Cooking Recepies

Creme Caramel

2009-01-24T11:14:00.000-08:00

You will need:

- 150 g sugar
- 40 ml water
- 400 ml milk
- 320 ml cream
- 75 g sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla essence

Step 1:
Before you begin your crème caramel, preheat the oven to 150°C (300ºF/ gas mark 2).

Step 2:
To a hot saucepan, add the sugar and the water and allow it to cook until it begins to turn brown. Stir the mixture. When brown, turn off the heat. Pour a little of the caramel into each cup and return the rest of the caramel to the stove.

TIP:
The caramel will continue to brown after it is removed from the heat so make sure to work with it quickly!

Step 3:
To the pan with the caramel, add the milk, cream, vanilla and sugar. Bring it to a boil, remove it from the heat, and allow it to cool.

Step 4:
Place the eggs in a bowl and mix them with the spoon. Add a little of the warm cream to the eggs, just enough to raise the eggs' temperature. Now pour the eggs into the cream and stir.

Step 5:
Pass the cream mixture through the sieve into a bowl. Use the spoon to help the mixture. Now pour the cream into a jug.

Step 6:
Place the cups onto a tray that is lined with a towel. Now liberally fill each one with the cream mixture. Next, pour boiling water slowly into the pan to about a depth of 1/3 the height of the cups.

Step 7:
Carefully place the hot tray in oven and cook for 20 minutes. Take them out of the oven and test to see if the crème caramel is set by giving the cups a jiggle. Remove them from the water bath. Discard the water and the towel from the tray.

Step 8:
Place the cups of caramel back into the emptied tray. Put them into the refrigerator and let them chill for a few hours. Once chilled, use a knife to release the crème caramel from the cup and turn them out onto your serving plate. Now enjoy!

Mango Yogurt Pudding

2009-01-22T18:41:00.000-08:00

You will need:

- 400ml Low fat natural/mango flavoured yoghurt
- 500ml Hi-cal low fat milk
- 500g mango puree
- 90g castor sugar
- 200g cubed fresh mangoes (adjust amount according to your own preference)
- 100ml water
- 30g gelatin powder

Step 1:
Heat milk with sugar till sugar just dissolved. Remove from heat and leave to cool.

Step 2:
Stir mango puree and yoghurt into cooled milk. Strain for a smoother texture.

Step 3:
Dissolve gelatin in 100ml hot water.

Step 4:
Stir cooled gelatin solution into mango yoghurt mixture. Blend well.

Step 5:
Pour 1/2 mango yoghurt mixture into jelly mould, chill for 20 minutes, top with cubed mangoes and pour in the remaining mango yoghurt mixture.

Step 6:
Chill for 3 hours before serving.

Summer Pudding

2009-01-22T13:55:00.000-08:00

You will need:

- 400 g mixed frozen fruit
- 250 g of raspberries
- 6 slices of bread, without crusts
- 60 g icing sugar

Step 1:
Add half of raspberries to the mixed fruit, pour the fruit mixture into the colander and allow to drain well.

Step 2:
Once the fruit is well drained, reserve the juice and transfer the fruit back into its original bowl. Add half of the sugar, stir well and set aside for later.

Step 3:
Put one slice of bread onto the chopping board and place a ramekin, upside down, on top. Push down hard, to cut out a disk shape, and reserve the left over bread. Repeat until all 6 slices have been cut.

Step 4:
Unroll the cling film and cut out a large square. Place it into one of the ramekins, pushing it down into the cup and making sure that you have plenty of extra film to overlap the sides. Repeat the process with all the ramekins.

Step 5:
Slice off the extra left over bits from cutting the disks, and discard them. You are left with large rectangle slices. Dip one side of a bread disk into the reserved fruit juice and place into the ramekin, juice side down.
Take a rectangle, dip one side into the juice, and place the juiced side against the mould of the ramekin. Repeat with another rectangle. Spoon in some of the mixed fruit and push it down.
Take another disk, dip one side into the juice and place on top, juice side up. Just before closing the cling film, give the pudding a final push down, twist to close it and set aside. Repeat exactly the same process with all the remaining ramekins.

Step 6:
Place all the ramekins onto a tray and transfer to the fridge to chill, for roughly one hour.

Step 7:
Once chilled untwist the cling film, turn the ramekins upside down and allow the puddings to gently ease out. Decorate the edges of the puddings with the remaining raspberries and place a sprig of mint on top. Finally, dust with some caster sugar and serve.

