Baked Apple Roly Poly

Ingredients

10 oz (275g) self-raising flour
pinch of salt
5 oz (150 g) shredded suet
some cold water
1 lb (450g) cooking apples
3 oz (75g) Demerara or soft brown sugar
2 level tsp ground cinnamon
3 oz (75g) sultanas
Milk and sugar to glaze

Method

1. Turn on the oven to moderately hot, 400ºF, 200ºC, Gas mark 6.
2. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and mix in the suet.
3. Add just enough cold water to mix to a soft but not sticky dough.
4. Roll out your pastry on a floured board, to a rectangle about 12x14 inches (30x35 cms).
5. Trim the edges and then cut off a strip about 2 inches wide from the shorter side. (What exactly does this mean? I suppose it means that you now have a square 12x12 inches, and a strip 12x2 inches—but see further below for counter evidence to this theory).
6. Peel core and chop the apples (NB chop them small!)
7. Spread the chopped apple over the pastry to within 1 inch of the edge.
8. Mix the brown sugar and the cinnamon together and sprinkle over the apples.
9. Scatter the sultanas over the apples.
10. Fold the pastry edges over the apples on the long sides. (humph, I thought there was no long side any more?)
11. Brush these and both ends with water. 
12. Roll it up from the shorter side like a swiss roll, and seal the ends.
13. Place the roll, join downwards, on a sheet of foil on a baking tray. Push up the sides of the foil to hold the pastry roll in shape. (Hmm I think it is more recommended to put it in a tin with sides, such as a very large loaf tin or an oblong tin).
14.  Gather up the trimmings with the pastry strip, roll into two thin sausage shapes and twist them together. 
15. Brush the roly poly with milk and sprinkle with caster sugar.
16. Place the twist down the centre of the roll and brush with milk. 
17. Make four slits in the pastry on each side of the roll to allow the steam to escape.
18. Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until well risen and golden brown. If the pastry twist browns too quickly cover it with a strip of foil to protect it. (I am beginning to wonder why we bother with this twist of pastry?)

Serve hot with custard or cream, or a hot sweet white sauce. This can be dairy free if you don't glaze it with milk. 

Winnie the Pooh's chocolate pudding (=blancmange)

(For chocolate sauce for puddings, reduce the amount of cornflour to one tbsp per half pint. You may prefer that proportion for the blancmange too.)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 rounded tablespoons of cornflour (One tbsp = 1/2 oz)
2 rounded tbsp cocoa powder (One tbsp = 1/2 oz)
3 rounded tbsp granulated sugar (One tbsp = 1/2 oz)
1 pt (or half a litre) of milk
A few drops of real vanilla essence (or use vanilla sugar)
Chopped walnuts etc for decoration (optional)

Method:

1. Put the cornflour and cocoa in the bottom of a measuring jug.
2. Add a little of the milk and create a thick paste. Stir till the dry ingredients are smooth and thick, with no dry bits.
3. Add a bit more of the milk and stir again till there are no lumps.
4. Add about half the milk, so that you have a good wet mixture to pour.
5. Pour the mixture into a 2 pt non-stick saucepan. 
6. Add the rest of the milk.
7. Put over a low to moderate heat and start heating it up.
8. Add all the sugar.
9. Stir carefully to keep it from sticking on the bottom. If it's sticking or turning too quickly for you to keep up, turn down the heat. If it's doing nothing turn up the heat.
10. It will thicken and then boil. Allow it to boil for about three minutes or so.
11. Draw the pan off the heat and stir in the vanilla essence.
12. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, or small glass dishes, or a lightly oiled jelly mould.
13. If serving in dishes, decorate the top with walnuts or other sprinkles.
14. If using a jelly mould, allow to cool until it is firm. Then gently pull the edges away from the mould with your fingers at the top surface; place a large plate upside down over the mould; invert the whole thing, without dropping either the plate or the pudding. Put the plate down on a table. If the pudding doesn't drop out of the mould, lift the mould a bit and coax the pudding out with your fingers, by letting the air in at one side till it flops out.

