FORGET THE SOURDOUGH TRY SOME WHIM WHAM!
Prue Leith, Bake Off judge
CookInG is my natural cheering- up activity. If I’m frustrated and cross, there is nothing like pummelling the b’jasus out of bread dough. If I’m feeling blue, baking something sticky and fattening is the comfort I seek. And using leftovers creatively makes me feel smugly virtuous.
But even if you don’t usually cook, producing something nice to eat can be surprisingly satisfying. even if you’ve only yourself to please, these simple ideas are worth a try. INSTANT INDULGENCE: Serve warm ginger cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a sauce made by heating mincemeat with a dash of booze (rum, brandy, sherry, port, liqueur).
SAVOURY BREAD PUDDING (right):
fry a large chopped tomato and a chopped red onion with a crushed clove of garlic in a couple of tablespoons of oil until soft and jammy. Chop about 100g leftover cheese (blue, goat, Cheddar, anything).
Spread about 250g of any kind of stale, sliced bread with shop-bought pesto sauce.
In a buttered pie dish, layer up the pesto bread slices, the cheese and the tomato mix. Season with lots of black pepper and a little salt as you go. Make a herby custard by whisking together 300ml milk or cream or a mix of the two, three eggs and a handful of chopped fresh herbs. Pour over the bread and leave to soak for half an hour. Then bake at 200c/gas 6 for 25 mins until puffy and brown. RASPBERRY WHIM WHAM: My niece and co- author of The Vegetarian kitchen, Peta Leith, found this in a national Trust book about old english desserts. It’s heaven.
Dip a few Savoy biscuits (ladies’ fingers) in sweet sherry and lay them in a glass serving dish. Whisk 300ml double cream with 1tbsp sugar, 4tbsp white wine and the grated zest of an orange until stiff enough to just hold its shape.
Spread half of the cream over the biscuits, add a handful of fresh raspberries and/or dot with small blobs of raspberry jam. repeat with another layer of sherried biscuits, the rest of the cream, a few more raspberries and/or blobs of jam, and a scattering of toasted, flaked almonds.