BETWEEN-SEASON PUDDINGS FOR SPRING DAYS

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28699, 24 September 1958, Page 3

BETWEEN-SEASON PUDDINGS FOR SPRING DAYS

Someone statistically minded could probably work out just what percentage of her life the average married woman spends in either thinking up or making puddings. The same amount of time put in on an assembly line or in an office would, no doubt, bring her in quite a sizeable cheque for overtime every pay day. But the home cook is not paid for her time and originality, in this way. Her reward comes in the form of appreciation from her family and a request for “more, please” as empty plates are handed back to the top of the table. These recipes, by “Elizabeth,” are for betweenseason days when it is too warm to enjoy a winter pudding, but too early for stewing fruits.

Moonstone Pudding Any suggestion for a really quick and easy sweet is welcome to the busy housewife. Moonstone pudding is a bright thought in this line. It looks and tastes delicious. It does not take more than five minutes to prepare. 1 sponge roll 1£ cups cold water £ cup sugar 1 dessertspoon butter 1 rounded tablespoon cornflour i cup cold water Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon 1 egg Slice one sponge roll and lay the slices in a glass dish. In a saucepan combine half a cup of sugar and cups of cold water. Add a dessertspoon of butter and the grated rind and juice of a lemon and bring to the boil. Mix a rounded tablespoon of cornflour into quarter of a cup of water and stir m. stirring until smooth and boiling. Cook for three minutes, then remove from the heat and whisk one egg yolk through the mixture. Stiffly whisk the one egg white and fluff it lightly through the lemon custard. Pour over the sponge roll slices and leave to cook Whipped cream adds a lovely finishing touch to this sweet, but it is not essential.

Golden Guinea Pie

A pie always adds a slightly triumphant note to a meal, bearing witness that this is a meal to which you have given some care and thought Yet pies are one of the easiest of sweets and come in such incredible variety that they never pall. Here pears are the star, helped* out by grated dark chocolate and an attractive lattice top. It looks different and it tastes different —all golden and bubbly round the edges and dark brown and interesting under its golden casket top. jib puff pastry ijlb pears i cup sugar 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon custard powder 1 cup water 2-3 oz dark chocolate

Peel and quarter pears and place in a saucepan with a cup of water and half a cup of sugar and stew until tender. Lift out pears into an ovenware dish. Mix a tablespoon of custard powder with a little cold water and stir in to the boiling syrup, together with a tablespoon of butter. Cook, stirring until clear and golden. Pour over the pears in the dish and grate .dark chocolate thickly over the *top. Roll pastry and cut into narrow strips. Arrange the pastry strips over in a lattice work, under and over design Bake in a hot oven until the pastry is puffed and golden brown and serve hot from the oven x or cool and serve cold with cream if preferred.

Sorcerer's Souffle Quick magic to add a highspot to the meal is this Sorcerer’s Souffle, which is made in individual oven-ware dishes and comes to the table puffed and golden brown and glamorous looking. Yet it is ®o simple that the youngest apprentice or the man about the house may be set to making it without fear of a failure. Just three minutes will see the souffles into the oven and they take 20 minutes to cook, so it is definitely a bright idea for the day when dinner has been the least of your concerns, though the meal hour is looming up half an hour ahead. 1 egg white 1 tablespoon stiff plum, apricot or black peach jam *a person Lightly butter individual ovenware dishes, or large old saucers. Whisk egg whites, allowing one a person. Add a pinch of salt, and whisk until stiff and peaks hold firmly Rub slightlyrounded tablespoons of stiff jam through a sieve, and fold through the egg whites lightly. Pile into the buttered dishes and bake at regulo 4 or 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve immediately they come from the oven.

Ginger Snow Tart Ginger Snow Tart is that most* useful of all confections, the sweet which is produced without any cooking at all and equally appropriate as a cake on tne party tea-table, or as a festive finishing touch to luncheon or dinner party. Ginger Snow Tart is rich and luscious and gaily extravagant, but the simplest thing in the world to make. Jib ginger biscuits 4oz butter | pint cream 1 tin sweetened condensed milk ; 4. Juice of 3 medium lemons. Rind of two lemons Chopped walnuts or preserved ginger

Run half a pound of ginger biscuits through a mincer and combine the crumbs with 4oz of melted butter. Press out to line the bottom of a large pie plate, and chill until firm Whisk half a pint of cream, then -combine gradually with one tin of sweetened condensed milk Add the finely grated rind of two lemons, then stir in slowly the juice of three lemons until the mixture Is thick and firm Turn into the pie shell. If desired, mould the crumb mixture into shape on a flat pavlova plate and press firmly into position, chill, and pile the lemon mixture on top Decorate with chopped preserved ginger or chopped walnuts

Pineapple Fritters Any kind of fritters have a knack of lifting a meal, whether they are savoury or sweet. But when they have spiced pineapple inside a puffy case, they are something really special in the way of a sweet, and are guaranteed to win a compliment for the cook. Drain them well on absorbent paper, sprinkle them liberally with sugar, and take them to the table as hot as they come from the pan and you are everybody’s favourite. 1 15oz tin pineapple rings 1 tablespoon sugar Squeeze lemon juice Pinch cinnamon 1 cup flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs I cup milk 1 teaspoon baking powder Hot lard Lard and butter or fine dripping

Drain pineapple rings well and cut into halves. Place on a flat plate, sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar, a good squeeze of lemon juice, and dust with cinnamon Leave to stand at least an hour

Into a bowl sift a cup cf flour, two tablespoons of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt. Beat in two eggs and half a cup of milk and beat thoroughly. Stand an hour, beat again and fold in a teaspoon of baking powder. Dip the rings in to coat them with batter, and fry quickly in hot fat until puffed and golden brown. Drain out on to a dish lined with absorbent paper, and sprinkle with sugar.

