Springtime recipes to try this season
Posted by The Wares Team on 8th Mar 2023
Christmas is a distant memory, winter is passing rapidly and spring is very much on the horizon, especially after much of the UK has enjoyed beautiful bonus sunshine in this early part of February. So let's celebrate the season of lighter evenings, warmer days, new life, beautiful flowers, and the perfect opportunity to get creative in the kitchen!
The Wares team loves baking in spring and we know that our customers do too. There's something very energising about this time of year, and it's a great time to explore new recipes with lighter ingredients, such as fruits. There are also plenty of exciting fruits that are abundant in the shops at the moment too, including bananas, avocados and apricots. So let's take a look at some different ways to use them:
Chocolate avocado mousse
If you've never made avocado into a chocolate mousse, you're in for a treat. This is a really healthy recipe that is packed with beneficial fats, phytonutrients, minerals and vitamins. It's also extremely quick and easy to make, and it's indulgent enough to fool the kids into thinking they're eating a sugary treat!
To make it, scoop out the flesh from a couple of large, ripe avocados and place them in your food processor with a cup of milk (dairy or oat, nut or soya). Add a little sweetener or sugar to taste - this can be anything from stevia to honey, and then add a couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder. A touch of vanilla essence finishes your ingredients list!
Gently process the ingredients until they resemble a thick mousse. You can adjust the milk to create a consistency that you like, and you can add a couple of ice cubes to chill and further thicken your mousse instantly. Serve it immediately with some grated chocolate, a handful of berries and a little Greek yoghurt and enjoy stacked in a Mason glass jar. These terrine jars are also perfect for a pudding: https://www.waresofknutsford.co.uk/kilner-style-250ml-clip-top-glass-jar-terrine-jar/
Kentucky Banana Pudding
This is a classic American pudding with a vintage feel and it looks beautiful served in traditional trifle glass jars. To make it, take a cup of white sugar, 1/4 cup of cornstarch, a beaten egg, a can of evaporated milk and 1.5 cups of milk and combine them in a saucepan over medium heat. Mix the ingredients well and stir them until a thick custard forms. Remove the custard from the heat, add a little vanilla extract and stir well. In the meantime, arrange a thin layer of vanilla wafers or trifle biscuits in your glass jar, and then pour the pudding custard over the top. Cover with plenty of sliced bananas and then pop the pudding in the fridge until it's chilled. Simple, delicious and very more-ish!
You could also make this pudding in advance and store it in lidded Mason glass jars. These are spot-on for easy puddings: https://www.waresofknutsford.co.uk/mason-jar-250ml-price-includes-lid-and-vat-packs-of-6-12-18-100-200-300-1/
Sticky Upside-Down Apricot Puddings
Finish off Sunday lunch with these comforting treats served in individual portions - to avoid any squabbling! To make these sticky, delectable hot puddings, preheat your oven to 180C / gas mark 4 and then grease and line six pudding moulds. Gather 400g of stoned apricots and then chop a third of them. Halve the rest. Heat 100g caster sugar in a saucepan and let it caramelise before adding the apricot halves. Cook them for a few minutes until they are soft, then let the mix cool.
In the meantime, make the base by creaming 200g of sugar, 200g of unsalted butter and the zest of two lemons until they are fluffy. Whisk in 3 eggs slowly and then fold in 200g of self-raising flour. Finally, fold in the remaining uncooked apricots.
Take the caramelised apricots and spoon them into the moulds, then top each with some of the cake mixture before topping each mould with foil. Pop them in a large baking tray, add enough water to reach the halfway point of each mould and then bake in the centre of the oven until each pudding has risen and become golden-brown (around 45 minutes). Serve with cream, ice cream or a little apricot brandy mixed with homemade custard!
You'll find a wide range of baking dishes and other baking essentials at Wares of Knutsford, including our beautiful and timeless enamel ranges. See our full line here: https://www.waresofknutsford.co.uk/the-kitchen/baking-equipment/baking-tins/
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