Marshmallow Snowballs
A cool, chewy treat for a hot summer’s day. Children can make these themselves, so long as they’re careful with the skewers.
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Gooseberry Fool
A scrumptious, frothy summer pud that is very simple to make but needs a good whack of sugar to make it tasty for the younger members of the family.
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Raspberry & Apple Palmiers
These are stunners – a mouthful of heavenly puff pastry with yummy confectioner's custard. Just dreamy!
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Carla's Orange Chocolate & Cream Choux 'C'
The most delicious combo of eclair pastry and orangey chocolate and cream...
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Cranachan
A traditional Scottish pud often eaten at Burns Suppers. Originally it was made simply of crowdie (a kind of smooth curd cheese) and toasted oatmeal, but this recipe uses cream, oatmeal and raspberries instead.
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Chocolate Workies
Mike: These are a childhood favourite of mine and I have managed to add them to Joe and Carla’s list of favourite puddings. Just pineapple rings, digestive biscuits and melted chocolate. They’re called ‘workies’, why I don’t fully know but it has something to do with my father eating them at work – either as a pudding served up at his canteen at Tate & Lyle (in the days when everyone stopped for a big cooked lunch in the middle of the day) or as a dessert at a works ‘do’ he and my mother attended.
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Danish Peasant Girl with Veil
Years ago when I first came across this Danish pudding, it was the name that seduced me to make it – and I wasn’t disappointed by the results. It’s now a family favourite: crunchy layers of toasted breadcrumbs and apple, topped with a veil of cream sprinkled with chocolate…
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Apple Snow
A simple dish that children really love, though parents often worry because it contains raw eggs. But then so does cake mixture and we don't think twice about letting children lick out the mixing bowl. I like to use good-quality eggs (well within date) to set my mind at rest...
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Blackberry Polenta Cake
My sister was recently very disparaging about polenta, saying it was one of those pointless and trendy ingredients that everyone suddenly goes mad about. But I love cakes with a bit of polenta to add bite and texture. And this one is a stunner.
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Basic Four-Egg Sponge
This basic Victoria sponge recipe makes a fantastic cut-and-come-again family cake. For a two-egg sponge use half the given amounts and cook in one round 20 cm (8 in) tin for 20 minutes or 12 cupcake cases for 12 minutes.
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Trifle in a 'Trifle'
Tamsin: Trifle. I never thought it aptly named as it’s certainly not a trifle to make - at least until I discovered Alpro soya custard. Now I always keep a packet of this delicious stuff in my larder so I can whip up a wickedly pleasurable dessert for guests in two seconds flat. This trifle has that wow factor yet takes a few minutes to assemble. I always use a home-made sponge prepared in advance but a bought one will do just as well.
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Pears in Lemon Juice
Last week I sat down to lunch and the sight of a big bowl of sliced pears greeted me. Hungrily I took one and was amazed to find this was not just any old pear – it had been covered in lemon juice, an idea that was completely new to me. Upon discovering this brilliant taste sensation I (along with the help of everyone else) quickly wolfed down the rest of the pears, then hurried to make more – until all the pears in the cupboard had gone. After this we made sure that we had an ample supply of pears and the dish appeared at almost every meal.
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Basic Muffins
This is a sure-thing muffin recipe you can play around with to make your favourite muffin flavours, for example adding 75g chocolate chips, chopped nuts or dried fruit to the dry ingredients, or sprinkling the uncooked muffin mix with Demerara sugar and cinnamon before cooking to give a spicy crunch.
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Anna-Louise's Redcurrant Tart
This is summer's finest tart! Every year Anna-Louise makes one and everyone we know tries to wangle an invitation to her house to taste a slice. It's originally a Roux brother's recipe and takes a while as the pastry needs some serious chilling. But it's absolutely worth the wait.
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Baby BBQ
A miniature treat for evenings when the stars are twinkling and the moon is out.
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Zinging Home-Made Lemonade
The most refreshing thing on a hot summer's day, with a sharp, zesty taste. And it's surprisingly easy to make. If the children don't like fizz, use still water instead.
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Mini-Cooked Breakfast
Kids of all ages find miniature things entrancing - especially miniature food. For maximum impact, serve on the biggest plates you have.
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Butterfly Fruit
I had another family coming for supper and very little time, as usual, to make something. I’ve been trying to empty my freezer, as I am very good at putting things in but not so good at taking them out again, so I delved in and pulled out a packet of puffed pastry. Of course I had to leave it to defrost, so in the end we all made the butterflies together. Quick and beautiful. We ate outside so they were our first summer butterflies in the garden this year.
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Redcurrant Yogurt Ice-Cream
This has a lovely strong fruity kick to it, and because it uses single cream and yoghurt, it’s lighter in texture than most home-made ice-creams.
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Blackcurrant Coulis
This is the most versatile summer pud accompaniment. It’s delicious just drizzled over ice-cream.
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Lemon Ricotta with Summer Fruits and Blackcurrant Coulis
This is a quick and light summer pudding – you can drum it up in ten minutes. The tang of the lemons works beautifully with the quirky flavour of the ricotta, and you can make it as sweet (or not) as your children like.
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Redcurrant Muffins
These are lovely for picnics or even for an alfresco breakfast on a hot summer's day.
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Dough Balls
The kids wolf plates of these down whenever we go out for a pizza, so we thought we’d try making them at home. Cooked over a bonfire and dipped in hot garlic butter, they are something special.
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Kids' Summer Cup
A fresh and zingy summer slinger that’s great for picnics and outdoor tea.
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Primrose Salad
This is a basic Salad Niçoise decorated with bright primrose flowerheads to announce the arrival of summer. Gorgeous, filling and wholesome
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Easy Cheese Soufflé
This is a foolproof but good-looking soufflé that makes a great Saturday lunch for the family. Delcious served with new potatoes and peas.
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Elderflower Fizz
Elderflowers are everywhere in early June, and it's fun going on elderflower walks, picking the biggest and best from along the verges and river sides (take wellies or paddle). A walking stick is handy to pull down the high branches, but watch out for nettles below. This makes a fizzy elderflower champage.
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Zany Pavlova
There is no nicer bubbly dessert than crunchy, air-filled pockets of meringue, and this colourful version always brings a 'wow' factor to the table.
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Herb Pikelets and Orange Caviar
The aim of this starter is to make every mouthful explode on the tongue. If the children don't like the taste or texture of caviar, top their pikelets with hummus and red pesto instead.
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Maypole Cake
This is a basic Victoria sponge decorated with flowers and ribbons to celebrate the arrival of summer.
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Bananas in Pyjamas
Early morning and Carla calls out to me from her bed. She usually sneaks down and sits with her back against the hall radiator waiting for everyone else to get up, so I knew something was wrong. It was a sore throat and temperature, and she was certainly not going to get out of her pyjamas that day.
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Elderflower Cordial
This is the fresh and fruity taste of early summer! Pick elderflowers in quiet spots away from roadsides where the bushes may be polluted, and avoid flowerheads that are browning at the edges – they can make the cordial taste of cat's pee.
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Junket
We're on a mission to bring back junket, a gentle milky pudding that was traditionally eaten on May Day. In Penzance, young people used to leave the inns on May Eve at midnight and tour local farmhouses to 'partake of junket, made of raw milk and rennet, sweetened with sugar, and a little cream added, followed by heavy cake and rum and milk.' It's a good, healthy, everyday family pud.
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