COOKBOOKS GALORE

I have wanted to make a fraisier since I saw Mary Berry making one, but it looked rather complicated. It was a special birthday for my friend, so I decided to have a go and was very happy with the result. It's not as perfect as Mary B's, but tasted good and was a great hit. I didn't use her recipe either, but one I found in a French magazine, which was giving recipes for using strawberries. I made the Genoisse sponge the day before to make it a little more solid for the fruit and cream. I also used crème fraiche instead of double cream. You need 500g strawberries, 500ml crème fraiche, 100g caster sugar  For the Genoise, you need 125g caster sugar, 100g flour, 75g melted butter and 4 eggs To make the sponge: preheat oven 180C/gas4     line a 28 cm springform cake tin, sides and bottom Over a pan of simmering water beat together the eggs and the sugar till they've doubled in volume and become frothy, then take off the heat. Carefully add the flour and...

I've mentioned before that my Polish neighbour loves baking, and we have regular sessions together. I thought we'd make some traditional British cakes, so as I had a can of cider left in the fridge, we made a Somerset Cider cake.  It's easy to make, looks simple, but tastes good. Preheat oven 180C/gas4              Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin. You need 125g butter which you cream with 125g caster sugar till fluffy. Add 2 beaten eggs and eat in. Mix 225g sr flour with 1 tspn bicarb and 1/2 tspn each of nutmeg and cinnamon [or more if you want it more spicy]. Add half of this to the batter, then add 200ml cider and mix together. Fold in the rest of the flour and spoon into the tin. Bake for 35-40 mins. Cool in the tin, then take out and put on a wire rack and sprinkle some caster sugar over the top. This is a nice moist cake with a light texture.You can certainly get the apple taste from the cide...

I wanted to make something that wasn't a cake, so decided on a cheesecake. I love baked and non-baked ones, but this is my favourite recipe. We all love coffee, so this would be the flavour. To give it a good coffee flavour I used Nestle's Azera Espresso granules. When I've made it for an occasion I have added a little whisky, but this isn't necessary for an everyday cheesecake. 40g soft butter 200g digestive biscuits 700g Philadelphia cream cheese 20 g cocoa powder 6g instant coffee dissolved in 2 tbspn warm water 4 eggs 175g caster sugar For the sauce: 50g dark chocolate 35g water  1 tsbspn whisky[opt] Preheat oven 150C/gas2                       20cm base lined cake tin Crush the digestives into crumbs. In a bowl mix them with the soft butter and cocoa then put the mixture into the base of the cake tin, pressing it down with the back of a spoon. Put into the fridge. In another bowl mix t...

My lovely German dil gave me a pretty Bundt cake tin for my birthday, but it stayed in the cupboard until I found it yesterday. I needed to make a cake, as my son and family are moving to my town today. [It will be so good to have some family nearby.] I have a bit of a 'thing' about cardamom at the moment, so wanted to use it as one of the flavours. I think orange goes well with it, so decided to make a cake with these two flavours. It's another recipe I was given by my friend, who runs her own tea shop, and is a good cake to make for a celebration. 220g Philadelphia cream cheese 220 g butter 250g caster sugar 6 eggs 350g sr flour 1 tspn baking powder Zest of 1 large orange 1 tspn ground cardamom Icing sugar Preheat oven 170°C. Grease or spray the Bundt tin/mould with Cake Release Whisk the butter and Philly together,  then add the sugar and beat it in. Whisk the eggs in one by one, then add the finely grated zest and the cardamom and mix together. Add t...