The cottage we live in lies in the beautiful English countryside atop a hillside in rural Kent. We are almost totally surrounded by fruit orchards . . . apples of all varities and pears. It makes for great beauty in the springtime when the air is filled with the sight and smell of beautiful blossom . . . and in the late summer and early autumn, the air is filled with the smell of ripening apples.



We often walk through the orchards as there is a public footpath that runs past our humble home and on through the orchards. Jess, our Border Collie, loves to wander through them with us, quite often with one of the drops in her mouth. Playing ball is her favourite game to play and an apple is just another ball to her . . .



One of the nice things is that we are allowed to pick up the drops ourselves and we often do. I'll bring them home and make a big pot of applesauce if they are cooking apples . . . big green Bramely Apples . . . tart and full of that wonderful apple flavour. Each year I am able to make lots of applesauce with the apples that we find as well as pies, cakes and this delicious dessert, called Eve's Pudding, comprised of scrumptious stewed apples baked beneath a thatch of delicious sponge cake. Lashings of custard are a MUST have, or you can do cream . . . as you wish.



We are partial to custard though . . .



This is one tasty mess that Eve got Adam into . . .



*Eve's Pudding*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This pudding is proof positive that you can create something totally delicious with a few simple ingredients. This is an old English favourite from way back.

400g cooking apples (about 2 1/2 cups)
the grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
75g demerara sugar (6 TBS Turbinado)
2 TBS water
75g of butter, plus more for greasing the pudding pan (1/3 cup)
75g caster sugar (6 1/2 TBS)
1 large free range egg
100g self raising flour (3/4 cup plus 1 TBS)



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Lightly butter a 1 litre baking dish. Set aside.

Peel, core and slice the apples thinly. Place them into a bowl and mix together with the lemon zest, lemon juice, demerara sugar and the water. Pour this mixture into the buttered baking dish.

Cream the butter together with the caster sugar, until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. mixing it in well. Fold in the flour lightly and then spread the resulting batter over top of the apples in the baking dish.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the apples are soft and the sponge is firm and nicely browned.

Serve warm with lashings of custard or cream!

We have Italian Prune Plum trees right here on the Country Estate that I live and work on. During plum season the trees are just dripping with the purple/blue fruits, hanging off the branches like jewels.

Todd and I both love plums, little purple ones, baby fist sized Italian ones, yellow mirabelles . . . ruby coloured pluots, damsons, green gages . . . we love them all equally . . . they are one of our favourite types of fruit.



The ones here on the Estate are not quite ready yet, but the other day, as we were driving down the A21 towards home, I saw a sign that said, "5 lbs local Kent plums, £1.50," and how could I resist! There is a truck stop food van that parks in one of the layby's near home, and they always have local fruits and flowers advertised. We stopped and picked up a bag. I had in mind to make a lovely Plum Crumble or a tart . . .




It was a lovely bag of plums, just chock full of a variety of different plums, all colours and sizes.



The crumble won out. How could it not? This crumble is especially delicious when made with only Italian Prune Plums, but it's also incredibly moreish with a mixture like I had. We really enjoyed this, warm and sweet from the oven, with those crunchy crumbles on top and a huge dollop of fresh Cornish Clotted Cream . . .



*Fresh Plum Crumble*
serves 4
Printable Recipe

I think Plums are one of Todd's and my favourite fruits. Especially during plum season when the trees around here are just dripping with them like little purple jewels. This is one of my favourite ways to prepare them. You get the lovely sweetness of the plums, topped with the sweet and nutty crunch of a delicious streusal. It's just wonderful!

2 pounds pitted and quartered plums
3/4 cup of soft light brown sugar, packed
2 heaped TBS of plain flour
3 TBS of creme de cassis liqueur (If not available you can use fruit juice)

For the Streusal:
3/4 cup plain flour
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup soft light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup rolled oats (not instant oats)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
4 ounces cold butter, cut into cubes

Creme fraiche or clotted cream, for serving



Pre-heat the oven to 190*C/375*F. Combine the fruit, brown sugar, flour and cassis together in a large bowl. Pour the mixture into a shallow baking dish. Set aside.

Measure the flour, white sugar, brown sugar and salt together into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to combine. Add the oats and pultz again. Add the butter bits and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. You want the butter to be the size of peas. Add the walnuts and pulse a couple times just to combine. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over top of the plum mixture in the baking dish. Place on a baking tray to help prevent a nasty spill in your oven!

