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Fruit dumplings

From The People's Cookbook
Apricots, blueberries and plums are the secrets hidden inside these Lady Grenfell-Baines' light dumplings

Fruit dumplings

Method

1. For the dough: push the cheese through a sieve into a mixing bowl. Add the butter, eggs and sugar and mix together well. Add the flour, semolina and milk in stages to form a soft, pliable dough. Tip it out of the bowl on to a lightly floured surface and knead it lightly. Roll into a long sausage shape about 6cm in diameter.

2. For the filling: if you're using apricots, put a square of chocolate in the centre of each fruit to replace the stone and close the halves firmly together. If you have chosen plums, replace the stone with a lump of sugar and close the halves firmly together.

3. Cut a slice of dough about 1 cm thick and put it on a well-floured board. Roll it out into a circle large enough to envelope the apricot or other fruit. Put an apricot or plum on the dough and bring it up around the fruit to enclose it completely. Seal the edges well and repeat with the remaining dough and fillings. If you are using blueberries, use 3-4 per dumpling with a sprinkling of sugar.

4. Bring a large pan of slightly salted water to the boil and drop the dumplings into it, 3 or 4 at a time. Gently move them around the pan with a wooden spoon to ensure they don't stick to the bottom and cook them for 10-12 minutes; they are done when they rise to the surface.

5. For the crumble: melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and fry gently until golden, then sprinkle in the sugar and stir well. Remove the pan from the heat and tip the crumble mixture into a warmed serving dish.

6. Remove the dumplings as they cook, using a slotted spoon to let them drain. Roll them in the crumble mixture, and keep them warm in a low oven while you cook the remaining dumplings. Once they are all cooked and coated, serve them hot with the melted butter spooned over, and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

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Serves: makes about 20

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 10 min, per batch

Ingredients

For the dough

200g Ricotta cheese, or Polish soft cheese
15g Butter, melted
2 large Eggs, lightly beaten
50g caster sugar
300g plain Flour, plus extra for dusting
100g fine Semolina
5 tbsp semi-skimmed Milk

For the fruit filling

500g mixed fruit, (apricots or plums, halved and stones removed or whole blueberries)
300g dark chocolate, broken into squares (if using apricots)
12 sugar lumps, (if using plums)
Sprinkle of Sugar, (if using blueberries)