Living in Chester as we do, we are right on the gateway to Wales. Indeed . . . a short five minute walk from the house, and we are in Wales!
Our Housing estate is actually surrounded by fields of leeks, which fill the air at certain times of the year with their pungent oniony smell. I think it's quite delightful, myself!
In fact, as we travelled to church this morning we passed by a field of frozen leeks . . . kind a pretty actually, all frosty green and icy tipped . . . but I wonder how the farmer feels. Are frozen leeks any good to him? Somehow I think not . . .
The Leek is the Welsh national symbol. ( I can think of worse things to represent you!)
This supper dish is a savoury bread and butter pudding, filled with the lovely flavours of slivered leeks and Caerphilly cheese, which is a Welsh variety of cheese, hailing from the Welsh village of Caerphilly!
Caerphilly sits in the shadows of one of Europe's largest castles. (Caer means Castle in the Welsh language) You can tell their cheese means a big deal to the people of Caerphilly as they hold a big festival there every year, called . . . "The Big Cheese" . . . what else!!
Caerphilly is a cow's milk cheese, light in colour and quite crumbly. It matures a lot quicker than cheddar giving it a dry crumbly centre and creamy edge . . . with a somewhat tangy, sour, but not at all unpleasant flavour.
We love this hearty supper dish as we love leeks and cheese, but you can also make it with cheddar and onion, which is also quite delicious!
I like it with a bit of Branston's Beetroot Pickle on the side. Yummo!
*Welsh Cheese Pudding*
Serves 4 - 6
Printable Recipe
Kind of like a savoury bread and butter pudding made with cheese and leek sandwiches. You can use sliced onions if you don't have any leeks. It's quite delicious!
3 medium slices of white bread, crusts removed
3 medium slices of whole wheat bread, crusts removed
2 ounces (1/4 cup) butter, softened
1 medium leek, washed, trimmed and very thinly sliced
8 ounces caerphilly cheese, crumbled (can use strong cheddar)
2 large free range eggs
1/4 tsp dry mustard powder
1 pint of milk (2 cups)
salt and pepper to taste
a small handful of walnuts, toasted and chopped
finely chopped spring onion to garnish (optional)
Spread each slice of the bread thickly with butter. Using one white slice and one whole wheat slice for each, make 3 sandwiches using the leek and 3/4 of the cheese. Press firmly together and then cut each sandwich into 4 triangles. Arrange them with the points up, in a 2 litre shallow ovenproof dish.
Beat the eggs together with the mustard powder and milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over top of the sandwiches. Allow to stand for half an hour before cooking.
Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Scatter the remaining cheese and walnuts over top of the pudding and then cook it in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. Scatter the top with the spring onions, if using and serve to some lucky people.
One thing that is done extremely well over here in the UK are steamed puddings, and each area seems to have their own individual specialities. Added to that wonder, is the fact that there are not only sweet ones, but savoury ones as well.
They are all very traditional, and whilst most are made using a suet batter, occasionally you will find one which uses the extravagance of butter!
You can find a very good video here which perfectly illustrates the method of covering and steaming a pudding HERE. It's just brilliant and I couldn't explain it any better if I tried, although I do have a tendancy to use a rubber band to hold the lid on, and then I use the steamer pan that fits on top of one of my saucepans.
Savoury or sweet, there is nothing like a deliciously stodgy steamed pudding to help chase away the February blues! Here is one of our favourites.
A delicious buttery pudding filled with lots of chopped preserved ginger in syrup. We do so love ginger in this house and this tasty pudding is chock full of it's deliciously sweet heat. The sauce is also very scrummily gingery, but if you are feeling lazy you can just serve the pudding with some pouring cream.
Either way it's fabulously scrummy!!!
*Steamed Ginger Pudding with Ginger Sauce*
Serves 4
I think there has to be a ginger pudding or cake or bread recipe for just about every area in the UK. This one comes from Cornwall. It's buttery and moist and has a delicious ginger sauce to serve with it. Or, you can just be lazy and have it with cream.
For the Pudding:
4 ounces butter (1/2 cup)
4 ounces caster sugar (a generous half cup)
2 large free range eggs
6 ounces self raising flour (scant 1 1/2 cups)
3 knobs (2 ounces) preserved stem ginger in syrup, finely chopped
3 heaped dessertspoons of golden syrup
For the sauce:
300ml of whole milk (1 1/8 cup milk)
1 TBS finely grated fresh ginger
1 ounce butter (1/8 cup)
1 ounce plain flour (1/8 cup)
2 ounces caster sugar (1/4 cup)
Butter a 3 cup pudding basin. Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, adding a TBS of the flour after each addition. Fold in the remaining flour and the chopped ginger. Spoon the golden syrup into the pudding basin. Spoon in the cake batter over top. Smooth the top and then cover with a layer of pleated greaseproof paper and another layer of pleated foil wrap. Secure with a rubber band and trim off any excess leaving about an inch belong the rubber band. Place into the top of a steamer pot over steaming water and cover. Steam for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until done. (Should be well risen and look dry on top.)
While the pudding is steaming you can make the sauce. Place the ginger in the milk and then bring to the boil. Allow to sit and infuse for about half an hour then strain off the milk, discarding the ginger. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for about a few minutes over low heat. Slowly whisk in the heated and strained milk, whisking constantly until the sauce boils and thickens. Add the sugar, stirring until it is dissolved. Keep warm.
Turn the steamed pudding out onto a pretty plate and pass the sauce seperately. Serve both warm.
