Chocolate puddings, rice puddings – classic recipes from top cooks including Nigel Slater and Mary Berry chosen by Observer Food Monthly
• Part two available tomorrow

Jason Atherton’s coconut bread pudding

Serves 4
eggs 4 large, beaten
caster sugar 135g
double cream 270ml
coconut milk 270ml
dark rum 2 tsp
brioche 7 slices

To finish
a wedge of fresh coconut (about 15g)
to dust

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until smooth and pale. Pour the cream into a heavy-based saucepan and slowly bring almost to a simmer, then take off the heat and gradually whisk into the egg mixture. Return to a low heat and whisk in the coconut milk and rum. Cook gently, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon lightly; do not allow to boil. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 140C/gas mark 1. Cut the brioche slices in half on the diagonal. Arrange the brioche triangles, points upwards, in a baking dish (or in 2 small oval baking dishes) to form overlapping rows. Pour the custard evenly over the surface.

Stand the dish(es) in a roasting tin and pour in enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the dish(es). Bake for about 35 minutes until just set.

In the meantime, shave the coconut into fine ribbons, using a vegetable peeler.

When the pudding is ready, lift it out of the water bath. Dust the surface generously with icing sugar and caramelise using a cook’s blowtorch or by flashing under a hot grill for a minute or so.

Dust the surface with a little more icing sugar and scatter over the fresh coconut shavings. Serve from the dish.

From Gourmet Food for a Fiver by Jason Atherton (Quadrille, RRP £14.99)

Mary Berry’s English madeleines

For this recipe, you will need dariole moulds, which are available from specialist cook shops and department stores. If you don’t have 10, make the madeleines in two batches.

softened butter 100g
caster sugar 100g
eggs 2 large
self-raising flour 100g
baking powder 1 level tsp
vanilla extract 2-3 drops

To finish
raspberry or strawberry jam 4 tbsp
desiccated coconut 50g
glacé cherries red or natural 5

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Grease 10 dariole moulds then line the base of each mould with baking parchment. Stand the tins on a baking tray.

Measure the cake ingredients into a large bowl and beat until the mixture is well blended and smooth. Spoon the mixture into the dariole moulds, filling them about half full.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes until well risen and firm to the touch. Leave to cool in the moulds for 5 minutes then turn out, peel off the parchment and finish cooling on a wire rack.

When the cakes are cool, trim the bases so that they stand firmly. Push the raspberry or strawberry jam through a sieve, then put into a small pan and warm through. Spread the coconut out on a large plate. Use a fork to spear the bases of the cakes to hold them. Brush them with the warm jam, then roll in the coconut to coat. Cut the glacé cherries in half and decorate each madeleine with a half.

From Mary Berry’s Baking Bible (BBC Books, RRP £25)

Nigel Slater’s hot chocolate puddings

This recipe is too fiddly to do for two, so I make enough for four and eat the extra two cold the next day, with a drizzle of cream.

Serves 4
dark, fine-quality chocolate 200g
caster sugar 100g
eggs 3
butter 60g
chocolate hazelnut spread 2 lightly heaped tbsp

Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Lightly butter 4 small ramekins or oven-proof cups.

Break the chocolate into rough pieces and put it in a basin suspended over a pan of gently simmering water. Let it melt without stirring, occasionally poking any unmelted chocolate down into the liquid chocolate.

Put the sugar into a food mixer, separate the eggs and add the yolks to the sugar. Beat till thick and creamy. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites till airy and almost stiff.

Stir the butter into the chocolate and leave to melt, then gently stir in the chocolate hazelnut spread. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg and sugar, then carefully fold in the beaten egg whites with a metal spoon. Take care not to overmix. Just firmly, calmly mix the egg white into the chocolate, making certain there are no floating drifts of egg white.

Scoop into the four buttered dishes and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, till risen. The tops should be cracked and the centres still slightly wobbly. Should you open one too early, it can go back in the oven without coming to as much harm as you might think.

