It's a lovely, moist cake and less like a full-on fruit cake than many of the internet recipes I found. Date and apple are truly a lovely combination. Great to go with a cup of tea in the afternoon or, of course, served warm for dessert. Many thanks to Angela for giving me the idea.
April 14, 2021
DATE AND APPLE CAKE
It's a lovely, moist cake and less like a full-on fruit cake than many of the internet recipes I found. Date and apple are truly a lovely combination. Great to go with a cup of tea in the afternoon or, of course, served warm for dessert. Many thanks to Angela for giving me the idea.
April 10, 2021
CELERIAC AND MUSHROOM SOUP
This rather unappealing looking grey bowlful turned out to be a really delicious soup!
It was inspired by a late afternoon trip to our local Tesco. Actually we set off to go to Waitrose, now that we're allowed to go a little further than local. Unfortunately, as the Waitrose stores at Ashbourne and Leek have been closed for good, our nearest remaining are all quite a distance away at either Buxton, Sheffield or Newark. Sheffield is the nearest of those but the journey there is nowhere near as pretty as to the other two. A trip to the supermarket definitely qualifies as a run out!
We opted for Newark but when we got there found a long line of hapless shoppers queuing up outside with their trolleys. So we took an executive decision to turn around and come home - but via Tesco because we needed some shopping! We have suspended our "click and collect" shopping activity in favour of actual shopping for a while, just to see how we get on. The newfound confidence since having our first vaccination dose.
There were a lot of veg in the reduced bin and I swooped on a huge pack of mushrooms and one of baby leeks. I already had an unused bulb (is that the right word) of celeriac in the fridge so a recipe began to formulate in my mind.
One thing I have learned about the soup maker is that you need strong flavours and some of the recipes I normally use seem to produce quite a bland soup. I have needed a bit more seasoning or herbs added to pep them up and have resorted to using more stock cubes/powder/pots, or, frying some of the ingredients before they go in. That's no great hardship because if I chop the leeks or onions and put them in the frying pan with some oil to cook while I chop the other ingredients, it takes no longer to prepare than usual and the whole thing is still ready in half an hour or so. (As it happened I didn't fry the leeks for this one and it was yummy.)
Ingredients
a large chunk of celeriac
a pack of baby leeks (or one large leek)
four very large mushrooms
1 medium potato
1 Tesco garlic and thyme stock pot
1 tablespoon of olive oil
a generous splash of dry sherry
Method
Prepare the veg by washing, peeling and chopping into cubes or slicing, as appropriate. Prepare enough to fill the soup maker to somewhere between the min and max lines.
Add the stock pot, olive oil and water up to almost the max line and cook on "smooth".
When cooked, stir in the sherry and salt & pepper to taste.
Makes four good servings.
April 6, 2021
GINGER AND COCONUT TARTS
I love the knobbly, rustic and home made look!
For these tarts I used Sainsbury's ginger preserve, a favourite jam that I like to have on toast. I've also used the same jam to fill my pear and ginger upside down cake which you can see here. (Robertson's make a ginger marmalade which would work nicely too.) I finished each tart with a bit of crystallised ginger, popped on top before baking.
They are perfect for the current weather. As I write this hail is falling and covering the ground like snow. This day last week we were basking in 20°C and lighting the barbecue, thinking that this lockdown business is not so bad. Such is the nature of April weather in Derbyshire, especially during the Easter school holidays! April showers, I suppose!
Last week's weather - prior to the schools breaking up for Easter!!
Ingredients
100g shortcrust pastry - home made using 100g flour or shop bought
a few teaspoons of ginger jam or marmalade
50g soft margarine
50g caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
50g dessicated coconut
12 pieces of crystallised ginger (optional)
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° fan / gas mk 4. Grease a 12 hole patty tin.
Roll out the pastry and cut twelve 3" (7.5cm) circles using a fluted pastry cutter. Gently press one circle into each hole and put about ½ tsp jam in the centre of each one. (This doesn't sound much but any more will cause the jam to leak out and boil over when cooked.)
In a small bowl, beat together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and the coconut.
Plop about 1 tsp of the coconut mixture on top of the jam in each tart, teeming and ladling until it's all used up and shared out evenly, and push the mixture to the edges of each one to seal in the jam.
Drop a piece of crystallised ginger into the centre of each one.
Bake for about 20 minutes until the coconut mixture is risen and golden. Cool before serving as the jam will be very hot.
Makes 12 tarts.
March 23, 2021
APPLE BERRY PIE
I used one of the enormous Bramleys and cooked the slices to soften them before stirring in the unused berries. A regular two-egg all-in-one sponge topped the fruit and the finished pud was delicious.
I really should make this as an intended pudding, not just one that uses up stuff that needs using up!
The sponge itself would be lovely flavoured with orange or lemon zest, or maybe a Black Forest version, using a chocolate sponge and my tin of cherry pie filling (another rogue internet purchase) would be nice. As would a pear and almond version using almond essence in the sponge. I could even ice it with a water icing. Hmmm....maybe those large packs of pastry could be useful after all. Or I could, of course, make my own!
