COOKBOOKS GALORE

I always try and make a galette in January. You can find them in all the pastry shops and supermarkets in France, as they're made to celebrate the arrival of the Kings on January 6th. Have sadly lost all my little fèves that I collected [the little china figures that go into the galette des rois]. Whoever finds the fève is king or queen for the day and gets a crown! Decided to make it a bit different this year and added chocolate to the frangipane. It's so useful to have the puff pastry ready cut out into a circle, as in France, but a large dinner plate used to cut round to make the circle is fine. You need: 2 packs of butter puff pastry, 200g dark chocolate, 125g ground almonds, 125g caster sugar, 125g soft butter, 25g plain flour, 3 eggs and 1 yolk, and 1/2 tspn almond extract Preheat oven 200C                             A baking sheet Beat the eggs and sugar together till light and fluffy. Add the alm...

  I recently picked up a book in a local charity shop about 'Food of the British Isles'.It's a compilation of recipes from restaurants and cooks. I was especially interested in the Cake Section, as I've been wanting to try some of the more unusual British cake and pudding recipes for some time. This one isn't very unusual, but thought I'd try it as it's called a Bakewell Pudding and not a Tart. In the book, the writer says says that a Pudding is made with puff pastry and the Tart with shortcrust. Is it that simple? I bet a lot of local people would disagree with this definition! The writer made her puff pastry from scratch, but I bought mine, butter of course! For the Pudding you need : 500g butter puff pastry, 3 tbspn raspberry jam, 150g butter, 150g caster sugar, 3 eggs plus a yolk, beaten, 150g ground almonds, zest of a lemon,2 tspn almond extract, 1 tbspn flaked almonds and some icing sugar to dust the top. Preheat oven 190C/gas5        ...

I thought I'd used up all my bits and pieces form the baking cupboard when I found a jar of Morella cherry jam lurking in the corner; it was a present from France from a friend. I wanted something simple so decided to make one of my favourite cakes - Mum's Bakewell Cake - it has the ingredients of a Bakewell tart, but no pastry and is a 2 layer cake. It's the all in one method, so quick and easy to make. Preheat oven 190C/gas5.             Grease and line the bases of 2 x 20cm sandwich tins. In a large bowl beat together 200g soft butter or margarine, 200g caster sugar, 100g ground almonds, 100g sr flour, 1 tspn baking powder, 1/2 tspn almond extract and 4 eggs. Divide the mixture between the 2 sandwich tins and bake for about 30 mins till golden. Leave to cool in the tins for 5 mins then turn out onto a wire rack till cold. Put one of the cakes onto a serving plate and spread with 340g Morello cherry jam. Put the second cake upside down on top, ...

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 t...

This is another bake which came about because I wanted to use up something lurking in the back of the cupboard. This time it's a packet of semolina, getting very close to it's 'use by' date. This recipe is a variation on Nigella's semolina cake which I've made a few times. You need to make a syrup first - 250g granulated sugar. 150ml water and juice of a lemon. put sugar and water in a pan on low heat till sugar's dissolved then add the lemon juice and bring to boil and boil for 5 mins. Cool, then chill in fridge. The cake - preheat oven 180C/gas 4 and grease a 24cm square tin. It's an easy to cake to make as you use the all in one method, except for the whole almonds. So, put 300g semolina, 150g caster sugar, 125g butter, 1 tspn baking powder, 2 eggs, 2 heaped tbspn natural yoghurt, 1/2 tspn cinnamon, 1/2 tspn almond extract in a bowl and beat together. Spoon into the cake tin and level the top. Put 25 whole blanched almonds in 5 rows of 5 on t...

Couldn't think of a good name for this cheesecake, but as it has chocolate and coffee in it I thought this name would do. It's my normal cheesecake, but with an added something. It's a rich cheesecake, just right for an occasion, so am going to make another for Boxing Day.  It's for those who love dark chocolate and coffee. You need a 23cm springform tin. Preheat oven to oven 160C/gas3 Make sure that the cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature. Put 200g of chocolate digestive biscuits in a bag and crush with a rolling pin [or use a food processor]. Add 125g plus 2 tbspns of melted butter and 1/2 tspn almond essence and mix together. Press this firmly into the bottom of the tin. Put in the fridge to set. In a bowl mix together 140g granulated sugar and 1 tspn of espresso or any other strong coffee granules [more if you want a strong coffee flavour]. Melt 250g of 70% dark chocolate and 125g of 50% dark chocolate [or milk if you prefer] in the microwave...

I'm always looking for new ways to use apples, and I found this recipe on Mary Berry's site. She calls it 'The very best Apple Dessert Cake'.  It's a sponge cake mixture with an added tspn of almond extract, and you put half of the mixture in the bottom of a 20cm springform or loose bottomed cake tin, lined, then you put a layer of thickly sliced apples then the rest of the cake mixture. You sprinkle the top with flaked almonds and bake for about 45 mins. You'll find the recipe  here  . It's got a great almond flavour and a lovely moist sponge; I like the contrast between the cake and the apple layer, then the crunch of the almonds on top. We ate ours with some creme fraiche. I liked it cold, but my OH preferred it warm.

I wanted to make the traditional Galette de Rois, to celebrate the arrival of the 3 Kings. We ate many of these during our time in France, but only from the boulangerie or the supermarket. My friend who has the teashop, always makes one, and she kindly gave me her recipe. There's a bean or feve in the galette, and the person who finds it in their piece, gets to wear a crown and be king or queen for the day. Preheat oven 180C/gas4 You take a sheet of butter puff pastry and fill it with a delicious almond cream. For the cream - you need to beat 125g of butter till nice and creamy. Put 125g of caster sugar, 130g of ground almonds,1 tbspn of cornflour and a pinch of salt in a bowl and mix together.Add this to the butter and mix till smooth.  Add 1 drop of almond extract then 2 eggs, one at a time. Put the cream in the fridge covered with clingfilm for an hour or overnight, to chill. Roll out a pack of  puff pastry [about 500g] and divide into 2. Roll again and cut out...