Easy Lemon Pudding

This lemon pudding couldn’t be easier. It’s made with just four ingredients: whipping cream, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

All you do is warm everything up, then let the pudding set. It’s like magic.

Elegant, simple, and with a velvety texture that is positively dreamy, this lemon pudding is perfect for Easter dinner, Mother’s Day brunch, and everything in between.

No one needs to know it only took you 15 minutes to make.

The recipe is a modern adaptation of a medieval drink called a posset, which was popular from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century. This was a hot milk or cream mixture thickened with acidic wine or cider. It was considered medicinal for treating a cold or flu. Syllabubs, another sweet frothy drink, are closely related.

History lesson over! Lemon posset is fast becoming a trendy dessert, especially in Britain.

The magic is in the thick cream, reduced slightly, and combined with tart lemon juice. The two interact to form an exquisite creamy consistency, especially after you strain out the little bits of zest.

Look through your cupboard for pretty stemmed glasses if you want to be fancy, and make this for your next party!

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Blackberry tart (Torta di more)

“The creamy filling and fresh fruit combo in this blackberry tart is a real winner, and so easy ”

For the shortcrust pastry

125 g butter

100 g icing sugar

1 small pinch salt

255 g plain flour

1 vanilla pod , scored lengthways and seeds removed, optional

½ lemon , zest of, optional

2 large free-range egg yolks

2 tablespoons cold milk or water

For the filling

1 vanilla pod

500 g mascarpone

100 ml single cream

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons grappa or vin santo

310 g blackberries or other fruit

2 tablespoons blackberry or raspberry jam

1 small handful fresh baby mint leaves

Method

1. I must have made thousands of these tarts when I worked for Antonio Carluccio at the Neal Street Restaurant in London. We used to make them for the Royal Opera House, and people going to see an opera or ballet would have one as part of the poshest picnics in London, in their boxes up above the stage. I once went along on my day off to see Swan Lake and looked up to see all the people in the boxes eating my tarts while I was down with the others in the cheaper seats (eating a tube of fruit pastilles!). Not that I was jealous. I just knew how damn good those tarts were! This is such an easy dessert to make, especially if you have a couple of tart shells in your freezer. You can make it with just about any soft fruit – raspberries, blackberries, strawberries or blueberries, even lightly cooked gooseberries. You are in for a real treat!
   
   First you will need to grease a 28cm loose-bottomed tart tin with a little butter. To make your pastry, cream together the butter, icing sugar and salt and rub in the flour, vanilla seeds, lemon zest and egg yolks – you can do all this by hand or in a food processor. When the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs, add the cold milk or water. Pat and gently work the mixture together until you have a ball of dough, then flour it lightly. Don’t work the pastry too much, otherwise it will become elastic and chewy, not flaky and short as you want it to be. Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge for at least an hour. Remove it from the fridge, roll it out and line your tart tin. Place in the freezer for an hour. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4 and bake the pastry case for around 12 minutes or until lightly golden.
2. To make the filling, split the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds by running a knife along the inside of each half. Put the mascarpone, cream, vanilla seeds, sugar and grappa into a large bowl and whip until shiny. Have a taste – you should have an intensely rich, fluffy and lightly sweetened cream with a fresh hint of grappa. If you can’t get grappa, you can do it without, or add a swig of vin santo instead.
3. Once the pastry has cooled, get yourself a spatula and add the sweetened cream to the pastry case. Smear it all round so it’s reasonably level, then cover it with the berries – place them lightly on the cream, no need to push them in. If you want to be a bit more generous than this, feel free, and if you want to mix your berries you can do this too. Next, in a small pan, melt down a couple of tablespoons of jam with 3 or 4 tablespoons of water. Stir until it becomes a light syrup, then, using a clean pastry brush, lightly dip and dab the fruit with the jam.
4. Sprinkle with the baby mint leaves before eating. Great served either as one large tart or as small individual ones. Lovely with your afternoon tea. Either serve straight away or place in the fridge until you’re ready to eat it.

Organic or free-range milk comes from cows that have been able to graze outdoors, and have had happy, free, healthy lives. Always check the label. Join our Food Revolution!

