Spiced Apple Cake

This particular recipe was taken from English Patis who tweaked a Delia recipe. I used golden caster and left out the pecan nuts to please all members of the family.

Ingredients:
350g peeled and chopped apples - I used Braeburns
275g plain flour
110g butter - melted
2 eggs - slightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves (optional)
1/2 whole nutmeg - finely grated (about 1 tsp)
170 g golden caster sugar
175 ml milk


Topping:
75g  Demerara sugar
75g  self-raising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
25g  butter - softened
50g  pecans or walnuts - roughly chopped - optional
1 Tbsp cold water

Method:

Preheat oven to 165C fan. Grease the bottom of a 3 lb loaf tin and line with a strip of greaseproof to aid removal once cooked.

Mix the topping - combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour in a small bowl. Cut in the soft butter with two butter knives into the mixture. Then proceed to rub in it with your fingertips. Add in the nuts - mix well. Sprinkle the cold water and toss. Set aside.

Combine the flour, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, and salt in another bowl.
Put the eggs in a large bowl. Add in the milk, sugar, and melted butter.
Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture with a wooden spoon and mix well stirring in the chopped apples.

Pour into the greased cake tin

Sprinkle the topping on the surface of the batter.

Bake in oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool for about 5 minutes, turn out from the pan then cool completely.

Serves 10-12 portions and at the time of writing this recipe the cost of producing this cake was £2.75.

Banana, Orange and Chocolate Cake

This cake has been in my recipe book for more years than I care to remember and I cannot remember when I actually made it last, possibly decades!

A straightforward, quick recipe and a great way to use up bananas that look more black than yellow. I've tweaked this recipe with a little added milk chocolate to compliment the orange.

Ingredients

3 ripe bananas
8 oz/250g self raising flour
1 oz/25g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
5 oz/140g soft brown sugar
3 oz/75g soft margarine
2 eggs
1 orange and zest and 1/2 for juice
2 tbsp marmalade
4 oz/100g dark chocolate

Method

• Grease a 2lb loaf tin and line with a strip of greaseproof paper
• Peel and mash bananas
• Beat in flour, almonds, baking powder, sugar, margarine and eggs until well blended
• Add the orange zest and juice and the chocolate and mix well
• Pour into loaf tin and bake at 160 degrees C Fan/Gas Mark 4 for 55 minutes. 
• Remove and brush with marmalade and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.
• Check that the cake is cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre which should come out clean if fully cooked.
• Allow to cool in the tin

The zesty orange and tangy marmalade work really well with the milk chocolate...one slice is not sufficient!

Pink Plum Torte

Pink Plums

Feeling slightly jaded this morning following a very enjoyable night-out on the tiles. Being a responsible person I only had tonic water and mineral water. This is what happens when you mix your drinks!

What started out as Plum Tarte Tatin has morphed into Pink Plum Torte. 

This recipe originally called for purple plums which I did not have and on checking the store cupboard I was out of light brown sugar, so have used demerara. 

You can find the original recipe here.





Ingredients

125g (4½oz) plain flour 
1 tsp baking powder 
large pinch of salt 
115g (4oz) butter 
200g (7oz) soft light-brown sugar (I only had demerara)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten 
1 tsp vanilla extract 
about 9 plums (depending on size), halved and stoned 
1 tbsp granulated sugar 
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C Fan/180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt. Cream the butter and light-brown sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla followed by the flour and mix well.

Spoon into an ungreased 23cm (9in) spring-form tin, and place the plums, skin-side up, on top. Sprinkle the lemon juice followed by the cinnamon and then the granulated sugar on top and bake for 45 to 50 minutes.

The cake is done when it starts to come away from the sides of the tin and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. 

Leave it to cool for 20-40 minutes on a rack then release from the tin. It's a very moist cake – slightly pudding-like – and rather fragile, so be careful. Transfer to a serving plate. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with crème fraîche or whipped cream.

This is truly a delicious, plumptious torte!

Florentines - Essex Style

Apart from the cream these are all the ingredients you require.

Now all chocolate production has come to an end for a few weeks, I can turn my attention to baking. 

If my memory serves me correctly I don't believe I have made Chocolate Florentines since I was at school which is far too long ago to even think about. 

