Atholl Brose
           Traditional Athollbrose
           Raspberry Atholl Brose
           An American Version of Raspberry Atholl Brose

Roberta Lovatelli's Bananas With Rum
Ginger Johnson's Notes on Black Currants

Cakes
           Lois' Bolo Pretu (Black Cake) [traditional Dutch Antilles wedding cake]
           Jack Aubrey's Christmas Cake from Kevin Danks
           Ronda Magnusson's Poppy Seed Cake

Fruitcake
           Earl Cilley's Holiday Cake
           Lois' Fruitcake
           Tommy Armstrong's Great-great-grandmother's Fruit Cake

Chocolate
           Bob Jernigan's Extreme Chocolate
           Ginger Johnson's Truffle Variation on Extreme Chocolate
           Richard's Truffles
           Bill Jones' "Brownies Cockaigne" from The Joy of Cooking
           Molly O'Neill's "Mary Encinger's Brownies" from Jean A.
           MacKenna Charleson's Peanut Butter-Chocolate Dessert
           Alice Gomez' Chocolate Pudding Cake
           Jane Phillips' Deep Fried Mars Bars from The Cooking Live Show "Fish and Chips Cook Along"
           Jane Skinner's Mars Bars Pancake Pudding

Cranberries
           Rowen's Dried Cranberries
           Bruce Trinque's Cranberry Pie
           Kyle Lerfald's Cranberry Pie
           Marian van Til's Cranberry Pie
           Rowen's Cranberry Pie
           Doug Essinger-Hileman's Cranberry-Cherry Crumble
           Marian van Til's Variation on Doug's Cranberry-Cherry Crumble
           Marian van Til's Cranberry Sauce
           Doug Essinger-Hileman's Cranberry Sauce

Cream
           Jean A.'s Clotted Cream and Double Cream
           Elizabeth Wild's Cream and Double Cream
           Lois' Natural Fromage Frais
           Creme Fraiche

Crumbles
           Anthony Clover's Crumbles
           Doug Essinger-Hileman's Cranberry-Cherry Crumble
           Marian van Til's Variation on Doug's Cranberry-Cherry Crumble
           Jay Reay's Crumble Notes

Dulce de Leche
           Mary S.'s Dulce de Leche
           Satyam's Notes on Dulce de Leche
           Kerry Webb's Dulce de Leche Caution

Gingerbread
           Andrew Midkiff's Gingerbread
           Bill Nyden's Mother's Gingerbread Cookies

Lois' Fruit Pizza

Puddings
           Howard Douglass' Ultimate OED Pudding Page 
           Bob Jernigan's Easy Bread Pudding
           Figgy 'obbin
           Andrew Midkiff's Indian and Hasty Pudding Website
           Ann Harrison's Indian Pudding
           Jean A.'s Indian Pudding Encore
           Louis Cohen's Chinese Rice Pudding
           Dave Percival's Spotted Dick
           John Druout Spotted Dick
           Alison Fitts' Spotted Dog
           Elizabeth Wild's Summer Pudding Recipe

Bob Jernigan's Easy Pumpkin Pie

Syllabubs
           Syllabub from Eliza Smith's Compleat Housewife, 1758
           Lois' Syllabub and Variation

Tablet
           Dee's Tablet
           Susan Collicot's Tablets

Apples

Andrew Midkiff's Frosted Apple Pie Bars
 

What makes this truly Midwestern is the inclusion of cornflakes, the use of commercially made food (condensed cream of mushroom soup is another standard ingredient) is typical of Midwestern cooking. For those outside of the area who are curious about recipes,check out http://midwestliving.com/goodfood/index.html.

This apple pie in a bar comes from the oven of Mary Blotsky in McIntosh, South Dakota.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour 

2 tablespoons sugar 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 cup lard or shortening 

2 egg yolks 

1/3 cup milk 

5 cups peeled, sliced cooking apples 

1 1/2 cups sugar 

1 cup crushed cornflakes 

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1 slightly beaten egg white 

1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar 

2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice
 

1. For pastry: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, the 2 tablespoons sugar and the salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the lard till pieces resemble small peas. 

2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together the egg yolks and milk. Stir into the flour mixture till moistened; shape mixture into 2 balls. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. 

3. For filling: In a large mixing bowl, combine apples, the 1 1/2 cups sugar, cornflakes and cinnamon. 

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 ball of pastry to a 17x12-inch rectangle. Carefully transfer to a 15x10x1-inch baking pan, pressing pastry up the sides of the pan. 

5. Spoon filling evenly over pastry. Roll the remaining pastry to a 17x12-inch rectangle. Cut crosswise into 3/4-inch-wide strips. Place diagonally on top of filling; overlap slightly. Brush with egg white. 

6. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. 

7. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar and enough of the lemon juice to make a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over top. Cut into bars. Makes 24 bars.

David MacGuire's Apple Brown Betty
 

Ingredients:

6 large baking apples (Granny Smith, York)

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 stick (1/8th of a pound) of melted, unsalted butter

1 teaspoon each of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves

2 teaspoons of vanilla

pinch salt

2 cups of rolled oats

1/2 cup of dark brown sugar

1/2 cup of flour

1/2 stick of unsalted butter, melted (that's right; another one)

pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla, additional
 

1. Peel and slice apples into small chunks. Combine apples, sugar, melted butter, spices, vanilla and salt in a large oven-proof bowl and mix thoroughly.

2. Combine the 1/2 stick of melted butter, oats, flour, sugar and salt, mixing with a fork until the texture is very crumbly. Spread mixture over apples.

3. Bake at 325 degrees, farenheit, for 30 to 40 minutes or until apples are tender and the oatmeal mixture is a golden brown. If the topping is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with foil and continue baking.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla yoghurt.

My mother's version was almost breakfast though it served as lunch or dessert, and had fewer ingredients than the recipe given, so we kids made it a lot: Cornflakes, a couple of apples, cinnamon, some butter, sugar (brown, tan, or white, doesn't matter). Quantities didn't seem important.

Butter the bottom of a pan, cover it with cornflakes, about 1/2 inch, put some butter on it, either melted or pats, not too much. Core and cut up some apples, skin on is ok. Cover the cornflakes with a layer of apples, an inch or two deep. Sprinkle the apples with sugar and cinnamon as you set them in. Top with another layer of cornflakes, put on more butter, melted or in pats. You'll probably use up a stick.

Bake at about 375 degrees F. until the apples have settled way down. Ice cream on top is good.

Ritz Cracker Mock Apple Pie
 

The classic pie, featuring Ritz crackers baked in a golden crust, is perfect for the holidays.
 

Ingredients:

Pastry for two-crust 9-inch pie 

36 RITZ Crackers, coarsely broken (about 1 3/4 cups crumbs)

1 3/4 cups water

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Grated peel of one lemon

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 

Instructions:
 

1. Roll out half the pastry and line a 9-inch pie plate. Place cracker crumbs in prepared crust; set aside. 

2. Heat water, sugar and cream of tartar to a boil in saucepan over high heat; simmer for 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and peel; cool. 

3. Pour syrup over cracker crumbs. Dot with margarine or butter; sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll out remaining pastry; place over pie. Trim, seal and flute edges. Slit top crust to allow steam to escape. 

4. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 30 to 35 minutes or until crust is crisp and golden. Cool completely.

