Fruit Cobbler

I had some stewed rhubarb in the freezer left over from the summer so decided to us that for this recipe..

The recipe doesn’t give a quantity for the fruit, and I didn’t weigh out what I had, but was enough to fill my Pyrex dish..

I didn’t think this was enough for 4 portions so I halved everything for the dough. I mixed all those ingredients together to make a soft dough then cut into little circles..

The recipe says to use a flutted cutter, I didn’t read that bit properly and had just cut them with the smooth side!! I didn’t want to mix up and cut again in case that would over work the dough so used them as they are to line the edges of the fruit..

I glazed them with a little milk before going into the oven..

After 15 minutes I didn’t think it looked ready, the cobbler bits were still a bit pale so I put back in for about another ten minutes and by then was looking good..

So I’m not sure how many this should serve but we polished the whole lot in one sitting between the 2 of us!! The fruit is great and the topping is perfect with it, browned on top but soft inside..

You could serve this with some cream or custard but it’s good enough on its own!

Would I make this again? Yes definitely!

Plain Waffles

My lovely gran bought me a waffle maker for my birthday, so obviously had to try this recipe..

The waffle maker does come with a few recipes and all are pretty similar to this one. I wanted to keep it simple for my first waffle making attempts.

I mixed up all the dry ingredients then added the egg, butter and milk and then added the beaten egg white..

Above the actual recipe in the book is full instructions on making and serving waffles which pretty much say the same as the instructions that came with mine..

It’s just a bit difficult to figure out the correct amount of mixture to put into each section. I poured in I think 2 tablespoons and then had to add a bit more to fill it up..

They do start to cook instantly so had to work quickly! After a few minutes they were looking a bit unevenly cooked..

So I think I didn’t put enough mix in each section. I left them to cook for a few more minutes and they do look better when turned over..

The recipe suggest syrup or fruit but we opted for bacon and syrup..

These are crunchier than I expected, I guess that’s due to me not putting enough mix in the pan. They do taste good, not overly sweet and are perfect with the bacon and maple syrup. Next time I’ll definitely try with the mixed spice.

Mould I make these again? Yes!

Marbled Pudding

Tonight I wanted to make some sort of chocolate pudding so picked this recipe..

As you can clearly see I opted to make one half of the mix pink like the recipe suggests! I was making this for a pair of 7-year-old girls, that’s why I opted for the pink!

The mix is made up quickly and easily then split into two; one half coloured pink and the other mix has the cocoa powder added..

These are then spooned into a bowl in alternate layers..

I covered the dish with tinfoil and put in my steamer and set for 2 hours. After about an hour and 40 minutes I removed the foil and it was well risen and felt pretty well cooked..

I was worried it wasn’t going to turn out of the dish but after a gently nudge with a spatula it came out just fine..

I think this is quite an advanced concept for this book, the whole marble cake thing was made quite popular recently with the whole zebra cake thing! I cut into this and the layers looked pretty good..

I did make a quick hot chocolate sauce to have this with and was very popular with my target audience! They both loved it and both had seconds!

I had to obviously try some and is pretty good! It’s actually quite light and just a nice hit of chocolate!

Would I make this again? Yes definitely!

Steamed Suet Pudding

This may seem like an odd thing to make on a Thursday night on one of the warmest days in the last few weeks but I just felt like it!

I had bought a load of suet last winter for mincemeat and ended up not making that much so have loads left. I do eat meat but I kind of don’t like to think too much about the origin of suet!!

Reading the basic recipe it does sound a bit boring, so I decided I was going to try one of the variations. I do have dates, lemons and apricots but opted for the jam version..

It does say red jam but no idea if it really does specifically have to be red so I decided to use some homemade rhubarb and ginger jam I made instead..

So all the dried ingredients are stirred together..

Then I mixed in the milk, I needed a touch extra to make it a dropping consistency but it does look very porridge like..

I put some jam in the greased dish..

Then spooned the pudding mixture on top..

After about an hour and 45 minutes it’s really well risen..

I turned it out into a plate and it came out of the dish no problem. So it’s now dark and obviously that’s not good in my kitchen for a decent photo…

The recipe says to serve with a syrup or jam sauce but I had no syrup and its topped with jam anyway so don’t really think it needs much more…

Considering it’s a steamed pudding, that I associated with heavy stodginess, it’s actually quite light and really soft. I also definitely don’t think a sauce is required, maybe at a push a bit of cream but just on its own is good enough for me!

Would I make this again? Yes, am going in for a second slice now…

Creamed Rice

So I know this looks like baby food but I was in the mood for something warm and comforting for pudding, and I have a bag of pudding rice in the cupboard that I haven’t used in ages..

I made the rice pudding a while back, which was baked in the oven, and that was brilliant! That recipe didn’t say to specifically use pudding rice but I did, and this recipe does not specify either but again I assumed that’s what I should be using.

I was only making this for me so I decided to half everything..

So it’s all just put on to very gently simmer..

I checked on it every 10 mins and gave a stir to break up any skin that formed on the surface! I think I had this cooking for just over an hour and by then all the milk had been absorbed and the rice was nice and soft..

Well I loved loved loved this!! It’s soft and creamy and warm and lovely! Just the kind of pudding I was in the mood for! The recipe says this can be used as a base for peach Conde, which I will do at some point, but I think this is great just as it is!

Would I make this again? Yes, and I wish I’d made more!

Fruit Pie

I was given a load of rhubarb from my sisters in-laws, I do grow my own but it’s always a bit thin and pathetic looking! So I made a vat of rhubarb chutney today and had enough left over to make a couple of mini fruit pies..

First off I made the shortcrust pastry..

I had opted to make two mini pies rather than one big one so reduced the fruit and sugar quantities by about a half. I sliced the rhubarb and then layered in the dishes with the sugar..

