Since the days of ‘Delia’s Kitchen’ all I wanted to be was a chef – and a pastry one at that.
I wasn’t a normal child in any sense of the word. ‘Normal’ children
don’t pour over cooking tomes or wish for measuring cups and spoons for
their birthday.
In those days of a younger me, I held a somewhat ‘snooty disdain’ for baked puddings and preferred to try my hand at intricate 5 component desserts at Christmas dinner or attempt spun sugar (the aftermath of which involved a good scolding and chiseling molten caramel off my mother’s kitchen tiles).
Nostalgia
Today, I find myself eating humble pie (so to speak) and realise why baked puddings are so popular. They’re just so packed with nostalgia and for me, are the food that tastes like childhood.
The rich clouds of aroma that waft from my oven while a pudding is baking, instantly takes me back to Sunday afternoon lunches where the fragrance held the sweet promise of dessert.
I now adore the deceptive plainness of puddings (and thank goodness I had the foresight to copy down my grandmother’s recipes) – no fancy frills or fuss yet supremely indulgent and satisfying. These 3 recipes have spoonfuls of all of the above!
1. Sticky caramel baked puddings
A list of the best puddings would not be complete without one based on the anti-diet diva herself, Nigella, and this is truly a glorious one.
Caramel is the food world’s latest obsession and it seems toffee trumps chocolate nowadays. I really don’t need much convincing to hop onto that trend train so this is my ode to caramel, but with a few white chocolate chunks scattered in for good measure.
Try the recipe.
Imagine malva pudding but soaked in condensed milk!
Another dessert diva was the inspiration behind this sweet pud. Donna Hay’s Mexican three-milk cake gets a warm wintery makeover as a pudding. And the recipe uses just a little less than a full tin of condensed milk, but I don’t need to tell you what to do with what’s left in that tin do I?
Try the recipe.
3. Gooey chocolate brownie microwave puds
Sometimes
cooking in a microwave is totally excusable. My excuse to make this
indulgent chocolatey recipe is that there are some days when waiting anything longer than 10 minutes for a sweet fix is pure agony!
Try the recipe.
Katelyn Williams writes the beautiful blog The Kate Tin. Follow her on Twitter.