Orange Princess

This pudding - and it is definitely a pudding, rather than a dessert - is based on Queen of Puddings, but is made with oranges rather than the layer of jam. It's really a very simple and economical pudding, being based on breadcrumbs, eggs and milk, and even with the meringue, nicely uses up the whole egg. My recipe is from the Dairy Book of Family Cookery, surely an 80s classic, which I think you used to buy from the milkman. 

Ingredients

300ml milk

1 orange

15g butter

75g caster sugar

50g breadcrumbs (white is best)

2 eggs, separated

1. Heat the milk and butter together, and grate in the zest of the orange. When the butter has melted, stir in 25g of sugar and the breadcrumbs. Stir in the egg yolks.

2. Pour into a buttered 1 pint ovenproof dish. Bake in the oven at 170C for 20 minutes. 

3. Remove from the oven and cover with slices of the orange.

3. Whisk the egg whites until stiff then fold in the remaining 50g sugar. Pile the meringue over the pudding.

4. Brown quickly in the oven. 

Mousse au Chocolat

Chocolate Mousse has been on my 'To Cook' list for a long time. I read somewhere that everyone should have a chocolate mousse recipe in their repetoire, but I hadn't had a suitable occasion to make one, and I wasn't about to spend a fortune on good chocolate and ages separating eggs for nothing special.

However, this weekend, we were invited to Sunday lunch with my sister and brother in law, who love good food, and Tim volunteered me to make a dessert. This was my opportunity.

The recipe I followed was very simple, following Raymond Blanc:

Mousse au Chocolat

225g Dark Chocolate
8 egg whites
25g caster sugar


Melt the chocolate over a saucepan of boiling water.

Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks. Fold in the sugar.

Fold a third of the egg whites into the chocolate to loosen the mixture. Then fold the chocolate mixture into the egg whites. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Beware! This mousse is very rich, so you only need a small amount. If I didn't have to transport it, I would have served it in tiny bowls or espresso cups. As we had to take it in the car, I served it in a big white bowl and it was delicious, even if I do have a slight anxiety about eating raw eggs.