Traditional Athollbrose
 

Ingredients:

2-3 cups rolled oats 

2-3 cups water 

1-1 1/2 cups more water 

4 cups Scotch (the better quality the better the brew) 

1 cup honey 

1 cup cream or Half-n-Half
 

Equipment Needed:

Two large bowls 

measuring cup 

spoon 

cheese cloth
 

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl mix oats and water, stir, let the mixture sit until the water is totally absorbed (overnight). 

2. Add 1-1 1/2 cups more water to the mixture, let sit 2 hours. 

3. Strain oat/water mixture through 2-3 layers of cheese cloth into a large bowl by squeezing and wringing globs of oatmeal through the cheese cloth until oats are nearly free of water. This is messy and requires a lot of effort! Reserve pressed oats for oat cakes. 

4. Add scotch, honey, and cream to oat-water. Mix until all ingredients are blended. 

5. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Best served cold.
 

Athollbrose is an alcoholic Scots punch. It is quite alcoholic, but the oats, honey, and cream hide the alcoholic kick and "fill your stomach". It's delicious, dangerous stuff. 

Makes 1/2 gallon.

Raspberry Atholl Brose
 

Ingredients:

Rolled oats - 50 g (2 oz)

Double cream - 150 ml (5 fl oz)

Natural fromage frais - 200 g (7 oz)

Light soft brown sugar - 1 tbsp

Fresh raspberries - 375 g (13 oz)

Scotch whisky - 1 tbsp, optional
 

Method:

1. Spread out the oats on a baking sheet and toast them under the grill until lightly browned. Allow them to cool.

2. Whip the cream in a chilled bowl until it just begins to hold its shape, then put in the fromage frais, whisky (if using) , sugar and most of the oats, reserving a few for sprinkling on the top.

3. Spoon the raspberries into serving dishes and top with the cream mixture. Sprinkle the reserved oats on top.

An American Version of Raspberry Atholl Brose
 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup regular rolled oats

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon whiskey, if desired

1-1/4 cups plain yogurt

2/3 cup whipping cream

1 cup raspberries
 

In a large skillet, heat oats until toasted and golden-brown, stirring constantly. Cool. In a large bowl, combine honey, whiskey, yogurt and whipping cream and whisk until stiff. Fold in most of toasted oats and 3/4 cup of raspberries. Spoon creamy mixture into dessert dishes. Sprinkle each with remaining toasted oats and garnish with remaining raspberries.

Roberta Lovatelli's Bananas With Rum
 

1 cup sugar

1/2 C fresh lemon juice

1 Tbs butter

2 Tbs white rum

6 medium sized underripe bananas (I use plantains)
 

Preheat oven th 400 degrees F. In a small saucepan, mix the sugar, lemon juice, butter and rum together and simmer for 10 minutes. Peel the bananas and slice them in half, lengthwise. Place them (cut side down), in a buttered baking dish. Pour the hot syrup over them. Bake for 30 minutes turning them once after the first 15 minutes. Let cool.(Return to Roberta's Sunday Brunch Menu.)

Ginger Johnson's Notes on Black Currants
 

About black currants. No, they are not raisins - I thought that too, but the currants in bread are just another sort of dried grape. 

Black currants (there are also red currants) grow on a low bush, not on a vine. If you've ever grown gooseberries the bush is about that size. The fruits are small, smaller than peas, and grow in clusters. They strike me as tasting a bit musty, although not at all unpleasant. They make very good jam or jelly if you have the patience for the latter (I don't).

Cakes

Lois' Bolo Pretu (Black Cake) [traditional Dutch Antilles wedding cake]
 

Say the words Bolo Pretu to a Dutch West Indian and his eyes will light with pleasure. This moist, dense fruitcake is the traditional wedding cake of the Dutch Antilles, and is also a popular dessert so generously steeped in brandy and other spirits that it will keep for half a year.

Bolo Pretu literally means "black cake" in Papiamento, the musical Curacaon dialect woven from Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and African languages. For weddings, the dark cake is traditionally garnished with a snow-white icing sprinkled with tiny silver candy balls (dragees). Guests get to enjoy the cake twice: first at the wedding, then as keepsake slices, which are fancifully wrapped to take home.

You can't really buy Bolo Pretu commercially, but every extended family seems to have someone who excels in its preparation. The following recipe was inspired by one from Carolina Amira, who works at the gorgeous new Sonesta Hotel near Willemstad.

Bolo Pretu is relatively simple to make, but you'll need at least two weeks from start to finish for steeping the ingredients in liquor and aging the finished cake. The orange liqueur of choice, naturally, is Curacao.
 

Ingredients:

1/2 pound mixed candied fruits, including candied cherries, citron, orange peel, and lemon peel

1/2 pound mixed dried fruits, including raisins, currants, figs, pitted prunes, and dates

2 ounces pounded cashew nuts

1/4 cup Curacao (orange liqueur)

1/4 cup creme de cacao or rum

1/4 cup Malaga or marsala

1/4 cup dark corn syrup

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature 3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon burnt sugar (see Note; optional)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3 eggs

1 cup flour
 

Approximately 1 cup brandy or rum for basting
 

For the Icing and Garnish:

6 tablespoons light corn syrup

3/4 pound confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons silver candy balls (dragees)
 

Coarsely grind the candied fruits, dried fruits, and cashews in a food processor or meat grinder. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and stir in the Curacao, creme de cacao, Malaga, and dark corn syrup. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let this mixture steep in the refrigerator for at least 2 days or as long as 1 week. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Cream the butter in an electric mixer. Add the brown sugar, burnt sugar, spices, and vanilla and almond extracts and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one by one, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula after each. 

Add the fruit mixture with its soaking liquid, followed by the flour. Beat just to mix. Grease a 9-inch cake pan with butter or vegetable oil spray, line the bottom with parchment paper, and butter or oil again. 

Spoon the batter into the pan and place in the oven. Bake the cake until set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer the cake pan to a rack and let cool to room temperature. Remove cake from pan. Technically, the Bolu Pretu can be eaten at this stage, but no Dutch 
Antillean would dream of doing so. 

For the best results, sprinkle the cake with brandy or rum and tightly wrap in plastic. Transfer the cake to an airtight tin and store in a cool place or in the refrigerator. Every week or so, unwrap the cake and baste with more brandy. The cake will not only keep but continue to improve for several months. 

If you'd like to ice the cake before serving, combine the light corn syrup and confectioners' sugar in a mixer and beat to a smooth white paste. Use this mixture to ice the cake. (If too thick, warm the icing over a pan of simmering water.) Sprinkle the cake with the silver balls and cut into squares or wedges for serving. Alternatively, the cake can be cut into pieces, wrapped in plastic, and decorated with ribbons for gift-giving. 

Note: Burnt sugar is a coloring and flavoring agent made from darkly caramelized sugar. This is what gives Bolo Pretu its characteristic black color. Burnt sugar is used throughout the Caribbean and can be found in West Indian markets. The cake is delicious without it, but it won't be as dark. 

Jack Aubrey's Christmas Cake from Kevin Danks
 

Here is the recipe for the Christmas cake that Sophie would certainly have baked, had there been a branch of Sainsbury's supermarket in Petersfield (the closest place of any size to Ashgrove) in the early part of the 19th century. It calls for ingredients that reflect Jack's travels to a large degree and I am sure that he would have approved of the use of a fine India Pale Ale in the preparation.

