Apple Butterscotch Pudding Cake

When I was really small my mother used to bake us delicious goodies several times during the week . . . there was always fresh baked cookies in the cookie jar and the occasional pie and cake. She went back to work when I turned 11 though, so all the baking stopped . . . or homemade baking at any rate . . . .at least until I was trusted and allowed to experiment in the kitchen on my own.



She did sometimes buy these pudding cake mix thingies for desserts once in a while. I think there was a chocolate one and a butterscotch one and a really fake apple tasting one . . . but as a child we were just glad to have dessert. It didn't really matter that it came from a mix or that it didn't really taste all that great. It was sweet and that's what counted.



Of course as an adult and experienced baker I have come to appreciate the finer qualities of desserts that are homemade. I love pudding cakes . . . I make a really good Gingerbread Pudding Cake from scratch, as well as a Cinnamon one, and an Apple and Blueberry version which is totally scrummy as well. Let's not forget Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake either, that is like the ultimate of the ultimate pudding cakes!



There is just something that is so very special about the alchemy and magic of a cake that makes it's own sauce when it's baking! It's like a tiny delicious little miracle happening in your very own oven, just for you!!

This is a really scrumdiddlyumptious version . . . with the sweet/tartness of Granny Smith Apples on the bottom . . . topped with a buttery sponge, filled with raisins . . . and a lucious butterscotch sauce that appears like magic and goes fabulously well with it all.



Eaten warm and topped with a nice cold scoop of vanilla bean icecream, I don't think you can get much homier or delicious. Of course my Brit husband would argue that fact and say that custard is much much better . . . but the Canuck in me still longs to have a nice big scoop of ice cream, preferably a good vanilla . . . on top of my cakes, pies and desserts. I just can't help it. Old habits die hard!



But what really is icecream though . . . it is frozen custard. So I guess you could say that we both like custard on our desserts . . . just in opposite forms! He likes his warm and dripping . . . and I like mine cold and melting.



In any case . . . this Apple Butterscotch Pudding Cake rocks! With custard or with ice cream. You just can't get much better than this. I do declare!



*Apple Butterscotch Pudding Cake*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

A delicious dessert topped with a fluffy raisin sponge atop tart sliced apples in a delicious butterscotch sauce that appears as if by magic!

4 large Granny Smith or other cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced (about 4 cups)

For the sponge:
150g self raising flour (1 1/3 cups)
50g caster sugar (generous 1/4 cup)
80g unsalted butter, chilled and diced (5 1/2 TBS)
1 medium free range egg
100ml milk (7 TBS))
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
50g of raisins or currants if you prefer (generous 1/3 cup)

For the Sauce:
80g light muscovado sugar (6 1/2 TBS)
25g unsalted butter (2 TBS)
100ml water (7 TBS)
Pinch fine sea salt
the juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat the oven to 180*C/200*C/gas mark 6. Have ready a 2 litre ovan gratin or other shallow oven proof dish.

Whisk the flour and sugar for the sponge together in a bowl. Drop in the butter. Rub the butter in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Beat together the egg and milk. Stir in along with the lemon zest and the raisings. Arrange the apple slices in the bottom of the dish and smooth the sponge mixture on top.

Place the sugar, butter, water and salt for the sauce into a small saucepan. Bring to the boil. Whisk in the lemon juice and then pour this mixture over top of the batter in the dish. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cake is golden brown on top and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.

Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before spooning out into dessert dishes to serve. (A scoop of icecream goes nicely!)



Over in The Cottage today, a homely and comforting casserole, Heaven and Earth Casserole.

Apricot Bread Pudding

I recently had the good fortune to have a whole bunch of brioche bread that didn't get eaten before it went stale . . . you might be asking yourself, why on earth would that be considered fortunate??



I mean, brioche is so rich and moist and delicious, surely one would want to eat it when it was at it's best !!!

And yes . . . we do . . . but . . .



I also happen to know that as scrummy as brioche is when it's fresh . . . . it makes an even scrummier bread pudding!



Especially in this version which has tasty cubes of brioche bread, mixed together with sweet bits of apricot that have been steeped in Lady Grey Tea, with hints of bergamot, orange and lemon . . .



Combine that with a rich custard containing whole milk, cream, eggs and the zest of orange and lemon and you have something really special indeed. We like ours warm with a cold quenelle of creme fraiche sitting atop . . . but it is equally as delicious and scrummy with some creme anglaise, or vanilla pod ice cream, which is really only frozen vanilla custard after all . . .

