SEVEN ways with cosy puddings

Cuddle up to a warm dessert with extra sauce on the side

1SWEET SURRENDER Gluten-free date and honey pudding Serves 6

Devour this sweet and sticky delight with a generous drizzle of a gooey honey caramel sauce.

1 cup pitted dates, roughly chopped 1 cup boiling water

1 tsp baking soda

100g butter

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup runny honey

2 eggs

1½ cups ground almonds

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp gluten-free baking powder

HONEY CARAMEL SAUCE

½ cup runny honey ½ cup cream

2 Tbsp butter

¼ tsp ground ginger Whipped cream to serve

1 Preheat the oven to 170C. Lightly grease a 22cm ovenproof dish.

2 Place the dates and water in a small bowl and soak for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving two tablespoons of liquid. Add the baking soda to the liquid, then stir through the dates.

3 Cream the butter, sugar and honey until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold through the almonds, ginger and baking powder. Stir through the date mixture. Pour into a baking dish. Bake for 35 minutes or until just set.

4 Remove and cool slightly before serving. 5 To make the sauce, combine the honey, cream, butter and ginger in a small pot. Bring to the boil for 4 or 5 minutes until slightly thickened. (As it cools it will thicken a bit more.)

6 Serve the pudding with the sauce and a dollop of cream

2SELF- SAUCING STYLE Chocolate and black Doris plum pudding

Chocolate, plums and cream are a beautiful combination, with the richness of the chocolate sponge, the tartness of the plums and the decadent sauce bringing it all together.

3INDIVIDUAL PUDDINGS Sticky date and banana pud

These little sticky banana puddings are covered in caramel sauce and are great warm or cold, with plenty of whipped cream on the side.

4MASTER A CLASSIC Honey creme brulee

Put a New Zealand twist on a French classic by experimenting with single-variety floral honeys to discover your ultimate honey creme brulee.

5OLD FAITHFUL Chocolate croissant bread and butter pudding

Good old bread and butter pudding gets a luxury upgrade with croissants and lots of dark chocolate chunks.

6A FINE PEARING Little ginger and pear puddings

Fresh ginger is a delicious match with pears. These puddings are the perfect way to use spare pears, while ginger adds a nice spicy surprise.

7TAKES THE BISCUIT Rhubarb shortcake

An English classic, this shortcake is a good starter recipe. The dough is deliciously short (rich and crumbly) in texture when cooked.