Strawberry Macaroon Pudding

Serves 4

Preparation: 15 mins

Chilling Time: 2 hours or over night

This is a really simple but delicious pudding that was given to me by a friend in the early 1970's.   She wrote this recipe out in beautiful italic script and is a rich decadent strawberry mousse.

The richness of this pudding is offset by a slightly tart coulis of strawberries and decorated simply either  with strawberries, ratafia biscuits and a sprig of mint.

Ingredients

300 mls double cream, beaten until thickened

2 tins of strawberries, or frozen ones or 400g of ripe fresh strawberries

Sweeten with your choice if using fresh strawberries

1 egg white, beaten until stiff

6 Old fashioned macaroons (you can make these or buy them)  if unavailable, use ratafia biscuits

Optional Topping:

Strawberry Coulis:

One punnet of strawberries (frozen or tinned, but drained) - liquidize

Ratafia biscuits and/or fresh strawberries

Sprig of mint

AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO.....

1. Whip cream until stiff.
   
   
2. Fold in stiffly beaten egg white and sugar or other sweetner if using fresh strawberries.
   
   
3. Add crushed macaroons to squashed strawberries and some of the juice, but do not make it too wet or it will separate.
   
   
4. Transfer to a serving dish or glass bowl, or even separate bowls.
   
   
5. You can also make a coulis to go on top by simply liquidising a second punnet of strawberries, which will require a modest amount of sweetening, or use tinned (drained) or frozen strawberries.   The tartness will offset the richness of the pudding itself.
   
   
6. Decorate the top with with a few strawberries and or ratafias.
   
   
   

Swiss Log Roll

Serves 4

Preparation: 15 - 20 minutes

Chilling Time: Minimum one hour

This is a very quick and easy pudding which is quite alcoholic, looks fun and tastes great = however, forget about counting calories!   We all enjoy a treat once in a while!

Ingredients

1 packet Ginger Nuts

300 mls double cream

Wine glass of Medium or Sweet Sherry



AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO.....

1. Whip the cream until stiff.
   
   
2. Soak each biscuit very quickly in the sherry (watch they don't disintegrate!)
   
   
3. Butter each biscuit with the cream and lay in log formation on a long entrée dish.
   
   
4. Cover the log with whipped cream and sprinkle with grated dark chocolate or you could zig zag stripes of
   Butterscotch Sauce for a dramatic look.
   
   
5. Serve with defrosted mixed berries (readily available in the frozen section of most supermarkets)
   
   
   

Syllabub

Serves 4

Preparation: 15 - 20 mins

Chilling Time: One hour or overnight

Syllabub is a gloriously decadent pudding, and can be enjoyed just as it is, perhaps with some Tuille Biscuits on the side.

However, you can create a fruit coulis to put in the bottom of your individual serving glasses, such as rhubarb, mixed berries, or just raspberries - and you can, of course, decorate the top with either more whipped cream, cherries, lemon rind, blueberries and even crushed ratafia biscuits.

Ingredients

l large lemon

2 tablespoons medium or sweet sherry

2 tablespoons brandy

50g  castor sugar

300 ml double cream

Garnish (optional)

Base layer of fruit coulis - ideas suggested above

Whipped double cream

Small amount of fruit, fresh berries as described above

Crushed ratafia biscuits

Tiny slivers of lemon rind

AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO....

1. Grate the rind of the lemon and squeeze the juice into a bowl.
   
   
2. Now add the other ingredients and blend with an electric mixer for a few minutes until smooth and fairly stiff.
   
   
3. Pour into individual dishes and garnish with your choice of topping as described above.
   
   
4. Chill for an hour or overnight.
   
   
   

Banana and Walnut Fool

Serves 4

Preparation: 15 minutes

Chilling Time: One hour or overnight

This is a very quick and easy pudding to prepare and is a little bit decadent with the addition of some white wine!

Fools are generally made from whipped double cream and puréed fruit of a huge variety.   Can be made lighter with the addition of a whipped egg white and if served in individual glasses, this is rather delicious!

Ingredients

4 large ripe bananas

70g sugar/maple syrup

300 ml double cream

1 tablespoon lemon juirce

Half a cup of chopped walnuts

Small glass white wine

AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO.....

1. Mash the bananas with a fork.
   
   
2. Blend in the lemon juice, sugar and white wine.
   
   
3. Chop the walnuts fairly small.
   
   
4. Whip the cream until thickened and fold together with the walnuts into the mixture.
   
   
5. Pour into individual serving glasses or bowls.
   
   
6. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour, or overnight.