Lissuns who are not familiar with the concept of the Christmas cake should note that what follows is just the first part. In a week or two it will be necessary to marzipan and ice it, in good time for the icing to harden before Christmas. In the intervening period it is permissible to make a few holes with a skewer and to dribble a little brandy over the surface. Thus treated, and subsequently stored away from salt water and out of reach of rats, the cake will last until next Easter.
 

Ingredients:

250g (8oz) of ready to eat prunes, roughly chopped (the vacuum packed type, *not* canned and *not* dried)

100g (3oz) of French glace cherries, rinsed and roughly chopped

50g (2oz) cut mixed peel (i.e. candied orange and lemon peel, available here in little tubs)

375g (12oz) Australian sultanas

175g (6oz) Californian raisins

125g (4oz) currants

grated zest of 1 lemon

250ml (8 fluid oz) Old Speckled Hen beer (see notes below for alternatives)

250g (8oz) butter, softened

250g (8oz) dark brown sugar

5 large eggs, beaten

300g (10oz) plain flower, sifted

1 tablespoon mixed spice (we get it ready mixed here - sweet spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, mace and so on)

100g (3oz) ground almonds

2 tablespoons black treacle

100g (3oz) pecans, roughly chopped
 

1. The day before baking the cake, mix together the prunes, cherries, mixed peel, sultanas, raisins and currants with the lemon zest and the beer. Cover and leave to soak overnight. Old Speckled Hen is a very hoppy India Pale Ale and can safely be replaced with any other quality ale of a similar type. In areas where a decent Christian ale is unknown then I think that Guiness might make a good substitute. I would not recommend the use of a lager type beer.

2. Grease and line the base and sides of a round, extra deep loose-base cake tin (20cm x 9cm / 8 inches x 3.5 inches), with a double thickness of greaseproof paper (cut a disk of paper for the bottom and a strip to put around the sides). Tie a double band of brown paper around the outside of the tin (i.e. the thick brown paper used for wrapping parcels).

3. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C, 325 degrees F, Gas Mark 3.

4. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Gradually add the beaten egg, a little at a time. Mix in the flour, mixed spice, ground almonds and black treacle, followed by the pecans and soaked fruit. Spoon into the prepared tin and make a deep well in the middle of the mixture (this should result in a flatter top when the cake is cooked. Cover loosely with a piece of greaseproof paper with a 2.5cm (1 inch) hole cut in the middle.

5. Bake in the oven for 3.5 hours until the centre of the cake is cooked and springy to the touch. Cool for 30 minutes in the tin and then turn onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight tin until ready to marzipan and ice.
 

These quantities are sufficient for a family sized cake and you may wish to scale them down. Our fruit is soaking as I type this and tomorrow the house will be filled with the scent of baking. The marzipanning and icing is quite a skill and I will post details of that part separately - in fact it may be better to send it off list to anyone who asks.

Ronda Magnusson's Poppy Seed Cake
 

Ingredients:

3 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

4 eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

2 cups sliced strawberries

3 whole strawberries 
 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first four ingredients in a medium bowl. 
In a mixer bowl, beat sugar, butter and lemon peel until smooth. 
Add eggs one at a time, and beat well after each. 
Beat in lemon juice and vanilla. 
Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk, in three batches. 
Stir in poppy seeds. 
Pour into three greased 9-inch cake pans. 
Bake 25 minutes; remove and cool 10 minutes; remove from pans. 
 

Frosting:

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

6 tablespoons lemon juice

8 ounces white chocolate, chopped

3 cups whipping cream
 

Combine 1/2 cup sugar, eggs and lemon juice in a pan over simmering water. Whisk until very thick, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, add chocolate and stir until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. 

Beat cream and 1/4 cup sugar until it forms firm peaks. Fold into chocolate mix. 
 

To assemble cake:

Spread one layer with 1 cup of frosting. Top with 1 cup sliced strawberries, then 1 2 cup frosting. Repeat with second layer. Put top layer on and frost. Decorate with white-chocolate-dipped whole strawberries.

Fruitcake

Earl Cilley's Holiday Cake
 

1 C water 

1 C sugar 

4 large eggs 

3 C dried fruit 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1 tsp. salt 

1 C brown sugar 

lemon juice 

nuts 

1 FULL bottle of your favorite whiskey 
 

Sample the whiskey to check for quality. Take out a large bowl. Check the whiskey again to be sure that it is of the highest quality. Pour 1 level cup and drink. Repeat. 

Turn on the electric mixer; beat 1 C of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add 1 tsp sugar and beat again. Make sure the whiskey is still OK. Cry another tup. Turn off the mixer. 

Break two legs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. 

Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity. 

Next, sift 2 cups of salt. Or something. Who cares. Check the whiskey. 

Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find. Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Throw the bowl out of the window. Check the whiskey again.

Go to bed. 

This adaptation of fruitcake from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts cookbook Boston Tea Parties looks a lot like the one we used, though haven't yet started holiday experimenting on the family.

Mix together six plus generous cups of fruit and nuts, e.g. 1 1/2 heaping Cups each of whole pecans, dried cranberries, golden raisins, and cut up dried apricots. Or whatever you like.

Mix together and then add to the fruit the following: 1 Cup flour, 1 Cup sugar, 3/4 Tsp salt, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder. (Whole wheat flour and brown sugar can be substituted for some or all of the white flour and sugar)

Mix together 4 eggs slightly beaten and 1 tsp vanilla. Add to the rest and mix til the eggs moisten the dry ingredients.

Pack firmly in well-greased loaf or 10 inch angel food pan with removable bottom.

Bake at 275 for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.

Cool and eat, or store in fridge wrapped in cloth soaked in brandy or orange juice, then wrapped in foil. Can be covered with confectioners' sugar glaze and fruit bits. Or make and dry glazed orange peel and use in fruit mixture and for garnish.

Tommy Armstrong's Great-great-grandmother's Fruit Cake
 

Enclosed is a receipt for Fruit Cake from my great-great-grandmother's cookbook (circa 1850). She was married to a large plantation owner in the Low Country of South Carolina. Not exactly a "light" receipt.
 

Ingredients:

1 lb. flour

1 lb. sugar

1 lb. currants, washed and floured

1 gill wine

1 gill of brandy or whiskey

2 nutmegs

1 lb. butter

1 lb. raisins, stoned and cut up

1 lb. citron, cut in thin slices

1/2 lb. blanched almonds, chopped fine

12 eggs

1 teaspoon beaten cloves and mace

1 tablespoon beaten allspice and cinnamon
 

For black cake, double the quantity of fruits and add a few more spices to aste.

Note: very few of the receipts have baking instructions -- I guess it was assumed everyone knew how to bake. Gill=4 oz. One of these days I'm going to find a bunch of cooks to test these out and modernize them and publish her cookbook as it reflects those foods being eaten by the wealthy planters before,durning, and after the War For Southern Independence.

Copyright 1999 T. Armstrong

Chocolate

Bob Jernigan's Extreme Chocolate
 

For each person:

1 one-ounce square of unsweetened baker's chocolate (100% chocolate)

1 ounce butter

1 teaspoon sugar
 

Melt and mix together over low heat.

From here on it's up to you, add any or all of the following:

rum

apricot brandy

marmalade

dash of cinnamon

vanilla

cognac

heavy cream

more sugar

more chocolate

nothing

creme de menthe

Grand Marnier

raspberries

marmite
 

Serve:

on ladyfingers (not the Indian variety)

on biscuits

on ice cream

on your fingers

on your lover

on fruit (strawberries, pears, etc)

on Mondays, Tuesdays, etc.
 

