COOKBOOKS GALORE

  Sorry, missed out on May! I had some soft tomatoes to use up and a pack of puff pastry lurking in the freezer. I remembered this recipe my friend gave me. It uses a few store cupboard ingredients and a few extras. It’s really good with salad and is very easy to make. 250g puff pastry 3 tbspn tomato paste, 150g cherry tomatoes halved, 250g ripe sliced vine tomatoes, 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, 2 tbspn olive oil, 1 tbspn balsamic vinegar, 1 egg yolk, S&P and a few thyme sprigs.  Preheat oven 190C/gas5  Baking sheet Roll pastry out to a rectangle 35x25 cm and lift onto the baking sheet. Spread the tomato paste over the pastry leaving a 3cm border round the edge. Put the vine tomato slices carefully over the paste, then sprinkle the halved cherry tomatoes over them. Top with the rosemary and drizzle with 1 tbspn of the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Brush the edge with the beaten egg yolk then bake for 15-20 mins till golden. Take out of the oven and season with S...

 I found a punnet of ripe plums lurking,  so made my favourite plum tart recipe with a few tweaks. I didn’t have the correct amount of plums so couldn’t pack them in, but it still tastes delicious. It has a layer of pastry, then cinnamon sugar, plums and a delicious topping of brown sugar, egg and crème fraîche. Pastry- 250g plain flour, 175g butter cut into pieces, 1 medium egg yolk Filling- 1/2 tspn cinnamon mixed with 2 tbspn soft brown sugar, 750g of plums, halved then quartered. Topping- 1medium egg and 1 yolk, 125g crème fraîche, 45g soft brown sugar Oven 200C/gas6.  28cm flan tin   Rub fat into flour.,Add yolk and 1-2 tbspn water to make a firm dough. Roll out and line the tin. Prick the base and put in fridge for 30 mins. Filling- Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the pastry. Arrange the plums cut side up, packing tightly. Any left over cut in half again and make a pattern on top, cut side down.  Topping- mix all the ingredients together and spoon over the pl...

 I needed a quick dessert for my family and remembered this one which used to be a great family favourite. It uses bought puff pastry, some jam, dessicated coconut and a few other ingredients, but is very simple and quick to make. Preheat oven 200C/gas6                  a 23cm tart tin You need: a pack of butter puff pastry, 80g caster sugar, 4 beaten eggs, 125g dessicated coconut, 1 pot of jam of your choice, 1 tspn vanilla extract, 100g butter. Roll out the puff pastry and fit into the tart tin. Prick the bottom with a fork. Melt the butter, then in a bowl mix together the caster sugar, eggs, melted butter, coconut and the vanilla extract. Spread the jam over the pastry in the tin, then cover this with the coconut mixture. Bake in the oven for 30-40 mins. Sprinkle some more coconut over the top and leave to cool. I like the combination of textures - the pastry, soft jam, coconut mixture then the extra coconut topping. It would work jus...

 This is an unusual cake as it’s made with cream, which is used instead of the usual butter and milk. So the cake is quite firm, tho’ you make it like a sponge cake. You need: 600ml whipping cream, 3 eggs, 1 tspn vanilla extract, 275g light brown sugar, 300g sr flour Topping: 60g butter, 110g soft brown sugar, 2 tbspn milk and 80g icing sugar. Preheat oven 180C/gas4/fan160C Grease and base line a 22cm deep tin. Beat half of the cream with hand mixer till soft peaks. Beat the eggs and vanilla in another bowl till thick and creamy. Gradually add the sugar, beating well between each addition. Spoon egg mixture into a large bowl and fold in 1/4 of the remaining cream, then the flour. Make sure it’s all mixed together. Spoon into the tin and bake for about 50 mins. Leave in tin to cool for 5 mins then put in wire rack.  Beat the remaining 1/4 of the whipped cream into soft peaks. Make the caramel topping : melt the butter in a small pan , add the sugar and milk. Bring to the boil a...

 Although my Mum was a great baker, she occasionally brought home one of McVitie's Tunis cakes near Christmas time. Do you remember these cakes? Apparently, it got its name because a baker at McVities had tried a similar cake while stationed in Tunisia, where he was stationed during WW2. Well I was feeling all nostalgic and thought I'd try and make one. Not as elaborate as the original, as that looks too tricky for my icing skills! Mary Berry has a recipe, but I found another one, which was apparently sent by McVitie to a fan of the cake, so I thought I'd give it a try. It's in ounces. 3oz ground almonds 6oz butter 6oz caster sugar 3 medium eggs rind of 1 lemon 8oz plain flour 11/2 tspn baking powder 2 tbspn milk For the topping: 10oz plain chocolate Marzipan fruits [banana, orange, pear, apple] Preheat oven 160C/gas3                                        8" cake tin brushed with me...

 I thought I'd have a change from cakes and make a savoury recipe. There's a new greengrocer in town that sells fruit and veg in bowls. I don't know why, but I bought a bowl of courgettes. Have made this recipe many times before, but my son and my neighbour love it. It's a bit of a faff having to grate the courgettes, but my food processor does it for me. Don't grate them too fine or they'll end up like water! Past experience! You need: 300g goat's cheese, 5 medium courgettes, 3 eggs, 150g flour, 1 tspn baking powder, 2 tbspn vegetable oil, 120ml milk, 100g grated Gruyère cheese, 2 pinches salt. Preheat oven 200C/gas6                         Grease a 900g loaf tin.  cheeses, flour and baking powder, oil and milk. Add the courgettes and salt. Mix well and spoon into the tin.  Bake for about 40 mins then cool on a wire rack. Sorry, photo is a bit blurred. There's a nice flavour from the goat's cheese and the l...

 I  had some of the family yesterday, and as my daughter is a chocoholic, I thought I'd make these. The recipe has been adapted from a French cookery book that my penfriend gave me years ago, but which has languished at the back of the shelf. The book has some other great tarts to try, so will be posting more recipes. It's called simply 'Les tartes' but I can't find an author. The recipe makes 8 tartlets. 250g  shortcrust pastry [your own or bought], 175g dark chocolate, broken into pieces, 2-3 tbspn water,1 tbspn butter - softened,1 tbspn cognac or cointreau [opt!], 3 eggs, separated,  chocolate shavings or grated chocolate to decorate Preheat oven 200C/gas6  Tartlet tin or 8 tartlet moulds Roll out the pastry and line 8 moulds. (I bought a lovely 12 hole tartlet tin from Lakeland)  Put in the fridge for about 15 mins.  Line them with parchment and fill with beans and bake them blind for15mins; take out the beans and...