Chocolate pudding and apple bars: Helen Goh’s recipes for Easter desserts

1 week ago 17

This easy-to-share crumb bar is inspired by the apple pie at the Polish cafe near my children’s school, and it’s the perfect treat for a relaxed Easter gathering. A golden pastry base, which cleverly doubles as the crumble topping, holds the tender apple and rhubarb fruit filling, and a thin meringue layer strikes just the right balance of buttery, sweet, and tangy. Meanwhile, a pudding that creates its own sauce while baking always feels magical. The secret lies in the different densities of the batter and the liquid poured over it just before baking – during its time in the oven, the two layers separate into a cake with a rich, molten sauce beneath. It’s a clever (and delicious) trick.

Apple and rhubarb crumb bars

The apple filling should be made in advance (up to two days), giving it plenty of time to cool before being spooned over the base. Serve these bars on their own with tea, or warm with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream for a sweet finish to a feast.

Prep 15 min
Macerate 30 min+
Cook 2 hr 10 min, plus cooling
Serves 8-12

For the apple filling
1½kg apples (4 large granny smiths and 4 large pink ladys), peeled, cored and cut into ½cm-thick pieces (1kg net)
80g caster sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp fine sea salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2½ tsp cornflour
200g rhubarb, cut into 1cm pieces, or whole blackberries
Icing sugar, for dusting

For the pastry
400g plain flour
150g caster sugar, plus 70g for the meringue
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp fine sea salt
180g unsalted butter, cold and cut into 6-8 pieces, plus 10g, softened, for greasing
4 eggs; 1 whole, 3 separated
1 tsp vanilla extract

Put the apples, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, spices and salt into a large bowl and toss to combine. Set aside to macerate at room temperature, tossing occasionally, for at least 30 minutes (and up to two hours). Strain the apples, reserving the juice in a jug – you should have about 100ml (top up with water if you’re short).

Put a large saute pan over a medium heat and add one tablespoon of butter and half the strained apples. Cook, tossing regularly, for about 10 minutes, until the apples begin to soften. Tip them into a bowl and repeat with the remaining butter and raw apples. When the second batch of apples has softened, return the first batch to the pan. Whisk the cornflour into the reserved strained juice then stir into the pan. Cook for a minute until the juices thicken, then scrape the apples into a bowl. Stir in the rhubarb/blackberries and leave to cool completely.

For the pastry, put the flour, 150g sugar, lemon zest, baking powder and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine and aerate. Add 180g butter and pulse again until it’s barely visible. Whisk the whole egg, yolks and vanilla together, then stream into the food processor, pulsing until the pastry starts to come together. Tip out on to a clean bench and knead gently to bring it together. Roll into a fat log, then slice it into two pieces, one weighing about 500g and the other 300g. Put the smaller log into the fridge.

Heat the oven to 195C (175C fan)/380F/gas 5½ and grease a deep baking tray of about 33cm x 23cm x 4cm with the extra 10g softened butter. Slice the larger pastry log into 1cm-thick discs and lay in one layer on the base of the baking tray. Press the pastry together to form an even layer, then spoon the cooled fruit filling on top.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the whisk attachment on medium-high until soft peaks form. Drizzle in 70g caster sugar and continue whisking until firm peaks form. Spoon the mixture on top of the apple layer, and level with a small spatula. Remove the smaller pastry log from the fridge and crumble it evenly the meringue layer (you could also grate it on the large holes of a box grater). Bake for one hour, covering loosely with foil if the pastry gets too dark. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes, before slicing into large squares. Dust liberally with icing sugar and serve with cream or ice-cream.

Spiced chocolate and hazelnut pudding with amaretto whipped cream

Helen Goh’s spiced chocolate and hazelnut ‘self-saucing’ pudding with amaretto whipped cream.

Here, I’ve infused the pudding with the warm spices of hot cross buns and paired it with an alcohol-spiked cream for an indulgent finish to an Easter feast. The ingredients list looks long, I know, but rest assured it is simple to make.

Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 6

60g unsalted butter, plus 10g extra, softened, for greasing
120g self-raising flour
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
15g cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground allspice
⅛ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp fine sea salt
60g finely ground blanched hazelnuts
100g dark chocolate (70%), roughly chopped
70g caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
120ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the topping
80g light brown sugar
10g cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
A pinch of fine sea salt
300ml very hot water from a recently boiled kettle

For the serving cream
300ml double cream
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp Amaretto or dark rum (optional)

Heat the oven to 195C (175C fan)/380F/gas 5½ and grease the base and sides of a deep ovenproof dish (about 22cm in diameter) with the 10g softened butter.

Sift the flour, bicarb, cocoa powder, spices and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the ground hazelnuts, stir well to combine, then set aside.

Put the chocolate and butter in a small bowl and put over a small pan of barely simmering water, making sure that the base of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir occasionally until melted, then remove from the heat.

Add the sugar and orange zest, whisk gently to combine, then add the milk and vanilla extract. Whisk again to incorporate, then pour the mix into the dry ingredients. Stir until fully combined (it will be quite thick), then scrape the batter into the buttered dish and level the surface with a small spatula.

For the topping, put the brown sugar, cocoa powder and salt into a small bowl and whisk to combine. Scatter this mixture evenly on top of the pudding to cover in a thick layer, then carefully spoon the hot water all over the top. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the pudding forms a slightly crusty, shiny top and the centre springs back when tapped lightly.

Meanwhile, put all the ingredients for the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft waves form. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Remove the pudding from the oven and while the sauce is still molten, sieve a little cocoa powder on top, then bring to the table. Scoop large spoonfuls into serving bowls and serve with the whipped cream on the side.