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Hairy Bikers Dave Myers and Si King have always been aware that Mums Know Best... And to prove it, they've rummaged in the bottom drawers, cupboards and memories of houses and families across the nation for their secrets, recipes and top cooking tips. So mums, subtly leave this webpage open so your sons and daughters can spread the muddy-lovin' goodness and make this wonderful pudding to treat you today... |
Gents, you must've come across some extraordinary stories from mums as you put this book and TV series together...
Dave Myers: You'd better believe it! One of the most memorable was undoubtedly the tale behind Ruth Joseph from Wales' orchid gateaux. Her grandfather was the chief rabbi of Hamburg and her mother fled the Nazis in World War Two. So many of her family didn't make it. All Ruth got away with was a candlestick and a cake tin - the cake tin she makes her gateaux in. Absolutely incredible.
Si King: Just a remarkable story. People are shared their stories and their recipes and it's a very personal thing, you know? It's the heritage of that family. And while we cannot claim to be the be-all and end-all, it it is a lovely, privileged position to be in to hear all these stories.
This mud pie looks amazing. Is it as good as it looks?
SK: Too right! It comes from a lovely lady from Lincoln called Jayne Rawlings and she was a major in the army. We were taking the mick out her by saluting and that, but she was just so much fun. And the mud pie does what it says it looks like. It's so rich, really lush!
DM: Oh, it tastes mega. I like to have it with cream <and> ice cream - half and half!
SK: Goes well with a sorbet, too...
What comfort food reminds you most of your mum?
DM: That'll be her fishcakes. We called them the killer fishcakes! She used to get some hake, poach it in milk with a bay leaf and some salt and pepper then flake it up and mix it until it was half mashed potatoes before adding some parsley and dipping it in egg and covering with orange breadcrumbs - they were almost luminous! I loved those fishcakes. And she'd make a cheddar cheese sauce with the poaching liquor. Absolutely adored that as a kid, that's a real taste of my childhood.
Si, what culinary delight did you like to spoil your mum with?
SK: Mam was a big fan of seafood. One Mother's Day me and the family all got together, went down to see her and we did her a fruit de mers. Sat her down in front of it with some brown bread and butter and watched her go - you've never seen anyone shell a winkle like it, I tell you. She was a ninja on the winkle-shelling! That was memorable 'cause it lasted about two days!
Did your mothers every try to warn you off riding bikes?
DM: Not really, because me dad had motorbikes all his life. He was one of these Northern men that never had a car.
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SK: My mam didn't either. She always fostered in us a healthy respect and a healthy disrespect. A healthy respect for looking after yourselves and treating the world that you live in with a gentle hand. And a healthy disrespect for authority whereby you always ask questions of them... because otherwise they become laws unto themselves!
Mud pie
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"This is an amazing pudding recipe that Jayne’s mum used to cook for her family and Jayne still makes today. The family called it mud pie because … well, it looked like mud! It’s an original and Jayne says she has never seen anything like it in any cookbook." |
Ingredients
Biscuit base:
- 200g digestive biscuits
- 75g butter
Filling:
- 200g dark chocolate, at least 70 per cent cocoa solids
- 100ml strong coffee, cooled, or Camp coffee essence
- 4 tbsp milk
- 200g marshmallows
- 600ml double cream
Method
1) First make the biscuit base. Put the biscuits in a freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Gently melt the butter in a pan, add the crushed biscuits and mix together. Tip the mixture into a 25cm flan dish and press down well. Set aside to cool.
2) Break the chocolate up into chunks and place in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Allow the chocolate to melt, then stir in the coffee or coffee essence. In a separate bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks, taking care not to whip it too much.
3) Put the milk in a pan and add the marshmallows. Stir continuously over a very low heat until the marshmallows have melted into the milk, making a gooey mixture. Remove from the heat and stir in the melted chocolate, a tbsp at a time, mixing well.
4) Whip in the cream, using a balloon whisk to remove any lumps. Pour the mixture onto the biscuit base and leave it in the fridge for about 8 hours to set. To jazz this recipe up, you can add 3 tbsps of dark rum with the coffee essence.
Dave’s tip: “Don’t whip the mixture too much. You’ll be able to feel once it starts to go. If you over-whip it, it’ll go too thick. I like to use the old-fashioned hand whisks, the ones where you turn the handle. They’re brilliant.”
Mums Still Know Best: The Hairy Bikers’ Best-Loved Recipes is available now at all good bookshops, rrp £20.
Biscuit base:
- 200g digestive biscuits
- 75g butter
Filling:
- 200g dark chocolate, at least 70 per cent cocoa solids
- 100ml strong coffee, cooled, or Camp coffee essence
- 4 tbsp milk
- 200g marshmallows
- 600ml double cream
Method
1) First make the biscuit base. Put the biscuits in a freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Gently melt the butter in a pan, add the crushed biscuits and mix together. Tip the mixture into a 25cm flan dish and press down well. Set aside to cool.
2) Break the chocolate up into chunks and place in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Allow the chocolate to melt, then stir in the coffee or coffee essence. In a separate bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks, taking care not to whip it too much.
3) Put the milk in a pan and add the marshmallows. Stir continuously over a very low heat until the marshmallows have melted into the milk, making a gooey mixture. Remove from the heat and stir in the melted chocolate, a tbsp at a time, mixing well.
4) Whip in the cream, using a balloon whisk to remove any lumps. Pour the mixture onto the biscuit base and leave it in the fridge for about 8 hours to set. To jazz this recipe up, you can add 3 tbsps of dark rum with the coffee essence.
Dave’s tip: “Don’t whip the mixture too much. You’ll be able to feel once it starts to go. If you over-whip it, it’ll go too thick. I like to use the old-fashioned hand whisks, the ones where you turn the handle. They’re brilliant.”
Mums Still Know Best: The Hairy Bikers’ Best-Loved Recipes is available now at all good bookshops, rrp £20.
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