CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Use caster or granulated sugar if you haven’t got icing sugar, and if you want a cream instead of a lighter mousse, add a couple of tablespoons of double cream or crème fraiche after the egg whites.

SERVES 6:

8 oz (225 g) plain chocolate
4 eggs
1 tsp coffee dissolved in 4 tbsp boiling water
1 tbsp sherry or brandy
1 level tbsp icing sugar

METHOD

• 1.Dissolve the coffee in the boiling water.
• 2.Break the chocolate into pieces and melt in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water with the coffee and sherry, stirring occasionally, while you separate the eggs.
• 3.Once the chocolate mixture is completely smooth, remove from the heat and leave to cool for a minute before you beat the egg yolks into the mixture.
• 4.Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff; add the icing sugar, then whisk for another minute until stiff enough to stand up in peaks.
• 5.Fold the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture and spoon into six glass bowls or ramekins.
• 6.Chill for at least 3 hours and serve with thick cream and a dusting of icing sugar and cocoa powder.

TREACLE TART

Nowadays, treacle tarts tend to be made with golden syrup; originally they were made with black treacle, so this is a modern compromise between the two. Eaten cold on its own, treacle tart is delicious; warm with extra thick cream it’s to die for.

SERVES 4–6:

Short crust pastry
5 oz (125 g) fresh white breadcrumbs
6 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbsp black treacle
1 oz (25 g) butter
1 lemon, juice and rind
2 fl oz (60 ml) milk

METHOD

• 1.Make short crust pastry with 6 oz (150 g) plain flour (see page 142), then roll the pastry out to fit a lightly greased 8” (15 cm) loose-bottomed flan tin, saving the trimmings to re-roll and cut into 8 thin strips for the top of the tart.
• 2.Put the syrup, treacle, butter and lemon juice in a saucepan over a low heat for a few minutes to melt the butter and dissolve the syrup and treacle.
• 3.Fill the pastry case to the top with the breadcrumbs, then carefully pour on the warm liquid, starting from the outside and working slowly around to the middle of the tart so all the breadcrumbs are covered.
• 4.Roll out the remainder of the pastry, cut out 8 thin strips, then dunk them in a small bowl of milk and make a criss-cross pattern across the top of the tart, gently pressing the ends of each strip into the edge of the pastry crust. (Mix the milk with an egg yolk for a deeper glaze.)
• 5.Bake in the oven, Gas Mark 4 (180°C) for 20–25 minutes until the filling is just set and the pastry a light golden brown.

TIRAMISU

This shortcut version (what else?) of tiramisu can be made in one large bowl but looks prettier piled into individual glass dessert dishes; the quantities given here will make at least six, depending on the size of your glasses. Tiramisu also freezes well and keeps for a at least two days in the fridge, meaning you can make it well in advance of a lunch or dinner party.

(Incidentally, this is one quick fix I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty about since Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver both have recipes for tiramisu made with sponge fingers in their books!)

SERVES APPROX 6:

1 packet (200 g) of sugar-coated sponge fingers
2 x 9 oz (250 g) tubs of mascarpone
1 medium-sized carton (500g) of custard
2 tbsp caster sugar
4 oz (100 g) bar of plain chocolate, grated
1 tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 1/2 pint (250 ml) of boiling water
4 tbsp Tia Mia, brandy or sherry

METHOD

• 1.Make 1/2 pint (250 ml) of coffee with 1 level tablespoon of instant coffee; add the liqueur and sugar and stir.
• 2.Beat the cheese in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until soft, then add the custard and blend thoroughly.
• 3.Dip the biscuits into the coffee, put them into the glasses (3 or 4 biscuits per layer, per glass), then sprinkle a layer of grated chocolate and top with a couple of spoonfuls of the mascarpone mixture.
• 4.Repeat STEP 3, saving a little of the grated chocolate to sprinkle on the top of each dessert at the end.

