The mother of all essential desserts

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

my ma , of beloved memory, worked as a housekeeper and cook for the then Austrian Military Attche from whom she learned and excelled in the art of making rum baba ..... there has never been a more delicious and huge roundel of perfect sponge flavoured with Viennese cooking rum, cream and fruits ...... fifty years later and my mouth waters as i type

[vinteuil]

I like to plonk the cheese and the pudding on the table at the same time so that chums can graze, as it were. :

... a method also adopted by the British Embassy in Paris (tho' I don't think they plonked anything on the table... ) as a means of resolving the difference between the French (cheese first then pudding) and British (pudding then cheese) preferences

[Globaltruth]

Rhubarb crumble with lashings of hot custard. Actually I'll have that for starters, main dish and afters.

There are of course many varieties of rhubarb which can affect this dessert greatly.
currently we are v.keen on champagne rhubarb which is so naturally sweet it can safely be eaten raw - other recommendations?

Yes, any kind of a crumble is a favourite as is a Pavlova - preferably with a hazelnut meringue, locally-grown strawberries and, of course, lashings of cream...

[french frank]

I like to plonk the cheese and the pudding on the table at the same time so that chums can graze, as it were. Praps some salad and fruit too?

Most people I know are very low and only serve a main course and a pudding. The two friends I have who reliably offer cheese do as you do and bring cheese and pudding at the same time. If I were serving salad separately, I'd bring it before the cheese. Fruit last of all.

What sort of alcohol with these?

Well, I'd have a Good Red Wine with the cheese (although I have had one, something de brebis???, round and flat like a baby pizza?, which needed a white) and a sweet white pudding wine with the ... pudding, perhaps Beaumes de Venise. The Coop has one but I've forgotten what it's called - Bazillac? And an armagnac with the coffee, pour moi, SVP

Pérail de brebis ...

Monbazillac

[rauschwerk]

Paul Levy perhaps, rauschwerk?

Simon Hopkinson, actually.

[amateur51]

Simon Hopkinson, actually.

He writes very well I think, as well as being an outstanding cook/chef.

[Nick Armstrong]

a sweet white pudding wine with the ... pudding, perhaps Beaumes de Venise. The Coop has one but I've forgotten what it's called - Bazillac? And an armagnac with the coffee, pour moi, SVP

Pérail de brebis ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monbazillac_AOC

(That cheese looks scrummy! )

[Serial_Apologist]

This thread has reminded me of when I worked for J Lyons Corner Houses in the 1960s. A dessert they then served, the name of which I have forgotten, consisted of a thin biscuit base (could have been digestive, as in cheesecake) and Creme de Menthe mousse topping, all encased in plain chocolate with a half walnut on top, like a chocolate marshmallow. The foundation was oval-shaped and the whole thing miniature bain marie-shaped. It was probably the most delicious dessert I ever had.

[marthe]

My favorite summertime dessert is fresh fruit with a touch of cream and sugar (for very tart fruits). The combination of red raspberries, red currants, cream, and a sprinkle of sugar is perfect for a summer evening. The very dark red cherries known here as Bing Cherries are now available in the supermarket. These are a real summertime treat.I love crumbles and their cousins known by colorful names here: buckle, grunt, slump, crisp (e.g. Blueberry Buckle etc.)

[Serial_Apologist]

(e.g. Blueberry Buckle etc.)

By coincidence, he's up before a Select Committee right now...

(Sorry, I'll belt up!)

[gurnemanz]

my ma , of beloved memory, worked as a housekeeper and cook for the then Austrian Military Attche from whom she learned and excelled in the art of making rum baba ..... there has never been a more delicious and huge roundel of perfect sponge flavoured with Viennese cooking rum, cream and fruits ...... fifty years later and my mouth waters as i type

I had an exquisite Rum Baba about 30 years years ago and ever since my Holy Grail quest (so far futile) has been to find one even half as good. Most people have never even heard of it.

Gooseberry fool is a superb experience, sweet and creamy with a piquant tangy edge.

[amateur51]

My favorite summertime dessert is fresh fruit with a touch of cream and sugar (for very tart fruits). The combination of red raspberries, red currants, cream, and a sprinkle of sugar is perfect for a summer evening. The very dark red cherries known here as Bing Cherries are now available in the supermarket. These are a real summertime treat.I love crumbles and their cousins known by colorful names here: buckle, grunt, slump, crisp (e.g. Blueberry Buckle etc.)

I'm not sure how exclusively British Summer Pudding is - have you heard of it marthe?

It is easy-peasy to make, looks amazing and tastes divine - and best of all it loves to be made well ahead of serving so that those berry juices seep into the bread to both colour it and change its texture.

I love it with cream but it is pretty good without

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4516/summer-pudding

[Nick Armstrong]

I'm not sure how exclusively British Summer Pudding is - have you heard of it marthe?

It is easy-peasy to make, looks amazing and tastes divine - and best of all it loves to be made well ahead of serving so that those berry juices seep into the bread to both colour it and change its texture.

I love it with cream but it is pretty good without

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4516/summer-pudding

Tshhhhh ( *sound of sucking in air through teeth* )... too acid for me...

Don't mind a bowl of berries with cream and a bit of sugar (love it, in fact)... But there's something about summer pudding that gives me acid heartburn... (sorry if TMFI !)

[JFLL]

Crème brûlée

(I love your French accents, Caliban.)

For me, hot stewed damsons on good vanilla ice-cream (say Green & Blacks), or maybe homemade gooseberry fool. Or (if summer ever comes), Damson & Sloe Gin or Gooseberry & Elderflower ice-cream from the superb Just Rachel outfit on the Herefords/Gloucs border, which rejoices in the address 'The Old Dairy, Churches Farm, Eggs Tump, Bromsberrow'.

[Mary Chambers]

This thread is reminding me of other luscious favourites - summer pudding, baba au rhum (I always that was French, but perhaps not).

What about good old-fashioned trifle? Sherry-soaked sponge cake, raspberries, custard and whipped cream topped with crystallised rose petals and violets, and possibly flaked almonds. NO jelly!