Pearce Duff's Blancmange Strawberry - 35g

Blancmange sits on the British pudding table right next to jelly and custard. It was the pink thing at the party, the slice that turned up after a school dinner, the one your gran could make without looking at the instructions.

In Canada, people tend to go looking for it when a memory catches them out. You want to make it for your own children, or a parent mentions it and you realise you have not seen a packet in years. It is also very hard to explain blancmange to someone who has never had it. Easier to just make one.

The packet is a slim 35g, which means it lives quietly at the back of the cupboard until you need it, taking up no room at all. For the full effect, set it in a mould and turn it out onto a plate. For a weeknight, a bowl does the job and nobody complains.

People usually pick it up with the other cupboard puddings: a packet of jelly, some custard, and hundreds and thousands for the top, because a plain pink blancmange is good, and a decorated one is better.