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the plums are bubbling and the streusal is nicely browned. Serve warm or at room temperature, spooned into bowls with a dollop of creme fraiche or clotted cream on top of each. (Or ice cream!)

Oh what a fool I am for a fool. A fool has to be one of the easiest desserts to make ever. All you need is a bit of fruit puree and some whipped cream. Add in some buttery biscuit crumbs and you have a dessert fit for royalty.



You could use strawberry puree and crushed shortcake biscuits and it would be delicious!



You could use blueberry puree and crushed ginger biscuits and it would be fabulous!



You could use raspberry puree and crushed tea biscuits and it would be scrummy!!



Or you could do like I did and use a gooseberry puree and crushed gingernuts and it will be scrumdiddlyumptious!

Easy Peasy, Gooseberry Squeasy!



*Gooseberry Gingernut Fool*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Tart gooseberry puree, softly whipped cream and buttery gingernut crumbs . . . this is a marriage made in heaven. This is absolutely when a threesome works!

4 ounces gingernut biscuits, crushed
1 1/2 ounces sweet butter, melted
8 ounces fresh gooseberries
1 TBS cold water
4 ounces caster sugar
1 cup double cream, whipped



Place the gooseberries into a saucepan along with the water. Cover and simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes, until very soft. At the end of that time, stir in the sugar, and then use your stick blender (my preferred method) to blend them into a puree. Alternately, pop them into your regular blender, or your food processor and blend until pureed. (DO so carefully with a towel over top, as hot things in a blender build up pressure and can pop the lid off, hence why I use my stick blender) Leave aside to cool completely, or pop in the fridge to chill it faster. (You can pour it onto a baking sheet and spread it out and it will chill really fast!) Once the gooseberry puree is completely cool, fold it into the whipped cream.

Mix the gingernut crumbs and the butter together. Place a little bit of them into the bottom of each of six dessert dishes. Spoon half of the fool over top of each. Sprinkle another layer of crumbs over top and then the remaining half of the gooseberry mixture. Top with a final layer of gingernut crumbs. Chill until completely cold.

Serve to six lucky people. Listen to the ooohs and ahhhs!

I often wonder why it is that, when I don't have any rhubarb to hand, I can always find loads of recipes that I would love to try using it in. And yet, when I do have some, I struggle to think of something to do with it . . .

I suppose in a way it's like money. I can think of a million things to spend it on, but when I have £20 in my purse, I can't find a single thing that I really want to buy . . .



There was some rhubarb in my Able & Cole veggie box this week and I really had a hard time deciding what to do with it. This was compounded by the fact that I don't really have a working oven at the moment. Roll on Monday!

When I was a girl, my mother used to give us stalks of raw rhubarb to eat, along with bowls of sugar to dip it in. I had always loved this jaw achingly delicious treat, kind of like an all natural lick-em-aid. I didn't think that either Todd or I were quite up to this, although I do confess that I did try a small piece with sugar to see if I still loved it that way. Umm . . . no.



I finally decided to fall back on my Abel & Cole cookbook. I figured that if they sent it to me, then there must be a recipe in that I could use to cook it. There was, Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding, and it was delicious. I halved the recipe, because there are only two of us, and because we can only eat so much, not to mention . . . because my convection oven is only so big. I also skipped the water bath, as, well . . . I just couldn't fit the both of them into my convection oven. Thankfully, it turned out pretty good regardless!



The original recipe didn't have any measurements, only a mug sized measure of things. I decided to actually measure them, and the amounts are reflected in my adaption of the original recipe. You can add more sugar to the rhubarb if you wish, depending on how sweet you like it. The amount I used was perfect for us.



*Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

I have always loved rhubarb . . . in pies, cakes, even shortbreads. I had never thought of using it in a bread and butter pudding until the other day. This is pure genius, and oh so very delicious as well! Adapted from the Abel & Cole Cookbook.  

6 stalks of rhubarb, topped, tailed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 cup sugar, divided
butter
12 slices of white bread, crusts removed
4 large eggs
8 ounces cream
4 ounces whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
freshly grated nutmeg to taste
Creme fraiche to serve



Place the chopped rhubarb in a bowl along with 1/2 cup of the sugar. Allow to sit for about an hour or so, so that it softens slightly and becomes all juicy.

