COOKBOOKS GALORE

Honey cakes are supposed to be some of the oldest cakes in history. It's not something I've ever made, so wanted to try this recipe, from an old cookery book called 'The complete book of baking' inherited from Mum. The recipe says that it's best made a week before you need it! It also uses rye flour, which I couldn't find in my local supermarket, but did find in Waitrose. No fat or sugar in the cake so it must be good for you!! 175ml honey - acacia if possible 3 eggs, beaten 300g rye flour 1 tspn cinnamon 120g ground almonds or hazelnuts 2 tbspn dark run [opt] 1/2 tspn bicarb. of soda 1 tbspn milk almond halves to decorate Preheat oven 175C/gas 4 Grease a deep 30x20 tin [12x8"] Warm the honey in the jar in a pan of hot water then pour into a bowl and whisk till frothy and thick. Beat in the eggs and gradually add the flour. Mix the spices and nuts together and stir in the rum [if using] and add to the honey and egg mixture. Dissolve the bi...

There seem to be a lot of blueberries on offer in the supermarkets, so decided to buy some to try out a recipe given to me by my friend. She says it's a cross between a blueberry muffin and an old fashioned cheesecake with a cream cheese filling. Sounds interesting. I think the original recipe must be American, as it's called a coffeecake. Topping : 120g butter, softened 150g sugar 30g brown sugar 60g chopped nuts 11/2 tspn cinnamon 1/2tspn nutmeg Cream cheese filling : 375g cream cheese 90g sugar 1 egg grated rind of a lemon 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tspn almond essence Cake : 500g plain flour 4 tspn baking powder 1 tspn salt 120g butter, softened 300g sugar 2 eggs, beaten 1 tspn almond essence 300ml milk 750g fresh blueberries Preheat oven 375F/190C/gas 5 Generously butter a 32x22cm [13x9"] glass baking dish Topping - rub all the ingredients together till large crumbs. Filling - soften cheese and beat with the sugar using an electric mixer t...

Another recipe to use up some fruit. The original recipe used blueberries with the apples, but I love cranberries and wanted to try this combination. The method used to make the cake is a bit unusual, whizzing the flour and butter first. The dough is quite firm; more like a cookie dough. You can bake it, as I did, in a 20cm cake tin, or as a loaf in a 900g loaf tin. 125g butter 225g sr flour 175g caster sugar 2 large eggs, beaten 2 large eating apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced 125g cranberries [or blueberries] 2 tsbpn apricot jam Preheat oven 190C/gas 5 Grease and line a 20cm cake tin or a 900g loaf tin. Sieve flour into a food processor and add the butter. Whizz till it becomes like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and eggs and whizz again to make a smooth mixture. Spoon half of the mixture into the tin, then scatter over half the apple and cranberries. Spoon over the rest of the mixture then scatter the rest of the fruit on top. Bake for about 45 mins till ...

My younger daughter is coming today, so I thought I'd make her some biscuits with her favourite flavour, orange. I love cinnamon, so this seemed the perfect one to try. The recipe comes from a free booklet in a 'Woman's Weekly' magazine a few years back, but I've changed it slightly to give the thins a more orange flavour. Makes about 30 thins 225g butter 140g caster sugar grated zest of an orange 1 egg yolk 4 tspns orange juice 280g plain flour 2 tspn cinnamon pinch salt Put the butter, sugar and orange rind in a bowl and beat till creamy. Beat in the egg yolk and 2 tspns of the orange juice. Add the salt to the flour and then stir into the mixture till it's all nicely blended. Make into a ball, wrap in film and chill for about an hour. Take it out, unwrap and roll dough out between 2 sheets of baking parchment  into a 30 cm square. Take off top sheet and brush the dough with the rest of the orange juice and sprinkle over the cinnamon. Lightly ...

Limes were on offer today in the supermarket, so I decided to try this recipe which comes from one of my cookery books I bought in France called 'Patisserie'. I had no difficulty finding 'fromage blanc'. Another recipe using oil instead of butter. 200g plain flour 4 tspns baking powder 100g fromage blanc 1 tbspn milk 4 tbspns oil - I used rapeseed 60g demerara sugar 7.5g vanilla sugar [or 1 sachet - I found mine in Lidl] 50g icing sugar 2 tspns lime juice and the zest of 1 lime Preheat oven to 180C/ gas 4 Grease and line a cake tin 30 x 20 cm. Mix the flour and the baking powder together in a bowl. In another bowl mix the fromage blanc, milk, oil and sugar together to get a creamy mixture. Add the flour to this a bit at a time. Spread the mixture into the tin and bake for about 15 mins till golden. Cool on a wire rack. Mix the lime juice and icing sugar and spread over the cooled cake and cut into 16 pieces. Decorate each piece with a little lime zes...

Apparently today is National Nutella day. I love any combination of chocolate and hazelnuts, so I decided to make a really easy biscuit that I've made many times for my children and grandchildren. Don't know where the original recipe came from - it's in my handwritten notebook. I've made them with jam and with lemon curd, as well as with Nutella. It makes about 18 biscuits. 175g butter 175g caster sugar 1 egg 175g plain flour 125g plain flour Nutella Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper. Preheat oven 180C/gas 4 Beat the butter and sugar together using a mixer till nice and fluffy. Beat in the egg then add the flours, a bit at a time. Leave the dough for about an hour to rest. Take out tbspns of the mixture, roll into a ball then flatten on the baking sheet. Press your thumb in the top to make a hole. Fill the hole with Nutella. Make sure you space the biscuits out on the baking sheet, because they spread. Bake for about 12 mins. Cool on a wi...

I'm sure that everyone has their own tried and tested muffin recipe. I like recipes which use oil instead of butter. I found this one in a French food magazine and it looked interesting, having yoghurt and coffee as two of the ingredients, plus one of my favourite spices- cinnamon. Muffins are quick and easy to make, and these are no exception. For 12 muffins: 250g plain flour 2 tspns cinnamon 21/2 tspns baking powder 1/2 tspn bicarbonate of soda 130g caster sugar 1 egg 80ml oil - I used rapeseed 250g yoghurt 75ml cold strong coffee 12 squares of dark chocolate Chocolate coated coffee beans to decorate Preheat oven 180C/gas 4 Grease a 12 hole muffin tin, or use muffin cases. In a bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, bicarb.and sugar. In another bowl beat the egg and add the oil, yoghurt and coffee. Mix these together. Fold in the flour mixture carefully - don't overmix, a few lumps are fine. Put the muffin cases, if using, into the muffin...

Yet another of our favourite loaf cakes. There were some very ripe bananas in the fruit bowl just asking to be used up. The recipe comes from 'Cakes, Breads and Gateaux', a book published in 1979 by 'Living' magazine - anyone remember it? This one is made by the 'rubbing in' method, and is supposed to keep well, for up to a week, if wrapped in foil. The recipe says that it cuts into 12 slices - depends on your appetite! 175g sr flour 50g wholemeal flour 1/2 level tspn baking powder 1 tspn cinnamon 125g butter of margarine 75g demerara sugar 175g raisins 450g bananas, peeled and mashed 2 eggs, beaten finely grated rind of a lemon Preheat oven 180C/gas 4. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin. Sift the flours, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl. Rub in the fat till the mixture is like breadcrumbs. Mix in the rest of the ingredients - the sugar, bananas, eggs and lemon rind. Beat it together lightly then spoon into the tin. Bake for 45-55 mins till...