Chocolate Bread Pudding

A tasty way to use up left-over French bread.

Work plan
20min preparation
30min cooking

Calories per serving: 270

Nutritional advice
Cocoa and egg-yolks are reasonable sources of iron, so make sure your main course contains vitamin C to help absorb it.

Preheat oven to 190C

Ingredients
8x 2.5cm slices of French bread
2 tbs cocoa
50g castor sugar
300ml milk
1 whole egg
2 egg-yolks
Icing sugar

Method

1. Lay the slices of bread on a baking-sheet and toast in the hot oven for about 5 min.
2. Meanwhile, combine the cocoa and half of the sugar and mix to a paste with a little of the milk.
3. Boil the remaining milk, then add to the cocoa mixture, stirring well to mix
4. Beat the egg, egg-yolks and sugar together until they are thick and light, then stir in the milk mixture.
5. Arrange the toasted bread in a shallow ovenproof dish and carefully pour on the cocoa, taking care to soak each piece evenly.
6. Place the dish in a baking-tin half filled with water and bake for 30min, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with lightly-whipped cream.

Microwave

Unsuitable for microwave cookery

Tips
Slightly stale bread is best, so don’t throw away any left-over French bread.

Storage
Unsuitable for freezing

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Savoury Stuffed Tomatoes

These tomatoes can be served as an appetiser or as a light lunch dish, with a small green salad

Work plan
20min preparation
25min cooking

Calories per serving:175

Nutritional advice
This snack is well supplied with vitamins from the B group. Cheese, wheat-germ and egg are all good sources of riboflavin (vitamin B2), essential for cell metabolism.

Ingredients
4 medium-sized tomatoes
1tbs oil
4 spring onions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
100g mushrooms, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
50g wheat-germ
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper
50g Cheddar cheese, finely grated

Method

1. Rinse the tomatoes, cut them into half and scoop out the flesh into a bowl.
2. Heat the oil, add the spring onions and garlic and fry for 3-4min until soft. Add the mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes longer.
3. Stir in the beaten egg, tomato flesh, half of the wheat-germ, the thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Pile the mixture into the tomato shells.
4. In a small bowl, combine the remaining wheat-germ and the cheese and sprinkle over the tomatoes.
5. Bake for 20-25 min until golden brown then serve immediately with buttered wholemeal bread

Microwave
1. As conventional method.
2. Place the oil, spring onions and garlic in a bowl and cook on high for 2min. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 2min.
3. As conventional method
4. As conventional method
5. Arrange the tomatoes in a circle and cook on high for 7-8 minutes. Leave to stand for 2-3min before serving conventionally.

Tips

Stuffed tomatoes are also an excellent vegetable to serve with plain meat or cheese dishes.

Storage
Unsuitable for freezing

Tablet

No, not a medicine but a deliciously sweet Scottish fudge!

Work plan
30min preparation/cooking

Calories per piece: 243 for each of 20 pieces

Nutritional advice
It is better for children’s teeth to allow a sweet at or just after a meal rather than nibbling them between meals.

Ingredients
1kg sugar
12g butter
1 large can of condensed milk
150ml milk

Method

1. Place all the ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan and warm over a low heat, stirring continuously until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Bring to the boil slowly to prevent browning and continue to cook over a medium heat for 20min, stirring frequently.
3. Remove from the heat and beat until fairly stiff.
4. Grease the bottom of two Swiss roll tins and line with baking parchment. Pour in the fudge mixture and allow cooling, then cutting or breaking into pieces.

Microwave
1 place all the ingredients in a large bowl and heat on high for 10-12min, stirring 4 times, to dissolve the sugar

2 continue to cook on high for a further 10min, stirring twice

3-4 as conventional method

Tips
The art of making good tablet is not to cook it too slowly, and to give it a good beating. Tablet could also be melted down to make a delicious sauce for ice cream!

Storage
Keep in an airtight tin

Servings
Makes approximately 20 pieces.

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Chocolate Chestnut Gateau

Turn a simple chocolate cake into a marvelous gateau

Work plan

20min preparation

Calories per serving: 515

Nutritional advice
Having such a high sugar and fat content, this really is a gateau to save for special occasions!

Ingredients
1 medium-sized chocolate cake
3-4tbs dark rum or cherry juice
115g of canned sweetened chestnut puree
150ml double cream
410g of canned stoned black cherries, drained or 375g fresh cherries

Method

1. Cut the chocolate cake in half if necessary and trickle the rum over both halves.
2. Mash the chestnut puree until it forms a smooth soft paste. Beat the cream until stiff, then add to the chestnut puree and mix well to combine.
3. Spread one-third of this mixture on to one of the cake halves and sandwich the two halves together, then spread the remaining mixture over the top and sides of the cake.
4. Decorate the top of the gateau with the cherries and serve with single cream, if desired.

Storage
This cake freezes well, keep for up to 3 months and thaw slowly.

Servings
Serves 8

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