COOKBOOKS GALORE

Had some friends coming to stay over the weekend, so decided to make some small cakes to have with tea. I bought a book in a charity shop a while ago, called 'The Encylopedia of Baking'; it has no author and I think it was originally published in Germany. It has some unusual cake and biscuit recipes, so I thought I'd make these almond praline creams, as I had half a bag of flaked almonds left over from the almond and honey cake. The creams look a bit like whoopie pies, and  I think they're really more like a cross between a cake and a biscuit. It's a basic sponge cake recipe, and whatever they are, cake or biscuit, they taste good, and the ingredient list is short and you've probably got everything in your store cupboard. The recipe makes about 30 biscuits. 4 egg yolks 20g caster sugar pinch salt 200g plain flour 75g flaked almonds 200g Nutella or any hazelnut chocolate spread 40g dark chocolate Preheat oven 200C/gas 6 Grease a baking sheet and...

We're going to have a quiet Easter this year, just the 2 of us on Easter Sunday, but we had friends coming on Good Friday. I'd made  Hot Cross Buns, but wanted to make a nice dessert to have after the fish pie. I fancied a cheesecake, but a baked one, and looked in my books and online for inspiration. I found this recipe, and as we love honey and I adore cinnamon, it was just the thing. It was on an Australian blog, in cups, so I've changed the measures and adapted the recipe to suit our tastes. It uses cottage cheese and cream cheese and I wasn't sure about this, but it tasted delicious. It's an unusual cheesecake in that it has a pastry base - so is it a cheesecake? Well, seeing how much cheese is in it, I think so! pastry: 225g plain flour 125g cold butter, chopped up 55g caster sugar 1 egg yolk 2 tbspn finely grated lemon rind about 3 tspns cold water Filling: 250g cottage cheese 250g cream cheese 265g honey 110g caster sugar ...

This month's challenge from Alpha Bakes is a hard one - baking something beginning with letter I . Lots of recipes begin with 'iced ....... ' but I wanted to find something different. I borrowed a book from the library called 'Cakes, Tortes and Gateaux'  - it has no author, and I found a recipe for an Israeli cake. I love cakes with nuts and I like dates, so had to give it a try. I changed a few things in the recipe, and had to convert it to grams. It worked out really well, and is full of good things. 2 eggs 180ml honey 150ml buttermilk 1 tspn vanilla essence 3 mashed bananas 300g sr flour 1 tspn baking powder 100g soft brown sugar 2 tbspn cocoa 1 tspn cinnamon 1 tspn allspice pinch salt 125g butter 150g chopped dates 125g chopped pecans 2 tbspns honey for top of cake Preheat oven 180C/gas4 grease a 23cm springform tin Beat together the eggs, honey, buttermilk and vanilla essence, then add the bananas. Keep 2 tbspn of the flour, then put th...

Yet another loaf cake to add to my repertoire - well the recipe used a 900g loaf tin, but I wanted a round cake so used a 20cm springform tin. Inspiration for the cake was a few very ripe bananas in the fruit bowl. I rarely use alcohol in cakes, but this time I did what the recipe said, and soaked the sultanas in the rum. I wanted to try a different topping so I used a butterscotch one I'd wanted to try for ages - I know it has a lot of sugar in it, but for a special occasion..........! 100g sultanas 50ml rum 185g plain flour 2 tspn baking powder ½ tspn bicarb pinch salt 2 tspn cinnamon - I used 3 tspns 125g soft unsalted butter 150g light soft brown sugar 2 large eggs 4 small very ripe bananas 1 tspn vanilla extract For the icing: 75g golden caster sugar 15g butter 50g light muscovado sugar 1 tbspn golden syrup 75ml double cream In a small pan pour the rum over the sultanas and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to soak. Preheat the oven 17...

I've posted muffin recipes several times, adapting my favourite recipe. I made a rhubarb tart yesterday, and had enough rhubarb left to make some muffins. I wanted to make something different, but having looked online and not been inspired, I decided to adapt my old faithful recipe  We love rhubarb crumble, so muffins with rhubarb and crumble sound ideal. I usually make the crumble with half oats and half flour, and I use oil instead of butter in the muffins. A healthier option! I used soft light brown sugar instead of my usual caster. For the crumble topping: 50g butter, 50g plain flour 25g porridge oats 50g demerara sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon For the muffins: 225g self-raising flour 100g soft light brown sugar 1 medium egg, beaten 250ml milk 120ml sunflower or rapeseed oil 200g rhubarb, sliced lengthways and chopped 2 tbspn cold water 50g caster sugar icing sugar [opt] Preheat oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tin wi...

I still have some pecans to use up from the bag I bought a while ago from the sadly- no- longer Julian Graves shop. I love making loaf cakes, so this is my variation on a recipe that had walnuts in it. Had a pot of local honey in the cupboard which needed using up, so added 1 tbspn to the cake mixture and also put 1 tbspn in the icing. 190g butter 190g caster sugar 190g plain flour 1 tspn baking powder 3 eggs 1 tspn vanilla essence 1 tbspn runny honey 60g chopped nuts - pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts Icing - icing sugar, lemon juice and 1 tbspn of honey - depends how thick you want your icing to be  as to how much icing sugar and lemon juice you use! Preheat oven 170C/gas 3 Grease a 900g loaf tin. Beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer till white and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat well after each one. Fold in the flour gently, a bit at a time. Add the vanilla and 1 tbspn of honey, then mix in the chopped nuts by hand. ...

Rhubarb is one of my favourite things to eat, so when I saw some lovely and pink, it made my day. We need a bit of colour in this dreary month! I didn't want to make a crumble, so thought about a cake. I'd seen this recipe ages ago on this site Taste of Home , so decided to have a go at changing the cups to grams and to make the cake. 100g rhubarb cut into small chunks 25g + 150g caster sugar 115g unsalted butter, softened 2 eggs 1 1/2 tspn vanilla essence 175g plain/all purpose flour 1 tspn baking powder 1/2 tspn salt Pinch of bicarbonate of soda 180ml buttermilk Brown sugar for the topping Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin. Put the rhubarb in a bowl with 25g of sugar and set aside. Cream together the butter and the rest of the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat in well. Add the vanilla essence. Sift all the dry ingredients together into a big bowl. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and fold into the...