Mumma's Steamed Pudding & Custard

You'll need a metal pudding basin for this recipe. You can try using a ceramic one and tying it with greaseproof paper and foil with string to make it watertight - but I don't know how to do that! 

I have so many memories of Mum serving up the most ENORMOUS portions of steamed pudding with vanilla ice cream and lashings of custard - it didn't matter how full you already were from dinner, you'd stuff yourself all over again it was just so good! 

It's a super easy recipe which can be thrown together while a roast is in the oven, and never gets boring because you can use golden syrup or jam or something delicious like ginger marmalade as the topping - it will always taste different and look fabulous turned out on a warmed plate to serve!

Ingredients

2/3 block of butter

3/4 cup caster sugar

4 eggs

2 cups SR flour

+milk

Jam, marmalade or golden syrup

Custard Powder & Milk

Method

Put a large pot on the stove with about 10-15cm of water in it, cover and bring to the boil and reduce heat to a simmer. 

Prepare your pudding basin using a bit of butter on a piece of greaseproof paper (or the paper the butter comes wrapped in) - rubbing the butter generously all over the inside of the pudding basin. (Not the lid).

Beat the butter and sugar together well. (Mum always used a hand mixer, covering the bowl and the mixer with a tea towel thrown over the bowl so the sugar didn't make a mess.)

Add the eggs one at a time. Then sift in the flour and mix - don't over mix the flour, and add a good splash of milk so you have a good consistency cake batter. You can add a few raisins here too if you want to make your pudding a spotted dick!

Put a couple of generous spoons of golden syrup or jam in the bottom of your pudding basin and pour the cake mixture in over the top. Fasten the lid and pop it into your big pot of simmering water - the water should come about 3/4 up the side of the basin. Boil for about an hour.

About 10mins before serving make your custard on the stove according to the packet directions. Carefully open the pudding basin, put a warmed plate over it and invert it onto the plate and serve with the custard - so easy and so delicious! 

Apple Butterscotch Pudding

Yummy!! This is the most delicious recipe - the almond meal gives the cake topping a really beautiful texture. The apples and caramel are a match made in heaven.

1. Apple Butterscotch Base
5 apples
60g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup cream

2. Almond Cake Topping
100g butter, softened
1/2 cup castor sugar
1&1/2 cup SR flour
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup almond meal

Preheat oven to 180•C.

1. Peel, quarter and core the apples and slice in half. Heat butter and brown sugar in a medium heavy-based pot. Stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Add cream and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute then add apples and cook uncovered 7-8 minutes until the apples are just tender. Place the apple mixture in a medium ovenproof dish.

2. Place butter and sugar in food processor and blend. Then add eggs, then sifted flour and just combine. Mix in milk and almond meal and spoon over the apple mixture.

3. Pop into the oven for 30-35 minutes or until well risen and golden brown.

Autumn Pear & Hazelnut Crumble

This crumble recipe is taken from the book 'Vegan Cooking' by Amanda Quinn & Diipali Lilburne and it just goes to show you can make a really scrumptious crumble without loading it with butter. Vitasoy makes a great vanilla ice cream, but I still haven't found a vegan replacement for that damn good refrigerated custard...

4 large pears, cored, peeled and diced into large chunks

1/3 cup dates, chopped

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup water

1 cup oats

1/2 cup wholemeal flour

1/2 cup almond or hazelnut meal

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup hazelnuts, crushed

1/3 cup Nuttelex

Preheat oven to 200•C

Place pears in a saucepan with the dates, water and cinnamon. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes. Pour into a deep baking dish.

In a bowl mix together the oats, flour, almond meal, sugar and hazelnuts. Melt Nuttelex and add to the oats mixture and mix well. Pour crumble mixture over pears and press down. Bake in the oven 25-30 minutes.

Craig Bennett's Luscious Tropical Cheescake

This is one of those phenomenal desserts that will instantly hush a riotous dinner party as the guests are transported to taste bud heaven. It is not heavy like cheesecakes I have eaten in the past. In fact it is so light that before you know it you are holding out your plate for seconds...

Serves 12 or more.

