COOKBOOKS GALORE

Since coming out of hospital, I seem to have been lucky enough to have had friends visiting. Now I'm feeling better, they haven't been eating 'shop bought' cake! I made a chocolate cake on Tuesday, but gave the leftovers to my friend to take home. Another friend came today and I decided to make her favourites - rock cakes. Don't think I've made these since schooldays. They were a great hit, and I'd forgotten how nice they are. I suppose the recipe is similar to Welsh cakes, which I often make. This recipe makes 12 and is from my Mum's notebook - I've changed the ounces into grams! 225g sr flour + 2 tspns baking powder, 100g soft margarine or butter, 50g granulated sugar, 1 egg, 150g mixed fruit and about 1 tbspn milk, brown sugar to sprinkle over. Preheat oven 200C/gas6              Grease 2 baking trays. Mis the flour and baking powder together then rub in the fat till it's like fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar and the fruit. Beat the eg...

I decided I wanted to make something a bit different when some friends came for tea. My Mum was an excellent baker, and one of the things I really loved were her chocolate eclairs. I thought I'd have a try at choux pastry as it's years since I've made any. [Many moons ago I went to cookery classes with a friend, and we made choux buns.] Recently I was given a large jar of home-made lemon curd, so decided to try and use this as the filling instead of cream. I'd make some fondant icing for the tops. Do I do a GBBO and say - 'Make some choux pastry' or give the recipe? Decided to do the latter. This amount makes about 10 buns. 150ml water, 50g butter, 65g plain flour, 2 eggs lightly beaten Put the water and butter in a pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Take off the heat and add the flour. Put back on the heat and beat with a wooden spoon for 2-3 mins till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Cool slightly. Gradually beat in the eggs till th...

The mention of Rock Cakes in my book of British cooking, reminded me of the Raspberry Buns my Mum used to make. I loved these, and would hurry home from school when she'd mentioned she was making them. It was my Granny's recipe, and luckily Mum had written into her notebook. There are several recipe that were family favourites that Mum didn't include in her book, and I've tried to replicate them but with little success - 'double custard' being one. She made a great apple flan in a flan tin, with a sponge base filled with stewed apple, then piped a layer of this 'custard' round the edge and puts dabs on top. The 'custard' looked a bit curdled, but was delicious. I know she made some Birds custard, but what she added to it, I don't know! I've tried various ways of making it, but they're all wrong. Sorry, I digress. The buns are made in the same way as Rock Cakes - the rubbing in method. You need 225g sr flour with 1 tspn baking p...

As I have already decided to make the chocolate cake in my last post for Easter,  I thought I'd make some small cakes for my grandchildren. They love muffins and they came to visit yesterday so we made them together. The first one we made was topped with buttercream and my favourite  Cadbury's mini eggs, but the second batch was a great favourite of my 2 older grandsons - Crunchy Peanut Butter muffins. I always use oil when making muffins - don't think it is really any healthier, but it sounds better than using butter. For the Easter Muffins: Preheat oven 200C/gas6           Grease a 12 hole muffin tin or use 12 paper cases. Sift together 225g plain flour, 55g cocoa powder, 1 tbspn baking powder and a pinch of salt. Stir in 115g soft brown sugar. Lightly beat 2 eggs in a jug then beat in 250g buttermilk and 6 tbspn sunflower oil. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and carefully stir in the wet ones. Mix till just combined - be c...

I seem to have made quite a lot of calorific pudds lately, so I wanted to make something simple but delicious. I love French madeleines, so decided these would be just right. I know that Proust's plain madeleine is perfection, but I wanted to make them different, so decided to add one of my favourite flavour combinations - apple and cinnamon. [I'm in apple mode atm!] I used a jar of apple purée instead of bothering to cook some. Madeleines look very simple, but I have had a few disasters making them. Some recipes say that you use brown butter, but you have to keep a close eye on the butter or it burns [one disaster]. Then to get the traditional hump, you need to put the batter in the fridge for 1-2 hours, and some recipes tell you to put the tin in the fridge too for an hour before using. One chef even puts his tin in the freezer. Then another says before you bake them you must heat a baking sheet in the oven, and put the madeleine tin on this. Did I say they were simple? ...

