Today was a day when we really felt like having a comfort food pudding.  Something really homey. Something to warm up our insides and chilled bones.  A winter pudding.




Nothing flash or using ingredients that are hard to come by.



Something that uses things I generally have in my fridge and larder all the time.



Something that would deliver a big reward, with little effort.  Simple food.



Something that would put a huge smile on Todd's face and have him coming back . . .  for more.
He's a simple man with simple tastes . . . nothing fancy for him, please and thank you . . .



This fit the bill on all counts!  This is exactly the type of pudding the British are famous for . . . warm, comforting, rich and delicious!



*Apple and Blueberry Pudding Cake*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

This has to be one of the easiest desserts around.  The fruit gets all soft and delicious and that buttermilk cake topping is just to die for!  All in all, a wonderful combination!

2 large tart green apples, such as Granny Smith's
225g fresh blueberries (1/2 pound)
140g plain flour (scant 1 1/2 cups)
3 tsp baking powder
110g caster sugar (generous half cup)
250ml buttermilk (1 cup)
1 large free range egg
1 tsp vanilla paste
85g soft light brown sugar (7 TBS packed)
250ml of boiling water (1cup)
creme fraiche to serve

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F.  Butter a medium sized glass baking dish really well.  Set aside.

Peel and core the apples.  Slice them really thin, directly into the prepared baking dish.  Toss together with the blueberries.  Set aside while you make the batter.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and caster sugar together in a bowl.  Beat the buttermilk, egg and vanilla paste together.  Stir this mixture into the flour mixture, mixing it in well.

Add the boiling water to the soft light brown sugar, stirring it well to dissolve the sugar.

Pour the batter over the fruit, then carefully and quickly pour the boiling water mixture into the baking dish, pouring it into a corner.  Place the pudding into the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until it is well risen and nicely browned, and the top springs back when lightly touched.

Spoon out warm into individual serving dishes and pass the creme fraiche!

 

This delicious pudding is proof that you can create something totally indulgent and irresistible with just a few simple ingredients.

 

All you need is fruit, day old bread, softened butter, and some sugar.
Simple ingredients that everyone has in their home.  Put together in a simple way.  Anyone can make it, no real skill is involved.

 

So simple and easy to do that even a child could do it with supervision.  If you can butter bread . . . you can make this.



Softened and sweetened fruit, layered between buttered slices of bread . . . dusted with demerara sugar for extra crunch and sweetness . . .

 

Then baked until the bread is golden brown and crisply moreish . . .

 

Serve warm with lashings of cream or custard.

 

This is not a keeper, unless you are a fan of soggy bread, but that is so not a problem as you will have no leftovers.  Trust me on this.



 *Blackberry & Apple Charlotte*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

The best blackberries for pudding and desserts are the ones you pick early in the season.  This is when they are the juiciest.  Older berries have a lot of seeds.  I always pick mine early and then freeze them so that I can make delicious pudding such as this simple one all the way through the winter!  Other berries such as black currants are nice done this way as well.

2 large cooking apples (Bramley)
caster sugar to taste
340g of blackberries (fresh or frozen, about 3/4 pound)
150g of softened butter (2/3 cup)
6 to 8 medium thick slices of day old bread, crusts removed
demerara sugar to sprinkle

 

Peel, core and roughly chop the apples.  Put them into a large saucepan along with 1 TBS of water.  Place over low heat.  Cook gently for about 10 minutes, until the apples are softened, but not collapsed into applesauce.   Add sugar to taste, then gently fold in the blackberries.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. 

Butter the slices of bread well on one side.  Using 2/3 of the bread, line a 2 pint pie dish, placing them butter side down and cutting them to fit.  Spread the apple and blackberry mix over this.  Cut the remaining bread into rectangles and place on top of the fruit, buttered side up, covering it completely.  Sprinkle with demerara sugar.

Bake in the heated oven for 45 minutes, or until the bread topping is golden brown and crisp.  Serve immediately with "lashings" of cream or warm custard!

Simple desserts like this make the Toddster a very happy man.  That makes me a very happy woman.  Win/Win!

(Waiting to go into the oven.)