From what I can remember these can be tricky little blighters especially in terms of timing so, don't have too many Christmas Disaronnos' as you will require all your faculties for this one! 

They will make a fantastic gift for somebody if you're still out there searching for that special, handmade gift.

Ingredients:

25g butter
75g golden caster sugar
10g plain flour
65 ml double cream
50g whole almonds, cut into thin slivers
50g ready flaked almonds
50g whole candied peel, chopped
25g glace cherries, chopped
25g angelica, finely chopped
175g milk chocolate


Method:

• Using a heavy based saucepan pour in the butter and caster sugar and allow to melt on a very low heat and continue stirring until mixture has melted. 

• Add the cream and stir until blended

• Stir in the cherries, angelica, nuts and peel and flour and continue cooking for a further minute.

• Remove the saucepan from heat for a few minutes and allow to cool

• Place heaped teaspoons of the mixture onto prepared baking sheets ensuring there is sufficient space between each one, as they expand while baking.

• Flatten each spoonful with the back of a teaspoon and then bake on a high shelf for about 10-12 minutes at 190 degrees or 170 C, fan oven or gas mark 5. Watch them carefully as they will change colour very quickly from golden to deep brown in an instant!

• When ready take them out of the oven and allow them to cool and harden for 2-3 minutes, carefully transfer them to a wire baking tray.

• Melt the chocolate in a basin over a saucepan of warm water making sure the water does not touch the basin. This will take between 5 and 10 minutes. 

• Using a teaspoon coat the bottom of each Florentine with melted milk chocolate.

This recipe makes 20 Florentines and will take approx. 60 minutes to make a batch. Top Tip: I will make them slightly smaller next time to make approx. 30.

A Perfect Sponge

Continuing the tea-room theme I decided on making a simple but perfect sponge from a recipe that has been passed down through the generations of my family.

Making the perfect sponge may sound like the most boring of recipes but it does help to understand the basics of baking.

Top Tip: Rather than worrying about a recipe that asks for large, medium or small eggs weigh your egg (whole with shell) and then weigh out each of your ingredients to match the weight of whole eggs. Today my eggs weighed a total 280 g (shell on).

Ingredients:

280g Eggs (4 eggs) then weigh out the rest of your ingredients to match.
280g Margarine hard
280g Castor sugar
280g Self raising flour
1 tspn vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

Method:

1. Prepare two 20 cm/8" sandwich tins, grease each tin with margarine and place a circle of grease proof paper in the base of each.
2. Beat the margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy and pale in colour.
3. Break the eggs one at a time into the mix and beat until combined.
4. Sieve the flour and salt into the mix and fold in gently with a large spoon.
5. Split evenly between two sandwich tins using a palete knife spread evenly in the tin.
6. Place in a pre-heated oven 160Fan/180C/Gas Mark 4 for approximately 35 minutes.
7. To test if cake is done lightly press the centre of each sponge which should spring back.
8. Place tins on cooling rack for 5 minutes then carefully remove from the tins and leave until cold.

Butter Cream Ingredients:

50g Softened butter
100g Sieved icing sugar
1 tbsp Boiling water

Method - Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until light and creamy.

Build your sponge!

1. Spread approx. 3 tbsp of jam (flavour and quantity entirely up to you) onto one half
2. Spread the butter cream on the other half.
3. Take the half with the butter cream and sandwich together with the jammy half.
4. Dust liberally with icing sugar.
5. Now eat it!

The Easiest Chocolate and Banana Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

4oz/125g Hard margarine (at room temperature)
4oz/125g Brown sugar
2 Eggs
8oz/250g Self raising flour
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tspn mixed spice
2 Medium chopped bananas
6oz/175g Milk chocolate chopped into large chunks

Method:

• Butter a 2 lb loaf tin and line with a strip of grease proof.
• Place all the ingredients except for the chocolate into a mixer and beat until smooth.

• Stir in the chocolate chunks and pour mixture into prepared tin.

• Bake at 350 F/160 C Fan/Gas Mark 4 for 1 hour.
• Then reduce the heat to 325 F/150 Fan/Gas Mark 3 for a further 10 minutes.
• Allow to cool before serving.

