COOKBOOKS GALORE

A belated Happy New Year.  I’ve had great problems posting on here for a while. Hopefully this has now been solved., I love Scandinavian baking and have several Scandi baking books, but to honest, I've never baked from them. Reading an article recently on this type of baking, I thought I must use my books, so decided to make a caramel almond cake. I've adapted it from 'Scandilicious Baking'. For the cake  you need; 20ml milk, 1 tspn lemon juice [or 75ml buttermilk] 75g butter, 3 eggs, 150g caster sugar, 1 tspn vanilla extract, 150g plain flour, 1 tspn baking powder and a pinch of salt. For the topping:  150g flaked almonds, 125g butter, 125g light brown sugar, 50ml milk and 1/2 tspn sea salt Preheat oven 160C/gas3                     Grease and base line a 23cm springform cake tin Stir the lemon juice into the milk to sour it, or use 75ml buttermilk instead. Toast the almonds till they're a light golden colour [takes ...

 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...

 Bought some 'Wonky' rhubarb from Morrisons and decided to make this for a family get together last weekend. It's a French recipe, usually for a lemon cake, but I decided to add rhubarb. The recipe uses a yoghurt pot as a measure. Very easy to make. you need a 125g yoghurt pot So:  1pot natural yoghurt, 3 pots sugar, 3 pots flour, 1 tspn baking powder, 3/4 pot vegetable oil, 1/4 pot milk, 1 tspn vanilla extract, 2 eggs, 250g rhubarb Preheat oven 200C/gas6                        Grease and flour a 20cm cake tin. Put all the ingredients except the rhubarb into a bowl and beat together. Chop the rhubarb into chunks and add to the mixture. Mix in with a spatula. Bake for 30-35 mins till golden. It has a lovely moist crumb, and a good contrast between the fruit and the sponge. It makes a good cake with a cuppa or a dessert with cream or ice cream. I've made it with apple, but plums or pears would be good too.

 It was my daughter's birthday recently and she came up for the weekend, so of course needed a cake - this was just the thing. It's made with oil not butter and is very easy to make, yet it looks 'an occasion' cake. Preheat oven 190C/gas5                                  Grease and line 2x18cm [7"] sandwich tins For the cake: you need to sieve 150g plain flour, 25g cornflour and 2 level tspns baking powder into a bowl. Mix together 100ml veg oil [I used sunflower] and 100ml water in another bowl. Separate 2 eggs and add the yolks to the oil/water mixture and mix together. Stir the dry ingredients in and mix to a batter. Whisk the egg whites till stiff then fold into the mixture. Divide into the tins then bake for 25-30 mins. Cool on a wire rack. Turn the oven off. For the little meringues you need to put 1 egg white in a clean dry bowl and whisk till stiff and dry. Mix together 40g caster sugar and...

  I don't really do much baking now that I'm on my own, but sometimes I have a need to make a cake. I bought some blueberries from our local market. They're one of my favourite fruits, and I used to have a bush in my garden. Sadly the winter before last killed it. I love them on porridge, but I had an urge to make a cake with them. I decided on a streusel cake - I love these cakes with the crumbly topping. So you need: For the topping 25g caster sugar, 2 tbspn flour and 55g soft butter For the cake 3 eggs, 200g caster sugar, 220g melted butter, 1 tbspn vanilla extract, 250ml buttermilk, 320g flour, 1 tbspn baking powder, pinch salt,  400g blueberries [washed and dried] Preheat oven 180C/gas4         Grease and flour a 9"x13"  [23x33cm] cake tin For the topping - mix the sugar, butter and flour together till like crumbs. For the cake - In a large bowl beat together the eggs then gradually whisk in the sugar till the batter is nice and thick and flu...