Rice Pudding

2009-01-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

You will need:

- 200 g short grain rice
- half a vanilla pod
- 3 pieces of star anis
- 350 ml milk
- 350 ml cream
- 100 g sugar
- 3 egg yolks

Step 1:
Make a slit in the vanilla pod along its length, being careful not to cut all the way through. Scrape the pulp from the inside of the pod and place both the pod and pulp in the saucepan.
Add the star anis, the milk and the cream and bring the mixture to a boil.

Step 2:
When boiling, add the rice, and return to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir regularly and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.

TIP:
Remember to stir during this phase or your rice pudding may burn on the bottom!
Take out the anis and the vanilla bean and remove the pan from the heat.

Step 3:
Put the eggs and sugar into a bowl. Using the whisk, whip them together until the mixture becomes pale in colour.

Step 4:
Add a little of the pudding to the egg mix, just enough to raise the temperature of the eggs. Pour all of the egg mixture into the saucepan with the rice pudding and stir it together well.

Step 5:
Return the saucepan to the stove on a low heat and stir it constantly until it thickens. This usually takes about a minute.

Step 6:
Your Rice Pudding is now ready to serve. Enjoy it either warm or cold. If you wish, you can also garnish with a dollop of jam or some fresh fruit.

TIP:
To reheat rice pudding, first heat a few tablespoons of water in a pan and then fold it into the pudding.

Christmas Pudding

2009-01-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

You will need:

- 500 g currants
- 500 g raisins
- 500 g golden raisins
- 500 g bread crumbs
- 500 g brown sugar
- 250 g suet
- 120 g mixed peel
- 120 g glace cherries, chopped
- 120 g almonds, chopped
- grated rind of 1 lemon
- grated rind of 1 orange
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 apple, grated
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 6 eggs
- 300 ml Guinness
- a pinch of salt
- a knob of butter for greasing
- 5 tbsp brandy - optional

Step 1:
Into the large bowl, put the following: raisins, golden raisins, currants, breadcrumbs, suet, brown sugar, mixed peel, grated carrot, glace cherries, lemon peel, orange peel, chopped almonds, mixed spice, flour, grated apple and the pinch of salt and with your wooden spoon, mix thoroughly.

Step 2:
Crack all six eggs into a bowl and beat them lightly with your fork.

Step 3:
Pour the eggs and Guinness over the dry mix and combine well with your hands.

Step 4:
Coat the inside of the glass bowl with the knob of butter.

Step 5:
Put the pudding mix into the bowl, pressing it down lightly and giving a final pat to make it level.

Step 6:
Place the circular piece of parchment paper over the mix, gently press it down and around the edges, follow by the tin foil and seal tightly.

Step 7:
Place the bowl into the saucepan and pour in enough water to fill up to three quarters making a Bain Marie, which means a water bath, or to cook by water.

Step 8:
Place the saucepan onto a high heat and bring the water to the boil. Once boiling turn down to a gentle simmer and allow to simmer for roughly 4 hours. It's very important that you keep topping up the water, which will be approximately every hour. Remember to bring it back to the boil and then turn it back down to a simmer.

Step 9:
Remove the pudding from the heat after this time and take off the tin foil and the sheet of parchment paper. Place a large plate on top of the bowl and using cloths to grip the plate better, very carefully flip the pudding onto the plate to sit upright.

TIP:
The great thing about this recipe is that it can be made two months in advance and it will only improve the flavour! If you do, store it in a cool, dry place.

Step 10:
Your Christmas pudding is now ready to serve!

Croissant Bread Pudding

2009-01-19T17:17:00.000-08:00

You will need:

- 16 small croissants
- 350 ml milk
- 400 ml cream
- 1 vanilla pod
- 4 egg yolks
- 3 eggs
- 180 g sugar
- 75 g raisins

Step 1:
Pre-heat the oven to 160ºC (320ºF/ gas mark 3)

Step 2:
Roughly tear the croissants into pieces, put them in a bowl and add the raisins.

Step 3:
Start with the vanilla bean. Make an incision down the centre, scrape the pulp out onto the bean and put it in a saucepan.
Next add the cream and milk and heat over a medium temperature. When the custard starts to boil, remove the saucepan from the heat.

