CREAMY PINEAPPLE PUDDING (opt for multiple layers), frugal, lower-fat, easy-peasy

Simple fresh fruit dessert with creamy topping and knockout glaze ups the 'Wow!' factor'...

Frugal, lower fat, easy dessert that tastes like a million pounds!

Don't think you can afford a luxury dessert this Christmas? Think again.

Creamy Pineapple Pudding is gloriously velvety with an unexpected smoky glaze;   fruitlets of pineapple add ginger undertones and sweet Christmassy warmth.  

You only need a few ingredients: fresh pineapple (or tinned, if you must), thick yoghurt, a bit of orange juice, a little fresh ginger and black (or brown) sugar. (You can, if you like, replace pineapple with berries or bananas; see Tips below)

Tinned pineapple in juice, not syrup, and dried ginger will be okay in a pinch.

67 used one of the inexpensive ripen-at-home pineapples found in many  supermarkets, costing just 65pence.  Plenty of other pineapples are

available for a pound.   They have to be peeled and baked but simple instructions are here.  

(Supersweet, ready-to-eat, top of the line pineapples are around £3.)

O-fat Greek yoghurt doesn't normally break the bank but if you're really skint, a  cheap-as-chips tub of plain unsweetened yoghurt, if strained overnight in a sieve lined with a clean j-cloth/towel, will achieve the right consistency and sweet tang. 

(See how at the bottom of the page Salad Dressings).

Cost: £1.50'ish, depending on cost of pineapple

Feeds: 3-6

Ingredients:

3/4 medium pineapple

zest & juice of 1 orange

1 generous teaspoon peeled, grated ginger

1 scant tablespoon muscavado/black sugar

500gm thick unsweetened plain yoghurt

1 tablespoon muscovado sugar per pudding

Method:

1. Cook Pineapple, if using.  Prepare as here.  Slice cooked pineapples 1/2"/1 cm thick; put one layer in a ceramic baking tray (5 1/2" by 10/14cm x 26 cm or a 8"/20cm square or round); scatter with a scant 1/3 tsp of sugar & 1/3 of the ginger; repeat layers until pineapple is used up; add enough water or orange juice to just cover the fruit; cover dish with a tight fitting lid or with foil; bake at 350F/180c/gas 4 for 45 mins to an hour or until tender and cooked through.  Cool with juice; refrigerate up to 3 days
2. The night before serving, coarsely chop 2/3 cup pineapple; place a layer of pineapple or other chosen fruit & juice in bottom of clear or fancy glasses 
3. Cover with yoghurt; garnish with a few shredded bits of chosen fruit. 
4. Evenly cover with a tablespoon muscavado or dark brown sugar; it will melt overnight forming a really, really delicious glaze

Comments:

'I love fresh pineapple and this is a great low-fat, low-sugar pudding.  The glaze is amazing!'  Retired writer

Tips:

• if using fresh berries, add a little orange or apple juice or - for adults, brandy or fruit liquor
• For a double or triple layer pudding: make smaller layers of fruit, yoghurt and sugar; cover with a layer of cake or bashed cookie crumbs and repeat 2 or 3 times.  The berries, if sweet, can be unadorned while bananas can be topped with a little maple syrup 
• if there are no problems with cholesterol, try a 50-50 mix of yoghurt with double cream thickly whipped with a bit of sugar and vanilla 

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This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.