From The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater (Fourth Estate, RRP £25)

Bruce Poole’s rice pudding

For the holy grail pudding we are seeking, only a slowly baked pud can offer up the lovely combination of tender rice and the reduced, creamy envelope. Serves 4–6 (though I have been known to eat half an entire cold pudding on my own)

Serves 4–6
vanilla pod 1
short-grain pudding rice 100g
caster sugar 100g
full-fat milk 500ml
double cream 500ml
nutmeg 1
unsalted butter 10-15g softened

The choice of baking dish is very important. If the dish is too big, the rice pudding will end up too shallow and can dry out. If the dish is too small, the finished pud will be too deep and there will be less chance of the rice and cream melding successfully together. I use an oval roasting dish that measures 38cm (including the ears) by 23.5cm and is 5.5cm deep, but any dish in which the raw pudding sits between 3cm and 5cm in depth is about right.

Split the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds into a medium-sized pan, then add the pods. Add all the other ingredients except the nutmeg and butter. Bring this up to the boil and, as it comes up, whisk vigorously to encourage even disbursement of the tiny vanilla seeds. As soon as it boils, turn off the heat and leave to sit for half an hour, whisking gently every so often to separate the rice grains. Set the oven to 100C.

Take the softened butter and smear it all over the interior of the scrupulously clean baking vessel. Gently pour the rice/cream mixture into the baking dish, making sure that any stray vanilla seeds are scraped out with a rubber spatula, and transfer the dish to the oven. Bake for half an hour and then carefully remove the pan from the oven and place it on your worktop. Thoroughly whisk the pudding to release the rice grains, which will have clumped unevenly together. Return the pudding to the oven and repeat this agitation process twice more over the next hour. After a total of 1½ hours baking (and three agitations), before returning the pudding to the oven, grate lots of nutmeg over the surface. How much nutmeg you use is up to you, but I love the stuff so I use about three-quarters of a whole nutmeg. Return the pudding very carefully to the oven and bake for another 1½ hours. After a total of 3 hours, turn off the heat, leaving the pudding inside the cooling oven. It will look runny.

The rice pudding is ready to eat 2–3 hours later. You can eat it before this time has elapsed and it will still be very good, as the rice will be cooked. However, to be at its absolute best, this slow resting process improves both the texture and flavour of the pudding and the temperature will be at a perfect warmth. It is also superb cold, but avoid refrigerating the pudding. Simply cover the cold dish (or any leftovers) with clingfilm and leave out at room temperature. This makes a magnificent breakfast and is, incidentally, very good for hangovers. Or so I’ve been told.

From Bruce’s Cookbook by Bruce Poole (HarperCollins, RRP £25)

Bruno Loubet’s tarte aux pommes

A very simple apple tart my mum used to make. I simply add a bit of rosemary and that’s my generation’s contribution. The recipe is now ready to be passed on.

Serves 6–8
puff pastry 500g
apples 15 Cox’s Orange Pippin, peeled, cored, halved and cut into 2mm slices

butter 20g
rosemary leaves 1 tbsp
caster sugar 3 tbsp
apricot jam 5 tbsp
vanilla ice-cream or creme fraiche to serve

Almond cream
soft butter 60g
icing sugar 75g
vanilla extract 1 tsp
almond essence 2 drops
eggs 1
ground almonds 100g
cornflour 1 tsp
dark rum 3 tbsp

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.

Start by making the almond cream. In a small bowl, whisk the butter with the sugar, vanilla and almond essence until the butter turns pale, then add the remaining ingredients for the cream. Whisk well and set aside.

Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface to a 32cm round, then place on a baking sheet lined with non-stick baking paper.

Using the back of a small knife, draw a line 1cm in from the edge of the pastry all the way round. This will give the tart a border.

Prick inside the marked circle all over with a fork, then cover with the almond cream.

Starting from the outside, arrange the apple slices over the almond cream, overlapping them tightly so that only about 3mm of the previous slice is visible. Make a complete circle then start another circle, overlapping the previous one. Repeat this operation until the tart is complete. You should have 3–4 rings of apple.

In a small frying pan, melt the butter with the rosemary until foaming, then add the sugar. Stir, then remove from the heat and brush the mixture over the apples.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the apples are well coloured around the edges. With a spatula, lift the tart carefully and check the bottom is cooked and crisp.

Heat the jam in a small saucepan. Sieve it if you want a very smooth glaze but for a more rustic finish there’s no need, then brush over the tart.

Serve with vanilla ice-cream or creme fraiche or simply as it is!

From Mange Tout by Bruno Loubet (Ebury Press, RRP £25)

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