Or, make crepes. Add gobs of marmalade and raspberry jam to the chocolate and ladle liberally over the crepes. Any time, any day.

Remember to lick the pot.
 

Something I keep on hand in my freezer is a cylindrical cheese grater (you twist it like a pepper mill) with a square of Hershey's semi-sweet baking chocolate in it. Useful for dressing up many things: eggs, pancakes, glass of rum...

Ginger Johnson's Variation on Extreme Chocolate
 

Frangelico's also lovely.

Finely ground filberts (hazelnuts) or walnuts - beautiful texture. 
 

When the melted mixture is let cool to the consistency of modeling clay, form it into little balls and roll in powdered baking chocolate.

La voilá - chocolate truffles.

1 cup whipping cream

16 ounces pure dark chocolate

4 tablespoons butter

1 to 2 tablespoons liqueur or drops-to-1/4 teaspoon flavored oil

2 pounds confectionery coating 

or

plain cocoa powder, flavored cocoa powder (such as amaretto, hazelnut, etc.), 
chocolate fondettes, coconut, or whatever inspiration comes to mind.
 

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the cream until it simmers along the edges. Add the chocolate and butter and stir until both are melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool briefly. When the mixture is lukewarm, add the flavoring or liqueur and stir to blend. Pour mixture into an ungreased baking pan and chill it in the refrigerator until quite firm. Use a spoon or melon baller to scoop the mixture, and roll the cold, firm mixture into 1-inch balls. Use a light quick touch when you handle them. Refrigerate the balls, uncovered, on a cookie sheet until they are hard. It will not take more than one or two hours. The balls are now ready to dip in melted confectionery coating, or to roll in cocoa powder, chocolate fondettes, coconut, etc.

NOTE: Truffles may crack initially when the cold centers are dipped into the warm confectionery coating. Allow the dipped truffles to sit at room temperature until the temperature of the centers has stabilized (about two hours), then dip them again. They should show no cracking after the second dipping.

Bill Jones' "Brownies Cockaigne" from The Joy of Cooking

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt in a double boiler:

1/2 cup butter

4 0z. chocolate (baker's)

Cool this mixture. If you don't, your brownies will be heavy and dry.

Beat until light in color and foamy in texture:

4 eggs at room temp

1/2 teaspoon of salt
 

Add gradually and continue beating until well creamed:

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla
 

With a few swift strokes, combine the cooled chocolate mixture into the eggs and sugar. Even if you normally use an electric mixer, do this manually. Before the mixture becomes uniformly colored, fold in, again by hand:

1 cup sifted all purpose flour
 

And before the flour is uniformly colored, stir in gently:

1 cup pecan meats (I don't use these myself)

Bake in a 9 x 13 inch pan for about 25 minutes. Cut when cool. Wrapped individually in foil these will keep well 3 or 4 days. (Which means to me that you gotta eatum fast!!!!)

Molly O'Neill's "Mary Encinger's Brownies" from Jean A.
 

2 cups sugar

I cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup unsalted butter, melted

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa powder and butter and stir. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring only until blended. Add the flour, vanilla and walnuts. Stir until all the ingredients are blended, but do not overmix.

Transfer the mixture into the pan and shake to even out. Bake in the top half of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the center is firm to the touch.

Yield: 16 servings.

MacKenna Charleson's Peanut Butter-Chocolate Dessert
 

Jif's new Chocolate Silk peanut butter is Pretty Hot Stuff...

Put said CSPB on a caramel rice cake with marshmallow fluff, and you have something very S'more-like and tasty with a cup of Taylor's of Harrogate Darjeeling.

Alice Gomez' Chocolate Pudding Cake
 

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar, divided into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, divided into 1/4 cup portions

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 cups boiling water
 

Greased 9-inch pan, 350 degrees F.

Combine flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, and salt. Stir in milk, oil, and vanilla. Spread into greased 9-inch pan.

Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, and brown sugar over batter. Gently pour boiling water over the top. Bake at 350 degrees F. about 25 minutes.

Jane Phillips' Deep Fried Mars Bars from The Cooking Live Show "Fish and Chips Cook Along"

Recipe from Scottish Fish and Chip Stands
1 cup sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
4 Mars or other caramel covered candy bars
Shortening or oil for frying

Mix flour, salt, and water until smooth, cover, and let stand at room temperature 20 to 30 minutes. Stir baking powder into batter. Place shortening or oil in a deep fat fryer, insert thermometer, and begin heating over high heat. Dip candy bars into batter, allowing excess to drain off. Fry in 375 degree fat until golden and crisp. Drain on paper toweling.

A restaurant called "Hobb's Pavilion" in Cambridge serves meals based entirely around pancakes. One of their puddings involves pancakes, three melted Mars Bars and lots of whipped cream. 

Cranberries

Rowen's Dried Cranberries

And dried cranberries are great in Oatmeal-raisin cookies, too - I like them much better than raisins - not so cloying. And while it's not traditional, the dried cranberries make a good kolache filling, too.

We have made a great pie by combining cranberries with cherries (not the sour variety) with no sugar. The sweetness of the cherries, balancing the tartness of the cranberries. I recollect that we used about a 50/50 ratio.

This comes from _The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American_ by Jeff Smith.

Wash 4 cups of fresh cranberries. Chop, then mix with 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. In separate bowl, mix 1 lightly beaten egg with 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract; combine with cranberry/sugar mixture. Line pie dish with pastry, add cranberry mix, and finish with lattice top. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees fahrenheit, reduce heat to 350 degrees, and bake until done (cranberries are soft and pastry brown), which will take about 35 minutes.

Marian van Til's Cranberry Pie

2 cups fresh cranberries (uncooked) -- chopped, if preferred 
1/2 cup brown sugar 
1/2 cup chopped walnuts 
2 eggs, well-beaten 
1 cup sugar (or slightly less, if you like it more tart) 
1 cup all-purpose flour 
1/2 cup butter, melted 
1 pie crust for 10" pie pan 

Combine cranberries, brown sugar and walnuts together. Spread the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pie shell. Beat eggs well; gradually add the sugar; continue beating. Stir in flour and melted butter. Pour batter over the berries in the pie shell. Cover edges of pie crust with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. reduce heat to 350 degrees, remove foil and bake 35 minutes longer. Serve with ice cream. 

Just make a peach pie and use cranberries for half the fruit. And add ground cardamom - sprinkled over the top of the fruit like cinnamon. Yummy!
(Fresh peaches are good, but frozen work just as well - stir in about 1/4 - 1/2 c. sugar if they are a bit tart).

I always usually use brown sugar, and always walnuts, in cranberry sauce: just dump a bunch of whole cranberries and a little water into a saucepan, cook until they're soft (not very long), add brown sugar to taste, a squeeze of lemon juice and some lemon zest (or slices of lemon rind), then the walnuts, in whatever sized chunks you like. Refrigerate. Or eat warm. It's wonderful.

One of my favorite recipes for cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving is a simple mixture of cranberries, oranges and sugar, chopped together. Wonderful stuff!