- 1 cup (225g) bilberries or blueberries, washed, cleaned of stalks and leaves
- 2 heaped TBS of sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) caster sugar (fine granulated sugar)
- 5 1/2 TBS (75g) butter, softened
- 1 large free-range egg, beaten
- 1 cup less 1 TBS (125g) self-raising flour (see note)
- 2 TBS whole milk
Blaeberry Pudding (small batch)
Ingredients
- 1 cup (225g) bilberries or blueberries, washed, cleaned of stalks and leaves
- 2 heaped TBS of sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) caster sugar (fine granulated sugar)
- 5 1/2 TBS (75g) butter, softened
- 1 large free-range egg, beaten
- 1 cup less 1 TBS (125g) self-raising flour (see note)
- 2 TBS whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Have ready a (7 by 8-inch) deep casserole dish.
- Scatter the blueberries in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the sugar over top.
- Using a wooden spoon, beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy and well creamed together. Beat in the egg a bit at a time until well incorporated.
- Fold in the flour and the milk to combine well. Drop by dollops on top of the berries in the dish and then spread out to cover, using the back of your spoon.
- Place onto a small baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until the sponge springs back when lightly touched and the berries are bubbling underneath.
- Leave to cool for about 15 minutes, then spoon into bowls and serve warm with your desired accompaniment.
Notes
You can easily make your own self-raising flour. Measure your flour into a container. For each cup of flour whisk in 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt. Store in an airtight container for up to three months. (I never make more than 2-3 cups at a time.)
Did you make this recipe?
BUTTERMILK FRENCH TOAST -Crisp on the outside and rich on the inside with a soufflé-like buttermilk custard that is oh so delicious! Thick slices of bread are soaked in a lemon and vanilla buttermilk custard and then left to sit on a wire rack over a baking sheet so that the custard has time to settle before frying in butter. Once fried to a crisp golden brown, the toast is baked for a few minutes longer in a moderate oven,
FRENCH TOAST FINGERS - you can use any kind of crisp breakfast cereal to coat them. Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Captain Crunch, Cookie Crisp, etc. If it is crisp and be crushed it is perfect for this use. Using cereal like this to coat the French Toast Sticks also has the added appeal of being a tad bit naughty. Children love dipping these.
SMALL BATCH OVEN FRENCH TOAST - Perfect for serving with crisp bacon or breakfast sausage, or (dare I say it?) both! Not too sweet and perfectly spiced, this delicious recipe is sized for the smaller family. Small families deserve to eat delicious things without any waste!
LEMON FRENCH TOAST WITH STRAWBERRIES & MAPLE SYRUP - Lemon is a wonderful fruit enhancer. I adore the flavour of lemons and I try to incorporate them in a lot of my cooking.French toast, nicely flavoured with lemon and topped with delicious summer berries. This is quite simply fabulous!
PEACHES & CREAM FRENCH TOAST - Nothing could be simpler or more delicious. You can also use sliced apple if you don't want to use peaches, or if you want a Peach Melba kind of finish, sprinkle it with a few fresh raspberries to serve.
HOT CROSS BUN FRENCH TOAST - Oh my goodness. Rich and fruity, with a touch of orange liqueur. This is fabulously fluffy and delicious served with sausage, bacon and of course lashings of maple syrup.
BERRIES & CREAM CROISSANT FRENCH TOAST FOR TWO - Croissants, jam, cream cheese, eggs, fruit . . . what's not to love about that! You get flaky butter bits of croissant . . . along with souflee-like bread pudding bits . . . interspersed with pockets of wild blueberry jam and nuggets of rich cream cheese . . . oh my goodness! Add a dollop or two of x-tra thick cream and some maple syrup to serve and you have died and gone to heaven.
RASPBERRY BAKEWELL FRENCH TOAST - A delicious breakfast take on the always popular Bakewell Tart. Almond flavoured French Toast made with buttery croissants, topped with sugar crusted flaked almonds and served with a raspberry syrup. Delicious!
PAIN PERDU WITH CREAM CHEESE & BLUEBERRY SYRUPS - A delicious Pain Perdu with Cream Cheese and Blueberry Syrups . . . the Pain Perdu, all crisp and golden on the outside . . . but creamy and custardy inside . . . served up hot and gilded with not one . . . but two fabulicious syrups. YES!! not just one . . . but TWO tasty syrups
LEMON RASBERRY FRENCH TOAST - Quite simply delicious with a lemon cream cheese and fresh fruit filling. This fabulous version of French Toast is perfectly sized for just two people but can easily be multiplied to serve more.
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Pain Perdu with Mixed Berries
ingredients:
- 4 thick slices of sweet brioche bread
- 2 large free range eggs
- 6 TBS whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- butter for cooking
- Icing sugar to dust
- vanilla ice cream or Greek yogurt (optional)
- fresh berries
- Maple syrup (optional)
instructions:
How to cook Pain Perdu with Mixed Berries
- Cut each slice of brioche in half diagonally into triangles. Beat together the eggs, milk and vanilla paste in a shallow bowl with a fork.
- Heat a knob of butter in a large skillet or griddle pan until it starts to foam. Working quickly, dip each side of the brioche bread into the egg milk mixture and then pop them onto the hot griddle pan. (Mine fits all of it at once, if yours is smaller you will have to work in batches.) Cook until golden brown on the bottom side, then carefully flip over and cook until the other side is golden brown.
- Arrange two triangles on each dessert plate, top with some yogurt or ice cream if using, sprinkle with berries and dust with icing sugar. Serve immediately.





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