FOCHABERS GINGERBREAD

 

This cake was quite unlike anything I had made before.  It comes from a book by the Scottish food writer Sue Lawrence, Fochabers being a small town in the north of Scotland, not far from Inverness.  The recipe includes dried fruit, black treacle and beer.  (It also includes mixed peel, which I didn't have as all of mine had gone into the Christmas cake, so I added the same quantity of chopped walnuts instead.)

It started when Nick spotted a Nordic Ware tin that was less than half price in a sale in the fancy kitchenware shop in Loches.  Having bought me a lovely new tin I thought he deserved a cake and his favourite is a ginger cake so I looked through my cookbooks for a new recipe to try.

I remembered the rule not to overfill the tin with mixture and made just five little buns with the excess.  Soon after they came out of the oven, we had unexpected visitors, a friend and her two granddaughters, aged thirteen and four.

I pointed out that the cake was probably a very grown up cake with beer and treacle and that the children might not be too keen but I was wrong.  They both loved the little buns and there were barely a few crumbs left.

The cake had a firm texture and would be excellent for a picnic or to be handed round at a gathering as it didn’t fall into a mass of crumbs in the hand.  It was somehow not too sweet, not too gingery but satisfying.   We had the last two slices toasted and buttered.  It was not the sort of cake you might serve at a fancy tea party but definitely worth remembering.  It would be perfect for St Andrew's Day which is on 30th November.

Ingredients

170g unsalted butter, softened

170g light muscovado sugar (or light soft brown sugar)

4 rounded tablespoons black treacle

1 egg

340g plain flour

60g sultanas

60g currants

60g ground almonds

60g chopped mixed peel  

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

½ tsp ground cloves

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

142ml (¼ pint) beer

Method

Preheat the oven to 150°C / 130°fan / gas mk 2.  Grease and base line a 20cm square tin or a 900g loaf tin.  If using a Bundt tin grease with cake release paste (see side bar for recipe).

Beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy.  Heat the treacle gently in a small pan or microwave and add to the mixture.  Stir in the egg and combine well.

Mix in the flour, ground almonds, currants, sultanas, mixed peel and spices.  

Dissolve the bicarb in the beer then beat into the mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the tin, level the top and bake for 75-90 minutes until it passes the skewer test.  (The deeper tin will take the longest time.)

Remove the tin to a wire rack and leave the cake to cool in the tin before turning out.  If using a Bundt tin, turn out after 15-20 minutes.

Cuts into 10-12 slices.

SPICED PUMPKIN AND MINCEMEAT CAKE

My birthday is in December and the weather is usually grim.  This is in sharp contrast to my OH's birthday which is in November when the weather is nearly always much nicer.  Usually good enough to enjoy a walk in the countryside or, like this year, a barbecue in the sunshine.  On his birthday we barbecued salmon fillets and veg skewers for a late lunch and sat outside in the evening to enjoy a glass of fizz until the sun went down.  Just four weeks and two days later, on my birthday, it was grey, misty and miserable outside and definitely not sitting out weather.

In the year of my 70th birthday we had a 69¾ garden party three months early, in September, when it was still warm and sunny.  I'm thinking of permanently adopting an official birthday in September every year from now on!

So, what do you do when it's a grim and miserable day outside but you want to do SOMETHING nice to celebrate?  (Other than join the crowds and mayhem and go shopping.)  You bake a birthday cake!

I've owned this Nordic Ware tin for a few years but so far shied away from actually using it, thinking that the cake would be bound to stick with all those tiny little nooks and crannies.  It took as long to brush it with cake release paste as it did to make the cake mixture but when the cake plopped out of the tin as clean as a whistle it was definitely worth the effort!  The design of the tin would make a good alternative Christmas cake.  Nordic Ware now make something similar in a loaf shape as well as the traditional ring.