FRUIT FOOL

The cheat’s way of making a fruit fool is not to fiddle around soaking and stewing fresh fruit ... open a tin! Instead of prunes, use the same-sized tin of gooseberries, strawberries or rhubarb and add a couple of tablespoons of sherry, a few drops of vanilla extract, or the finely grated rind of half an orange to the fruit, for variation.

SERVES 4–6:

14 oz (approx 410 g) tin of prunes in natural juice or syrup
1 small (425 g) carton of custard
1 small carton (5 fl oz/ 150 ml) of double cream

METHOD

• 1.Tip the tinned fruit into a bowl; slit the prunes down one side with a sharp knife and pick the stones out.
• 2.Puree the prunes in a blender or food processor with about half the juice or syrup from the tin, then return to the bowl and stir in the carton of custard.
• 3.Whip the double cream in another bowl until it’s firm enough to hold its shape and stand up in stiff peaks, then fold into the prunes and custard, blending thoroughly.
• 4.Chill in the fridge for at least two hours.

SPOTTED DICK

And here it is, hiding away at the end of the chapter for fear of being laughed at. It wouldn’t be right to call this the piéce de resistance when Spotted Dick is English to the core – but will somebody please come up with another name for this sweet, simple, and genuinely delicious little pud, which is the perfect embodiment of everything a pudding should be, but, sadly, so reviled and sorely neglected. Delicious hot with lots of custard, I also like it cold, straight from the fridge, when it’s like a cross between a fruit bun and lardy cake.

There’s no need to steam the pudding (this also applies to other suet puddings – jam roly poly, for instance) when baking takes a lot less time; just loosely cover the pudding with foil and put it in the oven. On the other hand, steaming gives the pudding a softer texture all through, whereas baking makes a crust around the outside, so if you want to steam it, wrap the pudding in a double layer of greaseproof inside an old, clean tea towel and pull it into a crescent shape so it fits neatly into a large saucepan of boiling water, then steam it gently with the lid on for 1 1/2 –2 hours. (To get the pudding out, strain the water out of the saucepan with the lid half on, tip the pudding onto a flat surface and leave to cool for a few minutes before unwrapping.)

3 oz (75 g) white breadcrumbs
3 oz (75 g) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 oz (50 g) suet
2 oz (50 g) caster sugar
6 oz (175 g) currants or sultanas
2 fl oz (60 ml) milk
1/2 lemon, finely grated rind and juice

METHOD

• 1.Put a large piece of foil on a baking tray (shiny side upwards) and pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 5 (190°C).
• 2.Put the breadcrumbs, flour, baking powder, sugar, suet, fruit, lemon rind and juice in a large bowl, mix together and make a well in the centre.
• 3.Add the milk to the bowl and mix with a knife or tablespoon until the dough starts to come together, then finish pinching the dough together with the fingers of one hand.
• 4.Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and sprinkle with a little flour before kneading gently for a minute, then shape the smooth dough into a fat roll approximately 6 inches (10–12 cm) long.
• 5.Place the spotted dick (there, I said it) on the baking tray, cover loosely with another large piece of foil, shiny side inwards, and bake in the oven, Gas Mark 5 (190°C) for about 45 minutes. Remove the top piece of foil 5 minutes from the end of cooking time if you want the pudding to have a harder, golden crust.

ALSO TRY...

• 1.STRAWBERRY MERINGUES: Meringue nests filled with fresh strawberries in season (or tinned fruit cocktail, peaches or pears, any time) and topped with Yeo Valley fruit bio live yoghurt.
• 2.ORANGE CUPS: This was my mum’s way of getting us to eat oranges when we were very small. Just cut the oranges in half, segment the fruit with a sharp knife as you would with a grapefruit, then sprinkle with sugar and put a cherry in the middle.
• 3.BAKED BANANA CUSTARD: Slice bananas in half lengthways, pour over a pint of instant custard, sprinkle with brown sugar and put in a low oven for 20–30 minutes.
• 4.FRUIT JELLY: Make jelly with a tin of fruit first thing in the morning (when you’re already boiling the kettle to make tea or coffee) and use the fruit juice to make the jelly up to 1 pint (500 ml). It should be set and ready to eat by dinnertime.