Mincemeat and Apple Streusel Slice

Mincemeat and apple streusel, what could be more comforting? Perhaps the addition of a big bowl of softly whipped cream or a jug of steaming yellow custard.

Without further ado I will give you the recipe as I know that this is a cake that you will want to make immediately.

175g self raising flour
125g sugar
1 egg
125g unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored and sliced
Half a jar of mincemeat, better if it is homemade.
Crumble about 6 digestive biscuits.

1 baking tin approx 18cm x 27cm. It will not be a problem if it is slightly larger or smaller. Not too much though.

Heat the oven to C160 fan or C170 top and bottom heat.

Put the butter, sugar and egg in a largish bowl and beat well to combine. No need to cream really as this is not going to be a sponge.
Fold in the flour to make a fairly stiff mixture. Sort of half wak between a sponge and pastry.
Spoon into a  buttered baking tin. Smooth out with the back of a spoon or a spatula.
Top with spoonfulls of mincemeat and then with slices of apple. Finally top with the crumbled biscuits.
Cook for about 40 minutes. Check with the point of a knife, if it is not cooked then leave to cook for a few more minutes.
Leave to cool and cut into slices to serve.

Boston Cream Pie with a twist

I just love Boston Cream Pie. It's soft sponge is filled with creamy custard that melts in your mouth. If this is not good enough this flavour overload is enhanced by a topping of fabulous chocolate ganach. It is a cake of dreams and begs to be eaten alone so that you can sigh over every mouthful.

The twist? Use rum to flavour the cream.

To start you will make a light crumbly sponge. There are two possibilities for this cake: a Victorial sponge or a genoise. I chose to make the genoise as it is the lighter of the two. Also, as this cake needs to be stored in the fridge, the lower butter content of the genoise stops the sponge from firming up.

So start by making your cake.

Heat your oven to C 180.
Have a 23cm or 9 inch tin ready. Grease and flour it in readiness for your sponge.

I used 3 large free range eggs which were at room temperature.
100g caster sugar
100g SR flour
30g butter melted
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Start by breaking the eggs into a very clean and grease free bowl that is large enough to allow the eggs to expand when they have been beaten. Using a hand held whisk, beat the eggs until they are foamy.

The next step is to add the sugar. I was once told to heat the sugar before adding it to the eggs as this helps to create volume in the whisked eggs. I have always used this method when possible. It means that you don't have to have the eggs over  boiling water and to my mind this is no bad thing. Boiling water and electricity are not always good bed fellows. Whist the sugar and eggs together until they reach the ribbon stage. This will take about 10 minutes.

Now fold the sifted flour into the mix and then fold in the melted butter. Make sure that there are no streaks of flour or butter left. Be careful not to over mix as the sponge will not rise.

Cook in your preheated oven until golden and the sponge springs back when touched gently with your finger tip.  I did say gently. This is what it should look like when turned out onto a cooling rack.

NB I used a silicone baking form. I greased and floured it first as there is so little fat in the songe that I didn't want it to stick. As you see, it didn't.

I left the cake upside down as it gave a better surface to ice later on.

Allow your sponge to cool. Then transfer to a serving plate. Do it before you fill it an ice it. You will find that it is too soft to do it later. You will thank me for this advice.

While it's cooling make the pastry cream.

2 large egg yolks.

2 heaped tablespoons of sugar

1 heaped tablespoon of cornflour

1 teaspoon of vanilla or, for a real treat, 2 tbsp dark rum. Yumm

200ml whole milk

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the eggs and sugar until they are well blended. Beat in the flour and cornflour and set aside. Add the vanilla essence.

Bring the milk to the boil. I did mine in the microwave. Slowly pour half of the hot milk onto the egg mixture, whisking all the time, then add the remaining milk.

Bring the mixture back to the boil and simmer for one minute, whisking continuously, or until smooth.

Pour the cream into a clean bowl and top with cling film to prevent a skin forming.  Cool as quickly as possible. When cooled, refrigerate until needed.