Butterscotch Sponge Shape Here Is a delightful and very easy shape with an unusually delicious butterscotch flavour. It is one of those sweets we are always looking for—dainty enough for party fare, but quite straightforward and simple to make, easy to decorate and make look glamorous, and all done ahead of time. Butterscotch Sppnge Shape Is definitely a recipe to put a star against .»' ’ 1 cup hot water 2 dessertspoons gelatine 2 cups milk 1 cup brown sugar l-3rd cup butter 3 eggs

Separate the yolks from the whites of two eggs, and whisk the two yolks into the cups of hot milk. Cook, stirring until thickened, then allow to cool Melt a third of a cup of butter with a cup of brown sugar Stir into the cooled custard. Dissolve two dessertspoons of gelatine in a quarter of a cup of hot water and stir into the custard mixture. Whisk the three egg whites very stiff, and fold lightly through Turn into a wetted mould and chill until firm. Turn out and decorate with whipped cream and finely chopped toasted almonds

Pear Popovers No party piece this, but a practical suggestion for the night when the sewing machine and the children’s new spring clothes are spread all over the table, and the clock is creeping relentlessly nearer the moment when (however much of a nuisance it seems) the family will want to find a good hot dinner waiting. Pear popovers are made in individual dishes or pie patty pans and are as quick to make as a stir and a whisk. 1 tin pears Butter A few drops of lemon juice 10-12 teaspoons brown sugar i cup flour i cup milk 1 egg 1 teaspoon salt

IJoz melted butter. Drain pear halves out and place in well-buttered pans. If using muffin pans, cut a piece of the end of the pear and place rounded end in the pan. / Sprinkle with a few drops of lemon juice and put a small teaspoon of brown sugar in the hollow. Place in the oven at regulo 7 or 450 degrees while mixing the batter. Put half a cup of flour, a quarof a teaspoon of salt into a bowl and break in one egg. Add IJoz melted butter and half a cup of milk and merely stir them together until reasonably smooth and pour a little over each hot pear. Return to the hot oven fox about 15 minutes. If time allows, add lemon juice and sugar to the pear syrup, heat and thicken with a little cornflour for a sauce to serve with the popovers; if not, just sprinkle them with sugar to serve.

Making Custards.— Custards will never stick to or burn the bottom of the pot if the sugar is dissolved in the cold milk before cooking it

Pastry Blenders.—A pastry blender is invaluable for cutting fats such as butter or lard into the flour They eliminate sticky hands and dough in the fingernails.

Banana Custard Tart Bananas take the centre of the stage when other fruits are scarce. There is no end to the uses we can put them to, from accompanying the breakfast bacon to making the star sweet of the week. Here they are baked in a short pastry shell to make a most delicious banana custard tart. 8 oz flour 2oz butter 2oz lard teaspoon salt Cold water 2 eggs 1 tablespoon flour J cup milk 1 tablespoon melted butter 2 tablespoons sugar 1 cup mashed bananas Squeeze lemon juice Rub lard and butter into flour sifted with salt. Cut in just sufficient cold water to bind to a stiff paste. Turn out on to a floured board and roll thinly. Line a pie plate, overlapping the pastry by one inch. Turn the edge under, crimp along between finger and thumb, and prick the bottom of the plate well. Sprinkle lemon juice and sugar over mashed bananas. Whisk the yolks of two eggs with half a cup of milk, a tablespoon of flour, and a tablespoon of melted butter, and then beat in banana mixture. Whisk separately the whites of two eggs with a small pinch of salt, and fold through. Turn into the pastry-lined plate, sprinkle with sugar and dust with cinnamon, and bake in a moderately hot oven until the pastry is browned and the filling set.

Miracle Snow Of all the range of delicious fruit snow desserts, this I think is quickest and easiest to prepare. Apricot Miracle Snow calls for no cooking at all, so this is a recipe for any bachelor girl who likes to entertain, or any housewife who works at another job and consequently has little opportunity for time-taking preparations. Quantities given her will make generous servings for four persons. Just divide it into four tall glasses or sundae dishes, and it looks sufficiently decorative to leave at that. 6 whole (or 12 halves) bottled or tinned apricots 2 tablespoons icing sugar 1 egg white 2 tablespoons golden syrup

Drain apricots out of their juice and remove stones if whole apricots are being used. Place the fruit in a basin and mash with a fork, or chop up into tiny pieces with the scissors. Add one unbeaten egg white, two tablespoons of icing sugar, and two tablespoons of golden syrup. With a rotary beater or a cake mixer, whisk all together until the mixture becomes stiff enough to stand in peaks. Divide into glasses and use at once or chill until required.