Triple Chocolate Loaf Cake

Ingredients

• 175g softened butter, plus extra for greasing the tin
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 140g self-raising flour
• 85g ground almonds
• 1/2 tspn baking powder (level)
• 100ml milk
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder - I used dark
• 50g plain chocolate, chopped - I used Rainforest Alliance Certified dark chocolate from Costa Rica.
• a pinch of salt

Decoration:

• 50g milk chocolate
• 50g white chocolate

Method:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 3 and line a 2lb/900g loaf tin with two strips of baking parchment. Ensure the corners of the tin are well greased.

• Beat the softened butter and sugar using an electric whisk until light and pale in colour.

• Sieve the self-raising flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder and add this to the mix along with the eggs, ground almonds and milk. Beat until smooth.

• Stir in the chocolate chips and then pour the mixture into the tin.

• Bake for 45 - 50 minutes until cooked and well risen. To test that the cake has cooked insert a skewer into the centre of the cake. If the skewer comes out clean then your cake is cooked.

• Allow to cool in the tin, then lift out, remove baking paper and place onto a wire rack over some kitchen paper.

• Melt the extra milk and white chocolate separately in pans over barely simmering water.

• Then use a spoon to drizzle each type of chocolate in turn over the cake.

• Leave to set before slicing.

Triple Chocolate Loaf Cake - Will cut a piece later...

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes

A Mighty Christmas Stollen Ring!

The Sunday before Christmas is probably not the most ideal time to complete this recipe especially, if like me, you're still running around trying to multi-task!  Stollen originated from the City of Dresden in the 1300's. Read more on the history of Stollen by following this link.

Ingredients:

1. 85g raisins
2. 50g dried cranberries, plus extra to decorate
3. 100g mixed peel
4. 4 tbsp dark rum
5. 50g glace cherries or pistachios if you like nuts
6. 550g strong white bread flour
7. 2 x 7g sachets yeast
8. 50g golden caster sugar
9. Pinch nutmeg
10. Zest 1 lemon
11. 85g butter, cut into pieces
12. 250ml milk
13. 1 egg, beaten, plus extra beaten egg to glaze
14. 50g pistachios, peeled and chopped for decoration
15. 250g marzipan (bought)
16. 100g icing sugar

Method:

Mix the raisins, cranberries and mixed peel in a bowl, pour over the rum and leave to soak while making the dough.

Pour the flour into a large bowl and mix in a 1/2 tsp salt, yeast, sugar, nutmeg and lemon zest. Rub the butter in until the mix is like fine crumbs. Warm the milk to hand-hot, then mix into the egg. Pour the milk mix into the flour mix, then stir with a round-bladed knife to make a soft dough, adding a touch more milk if required.

This recipe can be completed in a food mixer with a dough hook for approximately 5 minutes, alternatively knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave until the dough has risen to double the size. This will take between 45 minutes and an hour.

 

Remove the dough from the bowl, knead lightly and roll out to a rectangle of about 37cm x 17cm. Stir the chopped cherries or pistachios into the soaked fruits, drain off any excess liquid from this mix. Take a 1/3 of the fruit and spread down the centre of the rectangle, fold the edges into the center overlapping slightly. Seal each end by pressing with the rolling pin. Turn the dough, roll again and repeat twice more using the remaining fruit.

Roll out to a final rectangle that is 55cm x 16cm. Roll the marzipan in to a sausage shape, so it's slightly shorter than the length of the dough. Place it down the centre. Roll the dough over the marzipan, then turn the dough over so the join is underneath. Lift onto a pre-greased baking sheet forming into a ring around a buttered 12cm cake tin (or empty large food tin) sealing both ends together with egg wash.

Place the marzipan roll down the centre of the dough

Egg wash the dough before cooking

Cover loosely with cling-film and allow to rise until doubled in size.  Then brush with beaten egg and bake for 30 to 35 minutes on 190C/Fan 170C/gas 5 until golden. Cool on the baking sheet briefly transferring to a cooling rack.

I used a Kaiser Bakeware Springform with 2 bases purchased about 25 years ago! However, a baking sheet and an empty clean food tin will do the job a lot better as I discovered.

Timings: Prep 40 minutes + 1 hour 15 mins to 1 hour 45 mins for rising.

Cooking time: 30 minutes if using the baking tray method

Suitable for Vegetarians and can be frozen without icing.