Cream

Jean A.'s Clotted Cream and Double Cream

Here is The Joy of Cooking's take on clotted cream:
Clotted cream, a speciality of Devonshire, England, is a thick cream. To make clotted cream at home, use unpasteurized cream. Let fresh cream stand for 12 hours in winter or 6 hours in summer and then put on low heat until rings form on the surface, but the cream does not boil. This heating will sterilize the cream. Store in a cold place for at least 12 hours. Skim the thick clotted cream from the surface to serve as a garnish for fresh fruits. (I know you can buy it in jars or cans.)

As for double cream, I have already confessed that while in England I used to spoon it from the carton, and can attest that it is much thicker than what we know as whipping cream or heavy cream here in the US.

Fresh cream, in any shape or form, will be just fine, but with cream how can you go wrong? Just go for your favourite. My preference is for single, or pouring cream, rather than what we call double cream, which has a stiffer consistency. Double cream can be whipped, and it's what you'd use for a syllabub, for instance, or a fool, or mousse or anything that needs to set when it's cooled. Pouring cream doesn't do anything fancy except be cream.

The US doesn't have an equivalent. But mixing whipped cream and sour cream makes a close second. 

2 cups heavy cream
2 Tablespoons buttermilk

Mix and leave at room temperature for 24 hours. Then refrigerate for 24 hours. Serve on fruit or crumbles.

For double cream, heat unpasteurized whole milk until the cream comes to the top. Spoon off and serve as desired. Refrigerate leftovers. 

Crumbles

Anthony Clover's Crumbles

>From Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course [BBC 1978-1985 - ISBN 0-563-16535-9].

Fruit crumbles - General

Crumbles are a good all-round family sweet dish, which can be varied not just by using fruits in season, but also by ringing the changes with the crumble topping. Whatever problems you may have with your pastry-making technique, you're absolutely safe with a crumble because there is no resting or roll-out involved.

Basic crumble topping (serves 6 people)

8 oz plain flour (225 g) or - and I prefer it - wholewheat flour
5 oz soft brown sugar (150 g)
3 oz butter at room temperature (75 g)
1 level teaspoon baking powder

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350 deg. F (180 deg. C)

Place the flour in a large mixing bowl, sprinkle in the baking powder, then add the butter and rub it into the flour lightly, using your fingertips. Then when it all looks crumbly, and the fat has been dispersed fairly evenly, add the sugar and combine that well with the rest.

Now sprinkle the crumble mixture all over the fruit in a pie dish, spreading it out with a fork. Place the crumble on a high shelf in the oven and bake it for 30-40 minutes or until the top is tinged with brown.

Variations on the crumble topping:

1. Instead of all flour use 4 oz wholewheat flour (1 log) and 4 oz jumbo or porridge oats (110 g). 
2. Instead of all flour, use 4 oz wholewheat flour (1 log) and 4 oz muesli (1 log). 
3. For a nut crumble topping, use 6 oz (175g) wholewheat flour and 3 oz chopped nuts (75 g). You will need to use only 3 oz of soft brown sugar (75 g) with the 3 oz of butter (75 g).

Spiced apple and raisin crumble
(serves 6 people)

2 lb Bramley apples, peeled and sliced (900 g)
1 oz soft brown sugar (25 g)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 oz raisins (75 g)
2 tablespoons water

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350 deg. F (180 deg. C)

A 3 pint (1.75 litre) pie dish.

Place the sliced apples, raisins, sugar and spices in a saucepan, sprinkle with the water, then cook gently until the apples are soft and fluffy. Spoon the mixture into the pie-dish and sprinkle with any of the crumble toppings above. Use a fork to even it out, but don't press it down at all. Cook for 30-40 minutes until the topping is tinged with brown.

Alternative crumble fillings

All the recipes that follow are cooked at the same temperature as the Spiced apple and raisin crumble recipe above and are all cooked in the same size dish (3 pint or 1.75 litre). They all serve 6 people also.

Rhubarb and ginger crumble:

Use 2 lb rhubarb (900 g), 3 oz soft brown sugar (75 g) and 1 level teaspoon powdered ginger.

Cut the rhubarb into chunks, then place in a saucepan together with the sugar and ginger. Cook over a gentle heat (covered) for 15 minutes, stirring to get the uncooked pieces at the top down into the heat. Try not to overcook it, though - it should be chunky, not mushy. When it's cooked, drain off about half the juice, then transfer the fruit to a pie-dish, sprinkle with a crumble topping, and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Gooseberry crumble:

Use 2 lb gooseberries (900 g) and 6 oz caster sugar (175 g).

Just top and tail the gooseberries, place them in the dish, and sprinkle in the caster sugar. Top straightaway with one of the crumble mixtures, and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 40-45 minutes.

Damson (or plum) and cinnamon crumble:

Use 2 lb damsons or plums (900 g), 4 oz demerara sugar (110 g) and 1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon.

Wash the damsons or plums, then place them whole in the pie-dish. Sprinkle them with the sugar and cinnamon, then spread with the crumble topping. I think the nut crumble mixture is the nicest for this. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the topping is tinged with brown. Note: plums should be stoned and halved, but damson stones are easier left for the diners to extract!

Dried fruit crumble:

For this you can use any combination of dried fruits: prunes, apricots, figs, raisins etc. You need 1 lb mixed dried fruits (450 g), the zest and juice of 1 large orange and 2 oz demerara sugar (50 g).

Soak the fruit overnight in a deep bowl, covered with about 1 1/4 pints (720 ml) of water. Next day drain off 1/4 pint of the water, then place the rest of the water, the fruit and the sugar in a saucepan, bring to simmering point and simmer for 10 minutes or until the fruit is tender. Then stir in the orange juice and zest, pour the whole lot into the pie dish and top with the basic or the oat crumble, and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Black Currant crumble (serves 4-6 people)

1 lb fresh black currants (450 g)
2 tablespoons caster sugar

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350 deg. F (180 deg. C)

I think this particular crumble is nicest baked in a shallow 9 inch (23 cm) baking dish (or something similar). Strip the black currants from their stalks, arrange them in the tin, sprinkle with the sugar, top with your choice of crumble, and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Raspberry crumble: 
This is made in the same way as the black currant crumble, but with 1 instead of 2 tablespoons of caster sugar sprinkled over.

This possibly rather richer recipe comes from The Dairy Book of British Food [Ebury Press for the Milk Marketing Board, 1988 - ISBN 0-85223-735-9]

Apple and Orange Crumble

The beauty of crumbles is that they are very easy to make, and good-tempered enough to have their cooking time and temperature adjusted a little to fit in with the rest of the menu. The only thing to make sure of is that the top is nicely golden, but not too brown. The recipe here uses apple and orange but any type of fruit can be used.

Serves 4-6

700 g (1 1/2 lb) cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced grated rind and juice of 1 orange 
25 g (1 oz) light soft brown sugar 
100 g (4 oz) plain flour 
50 g (2 oz) plain wholemeal flour 
75 g (3 oz) butter 
40 g (1 1/2 oz) icing sugar, sieved 
1.25 mI (1/4 tsp) ground cinnamon

1. Put the apples, orange rind and juice and sugar into a 1.4 litre (2 1/2 pint) ovenproof serving dish. 
2. Put the flours into a mixing bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Stir in the icing sugar and cinnamon, making sure all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. 3. Sprinkle the crumble topping over the apple. Bake at 200 deg. C (400 deg. F) mark 6 for 30-40 minutes, until the topping is crisp and golden. Serve hot with fresh cream or custard.

