Fabulous Pudding Recipes?

[spacemonkey]

My contribution to christmas dinner this year is making the puddings. I'm not making xmas pudding (don't really like it, I might buy a nice one for those that do) but I would like to make three puddings:

• a trifle
• little pots of chocolate mousse, as rich as possible
• something with apples or rhubarb

I can make a good sherry trifle, but rather fancy the idea of doing a variation on the trifle theme. Maybe an Italian trifle with amaretti and lemoncello or something like that? Anyone got any ideas?

Also want to find a recipe for a very rich choc mousse to make in little pots.

And any suggestions for a fabulous apple or rhubarb pudding that I can prep in advance?

TIA for any ideas x

Easy Peasy chocolate mouse: 1 tub marscapone cheese, 1 200g bar plain chocolate. Melt chocolate, add knob of butter, add brandy, remove from heat, stir in marscapone, pour into individual ramekin dishes (guess you could set in one bowl though) and leave to set in fridge for a few hours or even over night.

The filling for Jamie Oliver's Simple Chocolate Tart works well served in individual ramekins. It's meant to be poured into a pastry case but I've done it with a digestive biscuit crumb base and also with no base at all.

315ml/11fl oz double cream (the brandy cream they sell at Christmas works well!)
2 level tablespoons caster sugar
tiny pinch of salt
115g/4oz butter, softened
455g/1lb best quality cooking chocolate broken up (I use a mix of milk & plain as it's very rich with all plain!)
100ml/3.75 fl oz milk
cocoa powder for dusting.

Place cream, sugar and salt in a pan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat immediately and add chocolate and butter. Stir until melted. Cool slightly and add the milk, stirring until smooth and shiney. It can look as if it's split at this point. Cool a bit more and whisk in a little extra milk until smooth. Scrap all the mixtture into whatever you're serving it in. Bang the dish(es) on the table to level it out and chill until set. Heaven in a pot!

Obviously you'll need to try them before deciding which to go for.

sm my fave cho mousse is actually very simple, it's Delia's recipe, one egg to (i think) 50g of choc, use the best you can get, 50% cocoa or even 70% if you like; melt choc and beat in egg yolk, beat egg white to stiffness and then fold in egg/choc mixture (you can be quite firm to make sure it's all folded in).
Put into ramekins and chill!
cream on top if you like.

mmm thank you, those recipes all sound FABULOUS

and as you say i will obviously have to test all of these extensively before christmas

Eeek! My first recipe is not for chocolate mouse. It's not even a mousse really, they're both "pot au chocolate" type desserts.

pot au chocolate is what i meant, i couldn't remember what to call it

am not normally up at this ungodly hour

I am

I know what they're called because Tescos do a fantastic on in their Finest range which comes in a lovely little terracotta pot. I have lots of little terracotta pots now to make my own versions in .

This months sainsburys mag has a trifle with a difference in it, you'll have to buy the mag tho, as I just flicked thru at the checkout!

those tesco ones are fab aren't they soupy. you could always pass them off as your own SM!

The marscapone and chocolate recipe is so easy you don't need to cheat. Especially when you have as many empty Tescos pots as I do...

I'm going to have to go and buy marscapone and chocolate now.

How about Panetonne Trifle?

the best trifle ever is ne of nigella s from domestic goddess - lemons sponge sokaed in lemon syrup and then covered with sylabub and the raspberries all over it... totally divine... can ge recipe if you want it...

also try her Rhubabrb fool... with the shortbread biscuits ... made it over the summer and it was divine...

YES PLEASE MANCMUM!

OK will get it for you tonight - at work now!

sorry dd not post last night - actually went out... promise to do so tonight

is ok MancMum - if you can post the recipes I'd be grateful, but I will see if I can find them on the nigella website to save you the bother!

It's called Lemon-Raspberry Plate Trifle. You need to make her lemon syup cake first (which is delicious in itself!) with extra syrup.

Here I think.

And here's the cake recipe which is well worth trying on it's own!

mmmmmmmmmmm thanks soupy

soupy thanks for that - I could not find it when I did a quick search! I really recommend it and am gong to make it again this weekend - just came across the bottle of sherry I used to make it last time...

The rhubabrb fool is great as well - my DS saw it in a book a few days ago and asked me to make it again - high praise indeed as he ususally hates anything that is not branded with kids logos!!

wow - found it - read down this link

observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,9950,853610,00.html

GORGEOUS!!

THANK YOU!!!!

How's the testing going?

I haven't actually made any of them yet. But I have been doing lots of research on the Marks and Spencers pudding range