So by this tile your cake will be well and truly cooled. Cut through the middle horizontally and fill the bottom half with the cooled pastry cream. Plese remember that the cream sets as it cools so if you put it on too soon it can run out and spoil the effect of the cake. As you can see, mine is fairly thick. If you have stouble setting your custard I have found a quick cheat. Mix half of the custard with some instant custard (about a tbs will usually do the trick) and heat in the microwave until thick. Then add to the remaining custard and leave to cool. Works a treat.

Put the top of the cake over the cream.

Now you can ice the cake with the chocolate ganach.

50 g dark chocolate of your choice chopped
75 ml double cream
1 teaspoon of oil.

This is simplicite itself.

Bring your cream to just below the boil. Add the chopped chocolate and oil and mix well. The chocolate will melt in the hot cream and will not need to be reheated. Allow to cool to a point where the ganach is still pourable but not so liquid that it will run straight off the sides of the cake.
Allow to set and then get a knife and dive in. You won't be disappointed.

Dan Lepard's Rum Cake

Although this recipe was published in 'The Guardian', those of you who have seen the previous post will know that I have the wonderful book from Dan Lepard so I actually used that one. I also cooked it in a round thin in the shape of an 'O' as Dan suggested. I think that this helped as the cake cooked more quickly than if it was a traditional round cake. The moisture in the cake might have made it sink.


Please don't expect this to be a pretty cake but, what it lacks in looks it makes up for in taste. I think that you will see that the cake is very moist. It could be the pineapple that is cooked in the mixture or the copious amounts of rum that were included in the ingredients and poured over it after cooking. Who cares really as the result was mouthwatering.

I did have to make some changes, not because I thought that the recipe needed it, but because I was missing a few ingredients and so I substituted, almonds for brazil nuts, raisins for dates and mixed spice for the spices. otherwise it was exactly as published and I must say, delicious. You will not regret making this cake. Your only regret will be in eating the last slice.

Recipe can be found here at the Guardian

Pear and Almond Tart

Pears and almonds are really a match made in heaven. It is not that the flavour explodes in your mouth as some things do, it is more of a subtle pleasure that lingers and please. It leaves you longing for more and what better can you have from food that you make?

This little lovely is made from pears that I had bottled myself when we had a glut of them earlier on this year and they were waiting for me to transform then into this delicious tart.

The pastry is my usual.
200g plain flour
120g butter
60 caster sugar
1 egg.

The method is standard and I am not going to bore you with the details. Roll out and line a deepish 8 inch tart tin. About 24cm. You will have pastry left over so please do not try to use it all as the pastry will be far too thick. You can freeze the left overs and use for something else. Mince pies come to mind as we are approaching Christmas.

For the filling
1 tin of pears in natural fruit juice. If you have bottled your own so much the better but if not these are good too. Strain well or you will make a soggy tart! Put onto the pastry base.

Topping

1 egg

the weight of the egg (in the shell) in butter, ground almonds and caster sugar.

a few drops of bitter almond essence (do not be tempted to put more, it really is very strong)

Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and beat until all has been amalgamated and smooth. Top the pears and smooth. Sprinkle with some flaked almonds if you have them but it is not then end of the world if you don't.

Cook at 180 C for about 30 mins but do check as all ovens are different.

Enjoy

Cherry and Chocolate Mile High Pie

Cherry and Chocolate Mile High Pie! If that doesn't set your mouth watering then nothing will.



This pie was born on a day when we had been lucky enough to buy lots of cherries for a song or in reality 5 kg for E5. Now if that's not a song then nothing is. we gorged on them for a day or two and then I just had to make something with them. I don't know if you know this, but black cherries freeze really well and this pie was made with defrosted cherries.

100 g ripe black cherries (fresh or defrosted frozen)
2 tbs sugar (you may need less if the cherries are very ripe and sweet)
2 tsp of cornflour
250 g mascarpone
100 ml double or whipping cream
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla
grated chocolate
1 cooked pie shell (about 24 cm in diameter.

