COOKBOOKS GALORE

Wanted to make something Christmassy for my neighbours bake this week, and  I found some fresh cranberries in my local supermarket. These and mincemeat would be great in a cake. I found this recipe in my folder - it's from a magazine, but not sure which one! For the cake you need: 150g soft butter, 150g caster sugar, 1 tspn vanilla extract, 100g sr flour, 100g ground almonds, 4 tbspn milk, 200g mincemeat and 200g fresh cranberries. For the streudel topping: 25g cold butter, 75g sr flour, 1 tspn cinnamon, 75g demerara sugar, 100g pine nuts or flaked almonds. Icing sugar to dust Preheat oven 180C/gas4                 Line 20cm springform baking tin with baking parchment, making sure that the paper comes above the sides of the tin. Beat the sugar and butter till light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time plus the vanilla. Fold in the flour and ground almonds, then the milk and mix in. Add the mincemeat and cranberries and mix in gent...

Not sure if the problem is completely sorted, but at least I can post again! Couldn't think of a good name for this cheesecake, but as it has chocolate and coffee in it I thought this name would do. It's my normal cheesecake, but with an added something. It's a rich cheesecake, just right for an occasion, so am going to make another for Boxing Day. It's for those who love dark chocolate and coffee.   You need a 23cm springform tin. Preheat oven to oven 160C/gas3   Make sure that the cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature.   Put 200g of chocolate digestive biscuits in a bag and crush with a rolling pin [or use a food processor]. Add 125g plus 2 tbspns of melted butter and 1/2 tspn almond essence and mix together. Press this firmly into the bottom of the tin. Put in the fridge to set.   In a bowl mix together 140g granulated sugar and 1 tspn of espresso or any other strong coffee granules [more if you want a strong coffee flavour]. Melt 250...

I'm sorry but seem to be unable to post any photos and my text goes haywire! This has all happened since I changed the look of my blog. I don't know how to rectify it! If I try and look at past posts, I get a muddled text and the photos are in words! Am ok with technology until something goes wrong. I hope business will soon return to normal!

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 presume that this cake has its origins in the USA, as there's the famous Mississippi Mud Pie. My family love chocolate cakes, and as my son was coming to visit, I decided to make a mud cake, a recipe I'd kept for ages in my folder.  So for the cake you need: 220g butter or margarine, 220g dark chocolate, 6 tspn instant coffee, 160ml water, 125g sr flour, 125g plain flour, 50g cocoa, 1/2 tspn bicarb, 480g caster sugar, 4 eggs, 35ml vegetable oil and 110ml sour cream For the ganache you need: 280g good chocolate, 140ml double cream and 40g soft butter Preheat oven 160C/gas4                         Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin In a pan, put the chocolate, butter, coffee and water on a low heat, till chocolate has melted, then stir together. Sift the flours, cocoa and bicarb together in a bowl and stir in the sugar. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and sour cream together. Spoon the egg mixture and t...

 One of my favourite French desserts is a Clafoutis. It's usually made with cherries, and the question is whether to leave the stones in or take them out! I've read that leaving them in adds flavour, but I don't like finding stones in my dessert so I always take them out. I like to add some vanilla extract too. So for the Clafoutis you need: 500g cherries [stoned] 300ml milk 125g flour 100g caster sugar 3 eggs 20g butter [to butter dish] pinch salt icing sugar to dust Preheat oven 180C/gas5                         Grease a 23cm flan dish In a bowl sprinkle 50g of the sugar over the cherries and leave aside. Break the eggs and beat them together. Add the flour, rest of the sugar, a tspn of vanilla extract and the milk. Beat well to make a batter. Add a pinch of salt. Put the cherries in a layer in the base of the dish and pour over the batter. Bake for 35-40 mins till set. When cool, sift some icing sugar over the top....

  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...