Some like it hot
Hot desserts are the best kind at this time of year, and Rachel Allen has three delicious recipes — including a souffle, which she says is easy as pie
There’s something I find extremely pleasing about serving ice cream with hot desserts. The polar contrast of temperatures is so surprising on the palate, and I love how the ice cream melts as soon as it touches the steaming-hot pudding.
These gorgeous chocolate lava cakes, right, should be deliciously spongy on the outside and molten in the centre. Do not overcook them, or they will be set all the way through, which wouldn’t be the end of the world, but not exactly what we’re aiming for.
The banana butterscotch pudding, far right, is a recipe that the lovely Australian cook Bill Granger made for me once; it’s what is called a ‘self-saucing pudding’ — this is where you pour a sweet, watery liquid over the mixture before popping it in the oven. It comes out with a layer of rich butterscotch sauce sitting under the banana sponge topping — divine.
People seem to think souffles are extremely difficult to make, but really they’re not; it’s more about the timing. In this honey souffle recipe, also far right, I show you how to make it in advance for entertaining, making it a deliciously convenient dessert.
I adore the contrast of temperatures and textures that you get if you serve a scoop of ice cream sitting on top of the hot, light, fluffy souffle.
“I love how the ice cream melts as soon as it touches the steaming-hot pudding”