Mix the cherries with the sugar and the cornflour and cook gently in a shallow saucepan until the juices run from the cherries and the sauce thickens. It will thicken more as it cools.
Beat the cream, sugar, vanilla and mascarpone together until the mixture is firm but not too hard. you are aiming for soft peaks here.
Fold into the pie case alternating with the cooled cherry mixture.
Sprinkle the grated chocolate over the top.
Enjoy.

Chocolate and Apricot Muffin Cake

Chocolate and Apricot are two of my very favourite ingredients along with muffins so what could be better than this scrummy cake? An easy to make one!




So the wish for an easy to make cake is granted and this is what you'll need:

250g self raising flour
125g soft butter
125g sugar
2 eggs
a couple of spoons of milk or more, depending on the consistance of the batter.
100g chopped dark chocolate
100g chopped dried apricots
a few drops of almond essence.

1. Put all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix together
2. Melt the butter and add the egg and the milk.
3. Pour over the dry ingredients and give it a swift mik to blend the ingredients but please do not over mix otherwise you'll have a heavy stodge of a cake. Now is the time to add a little more milk if you think that the batter is too dry.
4. Pour the mixture into a greased shallow tin aboput 10 inches by 8 inches. The bigger the tin the thinner the cake. If you would prefer a deeper cake then cook in a smaller tin but remember that it will take longet to cook.
5. Bake at 170 C for about 45 mins, or until brown and dry in the middle when tested with a skewer.
6. When the cake has cooled dust with icing sugar and cut in to squares.

This cake is wonderful with a cup of tea or coffee for a mid morning break.

Strawberry Cheesecake

A couple of weeks ago we had a party for my grand daughter's second birthday. As I had lots of cooking to do for the party, so, the things that I made had to be put together fairly quickly and this cake, may look complicated but it is really easy to make.


Many of you may well have seen a cake similar to this one in patissierie shops. They are called fraisiers. The filling is usually a butter cream but this one has my trusty cream cheese filling which whips up in a trice and tastes divine.

First you will need to make the sponge. Get together:
2 eggs
80g castor sugar
70g self raising flour
A few drops of vanilla extract.

To make the sponge:

Preheat oven to 165C/fan, 185C, 350-375F. Line 2 X 8 inch sponge tins
Seive the flour.
Whisk the eggs and then whisk in sugar. This is best done over a pan of simmering water to give the eggs plenty of volume. When the mixture leaves a trail it is ready.
Fold in flour and divide between the 2 tins., or if you don't have 2 tins, in one deep tin and when the cake is cooked and cool slice it in half.
Remember that you don't want a deep cake as it will only hold the filling which is the star of the show.

To make the filling:

Put all of the ingresients in a bowl and whisk until light and fluffy. It's that easy!

You will also need a large punnet of strawberries and some raspberried for the middle. These can be frozen.

To assemble:
Put one round of cake at the bottom of the spring sided tin and sprinkle with the kirtsch. put a little of the cheese mixture in the tin and then line the outside of the tin with the strawberries. Make sure that they are all about the same size. If they aren't trim to size. You should have the cut side of the strawberries outermost. Fill the space in the middle with the cheese mixture, the raspberries and press the remaining cake on top. Sprinkle with yet more liquere and put in the fridge to firm up. This should not take more than an hour.
Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.

Buon appetito.

Apple Custard Tart

I seem to remember having read somewhere that the dessert that men usually choose is apple tart and they no doubt eat it with custard. So in this tart they get both of their favourites in one slice.

Pastry:

120g plain flour

75g butter

60g sugar

1 egg

I'm not going to bore you with the method for making pastry. You know what to do.

Line an 8 inch tim with the pastry and bake blind until light golden brown.

Filling

2 largish apples. I used renette as I was luck enough to have them growing on my tree, but you can use russets. 3 will probably be about right as they are small. I clean and slice the apples and put them in a layer on a microwave proof dish. Cover with cling film and microwave until just soft. If you do this your apples will stay golden and not brown.

2 eggs

50g sugar

1/4 litre of single cream

1 dessert spoon of cornflour

What you need to do:

mix the ecc, sugar and cornflour together. There is really no need to whisk them and all that faff. It really will not make any difference to the final; custard.

