We are sweetening things up this week with two recipes that are easy to prepare in advance and that can be kept in the fridge chilled, or portioned and ready to be reheated in the microwave. In short, these are perfect puddings for hosting guests: minimal time, maximum flavour.
The first up is bread and butter pudding, a cost-effective and adaptable dessert that ranks off the charts on the comfort scale. The first written references to this dish date from 1728, but it most likely appeared in different guises for hundreds of years before. A peasant dish, it involved leftover bread and butter soaked in sugar, milk and eggs. Recent versions included dried fruits and spices whereas the medieval interpretation would have been savoury, using bone marrow in place of butter. Being honest, this idea doesn’t paint the prettiest picture. Hopefully this 21st-century version is a little more appetising.
This recipe is inspired by my first job cooking at The Chart House in Dingle, Co Kerry. Because of the tiny kitchen, the menu had to be logistically planned to perfection in order to serve the 80 or so guests every night in the height of summer. Between three chefs, one oven, four gas hobs, a fryer and a microwave, we had to produce seven starters, nine main courses and six desserts. While this was a tough task, clever planning and the skill of the head chef made for a brilliant business model that required a small payroll, an ability to turn tables and a manageable space. It proved to me you can make anything work with the right attitude. That restaurant held a coveted Michelin Bib Gourmand award and was open for 27 years: a true success in a tough trade. Coming back to the pudding, the chef needed two or three desserts that could be microwaved while retaining their quality and taste; there just wasn’t enough space in the oven during service. The density and soft texture of this dessert was perfect; you could bake it off in large trays before service, chill it, portion it and have it ready to be microwaved and topped with a large ball of home-made ice cream. Simple, clever, practical, cost effective and ultimately delicious. The magic is the addition of Baileys cream, which is equivalent to the taste of soy sauce in savoury recipes: you just want to keep eating more. Give this a try and I promise you’ll find yourself scraping the sides of the tray.
The second dessert strikes a lighter note: a take on the flavours of the piña colada cocktail. The sweetened coconut milk can be made in advance and be set and ready in the fridge. It is topped with the dressed pineapple and pumped up with the tropical trio of lime zest, mint and desiccated coconut, and will bring a ray of sunshine to late August living. All you need is a hammock and a palm tree.