  I love ginger in all its forms.  As with all ginger cakes, this one is better the day after you've baked it, as its flavours can then  develop. This version has dates in it, hence the title I've chosen! So you need:  75g unsalted butter 100g dark muscovado sugar 125g black treacle 125g golden syrup 2 eggs 225g self raising flour 2 teaspoons ground ginger 50g stem ginger, finely chopped 75g dates pitted and finely chopped For the icing: 100g icing sugar 1 tbspn stem ginger syrup (from the jar of stem ginger) Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4                Line a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment or a liner Put the butter, sugar, treacle and syrup in a pan and melt together over a gentle heat. Cool for about 5 mins before beating in the eggs. Fold in the flour and the ground ginger, then stir in the dates and chopped ginger. Spoon into the tin and bake for about 50 mins. Cool in the tin for 10 mins then turn out onto a wire rac...

  My daughter loves dark chocolate and raspberries, and as she was coming up for the weekend for Mothering Sunday,  I found this recipe in my scrapbook which was perfect for her. Raspberries seem to be available fresh all year round now. I do try and buy seasonally, but this cake is so good! For the cake you need:  250g dark chocolate (70% cocoa) 200g butter 1 tspn instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tbspn hot water 5 eggs 100g caster sugar 75g plain flour 100g raspberries  Preheat oven 170C/gas3                    Grease and line a 20cm springform tin In a saucepan, put the chocolate, butter and coffee and heat over a low heat till melted and glossy. In  a bowl beat the eggs and sugar till pale and fluffy.   Pour in the chocolate mixture, add the flour and fold together gently. Pour this batter into the tin and sprinkle the raspberries over the top. Bake for about 40 mins till the cake is firm. This cake is...

 I got this recipe from a friend recently, and have been waiting for an opportunity to try it out. Yesterday was my friend's birthday, so a good enough reason to bake! It's a caramel Genoese sponge which has an almond topping. I wondered if the name was linked to the opera, but my friend said it was a Scandinavian recipe. Who knows? So you need: 75ml buttermilk, 75g butter, 3 eggs, 150g cazster sugar, 1 tspn vanilla extract, 150g plain flour, 1 tspn baking powder and a pich of salt For the topping you need: 150g flaked almonds, 125g butter, 125g soft brown sugar and 50ml milk Preheat oven 180/gas4                       Grease and line a 23cm springform tin Beat eggs, vanilla extract and caster sugar together till pale and thick,  Add baking powder and salt to flour and stir together. Fold 1/3 of flour into batter with third of the buttermilk, then repeat with other 2/3. Mix together gently and spoon into tin. Bake 40 ...

After watching GBBO last week, I thought I'd try my hand at making caramel. My first few attempts burnt or just didn't work, but finally I got the result I wanted. I didn't want a very dark caramel, just a sort of blonde colour. This is my friend's recipe, and it's not one that would win prizes for looks, but it tastes delicious.  So you need: 150g caster sugar and 3 tbspn water for the caramel, 75 g caster sugar, 100g flour, 2 tspn baking powder, 1kg pears, 3 eggs, 125g soft butter, 3 tbspn milk and 1 tspn vanilla extract Preheat oven 180C/gas 4                           grease and flour a 23cm cake tin For the caramel: put the 150g sugar in a pan and add the water. Leave till it's become a light blonde colour,* then pour into the cake tin and leave to cool. Beat the eggs with the 75g caster sugar till white and fluffy. Add the flour, baking powder, butter and beat together, then add the milk and vanilla and sti...

 I love the little madeleines you can buy in bags in France, so I bought a mould from a vide grenier for 1 euro, and it's been well used. This cake is a large version of these little cakes. you need: 110g caster sugar, 1 tspn baking powder,120g flour, 140g butter and 3 eggs. Grease and flour a 20cm round cake tin Preheat oven 180C/gas4 Melt the butter over a gentle heat and leave to cool.  Whisk the eggs with the sugar till white and fluffy' Mix the flour and baking powder, then add this alternatively with the butter to the egg mixture using a rubber spatula to mix. Spoon into the cake tin, and bake for 9 mins at the 180C/gas4 temperature then turn oven down to 160C/gas3 for another 18 mins. Cool in the tin. When cool, leave plain or ice with some glacé icing. I decorated mine with orange slices, and tried out a bit of drip icing, but you can also add chopped zest to the cake, or cinnamon or vanilla extract. It's a cake that is 'moelleux', soft and moist. You can ma...

