Jamie's Lemon Kinda Trifle

By Helen

Main Ingredients:

• Sponge fingers
• Lemon and orange
• Mascarpone cheese
• Raspberries

Since I spent the last five days in a field (and most of today on an almost unbearably hot, smelly train) today's recipe was going to have to be uncomplicated in the extreme. 

Accordingly I squeezed the juice of an orange into the bottom of a dish, added the sponge fingers and topped with a mixture of mascarpone cheese, lemon juice and zest, a little milk and icing sugar. A handful of raspberries and a sprinkling of dark chocolate and we were done!

I was a little sceptical that the result could even be called 'kinda' trifle but this was a real success - the cheese and lemon mixture stood in well for both whipped cream and custard.

The whole thing was refreshing, summery and made to be eaten with a big spoon and a big sunburned smile.

Cost: around £1.20 a head (if you can stop yourself going back for seconds, that is!)

Best for...Testing out the idea that you have a separate stomach for puddings
Taken from... Jamie Oliver - 30 Minute Meals
Chris says... Light, fluffy, tasty and very easy to wash-up, an all-round winner!

Hugh's Honey Wholemeal Cake with Almonds

By Chris

Main Ingredients:

• Ground and flaked almonds
• Wholemeal flour
• Runny honey
• Eggs, butter and caster sugar

While Hugh is well known for his complicated main courses, this pudding was surprisingly simple. A basic cake mix was fancied up with some wholemeal flour, some extra baking powder for added fluffiness and plenty of almonds. 

I discovered how good ground almonds are in baking, thanks to Jamie's frangipane tart, and they were chucked in with the mixture here. I creamed together 75g of butter with 60g of caster sugar, then added one egg and 30g of wholemeal flour. 30g of ground almonds and 30g of sieved wholemeal flour was then folded in with half a teaspoon of baking powder. Flaked almonds were then sprinkled on the top for a bit of crunch.

Hugh's recipe feeds ten and takes 45 minutes at 170 degrees, but I divided it by four and it was done in around 25 minutes. A generous drizzle of honey and some double cream finished it off and there was enough to feed four easily, although double quantities would have probably come out taller and more cake-like. Very simple, rewarding and, at roughly 30p a head, a bargain.

Best for... A hassle-free treat, any day of the week. 

Taken from... Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - River Cottage Every Day

Helen says... Simple, comforting and delicious.

Delia's Wholewheat Treacle Sponge

By Helen

Main Ingredients:

• Golden syrup
• Wholewheat flour
• Eggs
• Margarine
• Brown sugar

"Sticky Toffee Pudding is my favourite - but I wouldn't ask you to make it," said this week's guest - several times in fact. I couldn't ignore such blatant hint-dropping and consulted Delia for the nearest thing I could find.

I poured the syrup into the bottom of the bowl then mixed all the other ingredients together and poured the mixture on top. So far, so foolproof. After tying on a foil lid I improvised a steamer with the largest saucepan I could find (basically the same size as the bowl) and boiled for around two hours.

It was a nervewracking moment when I wrestled the steaming bowl out of the water but although the pudding refused to turn out, it was beautifully cooked through and with a little extra syrup and some cream was really good. The wholewheat flour gave it a nutty, flapjacky taste and stopped it being too stodgy or sweet.

Now I know how to make it, it'd be easy to whip up from whatever's in the cupboard (it only cost 45p per head in extra ingredients) but I can't help thinking there must be a way to microwave it instead.

Best for... Completing a traditional meal and feeding your inner child.
Taken from... Delia Smith - Complete Illustrated Cookery Course
Chris says... Sticky, tasty and not too stodgy - I would happily eat this again!

Delia's Bread and Spiced Apple Pudding

By Chris,
Main Ingredients:

• 2x Bramley apples
• 5x slice of brown bread
• 50g sugar
• 25g sultanas
• mixed spice and nutmeg

To kick off Pudding Month, I decided to go for a traditional English pudding, which went down a treat on a rather rainy and dreary day. Delia's Frugal Food has quite a lot of dessert recipes, but no pictures, meaning it's quite hard to envisage what they're going to look like, so I headed into new territory blindly and bravely...

First up a few slices of brown bread were used to line the tin, then the filling was made up from two peeled and thinly sliced apples, a handful of sultanas, the spice mix (mostly cinnamon) and a few tablespoons of sugar. then more bread on the top, more sultanas and nutmeg. To hold it all together, half a pint of milk mixed with two eggs was poured over the top.

The resultant concoction looked quite hefty and I wasn't sure we'd be able to devour it all, but after half an hour at 180 degrees, the pudding came out surprisingly light and fluffy. The apples were well cooked, but not mushy, the subtle flavours blended together nicely and the whole dish was served up with warm custard. I'd say this recipe is a great half way point between bread and butter pudding and apple crumble, and rather than being a compromise, it was better than both.

I rather imagine we'll have to re-adjust our expectations in terms of value for money for pudding month, but even so, the 54p a head this cost still seems like very good going.

Best for... Comfort eating on a soggy day, summer or winter.

Taken from... Delia Smith - Frugal Food

Helen says... Not too sweet, even with custard, but it still made me feel pleasantly greedy.

Introducing... Pudding Month

By Helen

After the success of Veggie Lent, it was time for another themed challenge.

So as well as being Mens' Health Month, National Oceans Month AND National Safety Month, June is officially Pudding Month.

We'll still be cooking for friends but the focus will be on the dessert. So if you have a sweet tooth, start angling for your invitation now!