Butter all the bread slices on one side and butter a 10 inch square baking dish. Lay 4 slices of the buttered bread, buttered side down in the baking dish. Spread half of the rhubarb over this. Repeat and then top finally with the last four slices of bread.

Whisk together the cream, milk, eggs. second 1/2 cup of sugar and the vanilla.  (Mix well together so that the sugar melts somewhat.)  Slowly strain this mixture over top of the bread. Grate some fresh nutmeg over top and then place in the fridge for approximately an hour to allow the custard to soak in somewhat.

Pre-heat the oven to 190*C/375*F. Place the pudding dish into a large roasting tin. Fill the roasting tin with enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the pudding dish. Carefully set in the heated oven. Bake for about 1 hour, until the pudding is set and the top is golden brown.

Spoon onto dessert plates and serve warm with a dollop of creme fraiche.

"You can't grow hairs on a duck egg,
Hairs only grow on an ape,
And it's only the hairs on a goosegog,
That stop it from being a grape."
~author unknown




Both fruity and floral, the scent of simmering gooseberries is one of my favourite summer scents. They do closely resemble green grapes except that they are covered in funny little hairs, and don't come in clusters. One would almost expect them to feel all prickly when you touch them, but they don't . . .



The gooseberry season is very short, only lasting from 3 to 4 weeks, so it is best to grab them while you can. We have a lovely u-pick place not far from us, and so we pick lots, cleaning them and putting them up in the freezer in freezer bags to bring out in the coming winter months and remind us of these warm and sunny summer days when the cold winds are blowing . . . I open freeze them on baking trays and then I can just pour out as many as I need without having to thaw out the lot.



I like to top and tail my gooseberries before eating them, although it's not really necessary. It's very easy to do with a pair of kitchen scissors. (I do this before freezing them) Rinse well in running water to remove any dust or debris. Then lightly pat them dry with some paper kitchen toweling.



Eaten raw . . . they are hard and sour, but when cooked ( add some sugar, or honey and a splash of elderflower cordial) they have a wonderfully muscat flavour. Simply stewed, they make delightful fruit fool and they are also wonderful spooned over cold vanilla ice cream.

But my most favourite way to eat them of all is this . . .



*Gooseberry Crumble*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This is an excellent summer pudding. Who doesn't like crumble? This is a wonderfully delicious way to showcase these lovely berries that are only available to eat fresh for a few weeks durin gthe summer months. Elderflower helps to bring out and enhance their rich wine-like flavour.



2 pounds of gooseberries (4 to 5 cups)
4 to 6 TBS of caster sugar (depending on how tart or sweet you like your gooseberries)
3 TBS elderflower cordial
Crumble Topping:
175g plain flour
85g butter
50g rolled oats
55g brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Top and tail your gooseberries and place them into a shallow ovenproof glass baking dish. Sprinkle the caster sugar evenly over top and drizzle with the cordial.

Place the flour in a food processor, add the butter, cut into cubes, and then blitz until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the oats, brown sugar and cinnamon and pulse a couple of times until mixed together well. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over top of the berries.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly and cooked and the crumble topping is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit before serving.

Serve warm, on it's own or with lashings of custard, pouring cream or a tasty dollop of creme fraiche.

Just prior to going away on holidays recently, I had a bowl of fresh raspberries that needed to be used up. I know . . . . I could have just thrown them into the freezer, to be taken out and used up at a later date, but, really . . . fresh raspberries, during raspberry season are a real shame to lock away in the freezer, when you could be enjoying them fresh as can be.




I baked this lovely cake to take with us on our trip. We had some of it that night and then the rest of it was sliced and packed away, wrapped up in some cling film.

Trust me when I say, that this got tastier with every day that passed . . .



*Speedy Berry Cake*
Makes one 9 inch cake
Printable Recipe

Is this a cake or a tart? I don't know for sure. It goes together like a cake but ends up looking a bit like a tart. All I really know for sure, is that it's rich, and buttery and very, very delicious!

120g ( 4 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter
135g ( 4 3/4 ounces) caster sugar
120g ( 4 1/2 ounces) flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1 large egg
90g ( 3 1/2 ounces) fresh or frozen berries (any kind will do, or even a mixture)
1 TBS plain flour
softened butter, to grease the tin and some dried bread crumbs as well



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter a 9 inch cake tin with a removable bottom well, and then dust it with some dried bread crumbs. Set aside.

