Quick Steam Pudding

This is Mum's butterscotch-y flavoured steam pud' she used to make. It makes heaps! Cheap and yummy feed for 6 people or so, tastes great with vanilla icecream.

Mix into a soft dough with some milk and water:

• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 level teaspoon of baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cream of tatar
• Butter (size of about a walnut)

Put into a basin and pour over this mixture:

• 1 tablespoon of golden syrup
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 oz (50g butter)
• and 2/3 cup boiling water on top of that

Steam 1/2 hour without cover on basin, but put lid on pot.

Mum didn't turn out to serve as all the yummy mixture is in bottom of basin.

self saucing chocolate pudding

Here's another version, similar to what Brenda has already posted.
This is the recipe Mum used to make.

For the pudding:
100g soft butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon cocoa

For the sauce:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour
1/4 cup cocoa
plus - 2 cups boiling water

Beat sugar, egg, and vanilla essence.
Sift flour, baking powder, and cocoa together then fold into the wet mixture above.
Put into an oven proof dish.
Sprinkle the dry sauce mixture over the top, and then pour the boiling water on gently

bake at 180'C for 35 minutes

Chocolate Mousse

Rowan's signature dish...


Melt 200g (dark) chocolate in a large bowl
Separate 4 eggs and beat the whites with a little bit of sugar (approx 1tsp) until very stiff
Whip 300ml cream

Cool chocolate and vigorously stir in the yolks into the chocolate bowl (make sure chocolate cool so that yolks don’t “cook”)
Fold in the cream til mixed
Fold in the egg white (gently so not to “deflate”)

Pour into nice bowl or individual bowls/parfait/rammikens
Chill for a couple of hours and eat

Lemon Ripple Cheesecake Bars

Candy kindly sent me this stupendous cheesecake recipe which has become an instant family favourite. (And no crumbly biscuit base - yay!) I will try to get a photo next time.

CRUST

• 1 Cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ CUP sugar
• 1 t finely grated lemon zest
• pinch salt
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cubed & chilled

FILLING

• 2 T cornstarch
• ½ cup cold water
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 ¾ cups sugar
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 t finely grated lemon zest
• 1¼ pounds cream cheese, softened [I only used 500gm - ie two packs)
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

MAKE THE CRUST:
Preheat the oven to 325 F and position a rack in the center. Butter a 9-inch-square baking pan. In a food processor, pulse the flour with the sugar, lemon zest and salt. Add the butter and pulse until a soft, crumbly dough forms. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and a scant ½ inch up the side of the pan. Bake the crust for 20 minutes, or until golden and firm.

MEANWHILE, MAKE THE FILLING:
In a small bowl, dissolve the corn starch in the water. In a medium sauce pan, whisk the egg yolks with 3/4 cup of the sugar and the lemon juice. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and cook over moderate heat, whisking gently, until the sugar is dissolved and the lemon mixture is hot, about 4 minutes. Boil over moderately high heat for 1 minute, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick and glossy. Strain the lemon mixture into a heatproof bowl. Stir in the
lemon zest and let cool.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup of sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour until blended. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well between additions. Add the sour cream and the vanilla and beat until the batter is smooth. Pour the cream cheese batter over the crust and smooth the surface with a spatula. Dollop the lemon mixture on the cheesecake batter and care fully swirl it into the batter; take care not to cut into the crust.

Bake the cheesecake for about 40 minutes, or until golden around the edge and just set. Run the tip of a knife around the edge to loosen the cheese cake from the side of the pan. Let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour, then refrigerate the cheesecake until thoroughly chilled. Cut into 16 bars and serve.

The cheesecake bars can be refrigerated in the pan for up to 3 days. For the best results, slice the cheese cake bars with a warm knife, wiping off the blade between cuts.

Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

This is a classic recipe and these proportions work really well.

125g (1 cup) plain, all purpose flour
a pinch of salt
120g (1/2 cup) castor sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
250ml (1 cup) milk
85g (3oz) unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
185g (1 cup) soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
250 ml (1 cup) boiling water

Sift the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and cocoa powder into a bowl.

Add the milk, butter, egg and vanilla extract and mix with beaters until combined. Pour into 4-6 greased rammekins (do NOT overfill).

To make the topping, stir the brown sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl to combine, then sprinkle it over the pudding batter. Pour boiling water carefully over the puddings.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 180 C (350 F).

Girdle Date Scones

Need to whip up a quick dessert or morning tea but don't want to turn on the oven? Here's my variation on an old classic:

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tbsp butter
milk (or buttermilk) to mix*
chopped dates

Sift dry ingredients. Rub in butter and add dates. Add sufficient milk to make a fairly soft dough. Roll out fairly thin, make into a round and cut into eight or so segments. Cook on a hot greased girdle (I use my le creuset frying pan) five minutes of each side. Serve with lashings of golden syrup.

