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Summer puddings galore
After the dismal autumnal weather of the past month it's now turned gorgeous here in Alsace. Even if you don't feel like toiling away in the kitchen when it's 30 degrees outside (as now), take heart - we're talking meringues here (quick, easy and the oven so cool you won't even get in a lather), virginal, lightly set, yogurt-based mousses, a fruit ice cream - and some chic little summer puddings, set in ramekins and turned out over a crème anglaise. Whichever you choose, start early in the morning so the preparation is out of the way when the sun comes up. To serve, scatter with edible flowers (tiny pansies, marigold petals, lavender) and enjoy...
BROWN SUGAR PAVLOVA WITH STRAWBERRIES OR RHUBARB
The brown or raw sugar in this version of pavlova gives it a beautiful pale biscuit colour and a more interesting flavour.
Serves 8-10
6 egg whites
300g brown or raw sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp vinegar
500ml whipping cream
500g strawberries or 800g rhubarb cooked with 200g sugar
- Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and heat the oven to 140oC
- Beat the whites till stiff but still creamy, add the sugar and continue beating till stiff and glossy
- Mix together the cornflour and vinegar and add it to the meringue mixture
- Turn the mixture out onto the baking parchment, spreading it out quite thickly to a large circle, slightly hollowed out in the middle
- Bake for 30-45 minutes or until you can peel the paper away easily
- Hull and quarter the strawberries (or make a compote by stewing the rhubarb with the sugar until just tender – about 5 minutes)
- When the pavlova and the fruit are cool, whip the cream till stiff
- Fill the pavlova with cream, top with fruit and serve with a raspberry coulis
MINI PAVLOVAS WITH FRESH FRUIT
ON A RED FRUIT COULIS
A stunning dessert, light and sharp after a rich meal: thin discs of soft meringue covered with a selection of fresh fruit and served over a red fruit coulis. The pavlovas can be prepared a few days ahead (or frozen, for a longer wait) and the coulis puréed and strained. Top with fruit at the last moment. For a smaller recipe making 6 pavlovas, use 2 whites and 100g sugar.
Serves 8
3 egg whites
a pinch of salt
150g sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp vinegar
a selection of fresh fruit in season
Coulis
500g raspberries or strawberries
sugar to taste
optional: 1 tbs Kirsch
sprigs of mint or redcurrant sprays to garnish
- For the pavlovas, draw four 10 cm diameter circles on 2 sheets of non-stick baking parchment
- Heat the oven to 100oC
- Beat the whites in an electric mixer to soft peaks with the salt. Mix the sugar and cornflour together. Add the sugar and cornflour in a steady stream and continue beating until stiff and glossy. Mix in the vinegar
- Divide the mixture between the 8 circles, spreading it out with a spatula to the edges of the circles and wetting the spatula regularly so the meringue doesn’t stick to it. Smooth the tops
- Bake the pavlovas for about 1 hour or until just dried out - they should not colour, and when ready they will lift off the paper
- Purée the fruit for the coulis with sugar to taste, keeping it quite sharp. Push through a sieve to eliminate pips. Slacken to a pouring consistency with water and add the Kirsch if used. Chill the coulis
- Just before serving, pour a little coulis onto each plate. Put a meringue disc on top, arrange a selection of fruit on each meringue and garnish with a sprig of mint or redcurrant sprays.
GREEK YOGURT ‘PANNA COTTAS’ WITH BALSAMIC STRAWBERRIES OR SOFT FRUIT COMPOTE
These are only partially made of panna and they're not cotta either - instead it's a mixture of slightly sweetened Greek yogurt and cream lightly set with gelatine and flavoured with a little lemon zest and some cardamom seeds if you feel reckless. Pour into ramekins or dariole moulds to set, turn them out and surround with strawberries macerated in icing sugar and a few precious drops of real Balsamic vinegar, or (as here) with a compote of soft fruits.
