In recent news a so-called revelation was headlined in the tabloid newspapers in England "E numbers are harmful to children." It’s hard not get angry at this headline not just because it’s true, but the common sense evidence that something is badly wrong with the foods we have allowed our children to eat has been around for some time.

Just look at the growing number of children with all kinds of maladies from attention deficit, increases in the numbers of children suffering from a food allergy just because many parents continue to allow and in some cases champion junk food over a healthier plate of real food.

Ill-informed parents believe if it is low in sugar then it is good for their kids,
But if they took the time to read the labels they would realize low in sugar usually means high in artificial sweeteners like Nutra-sweet or Acesulfame K which is about 200 times sweeter than sugar and has in American lab tests been linked to cancer.

Parents give many poorly thought through reasons as to why their precious children are allowed to eat such poor quality, chemically laden, high in salt and fat food.

“My son is a fussy eater”….or “they are teenagers and they are just going through a phase”… “It’s peer pressure from their school friends..what can I do?”

No one is born a fussy eater…it is purely born out of conditioning by the family members around the child from a very early age. Some parent’s pass on their own food dislikes to their child, which again narrows the choices. Kids can quickly learn to negotiate at the dinner table what they will and wont eat.

My own 5year old daughter drinks fruit juices, water or occasional milk or weak cup of tea. She is not allowed drinks with artificial sweeteners or fizzy pop.
She eats a balanced diet of meat, fish, vegetables and fruit because her mom and I cooked her real food. No frozen dinners and trips to Micky D’s are very rare..usually when she visits her auntie. I don’t allow her pudding until she has eaten all of her dinner.

As parents Yvette and I have held firm against the many pressures out there that allow children bad food choices. Making this happen isn’t always easy or convenient but it’s the right thing to do. After working a 12-hour day cooking in a hot kitchen it’s not easy to come home and begin doing some food preparation, but what I feed my daughter is more important than the brand of trainers she wears.

Even good restaurants have sometimes caved in and bought a bag of chicken nuggets to accommodate their customer’s wishes…but how can parents in good conscience sit down to wonderful food whilst allowing their children to eat such harmful rubbish?

I don’t know how some directors of food companies can sleep at night knowing how harmful their products are and yet still they are sold and promoted at young children.

Like many other people my first taste of a Bakewell dessert was Bakewell Tart, which has a short pastry crust, a thin layer of raspberry jam and then almond frangipane and is a standard classic English dessert. However recently I discovered that Bakewell Tart was just an inferior upstart and that the original Bakewell dessert was called a pudding and was invented in the Derbyshire town of Bakewell in the 19th century. Ironically the “pudding recipe” is lighter, tastier and easier to make so I do hope you will try this recipe soon. The only remaining mystery is how the inferior version became so well know throughout Great Britain?

350g (14oz) Puff pastry
75g (3oz) Unsalted butter
90g (3 ½ oz) Caster sugar
5 large eggs
125g (4 ½ oz) Ground almonds
A few drops of Almond essence
3 Tbsp raspberry jam
100g (4oz) Fresh raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 190C (gas mark 6)
2. Lightly butter a 10” quiche dish and roll the puff pastry out until it is about 4mm ( ¼”) thick.
3. Once you have lined the dish with the pastry don’t trim off the excess.
4. Crush the fresh raspberries with a spoon, mixing in the raspberry jam then spread the mix evenly onto the pastry.
5. Cream the sugar with butter and almond essence until it is white and fluffy.
6. Gradually stir in one beaten egg at a time, together with a little of the ground almonds, making sure each egg is well mixed in before adding another.
7. When all the eggs and ground almonds have been incorporated pour the mix into the pastry case and spread the mix gently and evenly with a palette knife.
8. Use a small sharp knife and trim off the excess puff pastry then crimp the edges to give a neat finish.
9. Bake on the middle shelf for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is set and the top is lightly brown.

To Serve
Allow the Bakewell pudding to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serve with custard or cream.

Chef’s Tips
If you wish you can egg-wash the crimped pastry edge before baking and dust the finished pudding with a little icing sugar.