Puddings

Appears in

The Cook's Companion: A step-by-step guide to cooking skills including original recipes

Published 1991

About

I have to admit that this is the chapter closest to my heart. I have always loved puddings – I love making puddings, I love eating puddings, I even love just looking at puddings. I do have a sweet tooth, but I don’t enjoy things which taste only of sweetness – there must either be an exceptional texture, or an element of sharpness, usually provided by the addition of lemon juice, to temper the sweetness.

My friends say they can always recognize my puddings by their sweet but sharp character, exemplified by the Hot Lemon and Passion Fruit Soufflé in the Recipe Collection. I also love chocolate; dark, moist chocolate pudding cakes, served either with crème fraîche or an intense fruit coulis, are a great favourite. I often bring lemon in with chocolate, too; a sharp lemon tart glazed with melted chocolate is wonderful. With fruit I also enjoy the sharp intensity of flavour which you can find in passion fruit and blackcurrants, but delicate combinations, such as lightly cooked fresh apricots with the flowers from two or three elderflower heads are absolutely magical, too.