*I distinctly recall the first time I made scones when we were living in Bertram Street. The directions said "milk to mix" and I poured in too much resulting in a gluggy mess that not even Cindy, the dog, would eat.

Brandy Butter

... for Christmas pudding, from Mum

75g unsalted butter
75g castor sugar
75g ground almonds
grated rind of 1/2 an orange
45 ml brandy

Cream butter with wooden spoon. Then beat in the sugar, ground almonds and orange rind. When well mixed, add the brandy and stir till thoroughly incorporated. Pile into a serving dish (jam dish or butter dish) and chill until needed.

This brandy butter freezes well.

Sago Plum Pudding

According to Delia, this was copied out of Mum’s mum’s handwritten recipe book - "I had to be careful... pages one through eight have disappeared into the time warp of pantries past..."

3 tablespoons sago
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1 cup milk half cup of sugar
2 ounces butter (melted)
1 teaspoon soda
1 cup sultanas

Soak sago in milk for three hours or overnight.
Mix in other ingredients.
(Mum recommends adding dried fruit or a few spices)
Steam 3 hours.

Pumpkin Pie

Sweet Short Pastry
Buy it if you must but it is so simple to make:

75g butter
3 tsp water
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg yolk (save white for pie filling)

Beat together in food processor until a blob forms. Don't try to roll into a flat sheet, just take clumps and press into your pie dish. Prick bottom of pie crust with a fork in several places.

I usually make three times the pastry and filling recipe which is plenty for two 20cm pie dishes. Any pastry and filling left over can be used in ramekins to make mini-pumpkin pies like this:

Pumpkin Pie Filling
Use this as a starting point and make up your own variations. Provided there are enough eggs to make a custard, the mixture is very forgiving:

1 cup pumpkin pulp (eg butternut or Jap/Kent)
1 egg (plus whites left over from the pastry)
1 dessert spoon flour
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg and ginger
2 tablespoons sugar

Blend together in food processor or big bowl until smooth.
Pour into base and cook 40 minutes at 200C (400F).

This makes a golden coloured pie like this:

If you use molasses/treacle instead of golden syrup and use brown sugar, you get a darker pie like this:

Other variations include adding grated fresh ginger and Chinese five spice. And I have it on good authority that cracks and pooling of sugar is the hallmark of a good pumpkin pie...

Mum's Feijoa Fantasy

Here is a VERY SIMPLE, but delicious dessert, which the Monday-nighters named 'Feijoa Fantasy’'. Posted by Brenda on behalf of Mum:

Take half a sponge sandwich (made by Mrs New World) and slice in half (I keep these in the freezer for moments such as this and find it easy to slice when frozen)

Stew feijoas until soft but not mushy - cool
Drain and reserve juice.
Roughly chop to make spreadable.
Make meringue from: 2 egg whites beaten until dry stiff; Add 4 tblsp sugar and beat until glossy
Place half sponge on oven tray.
Spread with feijoas and place second half on top .
Prick top and spoon juice over top – how much is guesswork
Spread meringue over top and sides and bake at 180F until browned – about 20 minutes.
Serve when cold.

I served it plain but I guess cream or yoghurt could accompany it. (I see possibilities for other fruit with spices/liquers complementing fruit.)

Sticky Date Pudding with a Difference

This version of sticky date pudding includes apple and ginger for a spicy touch.

6 oz (175g) self raising flour
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 eggs
3 oz (75g) soft butter
4 oz (110g) brown sugar
1 tablespoon treacle
1 heaped tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 large granny smith apple, cored and chopped small
3/4 cup chopped dates
4 oz warm water

Method

1. Sift flour, spices, baking powder and bicarbonate into a mixing bowl.
2. Add eggs, butter, sugar, treacle and freshly grated ginger.
3. Whisk everything together with a hand whisk gradually adding the water until you have a smooth mixture.(It’s quite runny and sometimes I don't use it all.)
4. Finally fold in the apple and dates.
5. Pour mixture into greased individual pudding basins – muffin pans are OK too.
6. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes or until the puddings are firm and springy to the touch.
7. Remove from oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes.Then run a thin knife around the edges of the tins and turn them out.
8. Allow puddings to get completely cold and then keep them in clingfilm until you need them.
9. Serve with hot caramel sauce and ice cream.

For the caramel sauce:
Equal proportions of butter, brown sugar and pouring/whipping cream.(Say half a cup of each.) Gently melt together sugar and butter until all granules are dissolved.Add cream and heat through.Can be made in advance and heated up later.