Apple and almond cake bars

Gluten-free and rather yummy.

Ingredients:

4 oz real butter (salted)
3 oz sugar
4 oz ground almonds
3 eggs

1 large cooking apple
1 oz sugar

Method:
Preheat oven to moderate. Grease a square or rectangular non-stick baking tin.

1. Cream the butter with the 3 ozs of sugar.
2. Stir in the ground almonds.
3. Break the eggs into the mixture and beat them in.
4. Peel and core the apple and slice it into a saucepan. Add the 1 oz of sugar.
5. Put the pan on the heat and stew the apple until it is fluffy. Beat it to ensure it is all smooth.
6. Take the stewed apple and (while still hot) pour it into the almond mixture. Stir it quickly into the mixture and beat it a bit to add some air.
7. Pour the mixture into the greased tin.
8. Bake in moderate oven for about 25 minutes.
9. Cool in the tin and then cut into bars with a plastic spatula. Alternatively serve warm with custard for pudding.

For added interest add some lemon zest or pith, or cinnamon or ginger.

Whole lemon pudding

Ingredients:

1 lb plain flour
8 oz shredded suet
1/2 - 1 tsp salt
1 egg mixed with milk (or plain cold water)
1 lemon
4 oz Demerara sugar
pinch of grated nutmeg
pinch of ground allspice
1/2 tbsp of cold butter, cut into bits (not obvious how you measure this in tablespoons mind you).

Method:

1. Grease a large pudding basin before you get your hands in the flour.
2. Put a large saucepan of water on to heat.
   
3. Tip the flour gently into a mixing bowl and add the suet. Grate a bit of the lemon rind into this, and add 3 teaspoons of the sugar. Mix these ingredients with a knife and then add the liquid (egg and milk, or water). Add enough liquid to mix to a soft dough with the knife and/or your hands.
4. Put the blob of dough into the pudding basin and dig a hole in the middle of it. Continue to dig it out and pull it up the sides of the basin until you have a big cavity in the middle of the dough.
5. Into the hole, place the lemon (cut in quarters), the rest of the sugar, the spices and the butter.
6. Close up the hole by dragging the sides together and make sure it all seals across the top with no cracks or holes.
7. Put a lid on the basin or tie it up with greaseproof paper and string.
8. Put the basin in the pan of water (water should come two thirds up the basin) and boil over a low heat for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
9. Lift the pudding basin out of the pan, remove the lid and turn the pudding out onto a serving plate (use a dish with sides, e.g. a flan dish because the juice will flow out when you cut it).
10. Serve with custard, lemon sauce, golden syrup or cream.
    

Old Testament Pudding

1 1/2-2lb cooking apples
1 tbsp seedless raisins
2-3 dried figs, chopped
1 tsp cinnamon or mixed spice
3oz margarine
4oz sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
5oz rolled oats

Melt margarine, sugar and syrup in a pan. Add the oats and stir. Peel, core and slice the apples, place in a 2 pint pie dish with dried fruit and spice. Spread oaty mixture on top. Bake 180C/350F/Gas 4 for 35 mins.

Kentish Lenten Pies

Ingredients
Pastry

8 oz plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 oz butter
6 oz lard

Filling

1 pint milk
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp ground rice
4 oz sugar
2 oz butter
pinch of mixed spice
1 egg
Currants

Oven 375ºF, 190C, Gas mark 5, Fan oven 170º.

1. Reserve a small amount of the milk, and boil the rest with the bay leaf.
2. Mix the remaining milk with the ground rice, and add this mixture to the boiling milk.
3. Cook for three minutes.
4. Add the sugar, butter and spice and leave to cool to lukewarm.
5. When it is cool, add the beaten eggs. But meanwhile, make the pastry:
   
6. Make pastry with the flour, baking powder, butter and lard, and enough cold water to make a firm dough.
7. Line some large patty tins with the pastry.
8. Pour the milk mixture into the pastry-lined tins.
   