I adapted a recipe I have used many times before, one that always turns out well.  I used my last tin of pumpkin purée from the larder and the two spoonfuls of the home made mincemeat left over from making mince pies.  It’s a while since I baked a Bundt cake and I forgot the golden rule of only filling the tin to about three quarters full.  I merrily spooned in all the mixture and it volcanoed up almost over the top.  This can make it harder to turn out but on this occasion I got away with it!  It’s better to under fill the tin and use the excess mixture for a few muffins or fairy cakes.

This time the cake looked spectacular, was beautifully moist and spiced and tasted divine.  The sprinkling of icing sugar "snow" topped it off perfectly.  Our guests were sceptical about pumpkin but I just said "think carrot cake" and they all loved it, even taking away slices for later.  A true endorsement of a delicious cake.

All ready for a Christmas gathering chez nous.

Did you know that the term "Bundt" comes from the German word for a gathering of people, a bund?  The hole in the middle of the tin allows for even baking of a large cake to serve a lot of people at a gathering or party.  Nordic Ware and other manufacturers produce dozens of different designs of Bundt tin to suit every occasion and, although they are not cheap, they are very strong and high quality.  I'm lucky enough to have a small collection of them acquired over many years.  

Another cake made for a New Year party.

Ingredients

200g plain flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

250g soft dark brown sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

190ml sunflower oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 400g tin pumpkin purée

2 tblsp mincemeat

Method

Carefully brush cake release paste into all the crevices of a Bundt tin*.  (See recipe here.)  Preheat the oven to 175°C / 155° fan.

Sift the flour into a bowl, add the baking powder, bicarb, salt and cinnamon and mix well.

In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla and pumpkin until well mixed.  Stir in the mincemeat.

Tip the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and mix well, making sure everything is well incorporated.  

Spoon the mixture into the Bundt tin, level the top and tap on the worktop a few times to dispel any air bubbles.   

Bake for 40-45 minutes until done.

Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Transfer to a cake plate or stand and dust lightly with icing sugar.

Cuts into 12-16 slices.

*If you prefer, use a 25cm round springform tin, greased and base lined with baking paper. 

PARSNIP, MAPLE SYRUP AND WALNUT BUNDT CAKE

Baking a cake is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding things to do on a wet and windy Sunday afternoon.  With my birthday looming I  chose a recipe I've had my eye on for a while.  For years, in fact.  It's a BBC Good Food recipe that you can see here.  

The original recipe is for a two layer cake, sandwiched together with a cream cheese filling but I decided to go wild and make it as a Bundt cake.  

Even with my recipe for foolproof cake release paste, it's always a nervous moment turning out a Bundt cake.  Especially when it's a recipe that is not specifically for a Bundt.

I needn't have worried.  I cooled the cake in the tin for ten minutes and it plopped out instantly with a very reassuring thud.  You can see the recipe (if you can call it that) for the cake release here.

I've given it two stars in the fiddle factor as I find grating parsnips (or carrots) rather tedious.  Not to mention dangerous as proved by the sticking plaster now adorning my thumb!  However, I used an old tip by Mary Berry for grating the apple.  Don't bother peeling it, cut in half vertically, remove the core with a teaspoon or melon baller and then grate the cut side.  You will be left holding the peel with the apple nicely grated and fingers intact!

I used walnuts rather than the pecans in the recipe, as that’s what I had in stock, and of course there was no filling or icing to be done, just a light dusting with icing sugar.

It was a delicious cake.  It didn’t taste overly sweet which is remarkable considering how much sugar there was in it plus the maple syrup.  And you would never have known it had been anywhere near a parsnip!.  The texture was close and amply firm enough to cope with a Bundt tin.  I will try it in a more elaborate design next time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As an aside……

I often read the comments on internet recipes.  They frequently provide excellent suggestions and tips and can be very amusing.  Like this one:

"My cake looked exquisite as I took it out of the oven after baking for 50 minutes: beautifully domed and cracked on top and such a lovely colour. However, once I turned it out 7 or so minutes later, the middle fell right through the cooling rack leaving a rather good imitation of a cowpat on the kitchen surface. Can't for the life of me figure out where I went wrong. :("

Oh dear!  I'm sure many of us have had our cowpat moments!  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ingredients

175g butter, diced

250g demerara sugar

100ml maple syrup

3 large eggs

250g self raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp mixed spice

250g parsnips, peeled and grated

1 eating apple, peeled and grated

50g walnuts, roughly chopped

1 small orange, zest and juice

Method

Put the butter, sugar and syrup into a large saucepan and heat gently until all melted together.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 180C / 160 fan / gas mk 4.  Brush the inside of a large Bundt tin with cake release paste, making sure you get into all the nooks and crannies.