Enjoy!!



*Apricot Bread Pudding*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

A delicious bread pudding with the added surprise of sweet apricots that have been steeped in Lady Grey Tea.

8 ounces of stale brioche bread, crusts removed and
cut into cubes (a scant 4 cups)
1 Lady Grey Tea bag
250ml cup boiling water (1 cup)
3 ounces of dried apricots, cut into small bits (1/2 cup packed)
2 large free range eggs
1 large free range egg yolk
250ml whole milk (1 cup)
375ml double cream (1 1/2 cups)
150g caster sugar (3/4 cup)
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract

Put the tea bag and the apricots into a heat proof bowl. Add the boiling water and allow to steep for 10 minutes. At the end of that time, remove the tea bag and strain the apricots, discarding any liquid. Set aside.

Whisk the eggs, egg yolk and 2 ounces of the milk together in a bowl. Place the remaining milk into a saucepan along with the cream, sugar, lemon and orange zests and vanilla. Bring to the boil. Remove from the heat. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Gradually pour this over the egg mixture, whisking constantly until completely combined. Strain this thru a wire mesh sieve into a bowl. Gently stir in the brioche cubes and the drained apricots. Cover and place in the
Inglis Refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

The next day when you are ready to cook it, pre-heat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.. Butter six ramekins well. Divide the pudding mixture evenly amongst them. Place on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown and almost set. Serve warm with some creme anglaise or creme fraiche spooned on top. Delicious!



Cooking in The Cottage today a delicious Cheeseburger Spaghetti Pie!

Pear and Ginger Trifle

The race is on now for me to develop a tasty trifle recipe for my Christmas lunch this year. Other years I have done different versions such as:



Turkish Delight Trifle Very good and very sweet.



Then there were the Christmas Pudding Trifles. Equally as delish, and not quite as sweet!!


(Image from BBC Good Food)

Of course you can't beat a good old fashioned Sherry Trifle.



Today I tested a Pear and Ginger Trifle. Pears being one of our favourite fruits and gingerbread being one of our favourite cakes!



It was very simple to make and tasted wonderful! Of course I didn't use the liqueur, just pear juice, and I did miss the jelly layer that I put in my usual trifle.



But all in all it was very, very good.



Best of all you can use store bought ginger cake and custard if you wanted to, which makes it a good store cupboard recipe . . . or even a good recipe to help use up any extra gingerbread you may have hanging around. (As if!!)



Anyways, it's a distinct contender I'd say!



*Pear and Ginger Trifle*
Serves 4 - 6
Printable Recipe

The first of my trifle tests to find a tasty trifle for this year's Christmas Festivities.

227g jamaican ginger cake (about the size of a small loaf cake), sliced into 1/2 inch slices and cut into cubes
212g tin of quartered pears in juice, drained (reserve the juice), about 2 cups of pear pieces
6 TBS of Eau De Vie (Pear Brandy. If you don't do alcohol, use the reserved pear juice)
300ml of cold thick custard (1 1/4 cups approx.)
150ml of fresh double cream (2/3 cup heavy cream)
1 tsp icing sugar

To Decorate: (any or all)
gold sugar balls
chopped candied ginger
toasted flaked almonds

Line four footed trifle dishes or one large trifle dish with approximately half of the ginger cake cubes. Sprinkle the cake with the Pear Brandy, or pear juice if using. Cover with the well drained pears. Top with the remaining cake cubes. Pour over the cold custard. Whip the cream along with the icing sugar until it forms soft peaks. Spoon over top of the custard. Sprinkle with whichever decorations you decide to use. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Note: I do not recommend making this the day ahead. Make several hours before you want to serve.



Over in The Cottage today you will find a delicious appetizer for your Holiday meals, Smoked Salmon Tartar with Horseradish and Dill.

Daube of Red Ruby Beef and Carrot Pudding

(This is their picture.)

Today for our dinner we had one of the ready meals that had been sent to us via Pipers Farm, the Daube of Red Ruby Beef from their Ready Meal Range. From their page:

We take joints of rolled & tied Beef shin & cook them slowly for 20 hours until they are tender. We then make a rich sauce using Brandy, reduced red wine, our own homemade Beef jus & Beef stock infused with cinnamon, juniper, orange zest, peel & bay leaves which we allow to simmer gently. Finally we combine the Shin with sauce, adding onions, crisp bacon lardons. kalamata olives, carrots & chopped parsley.



