CHOCOLATE PUDDING WITH MINT AND ORANGE Spices such as cinnamon seem the natural flavouring for chocolate to us, so this herbal and fruit combination with mint and orange comes a surprise. Leo blinked twice when he first tasted it, and then he grinned. “Cool” he said. Serves 6-8 3/4 cup/150 g sugar Grated zest of
CHERRY BATTER PUDDING It’s odd, really that the Yorkshire pudding principle of a baked batter so rarely extends to dessert in England. The French sweet batter pudding, called clafoutis, originated in the Limousin in central France but now it is found everywhere, adapted to local fruits and alcohols. Traditional for tart cherries in spring, when
CANDIED CHERRY CAKE When Grandma was a little girl, Candied Cherry Cake was her favorite treat. Quite often the cherries fell to the bottom of the cake so she could eat them first, followed by the squishy crumbs. The cake is cooked at a low temperature to encourage the cherries to rise. Makes an 8-in/20-cm cake
CHOCOLATE SORBET For the cook with one of those little electric ice cream machines, here is the perfect summer treat. Grandma usually uses 70% dark chocolate and leaves the sorbet overnight so the sorbet sets firm. Makes 1 qt/1 liter of sorbet to serve 6 to 8 5 oz/150 g dark chocolate, chopped 3 cups/750
XISCA’S MALLORCAN SPONGE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE Grandma’s friend Nikki goes often to Mallorca, where the treat of choice is a sponge cake, cut in squares to dip in hot milk chocolate sauce in the manner of cheese fondue. Serves 6-8 Butter for the pan 7 eggs, separated 340 g/2¾ cups sugar 200 g/1 2/3
SUMMER PUDDING Without her mother, Grandma would never have made this pudding, which depends on really ripe berries and, strangely, dry white bread. The riper the berries – raspberrries, strawberries, blackberries, currants — the better. After searching her mother’s personal cookbook dating from the 1930s, Grandma finally found the recipe and it is a winner.
RICE PUDDING WITH CARAMEL Creamy rice pudding is called terrinée, a Normandy specialty that is baked long and slowly, sometimes overnight, in an earthenware dish so it develops a deep brownish crust. In a recent trend, farmers earn a bit extra by making dishes like this at home for the many visitors who tour the
ROASTED PINEAPPLE SPUTNIK Frédéric’s roasted pineapple extravaganza, speared with vanilla beans so it looks like a sputnik, must be tasted to be believed. Serves 4 A whole medium pineapple 4 or 5 vanilla beans For the syrup: ½ cup/100 g sugar 1 cup/250 ml water 1 lemon, zest and juice 1 orange, juice 1 tablespoon
CRISPY ALMOND TORTE For Grandma, teatime is a key event for visitors, centered around the Victorian silver teapot and sugar bowl marked with the initials AC for Grandma Ada Clark, the same as her own Anne (Willan) Cherniavsky. She has cousins who live nearby, Caroline and her husband Jeremy, who avoid both gluten, and chocolate,
VICTORIA SPONGE Towards the end of the nineteenth century, ‘tea’ in England had strayed from being a minor liquid refreshment before bedtime to becoming the impressive spread of savory sandwiches, cookies and cakes, backed by the silver teapots and bone china cups that we equate with Victorian England. Victoria Sponge is its centerpiece, a sponge