Whisk the eggs into the sugar mixture until well blended.  Add the flour, baking powder and spice and stir until well combined.

Add the parsnip, apple, nuts, orange zest and juice and mix well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, tap on the worktop a few times to settle the mixture and dispel any air bubbles, and bake for 40-45 minutes until done.  

Leave in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Cuts into 10-12 slices.

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN BUNDT CAKE

There has not been much baking going on chez nous the last few weeks.  My time has been devoted to crossing the channel there and back again in order to manage the care of my dad.  Sadly, a spell in our local hospital sent him spiraling into decline and he passed away on 2nd July.

One of the sad things about all this is that my brother missed out on his 60th birthday.  He was supposed to be spending it chez nous in France where we were intending to have a party.  Instead he spent it on his own, apart from visiting our dad in hospital.

For his 60th my brother had requested a pineapple upside down cake.  I make my cheat's version of an upside down cake which you can see here quite often and it's good.  However, the day before his Big Birthday, by which time all our plans had already gone awry,  I spotted this recipe on Marie Rayner's blog and thought to myself "now there's a thing" and vowed to make it at the first opportunity. 

The last few weeks have passed in a blur of activity and official rigmarole but by last weekend we had the chance to draw breath and the opportunity to finally celebrate my brother's 60th.  

This is a wonderful cake.  Easy to make and a delight to eat.  We enjoyed it following a bbq lunch in the glorious July sunshine.  

I didn't use my Nordic Ware Bundt tin as it's ginormous.  Instead I used a similar design, less sharp in profile of course, but it was perfect for the job.  Slices of tinned pineapple are cut in half and arranged in the bottom of the tin curved side down as in the picture above.  The finished cake then slipped out of the tin with barely a crumb left behind thanks to my usual cake release mixture (see here).  Magic !!

I didn't use all the liquid stated in the original ingredients because to me the mixture already looked the right consistency and even with the reduced amount it took quite a bit longer to cook.  It was plenty moist enough.  I have shown my amendments in the recipe below but please do refer to the original if you decide to make this fabulous cake.

Ingredients

For the topping

100g soft light brown sugar

60g butter, melted

8 tinned pineapple slices in juice, drained and reserve the juice

8 glacé cherries, rinsed

For the cake

350g plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

240g caster sugar

175g butter, softened (I used Sainsbury's Buttersoft spread)

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 medium eggs

75ml milk

75ml pineapple juice reserved from the can

Method

Grease a medium sized Bundt tin using your favourite method, making sure you reach into all the nooks and crannies.

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° fan / gas mk 4.

Mix together the brown sugar and butter for the topping and pour it evenly into the bottom of the tin.

Drain the pineapple slices and reserve the juice.  Cut each slice in half and place two halves rounded side down in the tin as shown in the picture above.  Place a rinsed glacé cherry in each of the spaces between.

Using a stand mixer or hand held beater, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding the vanilla extract.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together and blend one third into the mixture, alternating with the milk and pineapple juice.  I used only about half the quantity of liquid stated in the original recipe so add a little more to loosen the mixture if it seems too stiff.

Spoon the mixture into the tin carefully so as not to disturb the arrangement of the fruit.  Tap the tin on the worktop a few times to settle the mixture and dispel any air pockets.

Bake for 50-60 minutes until done.  This is about twenty minutes longer than stated in the original recipe so check after 40 just in case.

