S1E4 Showstopper: Trio of Puddings

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I have a feeling that when the judges were thinking up the showstopper challenge for pudding week, their primary aim was to feed five hundred people. They challenged the bakers to make three puddings each, one suet pudding, one bread pudding and one crumble. I was almost tempted to cut this challenge down into three sessions so that we wouldn't be stuck with a lifetime supply of pudding, but no, the challenge is to make all of these puddings within the time limit. 

In watching the episode, I was struck by the fact that most of the puddings looked like run-of-the-mill casseroles, with very few inviting shapes and colours. I was determined to make my visuals interesting so that my presentation would merit at least a few points.

I did some research on the different types of each pudding, and settled on these three:
  1. Suet: Jam Roly-Poly with custard 
  2. Bread: Apple Charlotte with butterscotch sauce 
  3. Crumble: Blackberry, Pear and Rhubarb Crumble
I am not a jam person and was very close to making a different suet pudding, but Evie has been looking forward to a jam roly-poly since I started this bake-off last month. So, jam roly-poly it is. 

The Apple Charlotte was one that I had never heard of before, but I really wanted to use my pudding basin again, so I was searching for a recipe that was made in a bowl. I also love apple pie and caramel so this one seemed like the perfect choice.

The crumble flavouring was chosen because I wanted a variety of colours, flavours and textures of fruits, and also because we have a bunch of rhubarb in our garden that needed to be used.

I had 5 hours to complete this challenge, which seemed like way too much time, but maybe I'm just very over-confident. Let see! Start the clock!



I made the jam roly-poly first since it needed the longest cooking time. I blitzed my margarine and flour together in my food processor and tipped it into a mixing bowl. 


I turned the oven on and placed a roasting tray on the bottom shelf. I filled the tray with freshly boiled water while the oven heated up.


Next, I measured out my suet. I have never used suet before, and I was a little wary. As Miranda says in this episode, "it's a bit wormy for me." 


I added the suet, baking powder and salt to my flour mixture and stirred it with a butter knife. Next, I stirred in my milk and vanilla, using my hands to bring it all together into a ball. 


I let my dough sit for a minute while I prepared a sheet of tin foil and a sheet of parchment paper on the counter.


I transferred my dough to a floured work surface and patted it down and then rolled it into a rectangle.



And then it was Evie's favourite part: jam time!

Please don't judge me for not making my own jam. We have already established that I can make my own jam (see: biscuit week showstopper), but raspberries were very expensive and I'm working on a budget. 






Once it was rolled up, I pinched all of the ends closed to prevent jam leakage and then carefully transferred the whole thing over to my prepared parchment and tin foil. I then folded the parchment and tin foil around the roll and loosely sealed all edges. 




And then it went in the oven, on the oven rack directly above the water bath.


While that was baking, I got started on my Apple Charlotte. I peeled a chopped my apples and set them aside.



Next, I buttered my pudding basin and sliced my bread. 

Having just come from bread week, it felt wrong to use store-bought bread for this challenge (even though you can clearly see that each of the bakers on the show was given a loaf of store-bought bread for their bread pudding) so I made a fresh loaf of sandwich bread last night for this bake. It just happened to be about the most perfect loaf I've ever made. Also, can we talk about my bread slicing skills for a second? I think I've found my true calling.


Look at that crumb!


The Apple Charlotte is made with a caramel base, so I put my sugar and water on the stove on a low heat to caramelize and then quickly assembled and prepared all of my other ingredients. 



After watching my caramel bubbling for about ten minutes, I realized that it had crystallized (classic bake-off moment), so I threw it out and started again with a little bit more water this time and I raised the heat a little bit. It worked properly this time, and I mixed in my chopped apples, orange and apple juices, melted butter and cinnamon.

 
I covered the mixture and let it boil for five minutes. Meanwhile, the roly-poly came out of the oven.



I set it aside to steam itself for five minutes.

I uncovered the apple mixture and let it continue to boil until there was no liquid left. While it was boiling, I cut the crusts off of my bread slices and flattened them with a rolling pin.

Check out this new angle of the bread slices. Are you impressed? I did that free-hand, you know. Am I getting cocky? Maybe. This is my blog, and I'm allowed to be as cocky as I want to be! 



I then dunked the world's most perfect bread slices in melted butter and lined the pudding basin.




It was then time to unwrap my roly-poly. 




It looked pretty great! Like a jam burrito. You're welcome, Evie.

The apple mixture was ready but needed to cool down, so I got started on my crumble. I started by peeling, coring and cubing my pears and then chopping my rhubarb. Then I added the blackberries and tossed them together. I added orange zest, a little orange juice and caster sugar and tossed it all together.





Next, I made my topping. I blitzed some flour and margarine together and then mixed in some oats and brown sugar.




I set my crumble aside and went back to my Apple Charlotte.

I spooned the apple mixture into the bread-lined dish and covered the top with more bread dipped in butter. I then pinched the edges to seal them.




I put both my crumble and my bread pudding in the oven and got started on my butterscotch sauce and custard. I placed a pan of sugar and water on the stove on a low heat and measured out my butter and cream. Since I knew that the caramel would take a while, I made my custard while it was boiling.


Custard:



Butterscotch sauce:




I left the butterscotch sauce to simmer for a few minutes while I removed the bread pudding from the oven.


It looked beautiful, but would it turn out?





YES!!

And then the crumble was ready as well. Not quite as exciting.


Finally, I poured the butterscotch sauce on top of the bread pudding. Try not to drool.


And voilà!


Time: 3 hours, 18 minutes

I would have finished within three hours, but Evie informed me that I hadn't made nearly enough custard so I had to make more. And even with that, there was an hour and 42 minutes left on the clock. 

I'm very confused about the timing of this challenge. I made all the same things that were made on the show and didn't need anywhere near the time allotted. 

For reference, here are the screenshots of the puddings made on the show:




I think my puddings are on par!

Time to taste:

First, the Blackberry, Pear and Rhubarb Crumble.




The crumble was tasty, but Evie and I agreed that it needed more rhubarb and less pear. It was also too liquidy and could have benefitted from less orange juice. The topping was good, although I might try adding some candied ginger to it next time. I think I put less time and effort into this one because I wasn't as excited about it. Must do better.

Next, the Jam Roly-Poly.




I was very proud of this one. It worked exactly how it was supposed to, and Evie said it tasted exactly how she remembered it. I found that it tasted like a Nutri-Grain bar, and I'm not a huge fan, but I recognize that I would like it if I were a bigger fan of jam. 

Finally, the Apple Charlotte.




First comment: I should have used a sharper knife to cut this one. It got a little squished as I cut into it. That being said, this pudding was amazing! The butterscotch sauce wasn't overly sweet (it reminded me of toffee brittle) and the apples were nice and sharp. Overall, it tasted like an excellent apple pie crossed with a caramel apple. It was a surprise hit and Evie ended up liking it more than the jam roly-poly!

Sidenote to future me: this butterscotch sauce would be great for ice cream sundaes.

Overall, this challenge made me extremely happy that next week is mostly savoury baking!

I would like to add a special shoutout to my neighbours for taking most of these puddings off of our hands.

Recipes used:

Apple Charlotte and Butterscotch Sauce: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/applecharlotte_88965

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