Mango Pudding

This was a fun one to put together, and I got a bit of help from Gillian who was staying with us for a few nights. We had a friend who's coeliac, and we searched for a recipe that she could also enjoy. I would recommend making this dessert the day before, so that it will set overnight.

2 gelatine leaves (4.5g) or 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
3 tablespoons cream
115g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
375g mango flesh, pureed (about 1-2 mangoes)
3 tablespoons natural yoghurt
1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice
1 mango, peeled, stoned and diced

Soak the gelatine leave in cold water or gradually sprinkle powder over 1 1/2 tablespoons water in a medium-sized bowl. Place the cream, sugar and soaked gelatine in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 2 minutes.

Stir in the mango puree, yoghurt and lime juice and whisk gently to combine. Pour the mixture into four 180ml bowls, cover and refrigerate for 4 hours to set. Serve the individual puddings topped with the diced mango.

Serves 4.

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Gingerbread Biscuits

I've never been great at making cookies, and I usually leave it to others to share theirs. I did however find myself at home with a whole bunch of kids, and before I knew it, I had organised an afternoon for them to help with some cookies in the kitchen. Amazing the amount of dough that gets saved when you tell them the more cookies we will get. I guess many hands make light work, too. Of course I'd only read halfway through the recipe before starting, and realised that the dough had to rest for at least 3 hours, so there was a visit to town, a little walk around the lake, and some coffee in between. Plan ahead!

50 ml (1 3/4 fl oz) maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a pinch of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
100 ml (3 1/2 fl oz) pouring (single) cream
100 g (3 1/2 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
100 g (3 1/2 oz) butter, softened
1 egg
250 g (9 oz/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Put the maple syrup, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring to dissolve all the spices. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a bit, then stir in the cream with a wooden spoon. Mix well, making sure that nothing is left stuck on the bottom.

Beat the sugar and butter together for a minute or two, until the sugar dissolves. Add the egg. Mix in the flour and baking powder alternately with the maple syrup cream. Mix well with a wooden spoon until the mixture is thick and smooth. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for at least 3 hours or even overnight.

Preheat the oven to 190 deg C (375 deg F/Gas 5) and line two baking trays with baking paper.

Take lumps pf the dough and roll out on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin to about 5mm (1/4 thick). Add extra flour as you roll if you find the dough too soft to handle. (You can also make the biscuits very thin if you prefer, and they will need less time in the oven.) Cut out the shapes with your cookie cutters. Put about half the shapes on the baking trays, leaving just a little space between them for spreading. Bake one tray at a time for 12-15 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden with a deeper gold around the edges.

Lift them onto wire racks to cool and use the same trays to bake the rest of the biscuits. (If you are making holes to hang them from your Christmas tree, do that now and then hang them when they harden.) These will keep in a biscuit tin or plastic bag for up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 35 biscuits, depending on the shapes.

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Broad Bean and Mint Soup

We found ourselves with a whole bunch of broad beans from Sharon's garden, and thought we'd give this recipe a go. It's also a great way to use what's left in the fridge and pantry. Yum!

"We also do a broad bean and mint soup, which is basically hot stock, a potato, the shelled beans and a bunch of mint added to an onion and garlic that have been sweated in olive oil. When the potato is cooked, blend and pass through a colander, then put everything back in the pan, season and add a handful of parmesan before serving with bruschetta."

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Coconut Meringue Cake

What a wonderful way to start the New Year! The sky was overcast, so it wasn't too hot a summer's day for baking. I also stumbled across this recipe by accident, when I realised I didn't have enough butter for the Chocolate Brownies. It so happened I had just enough ingredients for this recipe, and I was up for the challenge of beating egg whites that day (I'm usually unsure of when it's ready, but this boosted my confidence). It was a big hit at the Glenlyon Sports Day that afternoon! Best served with Orange and Cardamon Ice-Cream.

120g butter

1 1/2 cups castor sugar

3 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup milk

1 cup desiccated coconut

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Grease and line a 22-cm springform tin.

Cream butter and 1/2 cup of the sugar, then beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Add sifted flour and milk and beat until combined. Pour mixture into prepared tin.

In a clean bowl, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add remaining sugar and beat until glossy. Gently fold in coconut.

Pour meringue mixture over cake mixture in tin and smooth top. Bake for 45 minutes, until risen and crisp on top.

Serves 8.

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