Leave the cooked cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Cuts into at least 12 generous slices.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Woe betide that my brother's 60th birthday should forever be defined by a hospital visit on the day it was discovered that the staff had lost my poor dear father's dental plate, making it almost impossible for him to eat, talk properly, or even drink through a straw, therefore contributing to his rapid demise.  Let it be noted here that my respect for the medical and nursing professions are not what they were before they had him in their care for three weeks.  The level of neglect and indifference for someone who was elderly, frail, vulnerable, confused and completely dependent on them was callous to say the least.)

PINK GRAPEFRUIT DRIZZLE BUNDT CAKE

A few weeks before my nephew’s wedding, his fiancé sent me a message asking if I would make a cake for the evening buffet at the reception.  I misread the message and went into panic mode, thinking she meant The Cake but thankfully no, just something to serve as dessert.  Her step mum was making That Cake (and it was truly fabulous).

I decided that a chocolate Guinness cake would probably go down well, it always does at parties.  I must have made dozens of them over the years and it always gets eaten up, loads of compliments and requests for the recipe.  I just say "Nigella Lawson" and send people to Google it!  Although these days I reduce the icing ingredients by one third.

It is however, not that much of a looker so I made a second cake that was a bit more glamorous.  For a special occasion like this a Bundt cake fits the bill.  They are usually easy to make, serve loads of people and, because the tin does all the heavy lifting in the glamour department, don't need much in the way of fancy icing.  

There followed a few happy hours of browsing my cook books.  Several candidates for the job stood out but in the end I settled for one from the most recent cook book from the Bake Off series called A Bake for All Seasons.  Everyone loves a drizzle cake but this one's a bit different, using ruby grapefruit instead of lemons.

It was easy to make but I’ve given it two stars in the faff factor rating because preparing the crystallised peel for the decoration is a bit more time consuming and fiddly than I normally attempt.  Preparing a Bundt tin is also time consuming but essential if the cake is going to turn out in one piece. 

It looked the bees knees and got lots of compliments.  It had a lovely texture and the grapefruit flavour was delightful.  I managed to snaffle the last two slices to present to our neighbours who kindly let the dog out while we were out gallivanting.

Definitely a great cake for a party! 

Ingredients

For the candied peel and the drizzle

1 ruby grapefruit (reserve the juice)

6 tblsp white caster sugar

For the cake

175g unsalted butter, softened (I used Sainsbury's Buttersoft spread)

250g golden caster sugar

3 large eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 ruby grapefruits, zest and juice

200g plain flour

150g ground almonds

2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

3 tblsp full fat Greek youghurt

For the icing

150g icing sugar

1-2 tblsp grapefruit juice reserved from the first grapefuit 

pink food colouring gel

Method

The first step is to make the crystallised peel for the decoration as it takes a long time to dry.  I made mine the night before I made the cake.

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the grapefruit in wide strips.  Slice each strip into thin slivers.  (This is the time consuming part.)  Put the shreds of grapefruit peel into a small bowl with 2-3 tablespoons of the caster sugar and mix together so that the peel is well coated.  Tip onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper and leave to dry for at least four hours until crisp.  I left mine overnight.

To make the sponge, prepare a suitable Bundt tin using the non-stick cake release paste which you can see here.  Preheat the oven to 170°C / 150° fan / gas mk 3.

Using a stand mixer if possible, beat the butter or spread with the golden caster sugar until paler and creamy.  Add the eggs in thirds, beating well between each addition, then beat in the vanilla extract.

Measure out 6 tblsp of the grapefruit juice and reserve the rest.  Beat it into the mixture along with the zest.  Don't worry if the mixture curdles.

Add the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt and mix on low speed to combine.  Then add the yoghurt and mix briefly or until thoroughly mixed.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin.  Level the top and tap the tin on the worktop or table to release any air bubbles.  (I find putting a folded tea towel on the worktop or table makes me less nervous that the hard ridges in some of my Bundt tins might cause some damage if I tap too hard!)

Bake for about 45 minutes until done and the cake passes the skewer test.

