Pear Parkin

Parkin or Perkin is a gingerbread cake traditionally made with oatmeal and black treacle, which originated in northern England

Ingredients

• 200g porridge oats
• 200g self-raising flour
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp salt
• 175g treacle
• 140g butter, plus extra for the dish and dotting over
• 140g light muscovado sugar, plus a bit more
• 2 balls stem ginger from a jar, chopped, plus some of the syrup to serve
• 1 large egg
• 150ml milk
• 4 ripe pears, peeled, stalks cut off, cored and halved

Method

1. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Butter a 30 x 20cm baking dish. Mix the first four ingredients together. Melt the treacle, butter and sugar together in a large saucepan, then stir in the dry ingredients, half of the chopped ginger, the egg and milk to give a smooth batter.
2. Spoon into the baking dish, then sit the pear halves in the batter. Dot more butter over each pear half and sprinkle with a little more sugar. Bake for 1 hr until risen all over and a skewer inserted into the middle of the pudding comes out clean.
3. To serve, scatter the rest of the ginger over the fruit, then drizzle all over with syrup from the jar. Serve in rectangles with custard

Apple pudding cake

Ingredients
 

• 250g plain flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 dessertspoons ground cinnamon
• 225ml milk
• 350g dark brown soft sugar
• 325ml water
• 30g butter
• 100g chopped peeled apples
• 60g chopped walnuts

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Grease the bottom of a 23cm square baking dish.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk. Mix well and pour into prepared tin.

3. In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, water and butter. Bring to the boil and pour over mixture in the tin. Sprinkle top with nuts and chopped apples.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the pudding comes out clean. Serve warm.

Plum Pie

Plum Pie. A variant of the traditional Apple Pie using plums instead of apples.

Ingredients

• 900g plums, stoned and thickly sliced
• 140g golden caster sugar, plus extra
• tsp ground cloves
• 1 heaped tbsp cornflour
• flour, for dusting
• 500g pack shortcrust pastry
• 1 egg, beaten, to glaze

Method

    Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 and put a large baking sheet in to heat up. Put the plums, sugar and cloves in a pan. Simmer until the sugar dissolves and the plums are juicy, 8-10 mins. Mix the cornflour with a little of the juice, then mix well into the fruit. Boil for a few mins, stirring, until thickened.
    .
    Roll out two-thirds of the pastry on a floured surface. Use to line a pie dish, letting the pastry hang over the edges a little. Fill with the plums. Roll out remaining pastry, about 2.5cm bigger than the dish, then drape over the plums. Pinch edges together well, then make a small hole in the top. Brush with egg and sprinkle with sugar.  Place on the hot baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 mins until golden brown, and serve hot with custard.