The Toddster and I discovered a 99p store the other day at our local trading estate. I am sure it's been there for a few months, but we had never been in it until the other day.   Everything in the shop is only 99pence, and not a penny more, and in some cases, even less.  There is a lot of tat in there admittedly,  but there's also lots of name brand stuff in there too.  It's quite amazing.  We ended up going twice this week.

I picked up packages of waffles the other day, with 8 in a pack for . . . you guessed it, 99p a pack.  I couldn't resist, so I bought several packs . . . and then when I got them home, I thought . . . what am I going to do with all these waffles???

 
(Fresh out of the oven.)

It's crazy what you find yourself buying when it's a bargain.  The number of times I've purchased all the buy one get one free deals at the grocery store is nobody's business . . . things I wasn't even shopping for, but . . . meh . . . it's free!  I'm trying to do better with that now, truly I am.  It's not really a bargain if it's something you weren't going to buy in the first place!!

 
(Dusted with Icing Sugar)

So anyways, I found myself with several packs of the waffles and we can only eat so many . . . and so I sat there and tried to think of something I could make with some of them that wasn't "waffle-ee!"  They are kind of like a cross between cake and bread . . . and pancakes . . . perfect dessert material, and so . . .

 

I made a type of bread pudding with them.  Not just any bread pudding though.  You know me . . . I like things to be a bit different, kind up charged up if I can.



Last month I bought a HUGE bag of dried cranberries at Costco . . . another one of those deals I couldn't resist . . . we love cranberries and I like the dried ones in my morning oats from time to time.  So I decided that I would try to incorporate some of them into this pudding.



Cranberries and white chocolate go really well together, and so I decided to use some white chocolate as well . . . and well . . . my favourite type of sweet loaf is Cranberry and orange, and so I used this flavor as well.  I macerated the cranberries in Orange Liqueur and orange juice to plump them up a bit.  Fabulous!

 

Altogether this worked very, very well.  Almost too well.  I haven't been able to keep my fork out of it ever since it came out of the oven.  I keep digging in for . . . just one more bite.  It seriously needs to be locked up!

 

In other words . . . to die for.   I think you'll find I'm right when I say it is pretty near impossible to resist.  This may be the best "bread" pudding I've ever made!!



But don't just take my word for it.  Try it out for yourself . . . just  remember . . . you've been warned!



*Cranberry and White Chocolate Waffle Pudding*
serves 6 to 8
Printable Recipe

This may be the best pudding you have ever baked or eaten.  You have been warned.  This is very hard to resist.

450g of waffles (about 14)
150g of dried sweetened cranberries (1 cup)
1 TBS orange flavored liqueur
200g of good quality white chocolate, chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
55g of golden caster sugar (1/4 cup)
1 heaped TBS of plain flour
3 large free range eggs
the juice and finely grated zest of one orange
500ml of double cream (2 cups)
sifted icing sugar to dust

Preheat the oven to 170*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.  Butter a medium sized glass oven dish.  Set aside.

Put the cranberries into a microwave proof bowl, along with the orange liqueur and orange juice.  Heat on high for one minute.  Stir and set aside to infuse for 10 minutes.  Drain the cranberries, reserving the juices.

Cut the waffles into 1 inch cubes.  Place half of the waffle cubes in the prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle with half of the  infused cranberries and the chopped chocolate.  Top with the remaining waffle cubes.  Sprinkle with the remaining chopped chocolate and cranberries.  Drizzle the juices over all.

Whisk together the flour, orange zest and sugar in a bowl to combine.  Whisk in the eggs and cream until thoroughly combined.  Pour this mixture evenly over the waffles.  Gently press the waffles down to help absorption.  Let stand for 10 minutes.

Bake in the heated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Dust with icing sugar and serve warm, spooned out into bowls along with cream or ice cream.

 

I just love this time of year, especially when you get a beautiful sunny day like today . . . the air is clean and fresh . . . it's somewhat warm, with a faint hint of cripsness . . . a tiny reminder that the cold days are not too far ahead, but for today . . . the sun has decided to come out and play and we enjoy . . .