Heat the cream to just below scalding point and add to the egg mixture. Beat well while adding the cream. This is important as you risk curdling the eggs if you don't mix it really well while you're adding the hot cream. Return to the heat to cook the custard until it thickens but not so much that it curdles. The addition of the cornflour should prevent this. Allow to cool slightly.

Pour the custard into the cooked pastry shell and cover with a layer of cooked apples.

Return to the oven for about 15 minutes to brown the apples and custard.

Cool before serving. Slightly warm is so good.

Chocolate and Coconut Cake

This cake is a very special one as I made it for my son-in-law. While he was here with me earlier on this summer he put in a request for a Chocolate and Coconut cake, but I couldn't make him one as I didn't have a suitable recipe. Now that everyone has gone home, I have the time to experiment and this is what I've come up with. I'll make it agin when I get home, but for the moment, he will just have to look and drool.

Ingredients:
For the chocolate

egg75g self-raising flour

75g sugar

75g butter10g cocoa

Put everything in a bowl and mix well to form a stiffish sponge.
Put the mixture in to an 8cm round tin and cook at 180C for about 20 mins.Cool the cake.

For the Coconut layer
1 packet of instant custard mix.

2 heaped tablespoons of dessicated coconut

1 dessertspoon of sugar

Make the custard as directed on the packet and then add the other ingredients. The coconut should thicken the mixture quite considerably and then it can be spread on the cooled chocolate cake.

For the chocolate coating:

100g of plain chocolate

50g butter

1 tablespoon of golden syrup

Gently heat these ingredients together until they become a thick paste. When cool enough pour over the cake and spread over the sides.Put in the fridge to cool and then slice abd enjoy!
This cake is best stored in the fridge as it has custard in the centre.

Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Yumm, yumm, yumm. these just have to be tried to be believed. They are basically a cupcake with a topping of sweetened cream and cream cheese in equal quantities. I tend to sweeten to taste, I don't like things too sweet. Just enough sugar to contrast with the sharpness of the raspberries. Whip them all up together and pipe onto the cupcake. Fill the center with a compot of raspberries that you have thickened with a small amount of cornflour.

Tea Time Scones

The sun has been shining today and that really is a surprise, even though it is July. It's the time of year that you should expect a guarantee of sunshine but this year the weather has been dreadful So by way of a celebration we are having tea in the garden with the speciality of the British cream teas: scones.
This one is brimming with cream and home made jam which makes anyone, even those with iron wills, unable to resist taking a mouthful.

To make these scones you will need:

225g/8 oz self-raising flour

1/4 tsp salt

50g/2 oz butter

50g sugar

1 egg

100ml milk, plus extra to glaze

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425 F/Gas 7. If you are using a convection/fan oven drop the temperature 25 degrees. Grease a baking sheet.
2. Sift the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Rub in the butter and sugar until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the flour and break in the egg gradually pour in most of the milk, mixing quickly with the tips of your fingers as you pour. DO NOT ADD ALL THE MILK AT ONCE. You should get a soft but not wet dough. It should look rough. If the dough is too wet it will expand sideways instead of rising straight up.
3. On a lightly floured board, gently bring together the dough and roll or press out until it’s 2.5cm/1 inch thick and stamp out into rounds. I used a 4cm/2 inch cutter and made 7 rounds. In between each stamp, dip the cutter in flour and with a firm shake downwards release the scone directly onto the baking sheet- try not to press with your fingers or you will misshape the dough. It is also important to cut directly down into the dough, if you twist then they will rise unevenly. Another important point is to roll the dough out evenly. If the dough is on a slope before you cut out the scones, then the finished scone will also be like a downhill ski slope.
4. Place on the baking sheet and brush with extra milk. Depending on size bake for 15-20 minutes, or until risen and golden.
   

If you've made them the right way then this is what they should look like. If you haven't then who cares if they are a bit lumpy as they will taste good even if they look like a landslide.

