COOKBOOKS GALORE

I love apple cakes, and this is a recipe from my lovely German dil. It's an unusual apple cake as it has 3 layers. It's not the prettiest of cakes, but the flavour's really good. It's not a huge cake, but it's nice eaten warm as a pudd., or you could eat it cold as a cake with your afternoon cuppa. 100g butter 100g caster sugar 200g sr flour 1 large egg pinch salt 500g cooking apples 55g sultanas 1 tspn cinnamon 55g demerara sugar Preheat oven 190C/gas 5. Grease and line a 20cm springform tin. Melt butter in microwave or pan. Remove and add the sugar, flour, egg and salt. Mix to a stiff dough. Put 2/3 of the dough in the bootom of the cake tin, pressing it to cover the base. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and then put on top of the dough. Put the 1/3 of the dough on top in pieces, tearing it and gently pressing it down. It won't cover the apple mixture. Bake for about 50 mins till golden, but cover with some foil for about the last...

What is a Bavarois? Well, according to the internet it's   the French name for Bavarian cream, it is a delicate cream dessert with a crème Anglaise base made from either milk, cream or a fruit puree and then aerated with whipped cream and whipped egg whites before being set in the refrigerator with gelatine. It may be a straight vanilla or combined with additional flavourings; such as chocolate, coffee or liqueurs, served on its own as an individual dessert or as a filling for a variety of charlottes, tortes, cakes etc.   So now you know! I wanted a dessert for my son and family's visit this week, and I found this in an old French magazine cutting. It's unusual in that instead of having a pastry case and filling it with the Bavarois cream, you use dessicated coconut, flour, milk, egg whites and sugar to make a sort of nest. Preheat oven 150C/gas2                         Grease and base line a 23cm cake tin. In...

Ever since Paul Hollywood made some biscotti on GBBO, I've wanted to make some. I found a couple of recipes on line that I liked, so I took ideas from them and made some chocolate ones. Also had a packet of hazelnuts in the cupboard that needed using, so added those to the mix. Preheat oven 180c/gas4          Line 2 baking trays with silicone or baking parchment I used a food processor  - put in 320g plain flour, 30g cocoa, 1 tspn bicarbonate of soda, 160g chocolate chunks, milk or plain, 250g hazelnuts and 1 tspn salt and pulse till the chocolate and hazelnuts are pea size. Beat 4 large eggs and 200g caster sugar till fluffy then add the flour mixture and fold in - or use a food mixer on low speed. Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and divide into 3. Shape each into a 45cm log. Put onto the baking trays and flatten gently. Brush the tops with egg wash made from a beaten egg white and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 20-25mins then c...

My stepson and family came for the day this week, and we have a tradition of having a nice cake for afternoon tea. I've mentioned my lovely German dil before, and she really is a superb baker [ her profession is in catering], so I try and make something new each time they come. I decided on a chocolate cake, but with something different as filling. I found a jar of peanut butter in the cupboard – perfect - and is something I know we all like. I know it's calorific, but it's a special cake for an occasion. 200g sr flour 1 tspn baking powder 150g caster sugar 150g butter 200g dark chocolate 100ml milk 6eggs Filling 250g peanut butter [smooth, but if you wanted a different texture, crunchy] 100g butter 100g icing sugar Preheat oven 180C Grease and baseline 2x20cm cake tins Melt the chocolate and butter over a pan of simmering water. Whisk the eggs and sugar till light and frothy. Add the milk and gradually mix in the chocolate mixture. Fold...

My friend went on holiday recently to Canada and brought me back a can of maple syrup. This recipe was on a leaflet attached to the can, so I thought I'd try it. It's a simple cake with a lot of flavour, and I've named it after my friend.  For the Cake: 125g butter, softened 100g white sugar 125cl maple syrup 1 tspn  vanilla extract 2 eggs  200g plain flour pinch of salt 2 1/2 tspn baking powder 60ml milk 100g toasted chopped walnuts For the Maple Icing: 125g butter, softened 200g icing sugar 2 tbspn maple syrup For the Maple drizzle topping: 125cl maple syrup 1 tbspn butter pinch of salt                Preheat oven 180C/gas4  Grease and line a 23cm cake tin Beat together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time then add the maple syrup and the vanilla. Mix the baking powder, salt and flour together and fold into the mixture with the milk. Spoon ...

There are a lot of fresh figs around in the shops, so I decided to make a tart. Recently I bought a large bag of grounds almonds from a cash and carry, so decided to use them with the figs -  another gluten free recipe. I love fresh figs; they're so versatile. You can use them with savoury things like ham as a starter, or just sprinkle them with brown sugar and bake for a tasty dessert. My friend adds them to salads. The tart uses shortcrust pastry, baked blind. You can use your favourite recipe or buy it ready made. You need enough for a rectangular tart tin [with a loose base if possible] - 250g flour and 125g fat. Preheat oven 180C/gas4 Grease the tart tin and line it with the shortcrust pastry. Either prick the pastry or use baking beans, and bake blind for about 15 mins.  For the almond cream  - beat 60g soft butter with 60g caster sugar and 60g ground almonds; add 1 egg and beat into the mixture. Add 10cl of whipping cream and mix together well. if you want...

A Reine de Saba [or Queen of Sheba] cake was one of Julia Child's favourites. There are lots of recipes of her version on blogs and websites, but this version is my French neighbour's family recipe. It always appears for birthdays and special occasions, which is how I got to try it. Persuading them to give me their recipe involved some making of English cakes on my part! I don't know why it's named after the Queen of Sheba; one suggestion I found online said  ' it shares many of the Bible Queen's qualities - exotic, rich, irresistible and the stuff legends are made of'. Hmmm! If you want to try JC's version here's a link to her  Reine de Saba Cake . There's also a clip on You Tube of JC making this cake on her French Chef programme - here's the  You Tube Clip . What an annoying voice she has! It's a chocolate and almond cake, but a lot of the recipes online don't have any almonds! Preheat oven 180C/gas4                Grease...