Sweet Surrender: Winter Puddings To Make This Weekend

Baby, it’s cold outside, and you know what that means? It’s time to dust off those winter recipes, step into the kitchen and bake some warmth into your heart and home. Oozy, indulgent winter desserts with lashings of cream or brandy custard are the perfect way to add cosy comfort to chilly nights. And the latest multifunction ovens and small kitchen appliances are a baker’s delight, making baking easier and more delicious than ever.

Need some inspiration for your next winter bake-off? Our friends at Tefal, Philips and Westinghouse have shared their favourite sweet recipes to set your tastebuds tingling. Plus, we’ve rounded up all the kitchen appliances with the features you need to be a master baker.

The Best And Brightest For Baking

From stand mixers with attachments for whipping, whisking and kneading to benchtop cookers that will air fry, steam or pressure cook, the right appliance can save you time and energy in the kitchen and ensure your sweet treats are cafe quality every time.

“The ultimate sous chef for passionate home bakers is an appliance that takes the guesswork out of cook times and temperatures. Benchtop cookers with pre-programmed dessert settings do both at the push of a button,” says Tracy Ellis, The Good Guys Buyer – Small Kitchen Appliances.

And don’t forget the kitchen heavy hitters. Today’s ovens are so smart you can switch up their functions for perfectly steamed sweet dumplings, golden air-fried pastries or a baked apple crumble with a warm, soft centre and a perfectly crunchy top. A pyrolytic oven will even take care of any spills, turning them to ash for a one-wipe clean.

Shop Top Pyrolytic Ovens

Electrolux 60cm Pyrolytic Oven

Smeg 60cm Classic Pyrolytic Oven Matt Black

Bosch 60cm Pyrolytic Oven Series 8

“The ultimate sous chef for passionate home bakers is an appliance that takes the guesswork out of cook times and temperatures. Benchtop cookers with pre-programmed dessert settings do both at the push of a button.”

Treacle Pudding

When it comes to winter dessert recipes, you can’t beat the classics like this light, buttery sponge cake with sticky golden syrup. Don’t like waiting? The pressure cooker function on the Tefal Cook4Me Touch cuts baking time in half, and with the Cook4me app on your smart device you can track its progress from anywhere!

Recipe By Justine Schofield For Everyday Gourmet 

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 150g softened butter, plus extra to grease

• 120ml treacle

• 150g caster sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

• 3 eggs

• 225g self-raising flour

• Pinch of salt

• 1 ½ tsp baking powder

• 180ml (¾ cup) milk

• Dollop of cream, to serve

• Icing sugar, to dust

Method

1. Grease a 15cm-wide (3-cup capacity) heatproof pudding bowl with butter, then add the treacle.

2. In a mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time to incorporate them well.

3. Mix together flour, salt and baking powder.

4. Add half the flour mixture to the mixer and, on a low speed, combine with butter mixture to form a batter. Then add milk, followed by the remaining flour mixture.

5. Portion the batter over the treacle, leaving a 2cm gap from the top, to leave room for rising.

6. Cover the bowl with a piece of baking paper, then foil.

7. Place in the Tefal Cook4Me Touch Wi-Fi steamer basket, with 300ml of water in the bowl of the pressure cooker.

8. Pressure cook for 30–40 minutes.

9. Remove and cool for 5 minutes before flipping carefully onto a plate.

10. Serve with a generous dollop of cream and a dusting of icing sugar.

Chocolate And Pear Self-Saucing Pudding

No collection of feel-good winter warmer recipes would be complete without an indulgent self-saucing pudding. Simple to prepare (and only 25 minutes to cook in the Philips Essential Connected Digital Airfryer XL!), this one marries sharp, dark chocolate and sweet pears for a saucy, melt-in-your-mouth treat.

