VENISON & GUINNESS PUDDING

If you like a good hearty meal then this venison suet pudding is for you!

A tasty alternative to Sunday roast on a chilly afternoon. 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

1kg of Venison

1 large Onion

3 anchovy fillets

Fresh chopped herbs (I used lovage and rosemary)

1 tablespoon of plain flour

1 can of Guinness (or any beer)

salt & pepper

 

Suet pudding

200g of self raising flour

100g of suet

water to bind together

salt

Cut up the venison into large chunks removing any sinew and put into a large mixing bowl.

Slice the onion into thin pieces and add to the venison.

Finely chop the herbs and anchovy's and add to the venison

along with the plain flour.

Mix with your hands crushing and squeezing to fully combine.

 

 

For the suet pudding, mix the ingredients together in a bowl and add enough water to bind together

Divide the suet pastry in two allowing 1/3 for the lid and 2/3 for the bottom.

Roll out the bottom and line the pudding bowl with enough of a overhang to fold over the lid later.

Fill lined pudding basin with the venison and pour in enough Guinness to just cover the meat.

Roll out the suet lid, big enough to cover the top and place over the meat.

Fold the suet base overhang over the lid using a little water to help stick down and seal. 

 

Cover with some grease-proof paper and secure with string.

Leave enough length in the string to make a handle.

Place into a steamer and steam for 4 hours.

 

                                                           

After 4 hours

 

Turn out on to a serving plate and take to the table.

 

Serve with carrots, curly kale, mash potato and dollop of dijon mustard

 

And a glass of Guinness - optional :)

 

 

BANK HOLIDAY BAKING

Banoffee Pie & Bread Pudding for the Queens Jubilee weekend

Not ground breaking but great for using up left overs

Ingredients

300g oat biscuits

70g melted butter

3 banana's - sliced

300ml double cream

1 tbsp icing sugar

297g Nestle carnation caramel

50g melted dark chocolate for decoration

Blend up the biscuits and add the melted butter

Press into a flan dish with removable base and leave to cool for 10 minutes

Spread over the caramel and refrigerate for an hour

Layer over the sliced banana.

Whip the cream, fold in the icing sugar and gently spread over the banana

Drizzle over the melted chocolate

Keep chilled

Bread Pudding

 Ingredients

500g stale bread (we used bread rolls)

200ml milk

100g sugar

100g butter

200g sultanas or raisins

2 eggs

Zest and juice of half a lemon

Generous grating of nutmeg

Pinch of Cinnamon

Measure of whiskey (optional)

Light brown sugar to sprinkle over the top

Cube the bread and put into a large mixing bowl.

Tip over the milk, stir and leave to soak into the bread for half an hour

Whisk up the eggs and mix in to the milk soaked bread

Add the sugar, butter, dried fruit, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon and whiskey and stir in.

Line a deep baking dish 20cm x 30cm with grease-proof paper and pour in the mixture.

Sprinkle of a good helping of light brown sugar for a sweet crispy top 

and bake in the oven for 1 hour at 170 degrees

Allow to cool and cut into 3cm fingers

Sometimes the old classics are enough!

BRIOCHE BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING

A quick and easy pudding that you can throw together in 10 minutes and everyone will love.

An alternative to the traditional bread and butter version using French brioche.

You can also use stale croissants or hot cross buns and sprinkle over flaked almonds for an extra

nutty crunch

Ingredients

5 French Brioche Rolls, cut in half and lightly buttered

3 eggs

1/2 pint milk

2 dessert spoons caster sugar

4 drops of vanilla extract

golden syrup

Place the buttered brioche rolls into a baking dish

Whisk the eggs and milk together in a large jug.

Mix in the sugar and the vanilla extract and pour over the brioche rolls

If time, leave to soak in for half an hour

Drizzle over a spoonful of golden syrup and then

Bake in the oven in a bain marie for 20 minutes at 180 degrees

Serve with a spoonful of strawberry jam and pour over double cream.

HUGHS PEAR PUDDING CAKE WITH BAKED CUSTARD

Dessert for Mothers day lunch last weekend was courtesy of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, a pear pudding cake but instead of serving with the usual  cream or ice-cream, I decided to make a baked custard. 

A favourite of my dad's and something I hadn't made in a long time.

Dead easy to cook and not too heavy which is just what we needed

after the roast hogget lunch.

Click here for Hughs recipe

For the baked custard

6 free range egg yokes

75g caster sugar

800ml double cream (eek! How much?! Still, it was Mothers day)

2 tspn vanilla extract

 

Separate the egg yokes from the white into a mixing bowl.

Mix in the sugar and vanilla extract.

Warm the cream to just below a simmer and gradually whisk into the egg mix

Pour into a warm baking dish and then place into the oven in a bain marie.

Bake for 30 mins at 160 degrees or until it has a jelly like wobble to it.

