Homemade goodies to give

Homemakers with enough time on their hands will do well to make their own Christmas gifts.

There is no joy more heartfelt than when someone receives a personally made gift, be it food, a fashion accessory or a home décor item. Homemakers with enough time on their hands will do well to make their own Christmas gifts. Food being among the most liked items prompts us to suggest two homemade goodies that are easy to make, will not cause a dent in the pocket, and surely will delight anybody receiving them.

A few years ago, we had the pleasure of being served bread and butter pudding at the Mandarin Oriental hotel (it is still being served there). It was a notch above the usual puddings we have had. Our resident chef Graham was then a member of the team that concocted the recipe. This year, we thought we would include it as one of our tokens during the holidays. So we asked for the recipe which he gladly emailed  to us, and we are now sharing it with you, our readers.

Bread and Butter Pudding (Good for 10 servings)

Ingredients:

1 kilo bread – crust removed, each piece sliced into two triangles

200 gms butter

Egg custard – composed of 1 liter pasteurized milk, warm; 8 large eggs, 2 egg yolks

150 gms sugar

A few drops of  vanilla extract or essence

Garnish –

60 gms raisins

60 gms mixed dried fruits

Butter to grease the pan, table soft

Procedure:

Brush the pan with butter.     

Arrange half the bread in the bottom of the pan with slices neatly overlapping.

Sprinkle the fruits, then arrange the rest of the bread over it.

Whisk eggs and egg yolks,  sugar and vanilla.

Pour milk and whisk.

Pour into pan and allow to stand for 30 minutes so custard will soak the bread well.

Bake in bain marie at 180 degrees centigrade for 30 to 40 minutes or until egg custard is set.

Garnish with mixed fruit

This can be baked in  deep aluminum  pan  for easy distribution. You can make a vanilla sauce of egg yolks, butter, milk and corn flour to go with this. There are packs of mixed fruits available in supermarkets. 

Mango Cream Pie

Ingredients:

4 mangoes, slice the meat into cubes

1 box all purpose cream

1 can condensed milk

1 box graham crackers

200 gms butter

 Procedure:

Crush crackers – save a portion for topping.

Melt butter and mix with crackers.

Whip cream and milk.

Line baking pyrex with cracker/butter.

Add the cream and mango mix.

Spread with graham bits on top.

Put in freezer for an hour to settle.

There you are. Plan to make them near Christmas Day. These are also ideal as  your potluck contribution.

 Look forward to a delicious holiday!

E-mail me at [email protected].