While the cake is cooking make the drizzle by mixing the juice from the peeled grapefruit and mix with the remaining 3-4 tblsp of white caster sugar.

This is where I deviate from the recipe in the book which suggests you should turn out the cake after 2 minutes and leave to cool for another 15 minutes.  Turning out a Bundt cake so soon is a recipe for disaster as it could break up.  

Instead, leave in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.  Leave to cool on the rack for another 5 minutes and, while the cake is still warm, poke holes in the top with a skewer or cake tester and pour the drizzle over.

Leave to cool completely before icing.

To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a medium bowl and beat with enough of the reserved grapefruit juice to make a consistency of single cream, just runny enough to run down the grooves in the cake according to what design of Bundt tin you have used.  You can leave the icing as it is because it will have a faint pinkish hue, or you can add pink food colouring gel to get a colour you like.  I used just two drops to achieve a very soft pink.

Place the rack over a dinner plate so that icing that runs off can be collected and reused to build up the icing as you like.  Spoon the icing over the top of the cake and let it run down and pool in the grooves of the pattern.

Scatter the crystallised grapefruit peel over the top of the cake.

Cuts into 18-20 slices.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The wedding cake.  I would never attempt anything like this.  The bottom tier was the most delicious fruit cake.  The top two tiers were sponge cake and they were hoovered up by hungry guests on the night.  Much of the fruit layer was cut up for guests to take away but there was about two thirds of it left.  We have a good supply of it in our freezer!  

How on earth do you cook that size of fruit cake and end up with it all cooked through perfectly?  Respect to the bride's step mum who achieved the magnificent feat!

CRANBERRY AND ORANGE BUNDT CAKE and a Happy Birthday to me!

 

I recently had a Big Birthday!

Unfortunately I couldn't get all seventy candles on the cake so settled for one!

For my birthday cake I fancied making a recipe I had had my eye on for a while, a cranberry and orange cake by Lynn Hill.  I decided to make it in a Bundt tin for the extra glamour.

It was done in much less time than that specified in the recipe, 55 minutes.  In fact by then it was probably slightly over baked and would have been fine after 50 minutes.  It had a very dark and crispy crust with brown speckling, as warned by Lynn in the write up, due to the very high sugar content.  I decorated it with a drizzle of icing made from 3 tablespoons of sifted icing sugar and enough orange juice to make it the right consistency to run over the sides of the cake.  That disguised the not so attractive appearance of the naked cake!

Once through the crispy crust it was superb!

The mixture was quite stiff so the cranberries didn't sink at all and were beautifully evenly distributed.  I used fewer cranberries than stated in the recipe as my punnet only contained about 220g.  It was plenty I think.

It tasted delicious, cranberry and orange being one of my favourite combinations.

It also kept well in a sealed box and the last few slices made an excellent dessert served warm with custard.  You can see the recipe here.  Apart from the tin, the cooking time, the quantity of cranberries and the addition of the icing I followed it to the letter! 

Cuts into 18-20 portions.

CRANBERRY AND ORANGE DRIZZLE CAKE

During the doldrums between Christmas and New Year I found myself near to Tesco when there were hardly any customers.  I made a quick dash inside and there were punnets of cranberries reduced in price.  They were an irresistible bargain so I swooped.

I had in mind the apple, orange and cranberry cake I made a couple of years ago which was lovely and you can see here.  Then just out of interest I did a bit of internet research and came across this recipe on the Waitrose website and thought I would try that instead.  I also fancied making a Bundt cake.

I am a fan of Bundt cakes and now have a small collection of lovely designs but the one problem with them is that they are all so huge.  They take a lot of mixture so I find myself having to seek out recipes written specially for them.  They also take a lot of eating - a lot of mixture means a big cake, much too big for just the two of us.  We end up with bits of cake filling up the freezer, or very happy neighbours (no bad thing).

When I spotted this tin on the Lakeland website it looked to me like it would work with the quantity of mixture you would put in a regular 8" round tin or a 2lb loaf tin.