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Baked pears with wine and a scrumptious walnut cream

“There's something so moreish about baked pears – and just wait tilll you taste this nutty cream! ”

1 vanilla pod

4 good-quality seasonal pears , peeled

125 g dark muscovado sugar , pus a little extra

2 large wineglasses red or white wine

2 oranges

200 g peeled walnuts

255 g mascarpone

Method

1. When I worked in France, I would visit a lovely little bakery once a week to buy a tart filled with a really amazing walnut cream, with poached glazed pears on top. It was such a joy to eat that I wanted to give you a recipe based on these flavours – the combination is fantastic. At Christmas time, it’s nice to use chestnuts instead of walnuts, or you could even bash up or grate some good-quality chocolate to sprinkle over the pears as well.
   
   Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7. Score down the length of the vanilla pod and remove the seeds by scraping a knife down the inside of each half. Put the pears into a tight-fitting ovenproof pot or pan, add the 125g of sugar, wine, vanilla pod and seeds, and the peel and juice of 1 orange and bring to the boil. Sprinkle over half the walnuts and then put in the oven to bake. Every so often, baste the pears with the syrup they are cooking in, as this will give them a nice glaze. Cook for around 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the ripeness, until the pears are tender but still holding their shape, then remove from the oven and allow to cool while you roast the remaining walnuts on a baking tray in the oven for 5 minutes – make sure you keep an eye on them as they can quickly go from golden to black and you don’t want burnt walnuts!
2. Remove the vanilla pod from the syrup. When the walnuts are done, either whiz them in a food processor or bash them up with a pestle and mortar until you have a paste. Whip up the mascarpone with the walnut paste, the zest and juice of the other orange and enough sugar to sweeten, and serve this cream with the baked pears, the nuts, some orange peel and some of the cooking syrup.

Let’s build a healthier, happier world through the joy of food! Join the Food Revolution for the latest on sustainable food, farming and cooking projects across the globe. Join our Food Revolution!

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Banana pancakes

“My fluffy American-style pancakes with sticky bananas are a real treat for the weekend ”

3 large free-range eggs

115 g plain flour

1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

140 ml milk

1 pinch salt

2 knobs butter

3 tablespoons caster sugar

4 bananas

crème fraîche , to serve

Method

1. Separate the eggs, putting the whites into one bowl and the yolks into another. Combine the plain flour, baking powder and milk with the egg yolks and mix until it forms a smooth, thick batter. Whisk the whites with the salt until they form stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the batter – it is now ready to use. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a moderate heat.
2. Pour some of your batter into the pan and fry for a couple of minutes until it starts to look golden and firm. Loosen with a spatula and turn or flip the pancake over. Continue frying until golden. Melt the butter and sugar in a separate pan over a low heat until they form a caramel sauce – about 3 minutes.
3. Peel and cut the bananas lengthways, add them to the pan and cook gently until they are golden, turning after a few minutes. You might need to alter the cooking time slightly, depending on how ripe your bananas are. Serve them on the pancakes topped with a good spoonful of crème fraîche.

Organic or free-range milk comes from cows that have been able to graze outdoors, and have had happy, free, healthy lives. Always check the label. Join our Food Revolution!

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Fresh pineapple with crème fraîche and mint

“This is one easy-peasy pineapple recipe and makes a deliciously light dessert at barbecues ”

1 small tub crème fraîche

1 vanilla pod , scored lengthways and seeds scraped out

1 pineapple

icing sugar , for dusting

1 handful fresh mint , leaves picked and finely sliced

Method

1. Preheat your barbecue. Beat the crème fraîche with the seeds from the vanilla pod and put to one side.
2. Cut the ends off the pineapple. Sit it on a board and cut off the skin in wide strips from top to bottom, making sure you cut out any woody eyes. Thinly slice the pineapple, and dust the slices with icing sugar.
3. Make sure the bars of the barbecue are clean – especially if you’ve been cooking fish or meat beforehand – and drop the slices of pineapple on to it. Grill for about 30 seconds on each side then lift off with the tongs and transfer to a serving plate.
4. Serve scattered with mint and a generous dollop of vanilla-flavoured crème fraîche.

Let’s build a healthier, happier world through the joy of food! Join the Food Revolution for the latest on sustainable food, farming and cooking projects across the globe. Join our Food Revolution!