9. Sprinkle with currants.
10. Bake for 30 minutes.
11. Eat, hot or cold.
    

Grandma's Chocolate Pudding II (larger quantities)

The family recipe book has some alternative quantities written in. Here's the version with those larger quantities instead of the original. It makes a bigger pudding with the same amount of sauce.

For the sponge:

4 oz Self raising flour
3 level tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 oz butter/margarine
4 oz caster sugar
A third of a cup of milk
a few drops of vanilla essence

For the Sauce (which sinks during the baking)

2 oz soft brown sugar
1.5 level tablespoons of cocoa powder
half a pint of boiling water

a sprinkling of caster sugar

An ovenproof dish of 1.5 pint capacity. Oven 355º F or Gas mark 4

Method

1. Sift the flour with cocoa.
2. Cut the butter into small pieces and ix into the sifted ingredients, with the caster sugar.
3. Stir in milk and vanilla essence.
4. Turn mixture into greased dish, spreading evenly.
5. Mix soft brown sugar and cocoa together and sprinkle over the pudding mixture.
6. Pour over the boiling water
7. Bake at 355º F or Gas mark 4 for 35 mins.
8. Sprinkle the top with caster sugar before serving.

Grandma's Chocolate Pudding I (original version)

For the sponge:

3 oz Self raising flour
2 level tablespoons of cocoa powder
1.5 oz butter/margarine
3 oz caster sugar
5 tablespoons or a quarter of a cup of milk
a few drops of vanilla essence

For the Sauce (which sinks during the baking)

2 oz soft brown sugar
1.5 level tablespoons of cocoa powder
half a pint of boiling water

a sprinkling of caster sugar

An ovenproof dish of 1.5 pint capacity. Oven 355º F or Gas mark 4

Method

1. Sift the flour with cocoa.
2. Cut the butter into small pieces and ix into the sifted ingredients, with the caster sugar.
3. Stir in milk and vanilla essence.
4. Turn mixture into greased dish, spreading evenly.
5. Mix soft brown sugar and cocoa together and sprinkle over the pudding mixture.
6. Pour over the boiling water
7. Bake at 355º F or Gas mark 4 for 35 mins.
8. Sprinkle the top with caster sugar before serving.
   

Choc fondue made with cocoa powder

Fudgey Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients:

• 4 oz butter or margarine
• 2 oz Cocoa powder
  
• 6 oz sugar
• 4 fl oz evaporated milk or light cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Assorted Fondue Dippers: pound cake pieces, marshmallows, cherries, grapes, mandarin orange segments, pineapple chunks, strawberries, fresh fruit slices

Directions:
1. Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; immediately stir in cocoa. Add sugar and evaporated milk.

2. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and hot. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Fondue will thicken slightly as it cools. Serve warm with Assorted Fondue Dippers. About 1-1/2 cups fondue.

Peanut butter and apple cake

Ingredients

6 oz butter and peanut butter (about 5 oz of butter and 1 tbsp of peanut butter is what I used)
6oz brown sugar
3 eggs
6 oz flour
2 small-medium cooking apples

Method

1. Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar till soft and fluffy
2. Beat in the eggs
3. Fold in the flour and mix well
4. Peel and core the apples and cut them into small pieces
5. Stir the apple pieces into the mixture
6. Grease a non-stick tin (2 lb loaf tin is about right). If it's not non-stick you'll need to base line it with greaseproof paper.
7. Bake in a moderate oven for about 45 minutes. The skewer should come out clean when you test it: don't turn off the oven till it's properly done.
8. Allow to cool for a few minutes before turning it out to cool on a rack.
   
9. Serve at once hot with custard or cream, or serve it later, cold, for tea. Store it in a cold place, and make sure you eat it all within a few days.