Variations

1. Use any type of fresh fruit such as pears, rhubarb, plums, apricots, damsons or gooseberries. 
2. Add the grated rind of an orange or lemon to the crumb mixture before sprinkling it over the fruit. 
3. Replace 75 g (3 oz) of the flour with rolled oats, bran flakes or oatmeal. 
4. Add 25 g (1 oz) chopped nuts such as almonds, walnuts or brazils to the crumble topping mixture. 
5. Replace the cinnamon with mixed spice or ginger and add to the flour before rubbing in the butter.

Doug Essinger-Hileman's Cranberry-Cherry Crumble

Cranberry-Cherry Crumble

Bring 1 cup of port to a boil with 1 4-inch stick of cinnamon and 1 cardamon seed. Remove from the heat and let stand 10 minutes. Remove the spices, bring the spiced port back to a boil, and add 1 pound of cranberries and 1/2 pound of dark cherries. Cook until the cranberries begin to pop.* (You can reduce the heat to prevent splattering, if you wish!)

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fruit to a casserole dish. Add liquid just until you can see the liquid (the level of the liquid should remain below the level of the fruit; you should use only about 1/3 of the available liquid). Top with the crumble mixture (5 ounces of whole wheat flour, 5 ounces of sugar and 1/2 cup butter, mixed until crumbly in texture). Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Serve with whipped cream if desired.

*This method of cooking was first inspired by a recipe I saw in "Food and Wine" magazine for cranberry relish. The advantages it has for this particular recipe are:
1) I wanted a very sublime taste of spice. Infusing the port with the cinnamon and cardamon was just perfect!
2) By pre-cooking the cranberries, the cranberry juice mingles with the port/orange juice. This provides a wonderful juice to pour on top of the crumble at serving time.

I just made a variation of this a few days ago. Inspired by Doug's initial suggestion, I soaked fresh cranberries in port for a couple of days. Then threw them into a larger bowl with some sugar, cinnamon, cloves, orange zest (no cherries), and about 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour to soak up some of the port; added a crumble topping very much like yours, but with dark *brown* sugar and less butter, and baked for about a half hour. The consistency was perfect and it had a great texture. And tasted wonderful with whipped cream.

Jay Reay's Crumble Notes

Soft fruits are generally not too good for crumbles, needing perhaps the steaming qualities of hard-case pies, or the high temperature quick baking of open tarts. I would think strawberries would break down pretty quickly, but they are delicious in an open tart, though I prefer other fruit.

Crumbles tend to soften their fillings noticeably, which is why they are very good for cooking apples (dessert apples turn to mush), plums, damsons and rhubarb. Blackberries and gooseberries are robust enough to be excellent fillings, and I would think cranberries (like red currants and blueberries) would do just as well, giving a tart nip to the taste buds as required by Doug.

I would serve b and a crumble with a traditional good custard, and plum, damson or gooseberry with creme fraiche d'isigny or thick cream, preferably clotted. I guess the secret for a good crumble is to cook it just enough to get a really good top - cooked all the way through, crisp on top with the sugar nicely caramelised, but not solidified.

Like the Ant, I like to add orange peel to gooseberry crumble too and often add a little good quality orange juice, and also mix red currants in to give it a better variation of taste and texture. A good quality single-flower honey makes a very pleasant gooseberry sweetener. Gooseberries (particularly those with a pink blush) are lovely summer-warm from the bush with good ice cream, or whipped into a fool, or even frozen in a frosted fruit concoction but can be a tad boring in large portions.

For the crumble topping we use wholemeal flour, unsalted butter and Demerara sugar. Fine chopped almonds add a superb taste but may be too delicate for a robust filling such as gooseberries or cranberries.

We use fine brown sugar (Muscovado light for sweetenings and light desserts, dark for puddings and savouries, Molasses sugar for chutneys) for most cooking and for sweetening coffee (white sugar other than caster or icing never gracing our shopping bags except for guests with no taste) but for cooked toppings like crumbles I find coarse Demerara gives a crunchy, caramelised top.

I totally follow the Estimable Delia (anywhere, anytime) and her suggestions for crumble toppings and fillings, although I use coarse sugar rather than fine for the topping to get extra crunch. 

Dried fruit as a filling is a special favourite ever since my Granny introduced me to the luxury of such a wide range of fruit (she bottled fruit too but dried is better for crumbles) when I was a little boy after the War and exotic fruit such as bananas were still very scarce in Britain; it can be too sweet for my taste, so I add lime juice.

Dulce de Leche

Mary S.'s Dulce de Leche

It's milk boiled down with lots of sugar - boiled and boiled until it's a warm brown and thick and gooey (slightly softer than peanut butter) and heavily caramelized. You can make it yourself, or (easier) buy it at the store in big jars. This was spread on toast sometimes at afternoon tea, or used as a filling in sandwich cookies, or served in a pudding dish - American meaning of pudding, not British meaning - with whipped cream on top. If you're thinking the calorie count on =that= would be astronomical, you're probably right.

If you want to recreate this taste treat, buy a can of sweetened condensed milk and cook it under gently boiling water for an hour or longer. (one web source says, put the can on its side, not its bottom) Do not let it boil dry or you will be doing an exhaustive cleaning of your kitchen ceiling. Let it cool, still under the water, then open with a can opener (not a punch style, something that takes the whole lid off), spoon out and enjoy.

See a more compendious version of this recipe at Dulce de Leche

That is correct and very important [put the can on its side, not its bottom], or you can also put some spacer at the bottom, so the can of condensed milk doesn't touch the bottom directly and get too much heat, but is completely surrounded by water. You don't open or perforate the can, you don't even need to peel the label off. As long as you keep the water level, the can won't even budge.

When I was a kid, we lived in the US for a year, and my mom used to do dulce de leche that way. She used to make 4 or 6 cans at once, as many as they fit in whichever pot was at hand. After all, I was still growing UP instead of sideways. Even if you are weight conscious, make sure the condensed milk has real sugar, not artificial sweetener. Sugar turns into caramel, sweetener doesn't. If it doesn't get real sugar, you just get overcooked condensed milk.

Encouraged by the raves on the List, I tried it, and it's delicious.
But .... a word of warning.
Let the can cool before opening it. In my eagerness, I plucked it from the simmering pot and gingerly eased the ring-pull top open.
The result is best described by Douglas Adams in "The Meaning of Life" as "Toronto" - blobs of sweetened caramelised confection in a straight line for three metres from the benchtop across shelves, spice jars, books and carpet.

Gingerbread

Andrew Midkiff's Gingerbread

Which it ain't gingerbread man type gingerbread, but it is mighty good.
And for a true heterodox gingerbread experience, add a 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips to the final batter before adding to the pan. Amazing.

Gingerbread

T. = Tablespoon
t. = teaspoon
c. = cup

1 T. vinegar
3/4 c. milk, room temp.
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. soda
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 -2 t. ground ginger (if fresh, use 3 t., fresh is best)
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/3 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
3/4 c. molasses

Preheat oven to moderate (350 F). Grease 8x8x2 inch pan. Add vinegar to milk and set aside. Mix baking powder, flour, soda, salt and spices, mix well. Cream butter into sugar, add egg and whip until fluffy. Add molasses and mix. Stir only until mixed after each addition. (add chocolate chips here). Turn into prepared pan and bake 45-50 minutes until the cake rebounds to the touch. Enjoy with cold milk.

