crumble. The best part about crumble is the crumble, but pears and peaches are pretty marvellous too.
If you’re not feeling a peach vibe, check out my Pear and raspberry Crumble…
When life throws you milk, make rice pudding.
Browsing through the supermarket, I happened upon a single bottle of milk.
Rah-rah, you think. But it wasn’t just a bottle of milk… oh no, it was Gold Top; that is the creamiest milk you can get your hands on. A blend of milk from Jersey and Guernsey cows, it is little more than cream dressed up in a milk dress.
Continue reading 'Rice Pudding'»
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