I’ve spent the morning preparing the fruit for both my Christmas cake and Christmas pudding. I probably should have made them a few weeks ago, but Christmas seems to have crept up on me this year. Puddings and cakes can still taste great even if you don’t make them weeks and weeks ahead. This recipe is one of those and it’s unusual as it has sago in it. It’s also a good one for those who don’t like their pudding laced with brandy or rum.
Seems to me that when you have a dessert which has chocolate, coffee, Tia Maria, cream cheese, cream and choc-chip biscuits, the deliciousness is pretty much guaranteed……….
Mum often used to make a dessert of fruit set in jelly, she always served it in a bowl though. This is a bit fancier version as it’s cut into squares and decorated with cream, nuts and cherries and even ice cream….quite a treat.
You need to throw the diet out the window when you make this steamed pudding, although to be honest you probably do with any steamed pudding. This one is sticky and sweet and delicious.
This recipe comes from an Australian Diary Corporation supplement in the Women’ Weekly. It has an introduction by a very young Peter Russell-Clarke, an early Australian celebrity TV chef. It’s an easy puff pastry dessert using cherries and ricotta.
According to the Herald Sun Checkout column, where this recipe appeared in June 1993, ‘Kish Mish is a sensational concoction of dried fruits and spices – it can stand alone as a dessert served with cream, but for winter you can serve it as a cascade over steamed pudding’. I think the thing that makes it a bit different is the addition of apple with the dried fruit, it would be really fruity and moist.
It’s a bit unusual to have a fruit base, then a crumble layer (instead of the reverse) and then top it all with meringue as this dessert recipe does. I’m guessing the idea is that the crumble would absorb a little of the moisture from the fruit. Whether that’s the case or not, with these ingredients it should taste OK.
This is a microwave dried fruit salad recipe published by Sunbeam Dried Fruits back in the ’90s I think. Perhaps not quite so useful now that strawberries, blueberries, etc are available all year round, but nice to have to pour over ice cream or serve with cream or yoghurt as suggested.
Using canned pears for this dessert is certainly the quickest easiest way to make it, but if you’ve got the time poaching fresh pears until they’re soft would make it just that much better.
Tinned pineapple isn’t used much these days, but it can still be worthwhile when fresh pineapple is out of season. It’s quite sweet and that can make things with it in a bit too sweet – this pudding breaks that sweetness down with lemon juice though. Haven’t tried it myself, but I think it could be a good family pudding.
Beb's Recipe Drawer 