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.

NUTTY APPLE CAKE

 

The other day I braved a visit to one of our local charity shops.  There were no other customers and I needed to enquire whether they have begun accepting donations again after the last lockdown.  We have been gradually sorting through the contents of my dad's bungalow since he moved into sheltered housing and we're trying to sell or give away anything useful rather than just leave it to the house clearance people to dispose of it.

Of course, while I was in there it was impossible to resist a browse and so I bought this book by Rachel Allen.  I like her recipes and have had a good deal of success with them.  When I got home and picked the book up to feast my eyes out plopped yet another hand written recipe, entitled, quite simply, "apple cake".

This has happened several times before and yet again I felt compelled to try the recipe.!

The ingredients were much like a basic sponge recipe but with added apple.  It didn't say if the apple should be chopped or sliced and no tin size was given.  It sounded like a normal 2lb loaf tin or 20cm round tin would work but I decided to use my Tala Bundt tin as it's good for normal quantities of cake mixture (as opposed to the greater volume required for most of the Nordic Ware tins).  It was time for it to have an outing, having been lurking in the depths of the wardrobe for some time.  (I now store my Bundt tins in the wardrobe as they are awkward things to stack and take up a disproportionate amount of space in a kitchen cupboard.)

One of the things that made me want to make the cake is that it called for wholemeal self raising flour.  This is something that I happened to have in stock, a rogue purchase from the previous lockdown when, flustered and not concentrating, I picked it up mistaking it for bread flour.  I used golden caster sugar instead of white and also assumed the 5g of chopped nuts was a mistake and it was meant to be 50g.  The cooking time given was 1 hour but mine was done in 40 minutes so it was a good job I decided to check!  It was probably using the Bundt tin that caused it to cook more quickly.

It was lovely.  With the wholemeal flour and the chopped nuts it had a distinctly nutty flavour and was quite delicious.  It wasn't overly sweet either, in fact you could almost consider it "good for you"!  The only thing I might change for next time would be to maybe increase the amount of cinnamon to make it a bit more spicy.  I could have dusted it with icing sugar or even given it a drizzle of icing but leaving it plain as it came out of the oven seemed just right for its wholesome appearance and flavour.  Definitely a cake I will be making again.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As it turns out, I am not all that thrilled with the Rachel Allen book.  A glance through it didn't inspire me to make anything in particular so it may well end up back at the charity shop!

Ingredients

175g wholemeal self raising flour

175g golden caster sugar

1 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

175g soft margarine or butter (I used Anchor Spreadable)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

50g chopped mixed nuts

1 cooking apple of about 250g, peeled, cored and diced

1 tblsp demerara sugar 

Method

Preheat the oven to 170 C / 150 fan / gas mk 3.  Butter a 2lb (900g) loaf tin, 20cm round tin or a small Bundt tin.  

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time with a little of the measured flour.

Mix the spice and baking powder with the flour and fold into the mixture.  Finally add the chopped apple and the nuts and mix well to combine.  Spoon the mixture into the tin, level the top and, if using a loaf tin or round tin, sprinkle the demerara sugar on top (omit with the Bundt tin as the top becomes the bottom).  Give the tin a few sharp taps on the worktop to settle the mixture and avoid any air bubbles.

Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour until done.  Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Cuts into 10-12 slices.

LEMON AND SULTANA BUNDT CAKE, an early birthday present and a bit of a rant about the Bake Off!

We watched the final of the Great British Bake Off last week, rather grudgingly I might add - but more of that later.  I was shocked and saddened to see the tribute to a former contestant, Luis Troyano, appear in the credits at the end.  I instantly remembered who he was, a gentle giant of a man who produced exceptionally good bread during bread week.  He was a finalist in series five in 2014 and was only 48 when he died of cancer just a few weeks ago.

As so many of the contestants do, he produced a book after that series finished and I bought it a while ago.  Until now the only thing in the book I have made is his pumpkin pie, which was, in fact, divine.  You can see that if you go here. 