 Last year I was given a rhubarb plant from a local group which shares excess plants. I didn't cut it even though I desperately wanted to, as I love rhubarb! I was told it would make it stronger for this year! It's doing well again, so this is the first recipe I've made using it, and it's a very simple one.You use a yoghurt pot as a measure. Yoghurt pot recipes are very popular in France. You need: 250g rhubarb cut into chunks, 1 pot of yoghurt, 3 pots of caster sugar, 3 pots of sr flour, 1 tspn baking powder, 3/4 pot vegetable oil, 2 eggs, 1 tspn vanilla extract, 1/4 pot of milk Preheat oven 200C/gas 6 Grease and base line a 20cm cake tin. In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients except the rhubarb. Beat together. Add the rhubarb and mix in with a spatula. Spoon into the cake tin. Bake for 30 mins till golden. A lovely, simple cake. It has a moist crumb and is very tasty. You could add a mix of 2tbspn sugar and 1/2 tspn cinnamon  as a topping. A great way to use up ...

Having a sort out of my herbs and spices jars, I came across a jar of dried lemon balm that is almost past its sell by date. Not sure why I bought it, but it needed using up. I hunted through my recipe folders, and found one that a school friend gave me ages ago. It used lemon balm with pink grapefruit! I'd give it a try. You need:  200g ground almonds, 2 tbspn dried lemon balm, 1 pink grapefruit, 150g caster sugar, 2 large eggs and 22ml of olive oil [or 20g!], flaked almonds and icing sugar to decorate top Preheat oven 160C/gas3                               Grease a 20cm springform cake tin and sprinkle inside with sugar Wash and dry the grapefruit, then zest about 1/4 of it and put this aside. Peel the grapefruit, cut in half and scoop out the pulp. Put sugar and lemon balm in a bowl, add the eggs and beat with an electric beater till mixture is white. Add the pulp and zest of the grapefruit and mix ...

 Feeling a bit down lately, with the freezing weather and not getting out, I thought I'd make one of my favourite cakes as a treat. I bought a bag of Conference pears on offer at the supermarket, and this is a great way to use them. The most famous fondant cake is the chocolate fondant, a cake with a lovely oozy chocolate centre. In this cake, the lovely centre is made of pears. For the cake you need:  100g caster sugar, 100 ml milk, pinch salt, 2 tspn baking powder, 150g plain flour, 2 eggs and 3 tbspn sunflower or vegetable oil, 4 medium pears, peeled, cored and thinly sliced For the topping you need: 80g butter, 3 tbspn caster sugar and 1 egg Preheat oven 180C/gas4                     grease a flour a 24cm tart tin Put the sugar, 2 eggs and salt in a bowl and whisk till light and fluffy. Gently fold in the flour and baking powder, then the milk and oil. Pour half of the mixture into the tart tin and then layer on the pe...

I have to confess to not being a cupcake fan. This is because I find the topping too sweet and too much! My  friend loves them, so I made some for her birthday. It was yet another way of using up some very ripe bananas. 225g plain white flour 1 1/4 tspn baking powder 1/4 tspn bicarb of soda 2 ripe bananas, mashed 115g butter, softened 115g caster sugar 1/2 tspn vanilla extract 2 eggs 4 tbsp soured cream 55g walnut pieces, roughly chopped Topping 175g butter, softened 350g icing sugar some walnut pieces, roughly chopped Preheat oven 190C/gas 5.               Line 2 cupcake or muffin tins with 14 paper cupcake cases  Sift together the flour, baking powder and bicarb of soda. Beat the butter, caster sugar and vanilla extract together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, then stir in the mashed bananas, soured cream and walnuts. Fold in the flour mixture.  Put the mixture into the paper cups and bake for a...

