Gin and Tonic Jelly

#74

(For those in USA Jelly = Jello)
Gin and Tonic Jelly
How to be a Domestic Goddess, p.g. 132
Puddings Chapter
3 out of 5
I'm not a huge fan of alcoholic desserts, and gin is one of my 'demon drinks'. I just never could stomach it. There is a whopping 250ml of gin in the jelly (that's a touch over 8 full shots) for a dessert that serves 8.
I made individual ones for a family get together on a hot day (excuse the wet table cloth, it was a water pistol incident). It was great fun to make jelly from scratch. I had only ever used the fluorescent packet kind when I was a kid, and incidentally my brother's favourite after school snack was jelly crystal sandwiches. Try it, very sweet but surprisingly good.
This is more a Fraternity type dessert then, and perhaps should be served in individual, disposable cups and downed in one go, followed by some chest beating and a jug skull?
I don't think I'll be making this one again....

Rhubarb Grunt and Plum and Pecan Crumble

Sometimes you're just too busy eating....

Rhubarb Grunt
#71
NO PHOTO
4 out of 5
What could be better than a layer of rhubarb stewed in a sugary syrup, covered in a sweet sponge/scone crust? This was extremely easy to make and very very yummy. Definitely worth making when rhubarb is abundant and in season.

Plum and Pecan Crumble
#72
NO PHOTO
3 out of 5
The plums were quite tart, making this very much an adult's dessert. It was nothing above your average crumble pudding and as I am not a huge plum fan I am not sure I will be revisiting this one.


All recipes from Nigella Lawson's 'How to be a Domestic Goddess'

Gooseberry Ugh

Gooseberry-Cream Crumble


#73
2 out of 5
After getting a very swanky fruit and veg market to order gooseberries in especially for this one, I was most dissappointed. There is a reason Nigella didn't put a picture of this one in the book. It looked like a cross between a tuna mornay and custard gone way wrong. The crumble part had way too much sugar so it just melted into the custard below, rather than forming a crust on top. Meanwhile, during cooking the gooseberries leached so much liquid out that the custard turned into soup. It was sweet enough to be edible but was not worth all of the effort.
I am really not sure what Nigella could do to fix this one, but it definitely needs to be sent back to the test kitchen.

The Proof is in the Pudding

See I have been baking, I just haven't been writing about it. A new baby and all that...

Let's get started.

Blueberry Boy-Bait
#70
4 out of 5
This baked dessert of breaded custard, blueberry compote and a merigue top was, apparently, delicious and very sweet. The meringue could have done with longer to crisp it up a bit, but I fear the custard would have been too dry. This dessert was gifted to a friend who ate the whole thing, directly from the bowl with a big spoon, over several nights.