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Leftovers affogato

“Knock together this quick-fix affogato in just 45 seconds and reinvent any lovely leftover puds ”

75 g leftover dessert , Christmas pudding, chocolate mousse, tart, torte or pie

1 scoop good-quality vanilla ice cream

1 shot good-quality hot espresso

1-2 amaretti biscuits

Method

1. This is a quick fix pud that you can knock together in just 45 seconds. It’s a nice little recipe to have up your sleeve if you need to rustle something up with no notice. It’s also a fantastic way of bringing back to life any leftover puds you’ve got sitting in the fridge.
2. You can use cups, glasses or little bowls to make this pud. Spoon or crumble your leftover pudding into the bottom of each, then top with the scoop of ice cream and pour over the shot of espresso. If you’re doing this for kids, you could use decaffeinated coffee. Bash and crunch up your amaretti biscuits, then scatter one or two over the top of each pud and tuck in!

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Appleberry pie

“Loads of filling and seasonal berries give the great British apple pie an American feel ”

For the pastry

500 g plain flour , plus extra for dusting

100 g icing sugar

1 pinch sea salt

250 g unsalted butter , chilled and cut into cubes

2 large free-range eggs

1 splash milk

For the filling

10 Granny Smith apples , peeled, cored and halved, 3 sliced

2 oranges , juice and zest of

7 heaped tablespoons caster sugar

400 g huckleberries or blueberries

1 heaped tablespoon plain flour

1 large free-range egg , beaten

1 small handful demerara sugar

good-quality vanilla ice cream , optional, to serve

cream , optional, to serve

custard , optional, to serve

Method

1. Even though it has a strong British heritage, America has embraced the apple pie to the point that it’s now considered a quintessentially American dessert. American pies often look like the ones from those Desperate Dan comics – big, robust and full of attitude. The crumble-like topping sprinkled over my pie is an idea I’ve been playing about with, and I think it helps make it unique. Because huckleberries grow wild in Wyoming, I felt it was only right to use them, but feel free to use fresh or frozen blueberries in their place for equally delicious results. Assembling your pie is dead easy, and I’ll talk you through it step by step, but if you’d like to see how it’s done before you start, check out the How to video for a demonstration.
2. You can make your pastry by hand, or simply pulse all the ingredients in a food processor. If making by hand, sieve the flour, icing sugar and salt from a height into a large mixing bowl. Use your fingertips to gently work the cubes of butter into the flour and sugar until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Transfer a handful of this mixture to a separate bowl, rub it between your fingers to get larger crumbs, then put aside. Add the eggs and milk to the main mixture and gently work it together until you have a ball of pastry dough. Don’t work it too much at this stage – you want to keep it crumbly and short. Sprinkle a little flour over the pastry, then wrap it in cling film and pop it into the fridge to rest for 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, put the apples into a large pan with the zest and juice of 1 orange, a splash of water and 5 tablespoons of caster sugar. Cover the pan and simmer on a medium heat for 10 minutes, until the apples have softened but still hold their shape. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Scrunch a handful of berries in a bowl with the remaining caster sugar and the zest and juice of your remaining orange. Add the rest of the berries. Toss the cooled apples and their juices in a large bowl with the berries and the flour, then put aside.
4. Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Take your ball of pastry out of the fridge and let it come up to room temperature. Get yourself a pie dish around 28cm in diameter. Flour a clean surface and a rolling pin. Cut off a third of your pastry and put that piece to one side. Roll the rest into a circle just over 0.5cm thick, dusting with flour as you go. Roll the circle of pastry up over your rolling pin, then gently unroll it over the pie dish. Push it into the sides, letting any excess pastry hang over the edge. Tip in the fruit filling and brush all around the edge of the pastry with some of the beaten egg. Roll out the smaller ball of pastry about 0.5cm thick and use your rolling pin to lay it over the top of the pie. Brush it all over with more beaten egg, reserving a little. Sprinkle over the reserved crumble mixture and the demerara sugar.
5. Fold the scruffy edges of pastry hanging over the sides back over the pie, sealing the edge by twisting or crimping it as you like. Brush these folded edges with your remaining beaten egg. Using a small, sharp knife, cut a cross into the middle of the pie. Place on the bottom of the oven and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until golden and beautiful. Serve with ice cream, cream or custard.

Let’s build a healthier, happier world through the joy of food! Join the Food Revolution for the latest on sustainable food, farming and cooking projects across the globe. Join our Food Revolution!

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