Serves 6
4 sheets of gelatine
300ml whipping cream
100g sugar
150g Greek yogurt
grated zest of ½ a lemon
4-5 green cardamom pods, seeds only
- Put the gelatine sheets in a bowl, cover with cold water and leave until floppy
- Put the cream and sugar in a small pan, stir over gentle heat till the sugar is dissolved and you can no longer hear crystals crunching about
- Lift out the gelatine sheets, squeeze out excess water
- Add the floppy gelatine sheets to the pan of cream and sugar and stir till dissolved
- Tip this mixture into the liquidizer and allow to cool a little
- When cool, add the Greek yogurt, lemon zest and cardamom seeds (if used) and blend briefly till mixed
- Pour into moulds or ramekins and refrigerate till set
- Turn the ‘panna cottas’ out onto serving plates and spoon some macerated strawberries or soft fruit compote around
- Top with an edible flower - the picture shows heartsease, but you could use lavender, thyme, elderflower - whatever comes to hand and you're confident won't kill you (or your guests)
RASPBERRY, BLACKCURRANT OR BLACKBERRY ICE CREAM
This is undeniably a pain to make - cook fruit, sieve fruit, make syrup and pour onto yolks, whip cream, stir them all together - but it's the best way I know to make an intensely fruity ice cream and you won't need an ice cream maker, or to stir it while it's freezing.
Serves 6
500g raspberries, blackcurrants or blackberries
250g sugar
125ml water
3 egg yolks
300ml cream
- Put the fruit in a pan with 125g sugar and 3 tablespoons of water
- Bring to the boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the juices are released
- Push the fruit through a sieve to eliminate pips and cool the purée
- Put the remaining sugar in a small pan with the water and heat gently till the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is clear
- Bring the syrup to a rolling boil and continue boiling for about 5 minutes to the ‘thread stage’: dip a fork into the syrup and allow it to cool briefly, then pinch the syrup between finger and thumb – it should form a thread
- Beat the egg yolks and pour on the hot syrup in a steady stream
- Continue beating till the mixture is pale, thick and at least doubled in bulk (about 10 minutes)
- Beat the cream till stiff
- Fold together the purée, egg mixture and cream, making sure they are well mixed
- Freeze the ice cream in a metal bowl or loaf tin; allow it about half an hour in the fridge to 'come to' before serving in scoops or slices
PERSONALISED SUMMER PUDDINGS
WITH CRÈME ANGLAISE
Instead of making your summer pudding in the traditional way in a large pudding basin, tart things up a bit by moulding them individually in ramekins and serving them over a crème anglaise - which is just a fancy name for a deliciously runny custard.
Serves 8
about 16 slices slightly stale white toast-type bread, crusts removed
2 sheets gelatine, soaked in cold water
100g sugar or to taste
500g mixed soft fruit (raspberries, black/red currants, strawberries)
1 tbsp crème de cassis
Crème anglaise
500ml milk
6 egg yolks
100g sugar
a pinch of powdered vanilla
optional: some elderflowers plucked off the stalks or some crushed blackcurrant leaves
- Cut out rounds of bread the size of the ramekin bases from 8 of the slices and cut the remaining slices into equal strips, trimming them to line the sides of the ramekins
- Put the fruit, sugar and 250ml of water in a pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, add the squeezed out gelatine leaves, remove from the heat and crush the fruit roughly with a potato masher or similar instrument. Cool, add crème de cassis to taste.
- Spoon the fruit into the ramekins and put them on a tray in the fridge for several hours or overnight
- For the crème anglaise, heat the milk to boiling (with the optional elderflowers or blackcurrant leaves) in a heavy-based saucepan
- Beat the yolks with the sugar and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer till pale and fluffy
- Pull the milk off the heat (ideally before it boils over), strain it if flowers/leaves are used and pour it onto the yolks/sugar. Continue beating for a minute or two till mixed
- Rinse out the pan, pour in the milky mixture, return it to the heat and stir over moderate heat with a wooden spoon till it thickens to the consistency of single/pouring cream - wisps of steam will begin to appear and a definite channel should form when you draw a finger across the back of the spoon – don’t overdo it or it will turn to scrambled egg. Tip the crème into a bowl, let it cool, then put it in the fridge
- To serve, turn out puddings over a puddle of crème anglaise and garnish with wild strawberries, tiny pansies etc.
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