Ingredients1 large or 2 small cooking apples
a handful of blueberries and raspberries
2 tblsp granulated sugar
a pack of ready made, ready rolled shortcrust pastry (brought to room temperature)
4ozs self raising flour
4 ozs caster sugar
4 ozs soft margarine (I used Stork)
2 eggs
(a splash of milk if needed)
Method
Peel and slice the apple into a small saucepan. Add a splash of water and heat gently until the slices are softened, not quite completely mushy. Remove from the heat, stir in the berries and granulated sugar and set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180C / 160 fan. Grease a 20cm round flan dish or deep pie dish. Line the dish with the pastry, patching as needed, trim and crimp the edges.
To make the sponge topping, put all the ingredients into a bowl and beat well with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until nice and smooth. Add the milk to loosen it if it's too stiff.
Tip the fruit into the pie dish and spread out evenly with a spoon. Spoon the sponge mixture on top and level it, making sure there are no gaps.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until the sponge is golden brown and cooked.
Serve warm or cold, dusted with icing sugar if you like, with cream, ice cream or custard.
Cuts into 8 slices.
March 18, 2021
EGG AND CRESS SANDWICHES
March 14, 2021
BANANA CAKE BY JAMES MARTIN
March 4, 2021
THE BE-RO GINGERBREAD CAKE - the taste of my childhood
February 26, 2021
BLUEBERRY AND LEMON CAKE
For the cake
300g self raising flour (or ⅔ SR and ⅓ sponge flour)
1½ tsp baking powder
300g soft margarine (I used Stork)
125g Half Spoon sugar alternative*
5 medium eggs
zest and juice of 1 lemon
100g blueberries
a splash of milk if needed
For the topping
180g cream cheese
25g softened butter
2 heaped tblsp icing sugar
A handful of blueberries
Method
Grease and line the base of a 22 or 23 cm square tin. Preheat the oven to 190°C / 170° fan / gas mk 5.
Put all the cake ingredients except for the blueberries into a large bowl and beat well until combined. Beat in a splash (about a tablespoon) of milk if the mixture seems quite stiff (mine was but I now wonder if adding the milk is why the blueberries sank. I might omit it and go with a stiffer mixture next time). Fold in the blueberries until evenly distributed.
Spoon the mixture into the tin and level the top. Tap the tin on the worktop a few times to settle the mixture and dispel any air bubbles.
Bake for 25-35 minutes until done. Cool in the tin for a few minutes then turn out onto a wire rack.
To make the topping, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Sift in the icing sugar and beat in. When the cake is completely cool, spread the topping over and swirl it or use a fork to create a pattern. Distribute the extra blueberries over the top. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
Cuts into 12-16 portions.
*If you want to make the recipe with caster sugar instead of Half Spoon, follow the advice in the link. Essentially it implies that you would use twice as much sugar and less baking powder. I haven't tried it!
February 18, 2021
BAKED EGG CUSTARD
We were behind on the egg consumption as well so an egg custard sprung to mind. Not a custard tart but just a baked egg custard, just like Mum used to make regularly when she had milk to spare. In fact even if she didn't have milk to spare. I would request an egg custard and she would say yes but only if I went to the farm for some more milk. The farm was called Splash Farm and I would trot joyfully down the road and knock on the door of the farmhouse. The cows grazed in the fields opposite our house. The farmer's wife always wore wellingtons and a floral pinny and there was a distinct whiff of cowshed as she opened the door (the only bit I didn't like about the farm). The milk was in crates standing on the ancient cold stone flags just inside the front door, ready for the steady trickle of callers nipping down the lane for an extra pint or two. Happy days.
January 26, 2021
CRANBERRY AND ORANGE DRIZZLE CAKE
I ordered one and it turns out I was right, it's exactly the right size for more normal cake recipes.
I was hoping the design of the Lakeland tin would produce cakes similar to the beautiful Nordic Ware Anniversary Bundt tin (above). It's the original Bundt tin and I have long admired its sharp angles and elegant lines. It was a big ask! But it's a well made tin and will be very useful.
The cake was yummy, had a good orange flavour with the sharpness of cranberries and the background of ground almonds. I was also rather chuffed that my cranberries didn't sink to the bottom of the cake tin (therefore all ending up at the top of the cake).
I can see me adapting this recipe for a lemon and blueberry cake, coconut and lime cake, and possibly even a cherry and almond. It's a keeper for sure.
Ingredients
For the cake
225g softened butter (I used Anchor spreadable)
225g golden caster sugar
4 medium eggs
175 self raising flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
50g ground almonds
zest of 1 large orange
175g fresh cranberries, rinsed and dried
For the drizzle
50g granulated sugar
half of the juice of the orange*
Method
Preheat the oven to 170° C / 150° fan / gas mk 3. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin or prepare a 20cm Bundt tin using cake release.
Put all the cake ingredients except for the cranberries into a large bowl and beat until just mixed. Fold in the cranberries.
Transfer the mixture to the tin, level the top and tap the tin on the worktop a few times to settle the mixture and prevent any air bubbles. Bake for 50-60 minutes until done. (Check after 45 minutes as my Bundt cake was done by then.)
Remove from the oven and here instructions differ depending on the tin:
If using a loaf tin, sprinkle the granulated sugar on top, pour the orange juice over and leave to cool in the tin.
If using a Bundt tin, cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack, sprinkle with the granulated sugar and pour over the orange juice.
Cuts into 10-12 generous slices.
* the recipe says to use all of the juice of the orange. That seemed like a lot to me and I wondered if it might make the cake too soggy - my large orange produced a lot of juice. So I used just over half of it and the cake was well flavoured with the orange and moist enough.