Custard

Please, please, please do not be scared of making custard! The trick is to not let it boil, that's it. The taste is amazing and it really doesn't take long to do, better still I'm going to show you how to cheat.

Ingredients
2 eggs
200g Caster Sugar
1tsp Vanilla Extract
1tsp Cornflour
300ml Double Cream
500ml Milk

• Mix the eggs, sugar, cornflour and vanilla together to form a paste
• Whisk in the milk and cream
• Place in microwave for 2mins on full power
• Quickly whisk
• Return to microwave for 30 seconds and whisk again, repeating until the custard begins thicken
• Serve

You can always prepare this beforehand, the trick is to not bring it to the boil as this will curdle it. But that's not to say you can't reheat it, in fact you will find it thickens by being warmed and then left to stand and warmed again.

See I told you it was easy, no more standing over the pan waiting patiently waiting for it to thicken ;)

Last of the Summer Pudding

As the nights start to draw in and the temperature drops we think it's time for one last fling with summer. Gather those berries and throw together a summer pudding. Goes down a treat every time!

Ingredients
500g Raspberries
300g Strawberries
250g Blackberries
100g Redcurrants
but in fairness it doesn't matter mix it up, use frozen if you like!
175g Caster Sugar
7 slices of bread

Wash fruit – keep strawberries separate. 
Put sugar and 3 tbsp water into a large pan. Gently heat until sugar dissolves – stir a few times. 
Bring to a boil for 1 min, then tip in the fruit (not strawberries). 
Cook for 3 mins over a low heat, stirring 2-3 times. The fruit will be softened, mostly intact and surrounded by dark red juice. Put a sieve over a bowl and tip in the fruit and juice.

Line the 1.25-litre basin with cling film as this will help you to turn out the pudding. Overlap two pieces in the middle of the bowl as it’s easier than trying to get one sheet to stick to all of the curves. Let the edges overhang by about 15cm. 
Cut the crusts off the bread. Cut 4 pieces of bread in half, a little on an angle, to give 2 lopsided rectangles per piece. Cut 2 slices into 4 triangles each and leave the final piece whole.

Dip the whole piece of bread into the juice for a few secs just to coat. 
Push this into the bottom of the basin. 
Dip the wonky rectangular pieces one at a time and press around the basin’s sides so that they fit together neatly, alternately placing wide and narrow ends up. 
If you can’t quite fit the last piece of bread in it doesn’t matter, just trim into a triangle, dip in juice and slot in. Now spoon in the softened fruit, adding the strawberries here and there as you go.
Dip the bread triangles in juice and place on top – trim off overhang with scissors. 
Keep leftover juice for later. 
Bring cling film up and loosely seal. Put a side plate on top and weight down with cans. 
Chill for 6 hrs or overnight. 

To serve, open out cling film then put a serving plate upside-down on top and flip over. serve with leftover juice, any extra berries and cream.

Plum Cake

This is possibly one of the simplest cakes but gorgeous and moreish.

Ingredients

150g Caster Sugar + 1tbs to sprinkle at end
150g Self Raising Flour
150g Butter
3 Eggs
1tsp Vanilla Extract
6 Plums halved and stone removed

Heat oven to 200C/180ºC fan/gas 6

1. Grease a 8" cake pan
2. Mix everything together except the plums until well combined
3. Turn mixture into pan and level out
4. Dot plums throughout the mixture and sprinkle with remaining sugar
5. Bake for 20-25 mins
6. Can be served warm or cold but don't forget the custard!

Custard Tart

Our family love custard, so while our hens or laying so prolifically I thought I would use the opportunity to make our favourite treat. Don't be put off by Great British Bake Off, it's not as hard as it looks. Shortcrust pastry is easy to make too but let's leave that for another day ;)

Ingredients

500g pack shortcrust pastry
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
4 large eggs
140g golden caster sugar
300ml double cream
300ml whole milk
1tsp vanilla extract 

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. 

1. Roll the pastry out to about 1cm thick, then grate over a dusting of nutmeg using a fine grater. 
2. Fold the dough in half, then roll out again, to the thickness of 2 x £1 coins and large enough to line a 20cm loose-bottomed sandwich tin with some overhang. 
3. Press the pastry into the tin (leaving the excess draped over the sides), put onto a baking sheet and chill for 10 mins. 
4. Line the pastry with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake for 20 mins, then remove beans and paper. 
5. Bake for another 15 mins until golden and sandy all over. 
6. Trim the edges of the tart with a sharp serrated knife. 
7. Turn oven down to 150C/130C fan/ gas 2. 
8. Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a large bowl. 
9. Put the cream, milk, vanilla extract and eggs into a jug and microwave in 30 second bursts whisking in-between. Overheating will cause scrambled eggs, be warned! You want this to come to just below boiling point.
10. Put the baking sheet onto the pulled-out oven rack, then pour in the custard, right to the top. You may not need every last drop. 
11. Grate over a nice layer of nutmeg, then slide gently back into the oven and bake for 1 hour.
12. When it’s ready, the tart should be set and pale golden on the top, and have just the merest tremor in the centre when you jiggle the tray. 
13. Cool completely, then serve in slices.

Sunday Pudding

In our house Sunday lunch is a big deal. It's a time we all make sure that we eat together and indulge a little. Every week we choose something super scrummy (and usually heavily calorie laden) to enjoy for pudding. I do always post pictures of this on Facebook but thought you may like to have the recipes to go with them so here's my commitment to you... as long as the pudding is made by us (i.e. we aren't with friends or family) we will endeavour to post it here complete with pictures. So here we go!

Pancake Cake with Damson Cream

This is actually incredibly easy but does take a little time

Ingredients

Pancakes
1tsp sunflower oil
3 cups of self raising flour
3 cups of milk
3 eggs

Filling
1/2 cup Jam - I used damson
1 cup of whipping cream
1tbs caster sugar
1 handful of raspberries

The first thing you need to do is make the pancakes. For this mix all the ingredients together until a smooth batter is achieved. Then heat the oil in a frying pan. When the pan is hot, pour in a ladle of the batter and cook for a couple of minutes each side. Leave to cool. Continue until all the batter is used.

Next you need to make up the filling. Mix all the ingredients except the raspberries until the cream has begun to stiffen. Fold in the raspberries.

Now all you need to do is layer is up. I smoothed the cream down the sides too so that it was more of a surprise.

Play around with different fillings, this really does lend itself to whatever you like so just go for it!