Baked Alaska

Disclaimer: The method described below has not been fully tested, but is our improvement of the recipe we were originally given, as some steps didn't quite work for us - we're confident this way WILL work, but if you'd rather wait till we've tried it properly - at which point I'll remove this disclaimer - go ahead :-) The photo shows what we made by following the original recipe.

Makes: 4-6 servings

Takes: 10 minutes + 5 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

a Madeira cake

2 tbsp orange juice

1 tbsp strawberry or raspberry jam

4-6 slices of vanilla ice cream from a block (not soft scoop)

4 large egg whites

8 oz (225g) caster sugar

Method

1. Turn the Madeira cake onto its side then slice in half horizontally. Drizzle a tbsp orange juice over each piece and spread one of them with the jam.
2. Arrange the slices of ice cream to cover one half of the cake and top with the other piece. Place onto an ovenproof plate and freeze until ready to cook.
3. Preheat the oven to 200oC/Gas Mark 6.
4. Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until they form stiff peaks. Whisk in the caster sugar then remove the cake from the freezer and spread the meringue over.
5. Bake for about 5 minutes, until the meringue topping turns golden brown. Serve at once.

You can use rum or brandy instead of orange juice for a grown-up version! You can also omit the jam and use raspberry ripple ice cream.

Rice pudding

Real comfort food :-) This recipe gives a lovely nutmeggy caramelised skin on top (which you can always remove if you must...)

Makes: 4 servings

Takes: 5 minutes plus 2 hours cooking time

Ingredients

4 oz pudding rice

1 pint milk

1 3/4 oz caster sugar

1 oz butter

ground nutmeg

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160oC/150oC (fan oven)/Gas Mark 3 and grease a 2-pint pie dish.
2. Put the rice, milk and sugar into the pie dish and stir well. Dot the top with butter and bake for 1 hour.
3. Stir with a fork, sprinkle with nutmeg and return to the oven for a further hour.

Pancakes

This is the pancake recipe that works best of all those I've tried :-)

Makes: 12-14 pancakes
Takes: 10 minutes + 10 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

4 oz plain flour
a pinch of salt
2 large or 3 small eggs
7 fl oz milk
3 fl oz water
2 tbsp butter

Method

1. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl then make a well in the centre. Break the eggs into the well and mix the milk and water together in a jug.
2. Start to whisk the eggs, gradually incorporating the flour. Add the milk and water gradually at the same time. Once all the flour has been mixed in and all the milk and water added, whisk well till the batter has the consistency of thin cream.
3. The batter doesn't need to stand but you can cover it and put it aside now if you wish, while you eat your main course for example. Just stir well before using.
4. When ready to cook the pancakes, melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan and pour into the batter, stirring well. Use a spatula to gently scrape as much of the butter out of the pan as possible.
5. Get the pan really hot then lower the heat to medium. Spoon in a ladleful of batter and tilt the pan to coat the base evenly and thinly. It should be ready when the top has dried out and the bottom is golden - you can turn or flip it to lightly brown the other side too if you wish.
6. If you want to keep the finished pancakes warm while you cook the rest of the batch, put a plate over a pan of simmering water and cover with foil. Add each pancake to the plate as it is cooked. (In our family we eat them as they're ready, taking it in turns!)

Serve as desired - with sugar and lemon juice, jam, honey, golden syrup, maple syrup, chocolate spread, chocolate sauce, ice cream, fruit compote.... The possibilities are endless!

Ginger Tiramisu

I love tiramisu but can't cope with caffeine in the evening - not if I want to sleep, anyway! This version is caffeine-free and full of flavour :-)

Makes: 6-8 servings
Takes: 20 minutes + 2 hours chilling time

Ingredients

3 balls ginger from a jar of stem ginger in syrup
4 tbsp syrup from the same jar
250g mascarpone
300 ml double cream
6 tbsp sweet sherry
3 tbsp orange juice
200g gingernut biscuits (approx)

Method

1. Cut the ginger into small cubes and set aside.
2. Beat together the ginger syrup and mascarpone until smooth. Whip the cream till it forms soft peaks then fold into the mascarpone.
3. Mix together the sherry and orange juice in a shallow bowl.
4. Spread one-third of the mascarpone mixture in the bottom of a serving dish. Dip the biscuits into the sherry and orange juice for a few seconds (not too long or they will be soggy) then arrange a layer on top of the mascarpone, breaking the biscuits into pieces to fill in any gaps.
5. Scatter one-third of the chopped ginger over the biscuits then repeat the layers of mascarpone, dipped biscuits and chopped ginger. (You may not need all the biscuits.)
6. Spread the remaining mascarpone over the top and sprinkle over the rest of the ginger pieces. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours so the flavours have a chance to develop.

Chocolate Surprise Pudding

As it cooks, it separates out into a sponge topping with a lovely crunchy crust, and a rich chocolate sauce underneath. Yum!

Chocolate Surprise Pudding

Makes: Enough for 4-6 people
Takes: 10 minutes + at least 1 hour chilling time + about 45 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

4 1/2 oz plain flour
1 pinch salt
2 1/4 oz caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa powder
4 fl oz milk
1 1/2 oz butter, melted
1 egg
6 oz demerara sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
9 fl oz boiling water

Method

1. Grease a 1 1/4 pint pie dish.
2. Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and 2 tbsp cocoa powder.
3. Combine the milk, butter and egg in a separate bowl then mix into the dry ingredients.
4. Pour into the pie dish, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (overnight is fine if you want to make it in advance).
5. Preheat the oven at 180oC.
6. Sift the other 2 tbsp cocoa powder and mix with the demerara sugar and sprinkle over the top of the pudding.
7. Pour over the boiling water then bake for 45 minutes, until puffy and firm.

Keep an eye on it - I usually find it only needs about 30 minutes at 180oC in a fan oven.
Good hot, warm or cold :-)

Drop Scone/Scotch Pancake Thingies

I don't know what the proper name for these would be, OK?! But I do know that they're very quick and easy to make, and they taste great. And they use such basic ingredients that we can nearly always make them without needing to plan ahead. Always a popular choice for a pudding in our household :-)

Drop Scone/Scotch Pancake Thingies

Makes: About 12
Takes: 5 minutes + 5 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

6 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 egg
4 tbsp milk

Method

1. Measure the flour and sugar into a bowl and mix together then add the egg. Mix to a smooth paste.
2. Gradually mix in the milk until the consistency is like double cream (you may need slightly more or less milk, depending on the size of the egg).
3. Pre-heat a non-stick frying pan (you may need a little oil in the pan, though I don't use any). Add spoonfuls of batter to the pan and cook until the bottom is brown and the top has dried out.
4. Flip to brown the other side then serve warm.

Great with maple syrup, honey, chocolate sauce, jam, or just as they are! I'm guessing that you could also add some dried fruit and/or chopped fresh fruit to the batter before cooking, though I've never actually tried it...