Autumn Pudding Food

AUTUMN BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven 350°F.
• With butter, grease a 1 quart shallow baking dish.
• In medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, water, corn syrup, cinnamon, and cloves.
• Bring to a boil over med heat, stirring occasionally.
• Reduce heat and simmer.
• Remove from heat and cool slightly.
• In baking dish,arrange ingredients in a single layer of bread, bananas, apples, raisins, peanuts and almonds.
• Remove and discard spices from sugar syrup. Slowly pour syrup over bread and fruit mixture to moisten bread well.
• Reserve some syrup to use at serving.
• Cover and bake for 20- 25 minutes or until apples are tender.
• Uncover and continue baking 10-15 minutes until pudding top is.
• crisp and golden.
• Serve warm with syrup and whipped cream if desired.

BAKED FRUITY AUTUMN PUDDING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Cut 2 x 5cm-wide strips of parchment and lay them up the sides of a 1.2-litre pudding basin, making a cross on the bottom of the dish. Make sure there is some overhang to help you release the pudding when cooked. Grease again. Lay a square of foil and equal-size square of greased parchment on top of each other, folding a pleat down the middle.
• To make the filling, chop plums, apples and pears into 1cm cubes and place in a bowl with the blackberries. Add butter, broken into bits, 125g of sugar and cinnamon. Stir and put to the side.
• Sift flour into mixing bowl. Mix in suet, remaining sugar and zest. Add a few drops of water, working it through with a cutlery knife, then keep adding water until you have soft dough. Using your hand, bring the dough together into a smooth ball. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface. Tear the dough into ¾ and ¼ parts. Roll the larger portion into a rough circle, approx 20cm. Drop into the basin and press up the sides until you have a slight overhang. Tip the filling into the pastry case. Roll out the remaining ¼ to make a lid, then press the pastry edges together to firmly seal. Tuck the protruding flaps of parchment down onto pastry.
• Put foil/parchment on top (foil side up), pressing and squeezing the foil round the edges to make a fitted lid. Tie string securely around the lid, making a handle with extra doubled-up string. Put in a deep roasting tin, then pour boiling water to 1-2cm below foil line. Cook for 2 hrs, topping up water level if it gets too low. Unwrap, release edges using parchment tabs and invert onto a plate.

TRADITIONAL AUSTRALIAN SUMMER PUDDING

Steps:

• Cut a large round from one of the slices of bread to fit in the bottom of a six-cup pudding bowl or basin. Cut the remaining slices in half and use to line the sides of the bowl, overlapping the slices slightly and trimming where necessary. Once you have finished lining the bowl, you should have enough bread left over for the top.
• Put the redcurrants, blackcurrants and blueberries in a saucepan with the sugar, lemon juice, water and kirsch (if using) and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and the juices start to flow from the berries. Add the remaining fruits - the blackberries, raspberries and strawberries - and heat gently for 5 minutes or until the berries have just softened. Remove from the heat.
• Spoon the fruit and juice into the lined pudding bowl and cover with the reserved bread, then cover with plastic wrap. Stand the bowl on a plate or small plastic tray to catch any juices. Place a small, flat plate on top of the pudding and add some extra weight, ideally about 1 kilo. Two tubs of margarine would do the job! Chill the pudding overnight.
• When you are ready to serve the pudding, remove the weights and the plate and plastic wrap, and using a palette knife, gently loosen it from the sides of the bowl. Invert the pudding onto a plate, preferably one with a small lip, to retain the juices and keep them on the plate. Shake gently to release the pudding, decorate with extra fruit around the base of the pudding and serve the pudding with cardamom cream.
• Cardamom Cream: Mix together the cardamom seeds and the cream and chill for two hours.
• Chef's Tip: To prevent gaps appearing in the bread as you line the bowl, trim the sides of each slice at an angle so that the slices fit more easily around the bowl.