There were two portions which was just enough for us. It was convenient and very easy to use. I just simply dropped the handy single portion pouches into some boiling water and then simmered them for 20 minutes. Easy peasy, lemon squeasy. The hardest part was getting it out of the bag, but I managed to do it with the aid of some tongs and my kitchen scissors.



The portions were quite ample in size, in fact I couldn't finish mine. (Mitzie didn't mind because that meant she got to taste it too.) The beef was tender and flavourful, as was the sauce. I loved the saltiness of the kalamata olives, which went very well with the beef and offset the sweetness of the prunes. If I had anything negative to say about it at all, it would be that I found the meat to be a little bit fatty, but then shin can be somewhat fatty, and I would have preferred the lardons to be crisped before baking. Todd didn't mind any of that . . . it's just me being a bit finicky. Other than those two things we both really really enjoyed. I served it with some steamed long grain and wild rice. It retails at £4.50 per serving which is really quite reasonable, and as with all of their products, it comes with a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied.



For afters I made us a delicious Carrot Pudding. Carrot Pudding makes a delicious alternative to Christmas Pudding. It's almost like a steamed carrot cake, and what's not to like about that!



It's a recipe that I got from my ex MIL about 35 years ago. I tweaked it a bit to suit our tastes of course. She didn't have any spices in hers, nor vanilla, but we like a bit of spice and so I've always added some.



I like to serve it with a homemade caramel sauce.



Oh, this is some scrummy . . . a delicious lightly spiced steamed pudding . . . moist from the addition of carrot and potato . . . spooned hot and steaming into your bowl and then topped with lashings of a buttery, rich caramel sticky toffee sauce.



If you have any Christmas Pudding haters in your family, I would highly recommend this.
Not only is it deliciously moreish, but it is also very economical, which in these tight times can't be beat! I don't think I know anyone who doesn't already have potatoes, carrots, butter, eggs and flour in their larders! (You can leave out the raisins if you wish, but we really like them.)



*Carrot Pudding*
Serves 8 to 10 people
Printable Recipe

Old fashioned, easy and quite economical . . . oh, and very, very delicious!


7.5 ounces soft light brown sugar ( 1 cup packed)
4 ounces butter, softened (1/2 cup)
2 large free range eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 1/2 ounces plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
pinch of cloves, nutmeg and ground cardamom
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated (1 cup)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and grated, squeezed dry (1 cup Squeeze all the water out and discard before measuring)
6 ounces of raisins (1 cup)

To serve:
caramel sauce, custard, cream or ice cream

Have ready a pot of boiling water fitted with a steaming basket and a lid. Butter a large pudding basin and set aside.

Cream together the brown sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Sift together the flour, soda, salt, and spices. Stir this into the creamed mixture Fold in the carrots, potatoes and raisins.

Spoon the pudding into the prepared pudding basin. Take a large sheet of foil. Butter it well and then make a pleat in the centre. Fit this around the top of the pudding basin, leaving room for expansion. Secure with a rubber band and make air tight.

Place this into the steamer basket over the boiled and simmering water. Cover with a lid. Steam for 3 hours, checking periodically to make sure that the water doesn't run dry, and carefully adding more as needed.

Remove from the heat and take off the foil. Carefully slide a sharp knife around the inside of the pudding basin to loosen. Invert a serving plate over top and then carefully tip out the finished pudding. Serve warm with some caramel sauce, custard, cream or ice cream.

Note: Any leftovers can be reheated by placing into a steamer basket and steaming over simmering water for a couple of minutes until heated through.

*Caramel Sauce*
Makes about 1 cup
Printable Recipe

Very easy to make. Thickens upon standing. Great for all sorts of desserts, ice cream toppings, cake toppings, fruit toppings etc.

3.75 ounces of soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup)
2 ounces butter (1/4 cup
2 TBS golden syrup (can use corn syrup)
125ml of heavy cream (1/2 cup)
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla

Place all of the ingredients into a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer, stirring occasionally to help prevent it from catching over very low heat for about 5 minutes.



In The Cottage today, Chicken with Rice Soup. Perfect for when you are feeling a bit under the weather. (Note to all you people celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday. You can also make this soup using your turkey carcass.)

Digestive and Marshmallow Custard

We don't eat a lot of complicated food in this house . . . simple people, simple meals, fresh and simple ingredients. That's us to a "T."



