This is very much a dessert from the 70s. Brandy Alexander Pie together with its twin Grasshopper Pie were all the fashion back then. They are basically the same recipe but this one has brandy and creme de cacao and the other has creme de menthe and creme de cacao. I liked this one, but I think you can see why they both went out of favor.
This is a recipe I used to make for dinner parties in the 1980s. Mum must have asked for the recipe and my daughter wrote it out for her and added the lovely drawing. Needless to say she did not go onto becoming an artist….
As you can see this recipe comes from a publication called WOMAN and is dated November 12, 1951. Must admit I’ve never heard of the magazine, but fruit crumbles have been around for a long, long time so it’s not surprising this recipe dates back that far. The difference with this recipe is that it uses bananas mixed in with the apples and I think that would taste great, especially with a little ice cream or cream on top.
I’ve been making a chocolate swirl cheesecake for the family for many years and Mum has always enjoyed it. I think that’s what prompted her to cut this recipe out of the New Idea. It’s a great way of turning an old favorite into a slice or you can still serve it up as a dessert.
You either love it or hate it. My father hated it as he had it once too often as a child, but Mum still made it for us. Served up with cream it’s a great winter dessert. Needless to say this is not Mum’s original recipe, but the addition of dried fruit would make it extra tasty.
This is a dessert that Mum made often, without the brandy though. I can remember her placing a large plate of them in the center of the table for us all to help ourselves. My mouth is watering at the thought of how we’d squash down the crunchy fritters and sprinkle white sugar on the top – they were yummm.
The combination of rhubarb, banana and orange seems unusual to me in this recipe, but I think the banana and orange would take some of the tartness out of the rhubarb, which could be good. I haven’t cooked it as my husband hates rhubarb, but you might like to try it out.
Dad was the gardener in our family. He grew tomatoes, beans, silverbeet and rhubarb in his vegie plot. There was a passionfruit vine on the back fence and, of course, a lemon tree in the corner. I think every Melbourne family had and probably still has a lemon tree in their backyard. Easy to grow and if the position is right lemons in abundance. As a result Mum made the most of it and used lemons where ever she could. This self saucing pudding was one of her yummy ways of using some of the crop.
This was a dish that Mum would make as a ‘special’ dessert especially in summer. It’s light and fluffy and can be prepared before visitors arrive. I haven’t tasted it for many years, but just the name brings back memories of those meals with family and friends.
My Father’s favourite dessert was ice cream and while Mum often made that for him she made lots of other desserts as well. For some reason he had a great dislike of baked custards, but he did like rice puddings so Mum often made one for him. You can serve it with stewed fruit as well as the jam mentioned in the recipe, but it’s quite nice just on its own.
Beb's Recipe Drawer 