Self Saucing Pudding

A New Zealand classic and a family favourite, Self Saucing Pudding has to be one of the easiest and tastiest puddings in all the land. It’s also extremely versatile and can be made at the drop of a hat.

The classic is usually made to be a chocolate pudding with a delicious and sticky sauce that is found at the bottom of the bowl, after it has been in the microwave. Sliding your spoon under the sponge is always satisfying as soon as you find the pool of chocolaty sauce. You can also add coconut to the coconut sponge and it makes it taste like heaven. It is comprised by mixing a basic batter and then pouring over the ‘sauce’ mixture with consists of a cup of sugar mixed with a tablespoon or two of cocoa powder, and a cup of boiling water. These three components with the help of nuclear power create the richest sauce which accompanies a fail safe pudding.

However, having a creative mind *cough* I decided I wanted to broaden my horizons and wanted to make the pudding see a different flavour other than the classic chocolate and coconut. I decided to make the pudding a toffee flavoured. I substituted the cocoa powder in the pudding and sauce for golden syrup. This meant that instead of a chocolate brown, the pudding was a light golden colour. So inviting.

I had to cook this for a few minutes, I think as there was more liquid in the pudding, so it needed more time. This pudding was much sweeter than the chocolate but still tasted great.

The next winter’s night I made this pudding, I swapped the cocoa for blackcurrant jam, and added 1tsp of cinnamon and a handful of raisins. I was trying to make it seem like a classic steamed pudding. To my delight, it turned out rather well. It still had the classic ‘Self Saucing Pudding’ texture but had the taste of a steam pudding that had been cooking for hours.

Although you can’t replace the taste and tradition of a chocolate self saucing puddings, the cinnamon, jam and raisin comes as a pretty good alternative to hours of steaming in the kitchen.

~Caker~

Ahh, TIRAMISU!!

With all the global recession occurring, and budgets being extremely tight, it’s hard to enjoy the delights of certain desserts as of their cost. I don't know about you, but where I live in New Zealand, food items, such as mascarpone are not only limited as of choice, but are on the pricey side. The 2 unspoken rules that I have with my Mother, is that I’m allowed to cook/bake/create, with her permission and as long as the ingredients aren't in short supply (e.g. we have it in the house) or, aren't too expensive. Unfortunately, Mascarpone is one of the 'expensive' ingredients. So, unless I found an alternative, I couldn't make the beloved dessert. Thankfully, my initiative kicked in, and I decided to just use whipped cream instead of the mascarpone.
That idea, equals WIN!

After making trifle (My sister and Father's favourite dessert, I personally don't see it myself) for Christmas, we had some left over sponge and cream. I really wanted to try Tiramisu, as of seeing it on the net on various other food blogs, and hearing about it through TV shows. So, I devised a plan, went online in search for a tiramisu recipe without mascarpone. As suspected, I found none that used ingredients I had in the house. (Sour cream and cream cheese where used, but I didn't have them in the fridge). So, I took it upon myself to just 'Go with the flow' and make a Tiramisu without using Cream Cheese or Mascarpone, but by using ordinary cream. I can’t say I know what texture and taste a proper Tiramisu is meant to have, but the ‘cream’ tiramisu was certainly delicious. The cream was light, and had a mousse like texture and the sponge was moistened with the coffee/boiling water, so it had similar texture to a trifle, but tasted of delicious chocolate and coffee!
My family didn’t complain about the taste, in fact my dad went back for seconds, and he doesn’t even like chocolate or coffee.


































Ingredients

2 Eggs
300ml Cream
250gm Sponge, cut into cubes
6tsp Sugar (3tsp per egg)
5 tsp Instant Coffee Powder
2tsp Icing Sugar
1 Cup Boiling Water
1/4 Cup Grated Chocolate, or Chocolate Chips etc.


Method

1. Whip the cream and then fold in 2tsp of icing sugar.
2. Separate the two eggs, then add the 6tsp of sugar to the egg yolk. Beat till yolk thickens and is whiter in colour.
3. Beat the egg whites till stiff peaks.
4. Spoon the yolk mixture, 1 Tbsp at a time, into the cream mixture. Fold in after each spoonful.
5. Add 2-3tsps of instant coffee (to taste), and the chocolate, folding in.
6. Fold in, spoon by spoon, the egg white into the cream mixture.
7. Mix the hot water and remaining coffee essence into a shallow dish, stirring till coffee essence is dissolved.
8. Dab the cut sponge in the coffee so it soaks up a little of the water and coffee.
9. Layer the sponge in a bowl, then top with the cream mixture, then more sponge, and then end on the cream.
10. Sprinkle with cocoa powder (or sweeter drinking chocolate) for a garnish.
11. Chill for 5 hours before serving.


~Caker~