Place the butter and the sugar into a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir this into the cooled butter mixture. Beat in the egg. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top.

Toss the berries together with the remaining TBS of flour. Shake off any excess, then sprinkle them evenly over top of the batter. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the cake is golden and tests done.

I guess I have always held a soft spot for England. As a child I used to devour anything I could get my hands on that was written by Enid Blyton, and as I read those books they carried me away to a land I could only dream about.



I read about boarding schools and tuck boxes and lovely treats like cherry cakes and cinder toffee. Those kids had wonderful adventures and to a budding foodie, even better food . . . much more exciting than anything that I had ever experienced at home. I would dream of tucking into sticky toffee puddings with lashings of cream. Don't you just love that word . . . lashings . . . it conjures up such a wonderful image of a lovely dessert just swimming in rich goodness and lip smacking delight.


One dessert that was mentioned over and over again was Treacle Sponge. I had no idea what treacle was but in my mind it sounded exotic and wonderful, and most certainly the characters in the books I was reading certainly enjoyed it!



There are two types of treacle over here, dark treacle, which is very similar to molasses, but much, much stronger. When I first came over here I made the mistake of thinking that it was just the same and made some gingersnaps for some of the ladies at my church one evening when they came over and they were horrible!!!


Highly inedible. One only needs a little bit of it to get the same impact as the mild molasses we are used to in North America. Lesson learned. When I use it now I mix it half and half with the other Treacle, light treacle, or Golden Syrup. Much much more palatable.



Golden syrup is one of my great discoveries over here in the UK. Quite similar to corn syrup from back home, but so much more flavourful, with a delicious caramel undertone. I could easily eat spoonfuls of this stuff, which I could never do with plain old corn syrup.



It's also the basis for the perfect British Pudding, which over here is another name for dessert . . . Treacle Sponge Pudding . . . a delicious steamed pudding crowned with glorious golden syrup, seeping down a soft rich sponge and soaking into it's surface and gilding it with luscious thick syrupy caramel goodness. This is the stuff that comfort is made of . . . this is the ultimate dessert of all my Enid Blyton inspired childhood dreams . . .



Dig out your scales for this one and don't forget the custard . . . lashings of it are a given!!!



*Treacle Syrup Sponge*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

75g softened unsalted butter, plus a little extra for greasing
75g light-brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
100g self-raising flour
1 level tsp baking powder
1tbsp milk
For the sauce:
3tbsp Golden Syrup, plus extra to serve
4tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

Butter a one-pint pudding basin. Beat the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until they’re soft and light. Gradually add the beaten egg, sieve in the flour and baking powder and add the milk. Beat until it’s thoroughly blended, and you have a dropping consistency. Pour the mixture into the basin, making a nice level surface with the back of a spoon.




Line a sheet of foil with a sheet of greaseproof paper and fold to make a pleat in the centre this will allow for expansion as the pudding rises. Cover the basin with the foil and wrap it firmly around the rim. Then tie with a piece of string to secure it in place. (I actually use a rubber band. The post man is always leaving them behind and they come in very handy for all sorts!)

Stand the basin in a steamer or a pan of simmering water, put the lid on the pan and steam for 1½ hours, topping up with boiling water if necessary.

Combine the syrup and orange juice in a small pan and heat gently.



When the pudding’s cooked, remove it from the pan, unwrap it and ease the pudding away from the basin with a palette knife. Turn out onto a warmed plate and spoon over loads of golden syrup. Finally, pour the warm orange syrup over and serve.

With the onset of cold winter weather, one automatically longs to immerse oneself in comfort and part of that is comfort foods such as soups and stews and rich desserts or puddings as they call them over here in England.

One of the most loved puddings over here has to be Sticky Toffee Pudding. Todd and I were so lucky to have spent several holidays up in Cumbria which is the home of Sticky Toffee Pudding. Nestled in the quaint countryside of the Lake Districk is the Cartmel Village, the home of the original sticky toffee pudding, or so they claim.

Sticky toffee pudding is a rich cake that is moist with dates and covered in a lusciously sticky toffee sauce that soaks down into it's wonderful richness and creates something quite magical to eat.