I love financiers - the little French almond flavoured cakes that look like little bricks. I wondered where they got their name, so after a bit of googling it seems that they were first made in the 19th century by a Parisian pastry chef near the Parisian stock exchange, and he made them look like little gold ingots. They became popular with the financiers, hence their name. Maybe this is the true story, or maybe not? Anyway we love them. I wanted to try a different flavour, and found this idea of using green tea on a French web site - they used it in muffins, so I thought I'd try it in financiers. The recipe makes about 24 cakes, but I only made half the mixture. 200g butter 200g icing sugar 6 egg whites 80g ground almonds 80g flour 2 level tspns of tea [I used green tea but other flavours could be used] butter for the moulds But butter in a solid based pan and bring slowly to the boil then cook gently on a low heat till nut brown [beurre noisette]. Take off the heat and...

Looking through my French cookery books for something different to bake, I came across a recipe for 'Mirlitons'. When I googled them to find out more, they seemed to be a strange looking green vegetable from the USA, also called chayote. What happened to the cakes? I continued googling and found out that the little Mirliton Tartlets come from around Rouen in Normandy. There were quite a few recipes for them, but they all seemed to agree that they must have an almond and egg filling with vanilla extract and orange flower water; some had cream added, so I decided to add some to give them extra flavour. Apparently it's quite an old recipe, being found in a 18th century cookery book. They sound very similar to the Welsh cheese cakes my Mum used to make - a pastry shell, a layer of jam then a sponge topping, but there's no almonds in Mum's recipe. They're very easy to make, as you use a ready made sheet of puff pastry. This recipe makes about 12 tartlet...

I have to say that I'm not a fan of the American type cupcakes with lots of sickly icing on top, but these are upmarket fairy cakes.  Peaches were on offer in the local supermarket, so thought I'd try using them in a small cake for a change. The recipe makes 20 cakes. You need 2x12 hole greased  bun tins [not muffin tins- you need the ones you make jam tarts or mince pies in] or you can cook 2 batches of the cakes. You need 2 ripe peaches with stones taken out and cut into 40 thin slices - you need a good sharp knife! Preheat oven 180C/gas4       You can use paper cases in the tins if you want. Beat 225g soft butter with 225g caster sugar using a hand beater, till nice and creamy. Add 4 eggs a bit at a time, then fold in 250g sr flour; add 3 tbspn sour cream or crème fraiche [and 2 tbspn peach or apricot jam if you want a more fruity flavour] and mix in. Spoon into the cases or tins and put 2 peach slices on top of each cake and bake fo...

Seem to have had a lot of very ripe bananas lately. Am a bit fed up with banana loaves and cakes, but was given a recipe booklet recently about Fairtrade bananas, made up with recipes given by some of our church members. We love flapjacks, so banana ones seemed a great idea. I made them in a swiss roll tin, as we like them thin, but if you prefer thicker ones, use a square cake tin instead. 125g butter 85g light brown sugar 2 tbspn syrup 350g oats 1/2tspn baking powder 1 tspn cinnamon 2 medium ripe bananas Preheat oven 180C/gas4 Grease a Swiss roll tin  23 x 33cm or a 20cm square cake tin Melt butter, sugar and syrup in microwave or on hob. Add oats, baking powder and cinnamon then add mashed bananas. Spoon in tin and smooth top with back of a spoon. Bake 20-25 mins till golden and firm. Cut into bars while hot then cool in tin. I made 15 bars. We really liked the added texture of the banana, but they are a soft flapjack, not a crisp one. I'll certain...

