Ray - Puds: easy dessert recipes for every occasion

PUDS

Copyright Summersdale Publishers, 2016

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CONTENTS

FOR WHEN YOU FANCY SOMETHING SWEET, BUT DONT HAVE TIME TO SPEND HOURS IN THE KITCHEN, THESE RECIPES ARE PROOF THAT A FAST FIX CAN BE EVERY BIT AS GOOD AS A COMPLEX CULINARY CREATION.

BAKED APPLES

Nothing says autumn like a plump baked apple bursting from its skin and oozing with fruit and honey. Simple is good!

Ingredients (per person)

1 cooking apple
2 tsp dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants)
1 tsp honey

Preparation method

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Wash and core the apple and place on a piece of foil that will easily wrap around the apple.

Combine honey with dried fruit then fill the cavity in the apple.

Wrap the apple with the foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Remove from oven, remove foil, allow to cool slightly, and serve with natural yogurt or cream.

AVOCADO CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Quick and easy, plus you get brownie points for eating one of your five a day for pud. See whether your fellow diners can guess the magic ingredient.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 ripe avocados
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp cold water

Preparation method

Split the avocados and take out the pips, then spoon out the flesh into a bowl.

Add the cocoa, honey and water and blitz with a hand blender until smooth.

Divide between individual glasses and chill until youre ready to serve.

MICROWAVE SPONGE IN A MUG

Pushed for time? Home alone? There are times when making a full-sized dessert just cant be justified. But does that mean you need to go without pud? Heavens no. The very thought

Serves 2

Ingredients

50 g butter or margarine (plus extra for greasing)
50 g golden caster sugar
1 medium egg
50 g self-raising flour
12 tbsp milk
2 tbsp golden syrup or raspberry jam

Preparation method

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. You can do this by hand or with an electric whisk.

Slowly mix in the egg and then fold in the flour until fully combined.

Add enough milk to form a dropping texture, i.e. it drops slowly from a spoon rather than stays welded to it when you hold it up.

Take two microwave-safe mugs and put a spoon of jam or syrup in the bottom of each, then top with half of the sponge mixture each.

Microwave on high for 3 minutes or until firm to the touch.

Tip

This one-egg mixture makes two mug cakes. But you dont have to share!

Make sure you use mugs that are safe for the microwave and are large enough to allow the cake to rise. Remember, the syrup or jam will be very, very hot.

SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE

More topping than dessert, its true but its also the fastest way to turn boring shop-bought ice cream into a dreamy, creamy pudding. Also livens up a baked apple no end.

Serves 68

Ingredients

100 g butter
200 g soft light brown sugar
125 ml double cream
1 tsp sea salt

Preparation method

Cut the butter into pieces and then place all the ingredients into a saucepan and stir over a low heat until the butter and sugar have melted.

Bring to a simmer and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally, until you have a rich, golden sauce.

Allow to cool slightly before serving over ice cream or with the dessert of your choice.

GRIDDLED PEACHES WITH AMARETTO CREAM

Peaches and almond are a perfect combination. This pud is proof that simple doesnt need to lack sophistication.

Serves 4

Ingredients

150 ml double cream
1 tbsp amaretto
1 tbsp icing sugar
4 amaretti biscuits
4 peaches

Preparation method

Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Gently fold in the amaretto and sugar. Refrigerate until needed.

Crumble the biscuits and set aside.

Halve and stone the peaches, then heat a griddle pan (or grill) and cook the fruit for 3 minutes on each side.

Serve immediately with the amaretto cream and the biscuit crumbs scattered on top.

YOGURT BRLE

The (much) easier, healthier cousin of the crme brle. Not many desserts work perfectly for breakfast but this is the exception to the rule.

Serves 4

Ingredients

150 g raspberries and/or strawberries
400 g natural yogurt
2 tbsp sugar (caster or muscovado)

Preparation method

Divide the fruit between 4 heatproof ramekins. If using strawberries, hull and chop them first.

Top the fruit with the yogurt.

Sprinkle the sugar evenly across the surface of each pot.

If you have a blowtorch, use this to melt the sugar until it caramelises and turns golden. Otherwise, put the pots under a preheated grill to achieve the same effect this should take a couple of minutes, but watch carefully as it can burn easily.

Molten caramel is extremely hot, so leave the pots to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Tip

Fruit compote works really well in place of fresh fruit. Buy ready-made or lightly stew the fruit of your choice, draining excess juice and cooling before dividing between the pots.

KEY LIME PIE

Theres hardly any actual cooking involved in this take on the American classic. Which probably makes it more of a lazy lime pie though youd never know from the taste.

Serves 8

Ingredients

200 g digestive biscuits
100 g butter
5 limes
300 ml double cream
1 x 397-g can condensed milk
Whipped cream to serve

Preparation method

Preheat the oven to 150C.

Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs.

Melt the butter and combine with the biscuit crumbs until thoroughly mixed.

Tip into a 22-cm loose-bottomed tart tin and press down firmly into the base and up the sides to form an even shell.

Bake for 810 minutes, remove from the oven and leave to cool fully.

Zest and juice the limes.

In a large bowl, mix together the cream and condensed milk once combined, stir in the lime juice and three quarters of the zest. The mixture will thicken as soon as the juice is added.

Pour into the tart shell and chill until firm.

Before serving, top with whipped cream and decorate with the rest of the lime zest.

THE HEIGHT OF FASHION? PERHAPS NOT. BUT THERES A REASON THAT THESE CLASSIC DESSERTS HAVE NEVER DISAPPEARED FROM THE MENU BECAUSE THEYRE IRRESISTIBLE AND UTTERLY DELICIOUS.