Step 4:
Put the eggs and egg yolks in a bowl, add the sugar and begin whisking. Mix in a little hot milk, pour it all back into the saucepan and mix thoroughly.

Step 5:
Using a sieve, strain the custard over the croissants and raisins. Make sure they are entirely submerged in the custard. Leave the croissants to soak like this for 15 minutes.

Step 6:
Carefully pour the mixture into a buttered baking tin and spread it out to ensure that the raisins are evenly distributed.
Place the tin in the centre of the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Step 7:
To check that the pudding is done, insert a knife into the centre. If when removing it is slightly wet then the pudding is ready as the centre should remain moist. Remove it from the oven and leave to cool down.

Step 8:
Serve the pudding either hot or cold with fresh cream or ice cream.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

2009-01-19T17:12:00.000-08:00

You will need:

- 1 loaf of brioche or other white bread (about 18 slices)
- 350 ml milk
- 450 ml cream
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 eggs
- 100 g sugar
- 100 g chocolate, neatly chopped
- 200 g chocolate roughly chopped
- a pinch of salt

Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 150ºC (300ºF/ gas mark 2)

Step 2:
Using the large knife, cut all the brioche or bread into quarters and put them into a large bowl.

Step 3:
Place the pan on a medium high heat, add the cream and milk and heat. As soon as you begin to see small bubbles on the surface, add the 100g of neatly-chopped chocolate, the salt, stir in and turn off the heat.

Step 4:
To a bowl, add the egg yolks, whole eggs and sugar and whisk well to combine. Add a small amount of the hot chocolate sauce and whisk together. Pour this back into the pan and whisk once again.

Step 5:
Place a sieve over the bowl of bread and strain through the chocolate sauce. Shake over the 200g of roughly-chopped chocolate and mix, being very careful not to break up the bread. Leave to soak for 10-15 minutes.

Step 6:
Pour the bread and chocolate mix into the buttered tin. Spread it evenly and pour over any excess sauce.

Step 7:
Place the tin into the centre of the oven and bake for roughly 35-40 minutes.
Check to see if it's done by gently piercing the centre of the loaf with a knife point. If a little chocolate is left on the knife it is ready to remove as we don't want it too dry. Leave to cool down.

Step 8:
Remove from the tin, cut into thick chunky slices and serve hot or cold with raspberry sauce, cream, toffee or simply on its own.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

2009-01-19T14:18:00.000-08:00

You will need:

- 180 g dates, stoned and chopped
- 320 ml water
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 50 g butter
- 160 g sugar
- 2 eggs
- 180 g self-raising flour
- 2 tbsp rum
For the toffee sauce:
- 140 g sugar
- 50 g butter
- 320 ml cream
- 25 g toasted hazelnuts, chopped

Step 1:
Set the temperature of the oven to 180ºC (350ºF/ gas mark 4).

Step 2:
Place the pan on a medium heat and spoon in the chopped dates. Pour in the water, stir, add the baking soda and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the liquid from overflowing and remove from the heat.

Step 3:
Add the sugar and butter to the mixer. Start blending slowly, then speed it up to whip until well combined.
Whilst still blending, add one egg. Stop and scrape the mixture from the sides of the bowl.
Start to blend again, add the other egg and whip it into a creamy paste.

Step 4:
Add the dates with the liquid and the rum and slowly begin to blend. Add the flour little by little, turn up the speed and blend into a creamy, smooth liquid.
When it's reached the right consistency, take out the head of the blender and remove the bowl.

Step 5:
Pour the mixture into the loaf tin.

Step 6:
Place the tin in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.

Step 7:
Place a small pan on a medium-high heat and let it warm through. Add the sugar and allow it to melt and caramelize slowly.
Once it begins to caramelize, begin to mix from the sides in and be careful that it doesn't burn.
When a rich, dark brown colour, add the butter and stir it in. Then add the cream, stir, let it simmer for a short while and remove it from the heat.

Step 8:
After 45-50 minutes, check to see if the pudding is done. Pierce the centre with a toothpick. If it is dry, it's ready to remove.

Step 9:
Remove the pudding from the tin and place it onto the chopping board. Cut it into generous chunky slices and each slice in half. If it's still hot be careful while cutting as it's more prone to breaking.

Step 10:
Place two chunks of sticky toffee pudding onto a serving plate, spoon over the toffee sauce, sprinkle chopped hazelnuts on top and serve.