I begged this recipe from my mother (who, incidentally, got me started on the Canon). These gingerbread cookies have delighted my family for as long as I can remember. We once had a dachshund, the color of slightly burnt gingerbread, who went absolutely crazy when he smelled these baking. He wasn't at all ashamed when we accused him of cannibalism when he gobbled down a gingerbread dachsund.

Barbara Nyden wrote:

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light molasses
1/2 tablespoon vinegar
1 beaten egg
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger

Bring shortening, sugar, and molasses to boil. Cool and add egg. Add sifted dry ingredients; mix well. Chill. (Will keep several days in frig.) Roll on lightly floured surface. Cut any shape. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 375 deg., 12-15 minutes for large, thick cookies; 7-10 min. for small thin ones. Makes 2 1/2 doz cookies. Good for gingerbread men.

Lois' Fruit Pizza

Soften a stick of butter. Cream with 1/2 cup of sugar. Add a beaten egg and mix in a cup of flour. Pat this into a pie plate. Leave edges exposed, cover middle and up to edges with lots of fruit, in this case, a whole pint of blueberries. Sugar the fruit if you like things sweet. Bake at 375 til done. Mine took over 45 mins. This makes something like a small sweet fruit pizza. 

Puddings

Bob Jernigan's Easy Bread Pudding

Mix chunks of bread (day-old bagels work great) into a custard sauce. Bake. Serve with chocolate sauce or rum sauce. Or chocolate-rum sauce.

Figgy 'obbin

This is a traditional Cornish recipe. The "figs" refer to the Cornish common name for raisins.

Ingredients: 

8 oz suet 
1 lb flour 
1 tsp salt 
2 tsp baking powder 
raisins 
milk 
sugar 

Method: 
Mix together the suet, flour, salt and baking powder. Add water gradually, to form a dry elastic dough. Knead lightly, then roll out to about 1/2" thick. Sprinkle on two handfuls of raisins, roll them in lightly with a rolling pin. Fold up, like a jam suet pudding, sealing the ends. Criss-cross the top with a knife, brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. 

Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Andrew Midkiff's Indian and Hasty Pudding Website

Just to let all of you cooks out there that the nineteen recipes for Indian and Hasty Pudding are finaly up and running fine at Indian Pudding Impartially Considered and 100 Years Of Indian Pudding Recipes From The First American Cookbook In 1796 To The First Edition Of Fannie Farmer'S Boston Cooking-School Cook Book In 1896

I made this pudding for the Glover's Regiment dinner. It's a modern version containing eggs. Traditional Indian Pudding has no eggs and can be used as mortar (or shot from a mortar). Carrying cold, congealed traditional Indian pudding during a riot is a felony in most states.

The pudding Mr. O'Brian enjoyed at the Union Oyster House was the "enlightened" modern version, and similar to this:

Hayden's Favorite Indian Pudding
serves 8 to 10

6 Tbs yellow corn meal
1/2 c molasses
3 1/2 c hot milk
1/4 c cold milk
1/3 c plus 1 Tbs sugar
1/4 c light brown sugar
2 eggs beaten
2 Tbs butter
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice

Mix the corn meal and molasses. Add hot milk. Cook this over medium heat until the consistency of light gruel, stirring all the time.
Add everything except the cold milk and mix well. Pour mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake at 300 (farenheit! Moderate/Low oven, 150 C) for 45 minutes but be sure to stir mixture well at the 20 minute mark.
After 45 minutes from the beginning of the baking time, stir in the cold milk, and again mix well.
Bake at 300 for about 2 hours more. It may take a few minutes over the 2 hours, but watch carefully the last minutes. An overbaked Indian pudding is an egregious disappointment.
Country Flavor Cookbook, Hayden S. Pearson, Bramhall House, 1962. Originally published by WW Norton, 1956.

A recipe published in the Boston Globe for Durgin Park's non-suet Indian pudding. This is the only non-suet pudding that Patrick O'Brian has admitted eating in print, as far as I know, and he wrote that he ate it in Boston. It has been on Durgin Park's menu for over 150 years. Every other day, the chef, Tommy Ryan, makes 30 gallons. Durgin Park actually sells packs of the dry ingredients for those who want to make it at home. Ryan says that he bakes it for 5 to 7 hours, or until a spoon stands up in it.

The following recipe has been adapted for a shorter baking time:
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or lard
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
6 cups hot milk, divided
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. In a large saucepan, combine the cornmeal, molasses, sugar, butter, baking soda, salt and eggs. stir in 3 cups of milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in the remaining cups of milk. Pour into a well-greased 9-inch square baking dish and bake for 2 hours or until the top feels set when lightly touched. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Louis Cohen's Chinese Rice Pudding

A dessert which might well be served at a traditional Chinese wedding is transliterated by Pei Mei's Chinese Cookbook, Volume I as Pa Pao Fan - Eight Treasure Rice Pudding.

Here is the recipe:
1 1/2 C Glutinous Rice
1/2 C Sweet red bean paste
20 candied lotus seeds
5 red dates
20 peanuts
20 longan pulp or white raisins (sultanas, no?)
30 brown raisins
4 pcs squash candy or candied citron
1/4 C candied orange peel
3 T lard (or shortening)
5 T sugar
1 T cornstarch (made into paste with the water)
1 T cold water

1. Wash the rice, place in deep pot add same amount of cold water, bring to a boil and cook about 3 minutes until the water is absorbed. Reduce heat to low, cover, cook another 10 minutes. Remove cooked rice to bowl, add 2T lard and 2 T sugar, mix well.
2. Using a mold or 6" bowl, brush the bottom with the remaining lard, lay all ingredients except rice in rows or other designs. Squash candy and orange peel must be cut into small pieces first.
3. Place 2/3 of the mixed rice in bowl and then put sweet red bean paste in the center. Cover bean paste with remaining rice, flatten, and steam for at least 2 hours. Unmold on a serving platter
4. Boil 1 C of water, add 3 T sugar, make it sticky with cornstarch paste. Pour the syrup on the pudding, serve immediately.

Dave Percival's Spotted Dick

The Spring 1996 issue of the Long of Mystic Seaport contains a lengthy article entitled Roly-Poly, Spotted Dick, and Toasted Cheese by Sandra L. Oliver. Included are POB references to various dishes and contemporary recipes. The spotted dog (dick) recipe comes from Alison Uttley's Recipes >From an Old Farmhouse, 1966.

"The pudding was a mixture of a cupful of flour and a cupful of suet, a cupful of currants, an egg and a little milk to mix. It was a boiled dumpling pudding for a working day, to appease the hunger of farm men, a primitive pudding known through the centuries, boiled in a cloth.

"The recipe really does work. Use a standard measuring cup for the "cupful" measures, tossing all ingredients together and adding the milk gradually until you have a sticky dough. Put into a greased and floured earthenware bowl. Dampen a piece of muslin large enough to cover the bowl generously, lay it over the top doubling it back on itself for an inch or two to allow room for expanding. Tie it down with string. Use a bow to tie it so you can open the pudding easily to check for doneness. Boil for an hour and a half. If a skewer or knife inserted comes out clean, the pudding is done.

"This is rich and will serve 6-8 people generously. As with roly-poly, a melted jam or jelly sauce is nice."

An old manual of Naval Cookery says that for spotted dick for 16 men (is this contagious?) you will need

4lbs flour
1lb suet
1.5 Ibs currants
1.75 lbs sugar
0.5 oz baking powder.

