Gluten Free Rhubarb Bread & Butter Pud.

I had some Yorkshire forced Rhubarb kicking about in the fridge and it needed to be used up before it went over so i decided that it was pudding time. I chopped up the rhubarb and stewed it with a little sloe gin. Next I added some fresh grated ginger and raisons, then just let it simmer quietly and cook down so the rhubarb turned into a thick syrupy mess. I tasted it and added 1 tablespoon of Demerara sugar just to sweeten it up a touch. 

After I had made my rhubarb compote I had a forage around the kitchen cupboards to try and figure out what to make. I decided to make a quick custard, this was actually pretty easy, I have tried to make custard in the past and have stuck to recipes religiously but all I have ended up with is weird, eggy lump broth. So this time I took a deep breath, cracked an egg and whisked it with a couple of tablespoons of caster sugar. I whipped it until it was really frothy, whilst I was doing this I had a cups worth of milk in a small saucepan on the hob warming. When my egg and sugar mixture was frothy and the milk was just below the boil I poured the milk onto the egg gradually and whisked like crazy so it didn't curdle. I transferred it back to the small saucepan and heated it gently and kept whisking. It did threaten me with turning lumpy but I whisked like my life depended on it, no curdles for me today! After that I added a large flourish of nutmeg. 

I spooned the compote into two ramekins then tore a small slice of brown gluten free bread into each one to cover the rhubarb. When that was done I poured over the triumphantly un-lumpy custard, pushed any rogue bread so it was submerged then left it to rest for about an hour. When it was pudding time I cooked them in the oven on 180 degrees fan for about 20 minutes. 

This was super yummy, I haven't had bread and butter pudding since well before I found out I was gluten intolerant, so it felt like a real treat. I think I might try a marmalade flavour one next. I also realise I shouldn't really call it bread AND butter pudding because I didn't add butter but I can be a dessert maverick sometimes.

Hope you are having a great Saturday <3

xkx   

Lemon-balm-ade

As it has been such a lovely warm day again I couldn't resist to splash up some lemonade with a slight twist. This is a super easy recipe! To make around a pint all you need is 4 unwaxed lemons (if you use waxed you will get icky scum floating on the top), some sugar, around 1 pint of boiling water, some ice cubes and a little bunch of lemon balm.

I zested the four lemons, then chopped them in half and squeezed the bitter juice out of them (a handy tip is to roll the lemons or put them in hot water for a few minutes to get more juice out of them). 

Next I ripped up and added a small bunch of lemon balm. Then I spooned 3-4 tbs of sugar into the fragrant mix and poured over about 1 pint of boiling water. It is good to taste how sweet it is at this point (be careful not to burn your mouth though) if it is still a bit tart then add more sugar but I always think it is best to have it a bit sharper tasting because this tastes delicious when it is chilled. Then I left this in the fridge to cool. Once it is chilly I strained it through a sieve and chucked in a few handfuls of ice. 

I served this lovely-ade out of my little cottage teapot, in china tea cups with plenty of ice and some sprigs of lemon balm. I also made a little cocktail for Ed by putting a splash of gin into it which was rather yummy as well.