Rhubarb, Orange and Vanilla Trifles

I’m sure you’ve noticed I’m not great at puddings; to be honest I never will be because they don’t really appeal to me. I’m prepared to spend time on starters and mains but by the time I get to thinking about pudding I tend to run out of steam and enthusiasm. However, I was inspired to have a go after seeing Gino D’Acampo on TV doing a lemony mascarpone trifle type thing (you can tell I wasn’t really listening, can’t you?) which sowed the seed of an idea.

Rhubarb is one of my favourite fruits and we’ve had a fabulous crop in the garden this year so, shamelessly following Gino’s lead, I added some to a mix of mascarpone and custard, added a smidge of orange juice and alcohol and, even though I say it myself, it was pretty damn good and well worth doing again. It was as easy as pie and it also looked quite pretty. If you happen to grow strawberries or raspberries it could also be adapted to utilise some of those.

(We’ve had three strawberries from our plants so far this year - I won’t get the jam pan out just yet…!)

400g rhubarb, topped and tailed
grated zest and juice of half an orange
75g white sugar
125g mascarpone
200g tub custard
seeds from half a vanilla pod
8 sponge fingers (boudoir biscuits)
juice of half an orange
2 tbsp Cointreau
2 tbsp toasted hazlenuts, chopped

Chop the washed rhubarb into 3cm pieces and place in a pan with the orange zest, juice and sugar. Cook over a gentle heat until the rhubarb is just tender. Set aside to cool.

Stir the mascarpone, custard and vanilla seeds together until completely combined.

Mix the orange juice and Cointreau together.

Break the sponge fingers in half and place four halves in the bottom of four serving glasses. Sprinkle over the mixed orange juice and Cointreau, then spoon over half the rhubarb divided between the four glasses; cover this with half the custard and mascarpone, then repeat. Sprinkle over the toasted chopped hazelnuts.

Best served immediately but it can be kept covered in the fridge for an hour or two.

Serves 4

Rhubarb and Raspberry Crumble

Last weekend I made rhubarb and raspberry crumble cooked and served in teacups – an idea I have shamelessly borrowed from the recent Waitrose magazine. It was so much easier to serve like this and it looked quite cute, too; now why hadn’t I thought of this before?

I'll admit I was really nervous about the cups surviving the heat of the oven (I had nightmare visions of all the handles dropping off!) but in the event they were fine. If you decide to do this please ensure your china is oven safe and for goodness sake don’t use the cups from your Granny’s heirloom dinner service! Your nerves might be able to stand the strain but mine wouldn't...

The Waitrose recipe used strawberries but I didn't like the sound of hot strawbs so I substituted rhubarb and raspberries; their sharpness contrasted nicely with the sweetness of the crumble which also had a lovely crunch thanks to a handful of chopped almonds and a few rolled oats. I'm not a huge fan of ice-cream so I served it with pouring cream.

It’s actually given me an idea for Christmas – there’s nothing like planning ahead! Chopped apple, orange zest and mincemeat topped with a nutty cinnamon crumble – whaddya think?

300g rhubarb (weight after being topped and tailed)
a tablespoon of sugar
24 fresh raspberries
100g plain flour
60g butter
50g sugar
30g rolled oats
30g whole almonds

Chop the rhubarb into 4cm chunks and put in a saucepan with the sugar. Put a lid on the pan and simmer on a very low heat for 15 minutes until the rhubarb is softened but still holding its shape.
Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs then stir in the sugar, oats and the roughly chopped almonds.

Turn the oven on to 180C.

Divide the rhubarb between four teacups and put six raspberries on top. Sprinkle over the crumble mix, put the cups on a rimmed baking tray and bake for 20 minutes until golden and the juices are starting to bubble through.

Serves 4

Curried Fruit Chutney

This is another one of the chutneys and preserves that I’ve made over the past couple of weeks. It’s been a bit like running a production line at times, but it’s the same every year at around this time; September is always a hive of activity whilst the autumnal fruits are widely available and cheap.

There’s something very elemental, almost primal, about having a store of food for the winter months. Yes, I know I don’t have to do this these days; times have changed, we don’t starve any more if we don’t put food away for the winter and I could just go and buy jars of whatever I want from Waitrose, but I can’t buy the sense of satisfaction that goes with it. I love opening the pantry door to find it groaning under the weight of jars.

We’re already enjoying both jams I made in the summer. Mincemeat, plum compote, red onion marmalade and spiced apple butter are all ready to eat, but the spiced apple and apricot chutney, tomato and cranberry relish and this curried fruit chutney will all benefit from some maturing time. Clementine marmalade won’t be made until November when the fruit is reasonably priced in the run-up to Christmas. Phew, I think that’s about it for this year!

This chutney is ridiculously easy and, judging from the taste I had, it’ll make a very good addition to a hot curry on a cold night; I suspect it'll also go down well with a slice or two of cold nut roast or maybe cheese on toast.

250g onions, chopped

750g (prepared weight) fruit - I used apples, plums, rhubarb and apricots

25g garlic

25g fresh root ginger

1 tsp salt

½ tsp cayenne

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

2 tsp curry powder

300g white sugar

300ml cider vinegar

Put the garlic, ginger, cayenne, salt, cumin, coriander and curry powder into a blender with a couple of tablespoons of the measured vinegar and blitz until slushy.

Prepare the fruit, chop into large dice and place in a large wide pan with the onions. Add the garlic and ginger mixture, the sugar and the vinegar. Bring to the boil, stir well and simmer uncovered over a low heat for about 1½ hours until thick.

Pot into sterilised jars whilst still hot and leave to mature for 6 – 8 weeks before eating.

Makes 6 190g jars.

Rhubarb and Raspberry Jam

When I went to our local market on Tuesday there seemed to be so many bargains on the veg stall I didn’t quite know where to start. We’ve had such a warm dry spring so some fruits seem to be very early this year; I bought masses of strawberries and raspberries as well as all the usual everyday stuff and we were absolutely loaded down when we came away from the stall.

All the soft fruit I bought has gone into jam-making. The husband put in a special request for strawberry jam (recipe to follow) and I have been hankering after a rhubarb and raspberry jam that I have fond memories of from years ago. I was really chuffed that we finally had enough of our own rhubarb from the garden for this – it makes it seem even more homemade, somehow.

This a lovely soft-set jam that's very fresh tasting because of its short cooking time, really nice on toast or scones.

600g rhubarb, sliced into 1inch chunks

300g raspberries

75ml water**

600g jam sugar (includes pectin)

Put the rhubarb, sugar and water into a wide deep pan or a jam pan if you have one. Bring slowly to the boil to dissolve the sugar and simmer for 15 minutes; add the raspberries and boil for a further 5 minutes. Test for setting by putting a teaspoonful of jam on a cold saucer, leave for 30 seconds and if it wrinkles when you push it with your finger…bingo!! If it doesn’t wrinkle, boil for another 5 minutes and try the cold saucer test again. Pot up whilst still hot into hot sterilised jars.

**I added the water because I wanted a fairly soft-set jam but reduce it, or even leave it out, if you want a stronger set.

Makes 4 medium jars.