Queen of Puddings
Gingerbread
Ingredients:
175g butter
150g dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons treacle
1 tablespoon golden syrup
150ml whole milk
1 tablespoon finely chopped preserved ginger
225g plain flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 and a half teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs
Method:
Set oven to 180oc and line a loaf tin with parchment paper.
Place the butter, treacle, syrup, sugar and milk in a pan and simmer until butter has melted.
Cool and mix in the flour, spices, baking soda and eggs.
Spoon into the loaf tin and bake for about 35 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
Ingredients:
150g of the gingerbread, cubed
3 egg yolks – keep whites for meringue topping
50g caster sugar
225ml whole milk
225ml double cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Set the oven to 170oc.
Butter a baking dish and place cubed cake in the bottom.
Warm the cream, milk and vanilla in a pan.
Separate the eggs into 2 clean bowls.
Whisk the yolks with the sugar and pour over the hot cream mix and stir well.
Pour onto the cake and bake for 15 minutes.
Cool.
Poached pears
Ingredients:
4 pears
250ml ginger wine
500ml water
1 cinnamon stick, split
150g castor sugar
25g root ginger sliced
Method:
Place the ginger wine, water, cinnamon, sugar and ginger in a pan and bring to a simmer.
Peel the pears, cut in half through the root and place in the liquor when the sugar has dissolved.
Cover with parchment paper and simmer gently until pears are just soft – depends on ripeness of pears but approximately 20 minutes.
Cool in the liquor.
(Boil the cooking liquor to a syrup to avoid waste. Strain and use as a cordial and add hot or cold water for a drink or add a splash to whiskey and soda)
Cinnamon Meringue
Ingredients:
3 egg whites
175g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Method:
Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl with an electric whisk to stiff peaks.
Whisk in the sugar in 3 separate increments.
Add the vinegar and cinnamon and whisk well.
Spoon the mixture into a piping bag.
Cut the pears in half and remove the core.
Slice the pears thinly and arrange over the baked cake mixture.
Pipe over the meringue and place in a 180oc oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.