48 is no age at all.  Amidst all the trials and tribulations that this year has thrown at us, the perpetual fear of impending doom, the worry, the isolation, the pandemic waistline and brain fog, the intense longing for normality, it's frightening to realise that all the other things that normally get us are still out there as well.

A sense of my own mortality set in and with gay abandon I took up Nick's offer of an early birthday present.  My birthday is only a couple of weeks away anyway but what if I didn't make it that far?  You just never know.  

I already own a Kenwood Chef which resides in France.  I took it there thinking that that's where I would do most baking and for a few years that was the case.  Oh but how I have missed it this year!  And how thrilled I am to now have this retro styled baby Kenwood!  I christened it without delay by baking my own little tribute to Luis, the recipe for a lemon and sultana Bundt cake that's in his book.

There was too much mixture for this particular Bundt tin and remembering that I read somewhere that you shouldn't fill them by more than three quarters I used the excess to make four muffins.  Bundt tins do vary in volume depending on the design so in a different tin the quantity of mixture would probably have been perfect.  (This design is called "elegant party".)

The baking time was given as one hour but after exactly an hour I would say that mine was, to quote Paul Hollywood, slightly over baked.  The top (or the bottom of the cake) had a distinctly dark appearance so next time I would check after 50 minutes.  (On re-reading the recipe it seems I overlooked the part about covering with foil to prevent burning after 45 minutes!)

And now for my little rant about the Bake Off.  Jump to the recipe if you're not interested!

The contest was in its hey day when Luis was a contestant.  The wonderful Mary Berry was one of the  judges, Paul Hollywood (the Craig Revel Horwood of baking competitions) was the other and Mel and Sue were joint hosts.  Mel and Sue were a class act, providing intelligent humour, support and comfort to the contestants and an all round feel good feeling.

When the show moved to Channel 4 and all but Paul Hollywood quit, I thought it would never be as good.  However, I quickly took to Pru Leith.  Paul was just the same old Paul but we also had that nincompoop, Noel Fielding to contend with.  His puerile sense of humour was somewhat compensated for by the clever and witty Sandy Toksvig whose silly japes I didn't mind so much, but now that she has left and Matt Lucas came along instead things went rapidly downhill IMHO.

We have found the series almost unwatchable, the inane fifth form common room jokes and pranks intensely irritating and cringe worthy.  In order to stop ourselves from throwing things at the TV we have recorded programmes and watched later so that we could whizz through most of the waffle.  I don't know what Channel 4 are aiming for but it's not the quality programme it used to be with that pair of idiots cruising round and hassling the contestants while they're having a meltdown over their crème pat.  Rant over.

So this cake was my tribute to the gentle and talented Luis Troyano.  There are lots of other really lovely recipes in his book which I highly recommend.  I shall bake my way through a few more and no doubt write about them.

His recipe for this particular cake includes a glaze made with limoncello but I thought the cake looked quite beautiful without it and turned out to be amply lemony enough as it was.  Definitely a cake I shall be making again.  R.I.P. Luis.

Ingredients

225g softened butter (I used Tesco Butterpak Spreadable)

500g caster sugar

4 large eggs

380g plain flour

1 tblsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

120ml buttermilk

120ml lemonjuice

170g sultanas (tossed in a little flour to prevent sinking)

zest of 2 lemons, finely grated

Method

Prepare your Bundt tin by buttering generously and dusting with flour or using this method here.  Preheat the oven to 190 C / 170 fan / gas mk 5.

Using your brand new Kenwood mixer (ahem!) or a hand held electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add and beat in the eggs one at a time along with a spoonful of the flour to prevent curdling.

Add all the other ingredients and beat until well combined.  Pour into the tin and level the top, remembering not to fill by more than three quarters.  Give the tin a few sharp taps on the worktop to ensure there are no air gaps and bake for about one hour.  Cover with foil after 45 minutes and check for doneness after 50 minutes.

Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Depending on the design of your tin, cuts into 15-20 slices.

