COOKBOOKS GALORE

And now for something completely different! I fancied something a bit exotic and fresh, so found this recipe in an old cookery book I picked up in a jumble sale years ago. It has lots of recipes for using fruit, so as I had a grapefruit and some lemons, decided to try this tart. It's fairly easy to make, but does need time chilling before you eat it. You need:  150g caster sugar, 70g soft butter, 4 eggs, 2 lemons, 1/2 grapefruit, a pack of shortcrust pastry [or make your own] and 1 tspn cornflour Preheat oven 200C.   You need a 23cm Tart tin Roll out the pastry to fit the tart tin. Line base with piece parchment paper or foil and cover with baking beans or rice. Bake for 15 mins, remove beans and paper or foil and bake for another 19 mins. Cool. Wash and dry the fruit then grate the zests. Put a pan of water on to simmer and in a bowl put the zests, the juice of the fruits, the beaten eggs, sugar and cornflour. Beat this over the pan of water till it thickens. Once ...

Thought I'd post something sumptuous for Valentine's Day. I'm cheating a bit because my daughter made this, with a little help from me. It's a lovely dessert with a meringue base, delicious chocolate cream layer, more meringue, then topped with a good layer of grated chocolate. You could buy 2 large meringue discs to save making them. This is a recipe from my French friend, and she says it originates in the North of France. Meringues:  2 egg whites, 60g caster sugar and 60g icing sugar Ganache:     150g dark chocolate, 150ml single cream Topping:      100g grated dark chocolate It's best to make the meringues the day before, but it's up to you! Heat oven 160C/gas3              Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone sheets Beat egg whites till stiff and add half of the 2 sugars. Whisk again then add the other half and whisk till shiny. Put into a piping bag and pipe into 2 large discs onto ...

I found some dates in the cupboard and looked for a recipe to use them up that wasn't sticky toffee! I found this one which was perfect as I also had some ripe bananas to use. I think it's from an old free supermarket magazine. 150g dried stoned dates 4tbspn orange juice or dark rum 200g very ripe banana (peeled weight) 125g butter, softened 125g sugar Finely grated zest of 1 small orange 2 large free-range eggs (or 2 smaller ones and a yolk) 175g sr flour  Preheat oven  180 o C/Gas 4. Line a 2lb loaf tin .  Make sure that each date has been stoned and cut each into four using kitchen scissors.  Put the date pieces in a small pan, cover with the orange juice (or dark rum) and gently bring to the boil.  Remove from the heat and leave to cool.  Mash the banana in a bowl with a fork. Beat the butter, sugar and orange zest together until light and creamy.  Add the eggs, one at a...

Thought I'd post something savoury for a change. We love quiches and this one has the flavours of Provence. Good for using up odd veg in the fridge.  Using ready made butter puff pastry makes quiche making so easy; only the veg to prepare. You need: 1 pack puff pastry, 3 eggs, 1 small pot of crême fraiche, 100g grated Gruyère cheese, 2 onions, 1 pepper, 3 tomatoes, 1 small tin tuna, drained, 10 olives, stoned and cut into slivers, Herbes de Provence, salt and pepper, green leaves to decorate preheat oven 180C/gas4                           23 cm tart tin Roll pastry out and line the tin. Slice tomatoes and put into base of the tin. Put into the fridge. Chop the onions into dice and the pepper into thin strips, then put into a large bowl. Add the tuna, beaten eggs, cream, cheese, olives, herbs, salt and pepper and mix together well. Remove tart tin from the fridge and pour in the mixture. Bake for about 4...

Sorry about the big white blank on my last post. My computer went a bit haywire that day, and even my son couldn't sort it out, so we left it! It's a tradition in our family that I make a Galette de Rois for Epiphany. They sell them in all the pâtisseries and supermarkets in France in January, with golden cardboard crowns for the person who finds the fève or china figure in the galette. I wanted to try something different, having made chocolate ones in the past as well as the usual almond ones. I decided to add one of my lemons from my tree in the greenhouse. Am amazed at how well this tree does in its big pot. It still has 8 large lemons ripening and many small ones, as well as some flowers. Not bad in Northants! Back to the Galette! It's easy to make - you need: 2 packs puff pastry [butter puff if possible] 125g ground almonds 100g caster sugar 80g butter 2 eggs 1 egg yolk 3 drops vanilla extract juice of 1 lemon Preheat oven 180C/gas4        ...

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I was asked to make a chocolate cake for a friend's get together, but I can never make up my mind which recipe to make. This is one of my favourites, and as I found a bag of ground hazelnuts in the supermarket the other day, decided to make this version, but using my bundt mould. Make sure you grease the mould thoroughly - I use the spray. Preheat oven 180C/gas4 In a bowl over simmering water melt - 150g butter and 150g dark chocolate. Take bowl off the heat and add 4 egg yolks, 175g caster sugar, 80g ground hazelnuts, 100g plain flour, another 50g dark chocolate which has been chopped up and a pinch of salt. Beat it all together. Whip the 4 egg whites till stiff then add gently into the mixture. Spoon into the tin and bake for 50 mins. For the icing: Chop 100g dark chocolate and melt it over water with 50g of butter. Pour it over the warm cake and leave to set. A good tip for chopping up the 50g ...

I made these recently for a family tea. They're delicious and the filling is rather like a brownie. I found the recipe in my scrapbook, so not sure where it originated. I bought a pack of shortcrust pastry, but you can make your own. For the filling you need -   1 egg, 100g caster sugar, 55g melted butter, 1/2 tspn vanilla extract, 20g cocoa powder, 20g ground almonds, 1/2 tspn instant coffee and a pinch of salt raspberries, crème fraîche and flaked almonds for the top.  Preheat oven 180C/gas4           Grease a 12 hole cupcake tin [or a little tart tin] . Roll pastry out thinly and cut out 12  x 4" or 10cm circles. Press gently into the holes in the tin and put in the fridge while you make the filling. Beat the egg till thick and frothy with an electric hand beater. Add the sugar and keep on beating till light and fluffy. Pour in the melted butter and vanilla, beating all the while. Fold in the cocoa, ground al...