Considering the nature of my last two posts, and now this one, you would be forgiven for thinking that I now spend my whole life dreaming up how to use leftovers in a way that avoids waste but is still edible. I have to say that lately it does often feel like that but I can assure you, there has been proper cooking going on and when I get time to sort through photos and concentrate on things normal service will be resumed.
Just in case you were also wondering what on earth a Gifflar is, well, it's these things. They are kind of bready rolls flavoured either with cinnamon or vanilla like small cinnamon buns but a bit firmer. The only place I have ever seen them is in Ikea. They are very tasty, not too sweet, and very filling with either a cup of tea or a glass of wine.
In one of our mad panic visits to Ikea earlier in the year (in an attempt to finish DIY projects and make the house ready for visitors) I picked up a bag of each and they did indeed come in very handy for keeping said visitors' hunger at bay on the occasions when the catering had gone awry.
As mentioned in my previous post, there were inevitably leftovers when all the visitors had gone home and I spotted in the cupboard an opened packet of vanilla Gifflar which was only missing one or two rolls. So, thinking that you can make a bread and butter pudding out of many things other than bread, I came up with a way of using them for a dessert. I also used a few apricots that were lurking in the fridge drawer but you could use plums, apples, or virtually any other fruit. My mum used to put raisins or sultanas in her bread and butter pudding and they would also work well here.
I sliced each one in half and arranged them in a pie dish, tucking the sliced apricots in between.
It worked really well. It puffed up in the oven and sank back down when it had cooled and was, truthfully, a lot firmer than say the brioche pudding that I usually make, but was still delicious.
The next day it had firmed up rather more and, as dipped my spoon into the dish, I realised that in actual fact it was now very much like a tart and could be sliced.
So that's how we had the rest of it, sliced just like a tart and served with a drizzle of cream! Which made me wonder if I had once again invented a new kind of dessert, after the fashion of the tarte tatin or the Bakewell pudding?!
If so I think I would have to think of a different name for it. Gifflar tart somehow doesn't sound quite as appealing!!
Ingredients
8-10 Gifflar rolls (either cinnamon or vanilla flavour)
a handful of apricots, stoned and quartered
1 tblsp demerara sugar
2 eggs
2 tblsp double cream (or any kind of cream or crème fraiche)
about 150ml milk
2 tblsp caster sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to 160C / 140 fan.
Cut the rolls into half and arrange in a suitable, buttered baking dish. Slip the slices of apricot in between and sprinkle over the demerara sugar.
Put the eggs into a measuring jug and beat. Add the cream and enough milk to make up to 400ml. Beat in the caster sugar.
Pour the egg mixture evenly over the contents of the dish and press down lightly with the back of a tablespoon or fish slice.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until the custard is set.
Whilst still warm serve in spoonfuls with cream, custard or ice cream. Serve in slices like a tart when cold.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has a recipe similar to this. With brioche not 'gifflar' obvs. I've done it a couple of times. It's good, and I would have done gifflars this way had I ever heard of them and had some aging ones in the cupboard. Good use of ingredients that need using up.
ReplyDeleteThe bread and butter pudding formula works for lots of baked goods, baguette, scones, croissants, danish pastries, and now these!
DeleteOoh, now I want a bag of Gifflars. If only there was an ikea somewhere near Norfolk
ReplyDeleteHowever you say it, the name does not sound at all tempting! But they are very tasty!
DeleteApparently some Waitrose stock them.
ReplyDeleteOooh, I shall check next time I'm in Waitrose. Our nearest branches are Newark, Sheffield or Buxton, all a long distance away. (And even more so from France!!)
DeleteHaving had excess Gifflars myself in the past, I think this is an excellent notion. Since I avoid Ikea stores whenever possible, I'm happy to confirm that Waitrose does indeed stock Gifflars (at least, my local branch does). Although, I understand that security staff at Ikea are trying to stop apparently grown-up people playing organised games of hide-and-seek in their stores. Now that might tempt me to visit Ikea again.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the only place we can get them in France is over an hour away, at our nearest Ikea, and in the UK it's no better as the nearest Waitrose is half the distance but takes twice as long to get there due to the traffic.
DeleteGifflars are therefore a rare treat and not to be missed when I see them!