STRAWBERRY AND LEMON CAKE and success plucked from the jaws of disaster.

 

During one of the blisteringly hot heatwaves we had in France last summer, I offered to take a cake to a garden party.  The party was to celebrate both a couple of birthdays and a wedding anniversary so I wanted it to be a bit special.

Bundt cakes are great for large gatherings as they can be cut neatly into lots of slim slices.  Most people don't want a big slice of cake at a party, just a taste of it.  For this particular party the host asked for a lemon cake so I picked a recipe that I had used several times before with huge success. 

 

 

This time, it went horribly wrong.

I have no idea why.

 

Despite using a good slathering of home made cake release the cake stuck firmly to the tin.  I had that sinking feeling as I inverted the tin.  Instead of the welcome sound of a cake plopping cleanly out onto the plate - nothing.  No amount of tapping, shaking or cursing would persuade it to come out.  Eventually it landed on the plate with a good third of it still stuck inside the tin.  Rats !!

 

I wondered if the high sugar content combined with the high ambient temperature had something to do with it.  I really have no sensible explanation why a recipe that has worked perfectly before should fail me now - and on such an important occasion, too!

 

 

This is how it looked the previous time I made it!

 

I put my thinking cap on and made a quick trip to the nearest supermarket.  Which was not that quick as it's a twenty minute drive away.  We have a choice of two supermarkets - twenty minutes away in one direction or ten minutes in the opposite - but that one closes for two hours at lunchtime.  (One of the rather quaint features of life in rural France.)  So it was Hobson's choice as I headed for Descartes in search of fresh strawberries. 

I was in luck and armed with two punnets of strawberries I was able to rescue the cake.

 

I sliced off the ragged top of the cake where it had stuck to the tin, spread it with a good coating of whipped cream, filled the middle and decorated the top with strawberries and added a final flourish of strips of lemon zest and a sprinkling of freeze dried strawberries.  It looked perfect for a summer garden party and tasted delicious!  Nobody asked any awkward questions so I had no need to confess that it was very nearly a huge disaster!

You can see the recipe for the cake here.

PUMPKIN, APPLE AND WALNUT SPICE CAKE

 

I made this cake for our latest cake and bake club meeting where the theme was "autumn".

 

It's a variation on a favourite recipe that uses tinned pumpkin purée.  You can see that recipe here.  I replaced some of the pumpkin with grated eating apple and some of the vegetable oil with walnut oil.

 

I used my "fleur de lys" Nordic Ware Bundt pan and the cake release recipe I posted recently.  The cake slipped out of the tin perfectly and in fact I could even tell that it was completely loose on picking it up and before turning it upside down.  It's such a relief when the cake doesn't stick.

 

 

 

This was my last meeting as club organiser and I was delighted that most of the bakes on the table were cakes (not quiches) just like the old days.  My cake looked good without the maple syrup glaze I had planned to drizzle over it.  The tin makes a fairly plain cake look gorgeous and I thought it best not to detract from the design with any kind of icing.  It tasted good too and was sweet enough without any added icing sugar.  If anything I would add a little more spice next time, maybe a teaspoonful of ginger or mixed spice.

 

 

It had a nice texture, moist and soft without falling apart when cut.

 

 

Ingredients

 

200g plain flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
250g soft brown sugar
50g walnuts, roughly chopped
3 eggs
100ml sunflower oil
90ml walnut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g pumpkin purée from a tin
1 large eating apple, peeled and grated

Method

Grease and flour a large Bundt tin, or use cake release paste.  Preheat the oven to 175˚C / 155˚ fan. 

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt, spices, baking powder and bicarb.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs lightly then add the oils, vanilla, sugar, pumpkin and apple.  Mix well then add the dry ingredients and the nuts.  Mix well to combine then pour carefully into the prepared tin.

Tap the tin on the worktop a few times to release any trapped air bubbles then bake for 40 minutes or until done.  Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

Dust with icing sugar or drizzle with a simple water icing when cold.

Cuts into 12-16 slices.