Cinnamon Almond Ring Coffee Cake

This is a superb recipe that I got from the following site.

http://www.cookscountry.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=3843&bdc=46116&extcode=L8CN1BG00



It's all explained there so there's no need for me to go into detail, except to say that the filling was so runny that I had to add more almonds to stop it running off the dough.


It's delicious with coffee and even on it's own when no ones looking. I suggest that you keep it in the cupboard out of sight. Saying that it does not keep fresh for longer than a day or two so bake when there are lots of people coming around for brunch.

Lemon Curd Cake

I must admit that I have a weakness for lemony things as well as sweet things so this lemon curd cake ticks all of the boxes for me and luckily enough most other people in my family like it too.

This cake is basically a victoria sandwich that is cooked in a tin that is bigger than the usual so that the end result is thin rather than thick. I make a 2 egg sponge and cook it in an oblong cake mold 27cm x 17cm. i have one of those fantastic silicone ones that never have to be greased and that the food pops out of without effort.

Sponge Recipe:
110g (4oz) Butter
110g (4oz) Caster Sugar
125g (5oz) Self-raising Flour
2 Eggs
1 tsp Grated Lemon Rind

Preheat oven to 190°C: 375°F: Gas 5.
Beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
Add the beaten eggs gradually with a little of the flour.
Fold in the remaining sieved flour and add the flavouring.
Mix in about a tablespoon of water as this makes the cake lighter.

Turn the mixture out into the oblong tin.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.
Turn out on to a wire rack to cool.
When cool cut in half widthways. One half will be the top of the cake while the other will be the bottom.

To make the lemon curd:

Makes three 1 lb (350 ml capacity) jars
Ingredients
grated zest and juice 1 large juicy lemon
2 small eggs
4oz (110 g) caster sugar
2oz (60 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small lumps
1 level teaspoon cornflour

Begin by lightly whisking the eggs in a medium-sized saucepan, then add the rest of the ingredients and place the saucepan over a medium heat.
Now stir continuously, using a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens – about 7-8 minutes. Next, lower the heat to its minimum setting and let the curd gently simmer for a further minute, continuing to mix. After that, remove it from the heat.
Now pour the lemon curd into the hot, sterilised jars, filling them as full as possible, cover straightaway with waxed discs, seal while it is still hot and label when it is cold. It will keep for several weeks, but it must be stored in a cool place.

For the filling:

The lemon curd as made above and 1/4 pt of double cream.

To make the filling mix the cold lemon curd with whipped cream. and fill the sponge. Dust with icing sugar and cut into squares. You can cut them small to kid yourself that you are not having too much but then you can always eat two or even three.

Chocolate and Hazelnut Bars

This recipe has been adapted from the one given by Rachel Allen in her recent book. I found it on the BBc web site. I've made some changes as I thought that her recipe was too sweet so here is my version.

For the chocolate base:
200g/7oz butter
50g/2oz cocoa powder
200g/7oz caster sugar
2 free range eggs, beaten
225g/8oz plain flour
For the hazelnut caramel layer
125g/4½oz butter
1 x 397g/14oz tin condensed milk
2 tbsp golden syrup
75g/3oz caster sugar
125g/4½oz toasted and halved hazelnuts
For the chocolate topping
200g/7oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3 and line the base of or grease, a small Swiss roll tin measuring 20x30cm/8x12in.
2. In a medium sized saucepan over a medium heat, heat the butter for the chocolate base, stir in the cocoa powder and then the sugar and mix until smooth.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the eggs until mixed and then the plain flour.
4. Spread the chocolate base over the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until firm on top.
5. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool while you make the hazelnut caramel layer.
6. In a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat, melt the butter and then add the condensed milk, golden syrup and sugar.
Turn the heat to low and stir continuously for 12-15 minutes until the mixture is dark caramel in colour (do not let it burn).
7. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts. Spread evenly over the chocolate base and allow to cool.
8. Melt the chocolate in a bowl sitting over a saucepan of simmering water. When it is melted, stir in the oil and then pour over the caramel layer and smooth out, leaving to cool and set.
9. To serve, cut into squares. These will keep for a week in an airtight container.