  I had to repost this as my computer went a bit haywire! Sorry if your comment has disappeared! I was  looking for something in my tins cupboard when I found a large tin of peaches hidden at the back. I remembered a recipe that my friend used to make so decided to make it. It’s an unusual recipe in that it uses semolina and crème fraîche , and is cooked on top of the cooker. You need:                                                          traybake tin large tin of peaches in syrup,  250ml syrup from the tin,  250ml milk ,100g crème fraîche   75g semolina  mint sprigs to decorate   Drain the peaches and keep 250ml of the syrup. Cut the peaches into 1/4s. Heat the milk and syrup in a pan till boiling then add the semolina and cook on gentle heat for 15mins, stirring all the time. Whip th...

My son and family were coming at last, and I wanted to make a cake. My daughter in law loves ginger, so I found this great recipe on the BBC Good Food site. ://www.bbcgoodfood.com/search/recipes?query=Squidgy+Lemon+Ginger+Cake It's a lovely cake, easy to make, and the fresh ginger cuts through the sticky sweetness of the sugar and dates. It's a dense and sticky cake with great flavours. I didn't use the suggested candied lemon peel or the coffee crystals to decorate the top. I just used the white chocolate. It's great as a cake, but would also make a great dessert with cream or ice cream [minus the chocolate topping maybe?]

                 There was a special offer on British blueberries at my local supermarket, so I bought several punnets.  I love them for breakfast, in muffins and in one of my favourite cakes, blueberry lemon yoghurt cake. Watching Monty last week, he said to pick any lemons that were ripe, so this gave me the lemon for  my cake. It's an easy cake to make too.   Preheat oven 180C/gas4                     Grease and line 20cm springform tin you need: 125g softened butter,150g caster sugar, 175g sr flour, 100g Greek yoghurt, 3 eggs, grated zest of 1  large lemon,  130g blueberries For the icing: 100g icing sugar, juice of the lemon   Cream the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy. Add the flour, yoghurt and eggs and beat together. Stir in the lemon zest. Spoon half of the batter into the tin. Mix most of the blueberries into t...

Since lock down started, I have been baking every week to share with my lovely neighbour who gets some shopping for me. I decided this week I wasn't going to make just a cake, but a cake that can also be a dessert. In the fruit bowl were some ripe pears, so I made my favourite pear recipe, a French one from Creuse, Gargouillau. You need for the cake: 150g butter, 150g caster sugar, grated zest 1/2 lemon, 2 eggs, 350g plain flour, 2 tspn baking powder and 8 tbspn milk You also need: 600g pears, ripe but not soggy and 50g butter, extra sugar and cinnamon/icing sugar Preheat oven 200C/gas6        Grease a 25cm springform tin and line the base with greaseproof                                                            paper,lightly greased Cream the butter and sugar, add the lemon zest and mix in. Add the eg...

Something to cheer us up in these miserable days. Was given a bottle of local cider, and had several apples needing using up, so found this recipe from an old Woman's weekly magazine. You need:  330ml cider, 150g melted butter, 4 medium apples, peeled, cored and grated, 2 large eggs, 150g soft brown sugar, 300g plain flour, 2 tspn bicarb, 1 tspn mixed spice, 1 tspn cinnamon, 1/2 tspn grated nutmeg, 200g raisins or sultanas and 100g roughly chopped pecans. Preheat oven 180C/gas4         Grease and line a 20cm spring form cake tin. Pour cider into a pan and bring to boil. Lower the heat to simmer and let the cider reduce. You need about 100ml. Melt the butter in another pan and pour the cider over to cool a bit until just warm. Mix the sugar and  eggs into the apples and pour in the butter and cider. Mix together. Sift the flour and spices together then fold into the mixture. Finally add the fruit and nuts and stir together. Pour into the ca...