Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food (32 page)

OK, you do need to buy a cream whipper gun for this recipe, but it will make all the difference to the final texture. They don’t cost much and are good fun – they are
real toys for boys and girls for the kitchen! You can substitute the plum purée in this recipe with any other fruit you like and move the dish with the seasons.

Serves 8

For the shortbread biscuits

Melt the butter with 100g of the caster sugar and the cinnamon sticks in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the plums and lemon juice and stir
over a low heat until the plums break down into a purée. Remove the cinnamon sticks, transfer the mix to a blender and blend until smooth. Pass the plum purée through a fine sieve
into a bowl and leave to cool completely, then cover and chill until needed.

Bring the double cream and the milk to the boil in the washed pan over a high heat. Whisk the egg yolks and the remaining 50g caster sugar together in a heatproof bowl until
fluffy and pale. Pour the boiling cream and milk on to the egg yolks, whisking. Pour this mix back into the pan, return to the heat and simmer, whisking, until the custard reaches 82°C on an
instant-read thermometer. Pass through a fine sieve onto two freezer blocks to stop the eggs from scrambling. Leave to cool completely, then cover and chill until needed.

Meanwhile, make the shortbread biscuits. Place the butter, sugar and flour into a food processor and pulse until the mixture comes together and forms a dough. Add the peppercorns
and pulse once more. Remove the dough from the processor, wrap in clingfilm and leave in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 150°C/ Gas Mark 2 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the shortbread dough out on a lightly floured surface until about
1cm thick. Use biscuit cutters to cut into the shapes that you require and place on the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the biscuits for 8–10 minutes until they are
baked through and dried. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and quickly sprinkle the biscuits with demerara sugar. Transfer them to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Store the biscuits
in an airtight container until needed.

About 15 minutes before you’re ready to serve, stir the custard mix and 400g of the plum purée together, then pass through a fine sieve. Pour this into a cream
whipper gun. Charge with 2 chargers and give it a good shake, then leave to settle for 10–15 minutes.

To serve, spoon a little leftover purée into tall glasses or serving bowls. Squirt on the fool mix and sprinkle with pink peppercorns. Serve with the shortbread biscuits.
This fool must be eaten straight away.

Plum fool with pink peppercorn shortbread biscuits

This recipe makes lovely strawberry choux buns, much like summer fruit éclairs. The process of curing the strawberries in the sugar gives them an almost cooked texture, but
with a fresh raw taste. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making the choux buns, serve the strawberries on their own or spooned over a scoop of ice cream – try either the
Buffalo Vanilla Ice Cream (see
here
) or Strawberry Ice Cream (see
here
).

Serves 6

For the choux buns

To make the choux buns, preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Sift the flour, sugar and salt together and leave to one side.
Melt the butter with the water in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat, tip in the flour mix all at once and beat with a wooden spoon. Return the pan to a
medium heat and continue beating for 2–3 minutes until the dough comes away from the side of the pan and forms a ball in the middle. It should look dry, not greasy.

Transfer the dough to a freestanding food mixer with the dough hook attached and beat on medium speed for 5–6 minutes until it cools down a little. Add the eggs, little by
little, and continue beating until the dough is smooth and shiny and has a piping consistency. Put the dough into a piping bag with a plain nozzle and pipe 6 buns on to the parchment-lined baking
sheet.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the buns for 20–30 minutes until they are risen and golden brown. When they are baked, turn the oven off and open the door, but
don’t take the buns out. Leave them in the oven for a further 25–30 minutes to cool down and dry out. Store the choux buns in an airtight container until needed.

Meanwhile, place the strawberries on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the demerara sugar and lavender and leave to cure for 30–40 minutes. The sugar will draw lots of water
from the strawberries. Strain the strawberries in a colander over a bowl to keep the juice.

Just before you are ready to serve, stir about 1 tablespoon of the reserved strawberry juice into the icing sugar to make a thick icing, then spread it on top of choux buns. Cut
each bun in half horizontally and top with the strawberries and then a dollop of clotted cream. Put the iced lids on top and serve immediately.

Brown sugar-cured Devon strawberries and lavender in choux buns

Pears are one of the great English fruits. They have such a fantastic full and rounded flavour that can work with, hold and withstand big, contrasting tastes. Mixing the soft,
fruity pear flesh with the lovely crunch from the peanut brittle is a perfect culinary contrast -and a real treat.

Serves 4

For the peanut brittle

For the crunchy coating

To make the peanut brittle, line a baking tray with parchment paper and leave to one side. Put caster sugar in a saucepan over a high heat to make a dry caramel. By this I mean
do not add any water, just melt the sugar in the pan. Once it boils, don’t stir. When it is a nice dark colour, stir in the peanuts and immediately pour the mix on to the baking tray. Leave
to cool and become crisp.

To make the crunchy coating, preheat the oven to 140°C/Gas Mark 1 and line another baking tray with baking parchment. Mix the cornflakes, melted butter, demerara sugar, milk
powder and salt together in a bowl, then spread the mix out on the baking tray. Place the tray in the oven and bake the crunchy mix for 20–25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes so it colours
evenly, until crunchy and toasted. Set to one side and leave to cool.

Turn the oven up to 190°C/Gas Mark 5. Peel the pears and rub them down with a green scouring pad to make them very smooth and remove any peeler marks. Place the pears upright
in an ovenproof dish. Mix the butter, caster sugar and ground allspice together and spread evenly over the pears. Place the dish in the oven and bake the pears for 10–15 minutes until they
are just tender. Take the dish out of the oven and immediately grate the lemon zest over the pears to release the citrus oils, then squeeze the juice over them.

Meanwhile, crush equal parts of the peanut brittle and the crunchy coating together to make a ‘crumble’ and set aside until needed.

Brush the hot pears with toffee sauce and then roll them in the ‘crumble’. Serve them warm with extra toffee sauce, the crème fraîche and with the lemon
thyme leaves sprinkled over.

Buffalo milk is very rich and, although this is a very simple ice cream, it tastes fantastic: a little bit farmyard-like with vanilla and sugar. If you don’t freeze the mix,
it is quite simply a fantastic-tasting custard. And if you do, you’ll discover that this is the best vanilla ice cream ever!

Serves 4–6

Put the milk, cream and vanilla seeds and pods into a saucepan over a high heat and bring just to the boil. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks in a heatproof bowl until
fluffy and pale. Pour the boiling cream on to the egg mix, whisking. Pour the mix back into the pan and simmer, whisking, until the custard reaches 82°C on an instant-read thermometer.

Pass the hot custard through a fine sieve into a bowl. Stir in the glycerine. This acts as an anti-freeze and helps the ice cream to stay smooth and ice-crystal free. Leave to
one side to cool completely.

When the custard is cool, pour it into an ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Pour into a freezerproof container and freeze for up to 3
months.

When in season, we have some of the best strawberries in the world here in England. The natural sugars from the fruits will stick together when pressed for long enough. After a
day of pressing, you have a fantastic, fresh tasting dessert that looks incredible.

If you can get them, Alphonso mangoes from India are the best to use, but they do only have a short season.

Serves 8

For the strawberry ice cream

To assemble this dish you will need a 22cm square cake tin, a 20cm square cake tin and a baking tray. Make room in your fridge for the baking tray with the stacked tins with a
heavy weight on top. At least 24 hours before you plan to serve, line the 20cm cake tin with clingfilm, with plenty of overhang.