Mix together moistening with sufficient milk to make a stiff dough. Tie in a floured cloth and boil for 4 hours for a round pudding and 2.5 hours for a long one.

Alison Fitts' Spotted Dog

I have 2 recipes for Spotted Dog. One fancy and one plain. Take your pick. Since the first uses suet, I suspect it is closer to what is mentioned in The Ionian Mission.

Spotted Dog

1/2 lb. beef suet
1/2 lb. sultanas
1/2 lb. currants
1/2 lb. raisins
1/2 lb. bread crumbs 
1/4 lb. flour
1/4 lb. chopped candied peel
1/4 lb. blanched almonds, chopped
1/4 lb brown sugar
grated rind of 1 lemon
3/4 Cup brandy or rum
6 eggs
2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. mixed spice
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preparation:
Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and spice together. Add the finely grated suet and rub it into the flour. Add the fruit and other ingredients. Mix all well together. Add the brandy. Tie in a greased and floured pudding cloth or basin, and boil for 6 hours. NOTE: A 3 hours' steaming before use is recommended for the pudding.

6 slices stale dry bread
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup raisins
1/2 lb. brown sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp nutmeg
1/2 lb. butter
2 apples

Preparation:
Beat eggs and mix with milk; break bread into pieces and soak in this mixture. Melt butter and add all other ingredients together. Bake in well greased 2

Elizabeth Wild's Summer Pudding Recipe

At the request of those at the recent Portsmouth Gathering, here is the recipe for Summer Pudding. My absolute favourite pudding of all time. Apologies to everyone who already knows how to make it. 

INGREDIENTS

around 7 or 8 medium slices of good white bread*, crusts taken off 
1/4 lb black currants 
1lb raspberries 
8 oz made up of any combination of strawberries, blackberries, red currants or similar fruit 
6 oz caster sugar

1 2-pint pudding basin 
A saucer that will fit on top of the bowl exactly (it has to push down into the pudding).

*the bread must be nice and firm, not the soft, springy mass-manufactured stuff that has no substance to it. 

The black currants give it it's distinctive flavour. If you don't have them in America I guess bilberries or blueberries or some such would do the trick. Anything that's a bit tangy. 

METHOD 

Strip the stalks off the black currants (and red currants, etc). Put together with any other cookable fruit (eg, red currants, blackberries) with the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes until sugar melts, fruit softens very slightly (the black currants start to crack) and the juice runs. Let it cool a little, then add all the other fruit and mix gently.

Line pudding basin with the bread: make sure it all overlaps slightly and press the edges together to seal it well. Fill the lined basin with the fruit, but keep some of the juice back. (Use a slotted spoon if it looks very runny). It has to be moist enough for the juices to soak the bread without it getting too soggy.

Cover the pudding with another slice of bread - the basin should be completely full now. Put the saucer on top of this and then weight it down with something REALLY heavy - around 4 lb at least. This is to squeeze all the juice into the bread. Leave in the fridge overnight. 

Turn out onto a plate to serve - tease it out with a knife blade if it sticks. If any of the bread still shows white, spoon the remaining juice over it.

Serve with a large jug of cream (I prefer single) and if any of the juice is left put that in a small jug with it too. 

Bob Jernigan's Easy Pumpkin Pie

Mix cooked pumpkin into a custard sauce, flavor with cinnamon, nutmeg, mace and bake in a pie shell.

"Take a quart and half a pint of cream, a pint of Rhenish (wine), half a pint of sack, three lemons, and near a pound of double-refined sugar; beat and sift the sugar, and put it to your cream; grate off the yellow rind of your lemons and put that in; squeeze the juice of the lemons into your winde...beat all together with a whisk just half an hour.... It will keep good nine or ten days, and is best three or four days old. These are called the everlasting syllabubs."

2 egg whites
4 oz sugar
juice of half a lemon
1/4 pint sweet white wine
10 oz double cream, whipped
lemon slices

Whisk the egg whites stiffly and fold in the sugar, lemon juice, wine and cream. Pour into individual glasses and chill for several hours. decorate with lemon slices. Delicious with a sweet Marsala.
 

Syllabub variation:
serves 8
4 cups red wine
3/4 cup sugar
juice and zest of two lemons
1 cup sherry or 1/2 a cup sherry + 1/2 cup Madeira
2 cups heavy cream

Stir 1/4 cup sugar into the wine until dissolved, pour into the glasses. Reserve 1 tblspoon of the zest. In a large bowl, combine the lemon juice with the sherry and remaining sugar: stir until dissolved.
Pour in the cream and whip with a whisk. Spoon off the "froth" and lay it onto the wine in the glasses. Sprinkle with lemon Zest and garnish with a sprig of rosemary. Chill for at least an hour.

Tablet

Dee's Tablet

2 lbs sugar
2 tlbs corn syrup
small tin condensed milk (sweetened)
2 ozs margarine
3 ozs water
1/2 tsp vanilla

Place all in pan. Melt slowly. Stir till boiling. Boil about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and beat well and pour into greased tin. Mark when cool; cut when cold. Wrap in waxed paper.
Many different flavorings could be added according to taste. Example, cinnamon, lemon, orange or most any type of nut.

TABLET (this one from a friend)
This can be flavoured, according to taste, with cinnamon, clove, ginger, lemon, orange, peppermint, vanilla or nuts.

1/2 lb (1 cup) butter or margarine,
1 pint (2 cups) water
4 lbs extra fine sugar
1 lb. tin sweetened, condensed milk such as Nestle's

Put the butter and water into a deep pan and melt on a low heat. When melted, add the sugar and bring to a boil, stirring slowly all the time. When boiling, add the condensed milk and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Take off the heat and add the flavouring of your choice, then beat very well for five minutes. Pour into a greased pan and score into squares or oblongs about the size of dominos., or into little bars about 5 inches long and 1-1/2 inches wide. Wrap each bar in waxed paper when cold. Makes about 4 lbs.

Note: Once when I made this, I couldn't get it to harden, so in desperation I put it back in the pan and carefully boiled more of the liquid out of it, whereupon it set perfectly. I mention this, because I had first called a friend who writes cook books and who told me the runny tablet couldn't be saved, but I couldn't bear to waste the delicious ingredients. She's promised me a mention in her next candy book in the Hints and Tips section!

(this one from the internet)
2lb bag granulated sugar
Large can Nestles Condensed milk.
Milk (see below)
1.5 oz butter
vanilla essence

Put all the ingredients (except essence) into a large heavy saucepan. To get the right quantity of milk, refill the can which contained the condensed milk. Bring to boil, stirring with a wooden spoon, to ensure the sugar is dissolved before the mixture boils.
Now the tricky bit. Boil until ready. If you have a sugar thermometer (I do not) you are aiming I think for about 220 F. But you can use the cold water method. Drop a small amount of mixture into a cup of cold water and wait until it sets. It's advisable to remove the pan from the heat when testing so as not to overcook. When the mixture in the cup will form a soft ball when moulded with your fingers - and it keeps its shape - the tablet is ready. The amount of cooking is really a matter of personal taste. I like mine quite soft. If you like it harder , cook it a bit longer. As a guide, it will take 15 -20 mins after coming to boil. When it's ready, remove mixture from heat, and beat with a wooden spoon until you feel the mixture becoming gritty. At this point add the essence, and tip into a buttered tray. Cut into pieces before cold. If it does not set, or it's too soft, you can re-boil it.