 

I love that the nights are cooler, so we can sleep better.  I love that crispness in the air . . . I love the huge variety of fresh vegetables and fruits that are now coming into their own.   Summer's last hurrah before the big sleep . . . I love that the things we eat are getting a little bit heavier . . . and warming.



Our vegetable garden actually did quite poorly this year.  We hardly got anything out of it.  The things we grew in containers did ok . . . but the stuff we put in the ground were to all intents and purposes a huge failure . . . what didn't rot the snails and slugs ate.

 

On the positive side though, our berries did beautifully!  We had a huge abundance of them, which I just loved, especially the blueberries.  They did very well, as did the raspberries.  We bought a few more plants today at the garden centre, two blueberries, two raspberries (A red and a gold this time) and another gooseberry bush.  WE love our fruit.

 

This lovely cake/traybake is a beautiful way to showcase your autumn berries.  You can use a variety like I have done here today, or you can use just one or two, whatever you have.  Currants are also lovely in this, especially the black ones.

 

A buttery moist batter, lightly spiced and rich with ground almonds, wraps itself around each little jewel like berry . . . flaked almonds sprinkled across the top get all golden brown and toasted . . . the demerara sugar which you sprinkle on just as it comes out of the oven, gives it a deliciously sweet crunch.



Altogether it makes for a very moreish tray bake I would say . . . very moreish indeed!  Perfect with some pouring cream drizzled over top . . . or served warm with ice cream.  A dollop of clotted cream perhaps???  Some lightly sweetened mascarpone???  Pick your own poison.



You will want to eat this up within two days . . . not a problem, as you'll probably find yourself going back for a second slice later on after everyone's gone back to bed . . . a la Nigel-la . . .   OK . . . so I am a glutton.

As Dorcas would say . . . "Cake . . . it's my only weakness . . ."

 

 *Autumn Berry Tray Bake*
Makes 9 to 12 servings
Printable Recipe

A delightful traybake cake filled with autumn berry goodness!!

225g of unsalted butter, room temp (1 scant cup or 15 1/2 TBS)
225g golden caster sugar (1 cup plus 2 3/4 TBS fine sugar)
4 large free range eggs
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
150g of self raising flour (1 cup plus 5 1/2 TBS)
75g ground almonds (14 TBS almond meal)
200g of  fresh berries (I used raspberries, blackberries, tayberries and blueberries)  (about 2 cups)
3 TBS flaked almonds
demerara sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter and line a 9 by 12 inch tray bake tin with baking paper.  Butter the paper.

Cream the butter and sugar  together with an electric whisk until light and fluffy.  Beat in the extracts and ground spices.  Beat the eggs together and then add them a little at a time, beating them into the creamed mixture until thoroughly amalgamated.  (If the mixture begins to curdle, whisk in 1 TBS of your flour)  Whisk together the flour and ground almonds.  Fold this mixture into the creamed mixture with a large spoon, folding until no streaks of flour are visible. Gently fold in the berries.  Spread this mixture carefully into the prepared tin.  (If you have used frozen berries the batter will be quite stiff.)  Smooth over the top and then sprinkle with the flaked almonds.  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until well risen and golden brown,  and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Dust lightly with demerara sugar just as you are removing it from the oven.

Allow to cool on a wire rack.  Lovely served still warm, cut into squares, dusted with icing sugar along with some pouring cream.

 

We had a really beautiful day here today. (It is Monday as I am writing this.)   There were the odd showers, but for the most part it was sunny and dry, and fairly warm, as long as you were out of the wind.  Pity it hadn't been like this yesterday during the Thames Jubilee Pageant . . . but it looks to be a lovely evening for the concert tonight at Buckingham Palace!



The shop shelves are starting to fill up with early British Strawberries now.  My plants in the garden have small green berries on them, but it's far too early yet for us to be eating our own.  (I do hope we get a taste before we go away at the end of the month.  I would hate to miss them!!)



There is nothing more beautiful to the taste . . . than a lovely British Strawberry.  Seriously.  The strawberries over here taste like the memory of berries from my childhood . . . you know the kind I mean . . . the ones you pinched and ate when nobody was looking, when you were crouched down picking strawberries for a summer job.  Back breaking labour  . . . yes.  Very little pay . . . yes . . . fringe benefits . . . all the berries you could eat without being caught!!  (I know.  I am a naughty girl!)