The origins of sticky toffee pudding are a bit mixed. It has been rumoured to have come from the Sharrow Bay Hotel in the Lake District and yet others have claimed it comes from the Udny Arms Hotel in Aberdeenshire. Having traversed the byways and laneways of the Lake District myself, it is not hard to imagine how very cold and bleak it might well be in the winter months and how comforting a pudding such as this would be, and I can well believe it's origins spring from the Sharrow Bay on the banks of Lake Ullswater.



The very first time I tasted Sticky Toffee Pudding was when we were up in cumbria on holiday, and let me tell you . . . I was hooked at first bite! We bought one of the Cartmel Village Shops sticky toffee puddings at a service station on the M6 and brought it back to our holiday cottage. That night I served it up after our tea , all hot and sticky and smelling wonderfully of treacle and brown sugar, all slathered with lashings of double cream . . . I was in heaven . . . so much so that, in fact, I had Todd driving me back to that shop every couple of days the whole rest of the time we were there, just so that I could treat myself to some more!!

Upon returning home I just had to search out a recipe for it myself and I believe I have managed to find one that is equally as good if not better than the Cartmel one we had on holidays. Homemade is always better right? Right!!

Just wait til you get stuck in to this delicious pudding . . . you'll be hooked too. I'd stake my life on it . . .




*Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake*
Serves 6 to 8 (or 4 if you are like me and a bit greedy)
Printable Recipe

75g soft butter (1/3 cup)
175g dark brown demerara sugar (14 TBS)
200g self raising flour, plus extra for dusting (1 1/2 cups)
1 TBS golden syrup
2 TBS dark treacle
(if you can't get either of these, substitute with
3 TBS light molasses)
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
200g pitted dried dates, chopped (1 1/3 cup chopped)
1 TBS baking soda

For the Toffee Sauce:
100g soft light brown sugar (8 TBS)
100g butter (7 TBS)
200ml double cream ( scant 7 fluid ounces)



Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Grease a 9 1/2 inch round or square baking tin thoroughly with 25g of the butter, then dust lightly with flour, tapping out any excess.

Place the remaining butter into a bowl and cream it together with the sugar with an electric mixer. Slowly beat in the golden syrup, treacle, eggs, and vanilla. Beat well. Turn down to a slow speed and beat in the flour until totally combined.

Place the dates in a saucepan with 300ml of water. Bring to the boil. Cook for several minutes until the dates have softened and the mixture is thickened. Stir in the baking soda while still hot and then quickly add this mixture to the batter mixture. Combine quickly and completely and spread it into the prepared tin. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is just firm to the top. Don't over cook.

Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool to warm.

To make the sauce, melt the butter and sugar together in a small pan. Add the cream and bring to the boil. Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. Pour half of the hot sauce over the warm cake, allowing it to soak in somewhat.

Serve the cake cut into squares with the rest of the sauce spooned over and don't forget the lashings of double cream!!

I always have a big bowl of lemons in the house. I reckon that the lemon is probably one of my most used ingredients . . . in salad dressings, desserts, breads and cakes . . . sauces, squeezed over fish, etc. I go through a LOT of lemons, I really do!

Lemon anything is just about my favourite flavour as well! Oh, how I love Lemon Meringue Pie, and Sticky Lemon Drizzle cake . . . not to mention Lemon Curd, Lemon tuiles, Lemonade . . . well, you get the picture, I am sure!

We're going on holiday tommorrow so I had a bunch of lemons that I wanted to get used up before we go.




What to do . . . what to do . . .



And then I had a brainstorm! Lemon Mousse! The perfect dessert for these hot and sticky days we've been having lately. Light, and cool and oh so heavenly!!!




*Lemon Mousse*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

I love lemon anything and this is a tasty version of a lemon mousse, chock full of delicious lemon flavours and light as air!

the finely grated zest of 3 lemons
1/4 cup (60ml) fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup (185g) caster sugar
4 large eggs, separated
5 1/2 ounces unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Place the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar and egg yolks in the top of a double boiler, over simmering water, and cook over a low heat. Stir constantly, cooking for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture coats the back of a metal spoon. Whisk in the butter, piece at a time. Remove from the heat and cool.

Whisk the egg whites in a clean and great free bowl, until stiff.

Fold half of the egg whites into the lemon mixture with a metal spoon, then fold in the remaining egg whites. Divide amongst 4 serving dishes and chill until firm. Serve with a small cake or crisp cookie on the side.