 I didn't but you could add a crunch to the baked custard by giving it a brulee top

Serve it on its own or with a pudding of your choice as we did. 

Use apples or peaches in the pudding cake as an alternative if your not a fan of pears

QUICK SPONGE PUDDING

A super fast desert that you will almost definitely have the ingredients for in the store cupboard! The topping can be anything you like from syrup, treacle, jam or lemon curd.  Add slices of lemon to the golden syrup or coco powder to the sponge for a chocolate pudding.

This is a regular weekend treat in the Baker household when the kids are craving something sweet after the Sunday roast! A satisfying pud that literally takes 10 minutes from start to finish.

Ingredients
 120g self raising flour
120g sugar
4 tbsp milk
120g soft butter
4 tbsp golden syrup treacle (or topping of your choice)
2 free range eggs

Cream the butter and sugar together with the back of a wooden spoon smooth and then beat until a fluffy smooth paste. Beat in one egg until fully combined and beat in the second egg.  Mix in the flour until combined and then stir in the milk.  Put the golden syrup (or your choice topping) into the pudding bowl and pour over the sponge mix.  Microwave for 3 minutes, check with a skewer and if still sticky, give the sponge another minute or so.  Don't over cook though as the sponge will go hard and dry!

Let it sit for a couple of minutes and then turn out onto a plate. 

Serve with custard, ice-cream or cream. 

PECAN & BOURBON TART

Nutty tart with just a subtle taste of Bourbon coming through.  We served ours with double cream but creme fraiche, clotted cream or ice cream would taste just as good.

Recipe taken from the Popina Book of Baking

Date Sponge                                                              Pecan Bourbon Filling
60g dates, stoned                                                       1 tbsp Bourbon whiskey
30ml double cream                                                     40gm light brown soft sugar
1 tbsp water                                                                 55ml golden syrup
30g unsalted butter, melted                                       1 egg, beaten
30g light brown soft sugar                                          20g unsalted butter, melted
1 egg                                                                            60g shelled pecan nuts, rough chopped
a few drops of vanilla extract                                      
55g plain flour                                                              Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
1 tsp baking powder                                                   250g plain flour
                                                                                      125g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
18 pecan halves to decorate                                      85g golden caster sugar
Serves 8                                                                      1 egg

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.

Make the sweet shortcrust pastry and line the tart tin.  Trim the excess dough from around the edges and refrigerate while you make the filling.

To make date sponge, blitz the dates to a paste in a food processor or simply chop them very finely.  Mix with the cream and water and set aside.  Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix well, then add the egg, vanilla, flour and baking powder.  Finally, add date mixture and fold in well.

Remove the pastry tin from the fridge and spoon in the date sponge mixture.  Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven. 

In the meantime, make the pecan Bourbon filling.  Put the Bourbon, sugar and syrup in a mixing bowl and mix well.  Add the egg, mix well, then stir in the melted butter and chopped pecan nuts. Spoon the pecan Bourbon filling on top of the tart and spread evenly.  Decorate with the pecan halves and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before serving. 

RUSTIC PLUM TART

My son, Will, is a keen baker, in more ways than one and today made this Rustic Plum Tart from Isidora Popovic, Popina book of baking.  It was delightful, was being the operative word as it didn't last long!

Really quick and easy to make and great as a sweet snack with coffee or a warm dessert with a dollop of double cream.

90g golden caster sugar                                  Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4
1 Egg                                                                   Put the sugar and egg in a mixing bowl and mix with an
40ml groundnut oil (or any other veg oil)        electric whisk. Add the oil, milk, flour, baking powder and
55ml whole milk (we only had semi skim)      vanilla and mix again until combined.  Transfer to the
140g plain flour                                                 prepared baking tin and spread evenly. Sit the plums, cut
1 teaspoon baking powder                             side up, over the mixture.
A few drops of vanilla oil                                  Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until
6 large plums, stoned and halved                   deep golden.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool for
2 tablespoons apricot jam                               for a few minutes.
to glaze (optional)                                             In the meantime put the apricot jam, if using, in a small
A 20cm springform tin, lined                           saucepan and heat gently until melted and runny.  Brush the
with greaseproof paper                                    jam all over the tart with a pastry brush and leave for a few
                                                                            more minutes before serving.
                                                                          
                                                                            
Makes about six (generous) slices                               

This book is brilliant and I would recommend it to anyone - I got this for my birthday and have already made lots of  tasty treats from it. With this plum tart I used basic caster sugar as an alternative to golden, the only difference is that the cake will be slightly paler in colour after being baked but hardly notices and is easily covered by the apricot jam glaze anyway. No greaseproof paper so buttered around the tin sides instead.

The apricot Jam is optional but I think essential to the presentation and taste of the tart. The plums become slightly wrinkled by the bake and the jam will make the top layer of both the sponge and the apricots moist; also it gives the cake a nice sweet taste - Will