Recipe By Elle Vernon For Philips

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Serves: 8

Ingredients

Pudding

• 50g butter, melted

• ½ cup brown sugar

• 125ml milk

• 1 free-range egg

• ¼ cup Dutch cocoa

• 1 cup self-raising flour

• 1 ripe pear, unpeeled, cut into 1cm cubes

• ¼ cup chocolate baking bits (mix of dark and milk)

• Coconut yoghurt, double cream or ice-cream, to serve

Sauce

• ½ cup brown sugar

• ¼ cup Dutch cocoa

Method

1. Put the butter in the Philips XXL baking dish then place the dish in the basket of the Philips Essential Connected Digital Airfryer XL. Set the temperature to 180°C and the timer to 5 minutes, to melt the butter.

2. Remove the dish from the basket and allow butter to cool for 5 minutes before adding sugar, milk, egg and cocoa. Use a silicone whisk to beat until combined.

3. Add flour and beat again until a smooth batter forms.

4. Add pear and chocolate, and gently fold through the batter. Smooth the surface.

5. To make the sauce, scatter the sugar and cocoa directly over the batter.

6. Place the baking dish in the basket of the airfryer. Pour 500ml of boiling water over the back of a large spoon, directly on top of the batter, sugar and cocoa.

7. Set the temperature to 160°C and the timer to 25 minutes. Cook until the cake topping is firm and a thick chocolate sauce has formed on the base.

8. Remove the dish from the airfryer and set aside for 5 minutes before serving.

9. Serve pudding with coconut yoghurt, double cream or ice-cream.

Shop Top Air Fryers

Russell Hobbs 8 Litre Satisfry Extra Large Air Fryer

NUTRIBULLET XXL 7 Litre Digital Air Fryer

Philips Essential Connected Digital Airfryer XL

Apple Hand Pies

Cinnamon-spiced apples wrapped in flaky pastry, swimming in a sweet pool of crème pâtissière – you won’t be able to stop at just one, so it’s a good thing this recipe makes enough for a crowd. The uber-stylish Westinghouse 90cm Dual Fuel Freestanding Cooker can handle the lot with its huge 116 litre oven capacity, 8 oven functions and a chef-favourite gas cooktop.

Recipe Supplied By Westinghouse

Preparation time: 20 minutesCook time: 15 minutesMakes: 20

Ingredients

Tart

• 5 sheets puff pastry

• 800g tinned apple pie fruit

• 1 cup sultanas

• 1 tbs cinnamon

• 1 egg, beaten

• Rice bran oil spray

• 1 tbs icing sugar

Crème Pâtissière

• 1 cup milk

• 1 large egg

• 2 large egg yolks

• 4 tbs sugar

• 2 tsp cornflour

• 1 tbs vanilla bean paste

• Pinch salt

• 3 tbs unsalted butter, softened

Method

Tart

1. Preheat oven to 220°C AirFry.

2. Combine apple, sultanas and cinnamon in a bowl.

3. Cut pastry into 4 x 12cm circles and place in the fridge. Take out one at a time to fill and fold before returning to the fridge.

4. Brush the outer edge of the pastry with egg.

5. Place ¼ cup of pie filling in the centre then crimp and fold the edges to seal.

6. Score the top and brush with egg.

7. Place up to eight pies evenly on the tray, spraying the underside of each one with rice bran oil before placing them on the tray.

8. Cook for 10–15 mins, until the edges are golden and the base is crisp.

9. Sprinkle the pies with icing sugar before serving.

Crème Patisserie

1. Pour the milk into a saucepan and bring it to a soft simmer, without boiling.

2. Whisk together the egg, egg yolks, sugar, cornflour, vanilla paste and salt in a bowl until thick and creamy.

3. Slowly add half of the hot milk to the egg mixture, whisking constantly, to temper the eggs.

4. Pour the egg mixture back into the milk saucepan and continue cooking over medium heat, whisking constantly, for 1–2 minutes, until thickened.

5. Lower heat and allow the custard to boil softly for a further 1–2 minutes.

6. Remove from the heat and whisk in the softened butter.

7. Pour the custard into a clean bowl and cover immediately with plastic wrap, pressing it into the surface of the custard to prevent a skin forming.

Fancy something sweet? Now that you’ve got your winter recipe inspiration, The Good Guys has everything you need to get cooking! Discover the latest multifunction ovens and small kitchen appliances available in-store and online.