As the days get shorter and colder, the way we eat seems to expand and warm in response. Winter is the time of year for indulging in baked and sticky puddings of the sort that are best served with a jug of warm custard. It's the earth's way of telling us to warm up and hunker down.
Puffed apple pancake
Serves 4
50g butter
4 tart green apples such as Granny Smiths, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
3 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs lemon juice
90g plain flour
a pinch of salt
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tbs sugar
4 eggs
185ml milk
thick plain yoghurt with a swirl of honey or maple syrup, to serve
Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas 7. Melt the butter in a 25cm frying pan with an ovenproof handle. Add the apples and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.
Add the brown sugar, vanilla and lemon juice and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.
Mix the flour, salt, lemon zest and sugar together in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and slowly add the eggs and milk, whisking lightly to combine (don't worry too much about lumps).
Pour the batter evenly over the apples (it's fine if they show through). Put the pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes until puffed and golden. If your pan is shallow, place a baking tray underneath to catch any drips. Serve absolutely immediately with the yoghurt or syrup.
Chocolate almond cakes with chocolate liqueur sauce
Serves 4
80g unsalted butter
60g dark chocolate, chopped
2 tsp honey
60g icing sugar
3 tbs plain flour
40g ground almonds
2 egg whites, lightly whisked
To serve: chocolate liqueur sauce (see below)
vanilla ice cream
Place a bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Put the butter, chocolate and honey in the bowl and stir until melted and well combined. Set aside to cool.
Sift the sugar and flour into the bowl of cooled chocolate mixture. Add the ground almonds, then add the egg whites and stir together well (at this point you can keep the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes if helpful).
Spoon into the muffin moulds and bake for 15 minutes, or until the surface is firm (the middle will still be runny). Leave to cool for a few minutes before serving with the sauce and ice cream.
Chocolate liqueur sauce
125ml cream
115g dark chocolate, chopped
2 tbs liqueur (a coffee-flavoured liqueur works well)
Heat the cream in a pan over low heat. Once the cream is warm, add the chocolate and stir until melted. Stir in the liqueur.
Allow to cool and thicken then pour the sauce over the cakes and serve with ice cream.
Steamed date puddings with custard
Serves 4
100g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
125g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
150ml milk
125g dates, finely chopped
1 ripe banana, mashed
Lightly butter four 200ml pudding basins and line the bases with baking paper. Cream the butter, vanilla and sugar together until pale and creamy. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition.
Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon together and spoon into the batter, alternating with spoonfuls of milk, until both have been incorporated and you have a smooth batter. Stir in the dates and banana. Spoon into the pudding basins.
Cut four pieces of baking paper and fold a thin pleat down the middle of each one. Place a piece of paper over each pudding basin and tie with string. Put the puddings in a steamer over a saucepan of gently simmering water and steam for 40-50 minutes, or until cooked through (check the water level in the saucepan from time to time). Serve with warm homemade custard (below).
Custard
250ml milk
185ml cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 egg yolks
1 egg
2 tbs caster sugar
Gently heat the milk, cream and vanilla extract in a small saucepan. Whisk the egg yolks, egg and sugar together in a small bowl, then whisk in the milk mixture until smooth. Tip the mixture back into the saucepan and stir over low heat for 10 minutes, or until the custard has thickened. Remove from the heat, cover and keep warm until ready to serve with the puddings.
Hazelnut and fig cake
Serves 6
125g unsalted butter, softened
150g caster sugar
75g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs, lightly beaten
100g ground hazelnuts
50g hazelnuts, chopped into small pieces
8 fresh figs (not too ripe), halved
2 tbs honey
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Use a large metal spoon to fold the flour and egg alternately into the creamed mixture. Fold in the ground hazelnuts and then the chopped hazelnuts. Grease a 20cm cake tin and line with baking paper, leaving the paper hanging over the sides to help you lift out the cake. Spoon the mixture into the tin.
Arrange the figs, cut-side up, in a neat layer on top of cake. Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer poked into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Leave to rest in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out. Drizzle honey over the top of cake just before serving. This is lovely as a cake or as a dessert with lightly whipped cream.
Chocolate orange self-saucing pudding
Serves 4-6
125 g plain flour
a pinch of salt
115g caster sugar
3 tsp baking powder
4 tbs cocoa powder
250ml milk
finely grated zest of 1 orange
85g unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbs orange liqueur
For the topping:
185g soft brown sugar
2 tbs cocoa powder
1 tbs orange liqueur
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Grease a 1.5-litre ovenproof baking dish.
Sift the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and cocoa powder into a bowl. Add the milk, orange zest, butter, egg and liqueur, and beat together well. Pour into the baking dish.
To make the topping, stir the brown sugar and cocoa powder together and then spread over the pudding batter. Mix the liqueur with 250ml of boiling water and pour carefully over the pudding. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top of the pudding is firm.
Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Cranberry and white chocolate cookies
Makes 30
150g unsalted butter, softened
165g firmly packed-brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
125g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
200g rolled oats
140g white-chocolate chunks
85g dried cranberries
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4 and line three baking trays with baking parchment. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the oats, chocolate and cranberries and stir together. Add to the creamed mixture and stir together well.
Roll small tablespoons of the mixture into balls and place on the baking trays. Flatten the balls with a fork dipped in flour.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until pale golden. Leave to cool on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Bill Granger's Holiday is published by Murdoch Books, £19.99. To order a copy for £18.99 with free UK p&p go to theguardian.com/bookshop or call 0870 836 0875.