Quite, quite different than when I worked for the American family down south. She always had to have something complicated for dinner every night. There had to be a sauce or a salsa, etc. Each dish had to have a "recipe." There was no cooking from off the top of your head, or by instinct. (At least as far as she knew . . . shhh . . . ) Then again, that is what they were paying me for.



Dinner parties were a bit of a nightmare at times, because everything had to come from one of her hoity toity cheffin' books, with numerous steps and complications. It would take me days of preparation to get ready. Not only did I do all of the planning and shopping, but I also did all the chopping etc. Having to execute half a dozen Gordon Ramsay recipes on top of it all was quite a stretch at the best of times, especially if you are a perfectionist like myself.



Don't get me wrong. I enjoy cooking a complicated dish. It is challenging and interesting. It's a bit much though when you have to cook 5 or 6 complicated dishes . . . for 25 people, all in one go, and all by yourself . . . that is work, plain and simple . . . as challenging and as interesting as it may be! There are no sous chef's . . . or junior chef's to do all the legwork and chopping . . . or for that matter, the cleaning up afterwards.



That's not how I want to eat at home . . . it's ok for a special occasion, but most days I like simple things. Simple dishes like this delicious custard. Wholesome and nutritious . . . well, except for the marshmallows of course . . . but they do add a bit of interest.



The biscuit crumbs and marshmallows float to the top and make the most interestingly scrummy topping. Trust me. Whilst this is a dish that I would never have cooked for her . . . this is a winner. Totally unpretentious. Simple. Tasty. What more could you ask for?



*Digestive and Marshmallow Custard*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Wholesome and delicious, plus it uses simple ingredients that most of us have in our cupboards all the time.

375ml of whole milk (1 1/2 cups)
1.5 ounces digestive biscuit crumbs (crush fine)
(about 1/3 cup. You can use Graham Cracker crumbs if that is what you have.)
2 large free range eggs
2 TBS sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
8 large marshmallows, cut into quarters

Have ready a shallow pan and a kettle of boiling water. Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.

Place the biscuit crumbs into a bowl. Pour the milk over top and set aside for 10 minutes or so. In the meantime beat together the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat this into the milk mixture. Place 2 marshmallows, quartered (8 pieces) into each of 4 1/2 cup glass ramekins. Place them into the shallow pan. Pour an equal amount of the mixture over top of each. Place the pan into the oven and carefully add boiling water to come up halfway up the sides of the cups.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until a metal knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Serve warm.



Cooking in The Cottage today, a delicious Italian Stir Fry.

Baked Coconut Custard

This has to be one of the easiest and simplest desserts out there. It looks like a pie . . . it cuts like a pie . . . but . . . is it a pie???



I don't know. There is no crust, so perhaps not! All I know for sure is this.



It is creamy and all milky schoolroom comfortingly delicious.



It goes together lickety split. Three minutes in a blender or food processor . . . and then into a butter pie dish.



Half an hour later and about 15 minutes cooling time and you are sinking your fork into something that is almost ethereal . . . angel like . . . soft and custardy . . . rich and coconuty.



The topping is crisp and coconuty delicious.



The insides as comforting as a mother's warm hug on a cold day.



A dollop of cream on top and you will be tempted to think you have died and gone to heaven. Ahhhh . . . bliss. (You will be tempted to want to leave it in the oven longer than the required time as the centre will seem . . . quite, quite wobbly, but don't worry. It is perfect when the outsides are set and the centre seems as wobbly as the custard on a trifle.)



*Baked Coconut Custard*
Serves 6 to 8, makes one 9 or 10 inch pie
Printable Recipe

You might be tempted to think this is a pie, but there's no crust. It is a mouth wateringly creamy custard, baked in a pie pan with a golden crisp coconut top. Delicious. Slice in wedges to serve with a spoonful of softly whipped cream and perhaps some sliced fruit. This has to be one of the easiest desserts going!

500ml of milk (2 cups)
2.2 ounces plain flour (1/2 cup)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 large free range eggs
8.5 ounces sugar (1 1/4 cups)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 ounces sweetened flaked coconut (1 cup)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 or 10 inch pie dish well. Set aside.

Measure the milk, flour, salt, baking powder, eggs, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a food processor or into a blender. Blend together for 3 minutes. Add the coconut and blend for about 2 or 3 seconds longer. Pour this mixture into the buttered pie dish.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges are set and the centre just a bit wobbly. Remove from the oven and let cool, or serve warm. If cooling and serving later, chill in the refrigerator and warm a bit before serving.



Cooking in The Cottage today, Spicy Chicken Thighs.