I'm on a quest to find the perfect scone. I've tried recipes from various people - Delia, Mary Berry, Nigella etc but still haven't found one that really makes me feel - yes, that's it! Trying out yet another recipe today, one I've made before, I decided to try using some mascarpone as well as milk to make it more moist. I also used soft light brown sugar instead of my usual caster sugar. Would this be my perfect scone? Here's my adapted recipe: 340g sr flour 1 tspn baking powder 80g butter in pieces 2 tbpsn soft light brown sugar 80g mascarpone 90ml milk 1 beaten egg to glaze the tops Preheat oven 190C/gas 6-7 I used a silicone mat on my baking sheet, but a dusting of flour on a sheet would be fine. Put the flour, baking powder, butter and sugar in a food processor and blitz till breadcrumbs. Add the mascarpone and blitz for a couple of seconds. If you don't want to use a processor just rub the fat into the flour and sugar then rub in the mas...

I've invited an old school friend for tea tomorrow, so wanted to make something nice for her. Found this recipe in one of my Mum's old cookery books, and as I had my dil here this afternoon, and she's doing a cake decorating class, they seemed just the thing. I've changed the ozs into grams. and it worked fine. Makes 12 little tarts 212 g packet shortcrust pastry [I used Just Rol} 50g butter 50g caster sugar 1 large egg 59g ground almonds drop of almond essence [not the almond flavouring] 1 rounded tbspn sr flour grated rind of 1/2 lemon 1 tspn lemon juice [I put in a bit more as I wanted them to be lemony] icing: 150g icing sugar drop lemon food colouring lemon juice Preheat oven 190C/375F/gas5 Roll out the pastry on a floured surface,and then cut out 12 rounds with a cutter to fit a bun tin. Cream the butter and sugar then beat in the egg and ground almonds. Stir in the almond essence, flour, lemon rind and juice. Divide this evenly between the...

I tend to make large cakes, so today, as my grandsons are coming for tea, thought I'd make them some small cakes. This recipe is from my friend Liz. Recipe makes 12 cakes. 115g soft butter or margarine 115g caster sugar 2 tbspn crunchy peanut butter 2 eggs, beaten 85g sr flour 4 tbspn cocoa powder 100g plain chocolate chips 100g chopped pecans or walnuts [keep 24 to decorate] 200g plain chocolate 24 mini marshmallows Preheat oven 180C/350F/gas4 Put 12 cake cases into a bun tin. In a bowl, put the butter, sugar and peanut butter and beat till it's light and creamy [with an electric beater]. Beat in the eggs and fold in the flour, cocoa, chocolate chips and nuts. Put the mixture into the cake cases. Bake for 15-20 mins till golden and firm. Leave them to cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and leave it to cool a bit. Spread most of the chocolate over the top of each cake with a knife, leaving some to drizzle over the top of the cakes, ...

I'm going through a 'Cook British' phase, so wanted to make some rock cakes. Had some apricots and sultanas to use up so tried a variation on the original. A big success. Will make double next time, as son arrived, and together with OH ate them! I did manage to salvage one for me! 100g white sr flour 100g wholemeal sr flour 2 tspns baking powder 1 tspn mixed spice 100g soft margarine or butter 50g light brown sugar 50g dried apricots [chopped] 1 egg 2tbspns milk light brown sugar for dusting on top of cakes preheat oven 200C/gas 6 Grease or line a baking sheet [I used the reuseable baking paper I got from Lakeland] Put the flours, baking powder and spice into a bowl and mix together. Add the margarine or butter and rub in till like breadcrumbs. Stir in the fruits and sugar. Beat the egg with the milk and add to the bowl. Mix to a stiff mixture [add a bit more milk if it's too dry]. Put mounds of the mixture on to the baking sheet and sprinkle some ...

