Fruit with Toffee Fondue Sauce

This is an easy way to use up any leftover sauce from a sticky toffee pudding.

For 4 people you need:
Assorted fruit - we used melon, mango, apple and clementine

Toffee Sauce made from
275g golden syrup
225ml double cream
275g light soft brown sugar
100g butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Boil the sauce ingredients for 5 mins till golden and bubbling. Chop the fruit roughly and dip in to the sauce. This is an excellent way to get children (and adults!) to each fruit :)

Blackcurrant and Lime Citrus Drizzle Cake

This is a variation on a theme but one that makes good use of the frozen glut of blackcurrants we have.

For 2 loaf cakes you need:
225g butter
225g caster sugar
250g self raising flour
3 eggs
zest of 1 lemon, 1 lime and 1 orange
juice of 1 lime and 1 orange
450g blackcurrants, plus 50g extra
150g sugar
juice of 1 orange, 2 lemons and 2 limes plus the zest of each

Begin by creaming the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and then mix in the flour. Add the zest, juices and 450g currants. Mix well. Scrape into 2 lined loaf tins. Scatter over the remaining 50g currants. Bake in a moderate oven for 45 mins or so.

Meanwhile make the syrup by gently heating the sugar, juices and zests. Leave to cool. Once the cakes are done, prick all over and pour over the syrup. Leave to cool and then scoff. Nom nom nom

Mango Fool

This works well with canned lychees too. This is another recipe from @deliciousmag August edition.

For 4 portions you need:
400g mango, diced
Grated zest and juice of ½ lime
150ml double cream
2 tsp light brown soft sugar
50ml greek yogurt
1 tbsp toasted desseciated coconut
Coconut biscuits to serve

Blitz the mango and lime juice till smooth. Whip the cream, sugar and yogurt together till thickened. Stir through half the mango mixture. Fold in the rest to make a rippled effect.

Serve in glasses topped with the coconut and with a biscuit on the side.

Chargrilled Mango with Lime Syrup (v)

This is a fabulous way to end an exotic meal. It's light and cleansing but sweet enough to make you feel like you have had pudding. The syrup is an Antony Worrall Thompson recipe.

For 4 portions you need:
2-3 large, slightly under ripe mangoes
225g caster sugar
8 green cardamom pods, seeds removed and crushed
150ml water
juice 2 limes
2 tbsp grated/pared lime zest or to taste

Make the syrup up in plenty of time to allow the flavours to infuse, and also because the mango takes hardly any time at all to chargrill! Heat the water and sugar with 1 tbsp lime zest over a gentle heat. Allow the sugar to dissolve and then bring to the boil. Simmer for 2-3 mins and then remove from the heat. Fish out the used lime zest and replace with the remaining tbsp zest. Add the juice and leave to infuse.

Peel the mangoes and then cut into wedges. Heat a chargrill pan (or place on the BBQ) and cook for a few mins on each side till browned. Serve with the syrup drizzled over. Heaven!

Summer Pudding (v)

Well it *is* officially summer so it would be rude not to wouldn't it... And I am feeling extra smug cos all the fruit came from our garden *polishes halo*

This is basically St Delia's recipe :)

For 6-8 portions you need:
225 g redcurrants
110 g blackcurrants
450 g raspberries
150 g vanilla sugar
8 slices white bread, crusts removed and cut into strips. Save 1 slice for the lid.
1/4 cup water

Begin by placing the fruit, sugar and water in a pan and slowly bringing to the boil. Cook for no more than 3 mins or so and take off the heat.

Meanwhile line a pudding basin with cling film and then place the strips of bread, overlapping them, in the basin. Pour in the fruit and juice, reserving about 1/2 cup of the juice for later. Place the bread 'lid' on the top and fold over the clingfilm. Weight down the top and chill in the fridge for a good few hours. Serve with cream and remember the summer.

Quick Cheats Pavlovas with Summer Berries

Quick assuming you remember to defrost the fruit in advance (or you could use frozen berries) and cheats cos it uses ready made meringue nests. You could make your own meringue, but that would defeat the object of the cheating wouldn't it..!

For two portions you need:
1/2 cup double cream
1 tbsp sieved icing sugar
1/2 cup mixed summer berried, defrosted if frozen, and chopped into roughly the same size pieces if fresh
2 ready made meringue nests

Whip the cream and icing sugar till floppy. Add 3/4 of the fruit and fold in gently to create a marbled effect. Pile into the nests and top with the remaining fruit and juice. Eat.

Summer Fruit & Flapjack Bake (v)

This is based on Nigella's Blackberry Crisp in her Nigella Express book (p52)

For a generous 4-6 portions you need:
125g butter or vegan marge
60g oats
40g flaked almonds
30g sunflower seeds
70g plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
75g soft light brown sugar
650g mixed summer fruits (I used frozen cherries and summer fruit mix)
1/4 cup vanilla sugar

Begin by laying the fruit in the bottom of an oven proof dish. Scatter over the vanilla sugar. Melt the butter/marge and then mix with the remaining ingredients. Press lightly into the fruit (you won't have enough to cover everything). Bake at 160 degrees for about 30-40 mins. Enjoy warm or cold, au natural or with swedish glace/ice cream. It's also suprisingly good for breakfast too ;-)

Summer Fruit Compote

This sauce goes well with loads of different things: melon; pancakes; cheesecake; ice cream yada yada yada. Make some up and it'll last in the fridge for a good 5 days, assuming you don't scoff it all before then!

Take 1 pack frozen summer fruits, add 3 heaped tbsp icing sugar and heat gently till the sugar has dissolved and some of the fruit has started to break up. Leave to cool and serve as you wish. Add some more sugar to taste if you wish, depending on how you are serving it.