Cooking, I enjoy it when I am cooking for more than just my husband and I. We have an eight seat dinning table and I love having people around to share life with. We don’t do it often enough! Aside from the obvious benefits of share life with others, there is encouragement, companionship, entertainment, usually laughter plus a really great opportunity to flex your creative muscles.I am so not a ‘follow a recipe’ type cook. I just didn’t learn to cook that way. It was always more about making what you could from what you had. However I do try every now and then to look at the umpteen recipe books I own for new ideas.
During the Easter Weekend we were having friends round for dinner. I needed to do something for dessert. I found the most fab recipe, however I didn’t have much in the fridge or cupboard. The recipe was a bread pudding with summer fruits. Only problem was I didn’t have any bread. What I did have, seeing it was Easter, was some Hot Crossed Buns. So I used some creative license. If you need a dessert before the summer disappears try my creation for yourself and tell me what you think.
Summer Fruit Pudding
Serves: 4
Serves: 4
Prep time 20 minutes (plus over night setting)
4 hot crossed buns sliced in quarters, then toasted
500 gram packet of frozen Berries
1 cup cranberry juice
1 tbs caster sugar
1 tbs water
2 tps gelatine powder
80 ml light cooking cream
2 tps honey
1. Use an 8cm diameter round pastry cutter to cut 16 discs from the slices of toasted hot crossed buns.
2. Place fruit in a bowl, cutting any larger pieces in half. Add cranberry juice and sugar, and stir until sugar dissolves.
3. Dissolve gelatine over hot water. Stir gelatine into the fruit mixture.
4. Place 2 discs in the base of each of the individual dariole moulds or teacups. Spoon a little syrup from the fruit mixture over hot crossed buns to soak. Divide the fruit mixture among the moulds reserving a little syrup.
5. Add the remaining 2 discs to each mould and press down firmly. Spoon the remaining syrup over the top. Cover with plastic and place in the fridge over night to set.
6. Combine the cream and honey in a bowl
7. Dip moulds in hot water. Turn onto serving plates. Serve with cream mixture.
Oh just another trick you can try. It is the same recipe, just hot. Put each serving in the oven for about 20 minutes on about 180 degrees Celsius. Serve with ice-cream.