Happy St David's Day! Thought I'd make a few Welsh cakes to celebrate. My husband likes them well done and I prefer them golden.  I got my lovely Emma Bridgewater daffodil mug for Mother's Day last year. This is Gran's recipe which I always use, hence the lbs and ozs! After sprinkling sugar on top, she always added a knob of butter. We ate them warm, straight off the bakestone. This recipe makes about 24 cakes, but I halved it today as there are only 2 of us;  I'm not sure if they'd freeze well. 1lb plain flour 4oz margarine 4oz lard [I use Trex] 4oz currants 6oz caster sugar 1/2 tspn mixed spice 1 tspn baking powder 1 egg pinch salt 2 tbspns milk Put the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, then rub in the fat. Add the currants and spice and mix together. Beat the egg a little then add with enough of the milk to make a firmish dough. Roll out on a floured surface till about 1/4" thick, then cut into rounds. Grease a bakestone an...

I found some buttermilk hidden in the back of the fridge, so decided this was the time to try the buttermilk scones from Nigella's 'Kitchen'. They're quite generous, like the lady herself! You can find the recipe here . They taste really good; a keeper I think. Next time I'll add some dried fruit - cranberries, sour cherries, chopped dried apples or pears. Wonder what they'd taste like with chocolate pieces?!

I made an apple pie yesterday and had some pastry left over. What should I do with it? Then I remembered a childhood favourite - Welsh cheese cakes. There's no cheese in them nowadays, but they're tasty and quick and easy to make. you need: a bun tin leftover shortcrust pastry 1 egg and it's weight in sugar, butter and flour 1/2tspn baking powder jam of choice - I used Mirabelle plum [home made] So, roll out the pastry and then cut out to fill the holes in a bun tin. Beat the butter and sugar together and then add the egg and fold in the flour and baking powder. Put a tspn of jam on the bottom of the pastry shell and then a heaped tspn of the cake mixture on top. I cooked them at gas6/200C for 15 mins, when they were golden.

It's National Cupcake Week, so I made a few this morning as my contribution. I decided that I would make fairy cake sized ones, as this is much more British than the blowsy US cupcakes. I'm not a huge fan of buttercream, so these are simply dipped in some good dark chocolate from our local chocolatier. I used about half of a 100g bar of 70% dark chocolate for the topping. It's a simple 100g butter, sugar and sr flour mix with 2 heaped tbspns cocoa powder and 2 eggs. Just beat the butter and sugar together, add the eggs and beat them in, then fold in the flour mixture. I also added a heaped tspn of coffee granules to the flour mixture, which Ina says enhances the chocolate flavour. We shall see! This amount of mixture made 8 small cakes, plenty for the 2 of us.

I've seen a lot in magazines and online about whoopie pies so as I had some marshmallows in the cupboard, I thought I'd have a go at some. This recipe comes from the June edition of Sainsbury magazine and is by Dan Lepard, one of my favourite bakers. You'll find the recipe on Dan's forum here  . The recipe makes a lot of pies so I halved it. I think the pie is a cross between a biscuit and a cake. As there's no raising agent in the recipe, they don't rise very much. I just spooned the mixture on, but if you want a really good shape, you need to pipe them. Oh, and I added some grated lemon rind to the mixture. The mixture for the pies is quite thick, thicker than the normal cake mixture. The marshmallow were big ones, but they melted easily.                            This is the melted mixture. One very important thing...

When we first came to live in France, we brought 2 Bramley apple trees with us. This type of apple is unknown here. The trees have done well, and this year have been loaded with fruit. What to do with them all? Today I decided to try an apple muffin recipe from Susan Reimer's excellent book 'Muffins fast and fantastic'. It's a nice and easy treat to makeThis is the recipe which I have changed a little. Apple muffins - makes about 10 -12 muffins . 250g sr flour 1 tspn baking powder 11/2 tspns mixed spice 85g sugar 1 egg 150ml milk 170g peeled, cored and chopped Bramley [or any other type] apple 90ml vegetable oil soft brown sugar for the tops Preheat oven 200C/400F/gas6 and grease muffin tin. In a bowl mix the flour, baking powder and spice together. Add the chopped apple. In another bowl beat egg into the milk and add the oil. Mix together well. Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and stir till just combined. Spoon this into the muffin ...