Next I lined the rim of each dish with some pastry and then covered with a lid of pastry..

I thought it seemed like quite a long cooking time, but they did take the full 50 minutes, and after then one pie had puffed up but the other hadn’t!

I thought I had prepared them both exactly the same, but can only assume I’ve sealed the puffed up one a bit better and so the steam generated in it has affected the shape!

I was going to have this with some custard or ice cream but I just dusted with icing sugar and served as they are..

When I was filling the dishes I didn’t want to over fill them, but on hindsight I wished I’d packed in loads more as it has totally reduced in volume while cooking and almost looks a bit empty!!

Taste wise it’s pretty nice. The pastry is really thin and was ok, the filling is nice but maybe a touch more sugar and I do think the ginger would’ve been a nice addition. I do wish I’d packed in more filling!

Would I make these again? Yes!

Baked Custard

I didn’t think that I liked custard, but then I made some for the first time myself a few months ago, I did use custard powder but I did actually really like it! So tonight I fancied this as a pudding..

I didn’t want to make too much so I decided to third this and hope that would be enough for two.

So I was heating up a third of a pint and whisking just the one egg with a third of an ounce of sugar..

Once the milk was heated but not boiling I poured that over the eggs and sugar..

Then I strained the mixture into two greased ramekins..

Then I sprinkled with a little nutmeg and put into a tray with some water to avoid any curdling or separating!

I thought it would need less cooking time due to them being individual but I didn’t think they looked properly set until the full 45 minutes..

I decided this should be eaten warm so I let it cool for barely a few minutes before trying it. The texture is surprisingly good, it’s set really well..

It’s just a shame that it doesn’t taste quite like I expected. Its very light and could be doing with a bit more sugar but it’s just not quite the comforting pud I’d expected!

Would I make this again? Maybe, I’d perhaps try with a fruity layer at the bottom or even just a touch more sugar would help..

Spotted Dick

So this is a proper old fashioned classic! I know obviously all the recipes in this book are pretty old fashioned but this is probably one of the most recognisable..

It’s all pretty basic ingredients and all the prep is done in a matter of minutes.

I had opted for the pouring consitency so that I could steam in a bowl in my steamer, although it looks a bit weird! It’s almost like porridge!

I was thinking I maybe hadn’t made my breadcrumbs fine enough, and I had used the crusts when making the breadcrumbs so maybe it’s a tad chunky than it should be, oh well, hoping that will add some texture!

I greased my sort of pudding bowl and poured the mix in..

Based on some of the other steamed pudding recipes I assumed I was to cover it, so I tied some greaseproof paper round it and
then I put it in the steamer. I think I did leave it for pretty much the full two hours.

It’s hard to tell if it’s ready as the steamer is so hot, so I just had to take it out and hope it was ok, still looks like porridge…

It came out of the dish no problem but I really didn’t think it was meant to look like this??

I went away and did a quick image search and this maybe doesn’t look as smooth as other pictures I saw! Maybe that due to my slightly chunky breadcrumbs!

It is super soft but I still managed to cut out a slice ok..

I was going to have this with custard but I tried a bit before I started heating the custard and I have to say is pretty damn good just as it is!! It’s really soft and sticky and is just a brilliant pud! I thought it was just great on its own!

I feel I say this a lot but this tastes way better than it looks and I will quite happily finish the rest of the weekend, may try with custard tomorrow just to check..

Would I make this again? Yes, a very pleasant surprise..

Pancakes

Can’t let this day pass without making pancakes! Although to me pancakes are the thick fluffy kind and these to me are more like crepes..

We do quite often have pancakes in this house, but not made by me, my husband makes the best pancakes! Like I said they are thick scotch pancakes usually served with syrup or bacon! So tonight I was making these with me daughter.

The batter is used in a few other recipes in this book, it’s the same one it suggest using for Yorkshire pudding. It’s pretty quick and easy to prepare..

I have a nice flat pancake pan that my gran bought for me one birthday so it’s ideal for these. We did have a couple of disasters to start with! Think I had the pan far too hot and then I didn’t put enough mix in!

After the two false starts we did make some progress and managed to make a few pancakes!

I even managed to flip them without dropping them!

Then I just sprinkled over some sugar and lemon juice and rolled up..

Well they are nice, do need quite a good sprinkling of sugar and lemon but overall is nice enough, but I still prefer scotch pancakes!

There are a good few alternative pancakes suggestions to try but I think the only other one I’ll give a go is the crepe suzette!

Would I make these again? Possibly

Mincemeat and Apple Round

I still have loads of mincemeat to use up so decided to try this recipe today..

I had one cooking apple to use up so was going to make the full amount, although I decided to make mini rounds rather than one big one. I started making the dough and I thought it was really soft, I barely added any milk but was still a very soft dough..

I had to add lots of flour to the board and rolling pin, and did eventually manage to roll out the first half into 6 circles..

It says to spread the mincemeat on but because mine are smaller I spooned on little piles. I think I put about a teaspoon on each one..

Then I grated the apple and put about a teaspoon on top of the mincemeat..

Next I rolled out the dough for the top and cut out another 6 circles the same size to put on the top..

I used one of my cake decorating tools to crimp the edges together then brushed with milk and sprinkled with sugar..

After about 20 minutes in the oven they were looking golden and crisp..

I didn’t have anything to serve these with so we just had them on their own warm. I suppose you could say these are an alternative to mincemeat pies! The outside of the dough is lovely and crispy but then has a nice soft layer inside. The filling is great, can’t really go wrong with a good mincemeat! Overall these were a great hot pudding and I’m glad I made mini ones!

Would I make these again? Yes, I still have more mincemeat left and these are delicious!