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Showing posts from September, 2015

Bakewell Flapjacks

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Two of my favourite bakes are Bakewell Tart and Flapjacks of any kind, so I decided to combine the two and try and make some Bakewell flapjacks. I was very pleased with the result, as were my children who ate some then took the rest back with them! I just managed to get a photo before they all disappeared!  I didn't make any pastry as you would with a tart, but used the flavours of a Bakewell and the ingredients of a flapjack. Preheat oven 190C/gas5       Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin. Melt 150g butter, 50g caster sugar and 4 tbspn golden syrup in a pan. Then add 200g oats, 50g ground almonds and 1 tspn almond extract. Mix together. Spoon half of this mixture into the tin and flatten till smooth. Spread 3 tbspn jam [ I use blueberry, but you could use, strawberry or raspberry] over the mixture leaving a frame round the edge. Spoon rest of mixture on top and spread so it covers the jam. Sprinkle over a handful of flaked almonds. Bake for 15-20 mins till the edges s

Caramel Pear Teabread

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I love baking with Autumn fruits, and I bought some pears before we went on holiday to try out this recipe, another one from my friend's American mil. I think the US has a much better range of ideas for baking with fruit than we do in the UK.   I love tea breads of any kind, so one with pears, especially salted caramel pears, was a 'must bake'.  It's a typical teabread mixture with added pears, and then a streusel topping. For the pears: In a large saucepan melt 30g butter and add 450g diced pears and mix together. Add 2 tbspn muscovado sugar, 1/2 tspn salt and 2 tbspn double cream. Stir together gently, then cook on a low heat till lightly golden. Watch the pan as the pears will be bitter if they burn. Take off the heat and cool. For the cake: Preheat oven 180C/gas4 Grease a 900g loaf tin well. In a bowl put 200g plain flour, 1 tspn bicarbonate of soda, 1 tspn baking powder, pinch salt, 1/2 tspn cinnamon, 1/4 tspn allspice, 1/4 tspn ground ginger

Hazelnut Squares with Chocolate Sauce

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It's nearly the end of my using up odds and ends from my baking cupboard - not much left to use up now. I found a bag of ground hazelnuts bought for some recipe or other and only half a bag used, so what to make? I fancied a cake of some kind, something plain, so had a browse through my cuttings folder and found a recipe from 'Family Circle' magazine, one I used to buy regularly till they stopped printing it. One ingredient I found intriguing was skimmed milk powder. Why did the recipe use this? I did a bit of research and found that it's often used in bread and cakes to give a softer and more even crumb. Preheat oven 160C/gas3                     Grease and line a 20cm square tin [or a 28 x 18cm tin if you prefer] Put 75g ground hazelnuts [or grind them yourself ]. 175 skimmed milk powder, 1 tbspn cocoa powder and 190g light brown sugar into a bowl and mix together. Melt 100g butter in a pan over a low heat, then pour over the hazelnut mixture in the bowl. Mix t

Apple Dapple Cake

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It's always good to have a new apple recipe to try, and this one was given to me recently by a friend. It was given to her by her American mil and has been changed from cups. It's a nice easy cake which doesn't need a mixer. You mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another, add the fruit and nuts and mix. It's made in a tube pan, one of the reasons I decided to make it, as I've just bought one. The cake has a lovely brown-sugar glaze, the same idea as the topping on a lemon drizzle. Preheat oven 160C/gas3 Grease a 25cm tube tin. Put 420g plain flour, 1 tspn  bicarbonate of soda and 1 tspn salt in a bowl and mix together. In another bowl put 350g granulated sugar and 320ml vegetable oil and beat together. Then add 3 large eggs and 2 tspns vanilla extract and beat together till well mixed. Add the flour mixture and mix together carefully until just combined, as you do with muffins.Stir in 250g chopped pecan nuts and 3 medium apples which have b

Coffee Walnut Layer Cake

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My daughter recently changed her job, so when she came to stay last weekend, I made her favourite cake to celebrate. This version of a coffee and walnut cake is slightly different in that the filling isn't the usual sickly buttercream, but is fresh cream and espresso with a little bit of added sugar. The cake is iced with the usual coffee icing and decorated with walnuts. I decided to  make life more difficult for myself and bake it in a 900g loaf tin, then cut the cake into 3 layers. To make the cake : Preheat oven 190C/gas5               Grease and line a 900g loaf tin. Sift 225g sr flour into a bowl with 1/2 tspn salt; add 225g light muscovado sugar, 225ml vegetable oil, 4 egg yolks, 50ml cooled espresso coffee and 50ml milk and beat it all together till smooth. Whisk the 4 egg whites till stiff and fold into the batter. Stir in 75g chopped walnuts. Spoon into the cake tin and bake for about 50 mins. Leave cake to cool in the tin for 5 mins then turn onto a wire rack