 

Anyways, British strawberries.  I love them.  I can't get enough of them during strawberry season, seriously.  I only ever very rarely have any at any other time of the year.  Those out of season berries never fail to disappoint, which is rather good in a way, because it makes me appreciate these seasonal British summer berries all the more!

 

I love to show case them in many ways . . . pies, crumbles, cakes . . . shortcakes!  I like to eat them on my cereal in the morning, and just out of hand as a snack.

Today I made this irresistibly deliciously different salad . . . which perfectly showcases these beautiful berries.

 

A lovely apple balsamic dressing, flavoured lightly with shallots . . . salty proscuitto crudo, mild and creamy buffalo mozzarella cheese, meaty and spicy wild rocket . . . and beautifully ripe and sweet British Strawberries.

 

I'm sure you'll absolutely adore this.  We did. (adapted from a Waitrose Seasonss cookbooklet, 2009)

 

 *Strawberry and Mozzarella Salad*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A delicious salad, which is not only simple and quick to make but makes a great  and unsual use of seasonal berries.

2 TBS Apple Balsamic Vinegar
3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp caster sugar (fine sugar)
2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
2 X 80g packs or Italian Proscuitto Crudo (about 8 thin slices)
1 ball of Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese, drained and torn (about 1/4 pound)
250g of strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced (1/4 pound)
2 X 50g packs of wild rocket leaves, washed and dried (about 4 cups, arugula)

Whisk the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sugar and shallots together in a large bowl.  Season well with black pepper.  Set aside.

Divide the proscuitto between 4 chilled salad plates.  Scatter with the mozzarella.  Toss the strawberries and rocket into the bowl with the dressing.  Toss gently to coat.  Divide equally amongst the salad plates, placing it on top of the meat and cheese.  Drizzle any leftover dressing over top .  Serve immediately.

Note - You won't need any salt as the proscuitto is quite salty.

I've been collecting the Waitrose Recipe Cards for years now. Every month they used to put new ones out and I would dutifully collect the ones that looked delicious to me. Sadly, since I moved up to Chester I've not been able to collect any more, but every once in a while I go through the ones I have and make one of them.



I am never disappointed. Never. They always live up to their promise and we are always delighted with the results.



Today I had some blueberries I wanted to use. I had picked this card out of my Waitrose File a week or so ago, and put it in my to make soon file. It's from May 2004, but is just the perfect dessert for August!!



Back home the wild blueberries would be ripening in August and August is when I get to craving those little blue beauties. This recipe is a glorious blue variation along the traditions of Eaton Mess . . . except it used blueberries, and lemon curd yoghurt.



♥ S-C-R-U-M-M-Y ♥ doesn't even begin to describe how wonderful this is!! You truly MUST make it and soon! You won't be sorry you did. It's light and lemony and blueberry-ee and just wonderful!



Oh, and did I forget to mention it's easy peasy lemon squeasy??? Well, it is! Welcome to August!!



*Blueberry Bliss*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A blueberry version of a traditional Eaton Mess, using blueberries, lemon curd yoghurt, whipped cream and meringues. Oh yes . . . some good!

250g of blueberries, washed (2 cups)
1 TBS sugar
4 TBS cold water
142ml of double cream (1/3 cup whipping cream)
2 X 150g pots of Lemon Curd Yoghurt dessert (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 TBS icing sugar, sifted
2 meringue nests roughly broken into chunks

Place half of the blueberries into a saucepan with the sugar and cold water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until the berries begin to break down. Remove from the heat and press through a sieve into a bowl to make a glossy blueberry coulis. Set aside to cool.

Whip the cream in a bowl until it JUST begins to thicken. (Don't overwhip please.) Carefully fold in the lemon yoghurts, icing sugar and meringues along with the whole blueberries that are left., reserving a couple for a garnish.

Spoon a third of the cream mixture into a large serving dish, or 4 individual serving dishes. Drizzle with a TBS of the coulis. Repeat this twice, finishing with a final layer of the cream Decorate with the reserved berries and some more coulis. Serve immediately.