2 packets White Wings Bakeo biscuit crumb crust mix*

3 x 250g packages cream cheese (1 packet 30% less fat)

250g low fat smooth ricotta

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 large can crushed pineapple in juice

2Tbs gelatine

1.5 cups thickened cream

1 cup fresh passionfruit

Drain the pineapple reserving half a cup of juice. Heat the juice in the microwave and add the gelatine stirring well until it dissolves. Put aside to cool. Then make up the biscuit crumb crust mix as directed and press into a very large springform cake tin and chill in the fridge until firm. 

In a large bowl mix together the cream cheese, ricotta and condensed milk until smooth. Fold the pineapple and gelatine juice into the cheese mixture with a wooden spoon. Whip the thickened cream until thick then together with the passionfruit fold gently into the cheese mixture. Pour all into chilled biscuit crust and leave for an hour or two to firm up. 

*Look for this in the cakes section of the supermarket. If you can't get it finely process 250g digestive biscuits and mix with 80g melted butter.

Summer Pavlova

This pavlova recipe is the perfect cake for a party - fresh mango & whipped cream is heavenly. But most importantly, it can be stretched to feed 20 or more with ease!

8 egg whites

500g caster sugar - look out for 'natural' sugar, not bleached.

4tsp lemon juice

2Tbs corn flour

500ml thin cream, whipped with vanilla essence 

& a little icing sugar

3-4 large mangoes, skinned and sliced

10 passionfruit

NB. The bowl & beaters you use to whisk the egg whites must be completely clean and perfectly dry otherwise the egg whites won't work. Also, if you make the pavlova on a humid day it may weep a bit but that's okay, just don't make it too early in the day and you'll get away with it. In winter you could make it a day ahead if you like and cover it with beautiful winter fruit instead.

Preheat oven to 150•C. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then whisk in the caster sugar a little at a time allowing it to dissolve between each addition. It will become very thick and glossy then add the lemon juice and sifted corn flour last. Spread evenly over two large baking trays lined with baking paper and greased lightly. The mixture should be about 3 cms thick. Bake on the lowest shelf for half an hour, turn off the heat and allow it to cool in the oven, or even sit there out of site until you're ready to assemble it.

Get a guest at the party to whip the cream. Someone else to cut up the passionfruit. If you're really organised you'll already have prepared the mangoes earlier in the day and all that needs to be done is a big assemblage. Its messy but that's one of the delights of fresh homemade pavlova!

Easy Peasy Rice Pudding

This recipe is the easiest in the world. My parents made it at least once a week and I remember even eating it cold for breakfast if there was some left over in the fridge! I'll always add a rice pudding if the oven's on and its a good way of using up milk if there's an excess in the fridge.

2 cups milk

1/4 cup cream* optional

4 heaped dessert spoons of rice (preferably, but not necessarily arborio)

1 Tbs brown sugar

1 Tbs raisins (or sultanas)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Nutmeg

Mix all ingredients in a small ovenproof dish and sprinkle the top with nutmeg. Then put it in the oven at approximately 160•C and cook for 45 minutes or so, stirring two or three times. The pudding is cooked when the liquid has reduced and it looks creamy and delicious. Best served with vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Almond Cake with Rhubarb Cream

Rhubarb is one of the most beautiful plants in my garden with huge leaves supported on succulent ruby red stalks. The leaves are poisonous but the stalks are delicious stewed with a little sugar and served with ice cream or as a crumble base, or with chocolate...

This is the most sublime cake from Irish chef Rachel Allen who I adore. Recently I made it for Rose's Birthday Dinner and received the utmost compliment from one of our guests who asked if I'd bought it at Bourke Street Bakery. Need I say more!

125g Dark Chocolate

4 Eggs

150g Castor Sugar

150g Ground Almonds

150g Rhubarb, sliced into inch long pieces

2 Tbs Raw Sugar

Fresh Cream, whipped

Preheat the oven to 180•C. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Meanwhile beat the eggs and castor sugar for 5 minutes with an electric hand beater. Stir in the melted chocolate and mix well. Then gently fold in the ground almonds. Divide into two lined and greased 18cm round tins and bake 20 mins. 

Stew the rhubarb with sugar and water to just cover in a pot until tender. Allow to cool then assemble cake by sandwiching the chocolate rounds with rhubarb and cream. A truly decadent dessert.