Mincemeat

Combine together:
1 lb (450 g) Bramley apples, cored and chopped small (no need to peel them)
2 oz (50 g) whole almonds, coarsely grated
4 level teaspoons mixed ground spice
½ level teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 tablespoons brandy
8 oz (225 g) shredded suet or butter
12 oz (350 g) raisins
8 oz (225 g) sultanas
8 oz (225 g) currants
8 oz (225 g) whole mixed candied peel, finely chopped

OR EQUIVALENT OF DRIED MIXED FRUIT
12 oz (350 g) soft dark brown sugar

grated zest and juice 2 oranges
grated zest and juice 2 lemons

Mix together and leave overnight. Warm gently until fat is melted and stir well to coat all the ingredients. Leave to cool and put into sterilised jars.

Best gluten-free brownies

 Adapted from Nigella's emergency brownies.

• Melt together
• 150 grams soft unsalted butter
• 150 grams soft light brown sugar
• 3 x 15ml tablespoon maple or golden syrup
• MIx in, sifted together: 
• 12 x 15ml tablespoons gluten-free plain flour
• 6 x 15ml tablespoons cocoa
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt flakes
• Mix in:
• 3 large eggs or equivalent eg 2 eggs, 1/4 cup apple sauce (at room temperature), beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 50 grams walnut pieces
• 50 grams dark or milk chocolate chips
• Optional: 1 tablespoon ground almonds
• Bake: 15 - 20 minutes at 160 degrees fan oven.

Pepparkakor: Swedish ginger biscuits. For Christmas.Definitely.

Although I have a tried and tested recipe from Sweden, I have also found a great explanation and recipe here.

Ingredients

½ Tbsp		cardamom pods* - seeds removed and crushed
150 g	(1¼ sticks)	butter or margarine
250 g	(1 cup)	sugar (white, brown or a mixture)
50 g	(2½ Tbsp)	golden syrup (light corn syrup)
20 g	(1 Tbsp)	treacle (dark corn syrup)
1 Tbsp		ground ginger
1 Tbsp		ground cinnamon
½ Tbsp		ground cloves
½ Tbsp		bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
100 ml	(6½ Tbsp)	water
450 g	(3½ cups)	plain (all-purpose) flour

*Or 1 tsp of ground cardamom

Mix the butter, sugar, syrup and treacle in a large saucepan. Heat gently until the butter melts, stirring continuously.

4. Turn off the heat, add the spices and mix thoroughly.

5. Add the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and stir again.

6. Add the water and stir once more.

7. Add the flour and stir thoroughly until it is completely mixed in.

8. Empty the mixture into a bowl. When cool cover with cling film (food wrap) and then leave the dough to rest in the fridge overnight or, if you can, even longer (a week is ideal).

9. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas 6, fan 180°C).

10. Take a small portion of the dough for a test bake and return the rest to the fridge. The dough will be very firm and hard to roll initially. Knead it to soften it a bit, but it is easier to work when it is cold and fairly stiff.

11. Roll it out thinly on a lightly floured surface or onto greaseproof paper. Cut into shapes using a biscuit (cookie) cutter.

12. Lift the biscuits on to cold baking trays (cookie sheets), lightly greased if not using greaseproof paper. Bake for 5-8 minutes until golden brown. Keep an eye on them as they burn very easily, but they should be crisp.

12. If the test batch spreads out and the biscuits lose their shape, add some more flour, and do another test bake.

13. If the test batch is good, remove enough dough for another batch and return the rest to the fridge. Bake in batches until all the dough has been used.

14. Once baked, leave to cool for a minute or two and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing (frosting)

The quantity below should be sufficient to ice a large batch of pepparkakor.

1		egg white
225 g	(1¾ cups)	icing sugar (powder sugar)
1 tsp		lemon juice

Whisk the egg white in a large bowl until frothy. Using a large spoon or a mixer on slow speed, add the icing sugar a tablespoonful at a time. Stir in the lemon juice and beat the icing until it is very stiff and white and stands up in peaks. Cover the surface with a damp cloth if not using immediately.

Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle and pipe away! Icing is harder than it looks so, unless you are a very experienced icer, I recommend keeping the designs really simple! 

Crab apple chutney

My friend Sarah has kindly given me lots of crab apples, so I am trying out some chutney recipes. Here is the first one:

INGREDIENTS

680 g (4 cups)  Crab Apples, Chopped
230 g Brown Sugar
1 Onion, Chopped
1-3 Chillies
3/4 inch Fresh Ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
8 oz (1 cup) Cider Vinegar
pinch Salt
A small handful of raisins

INSTRUCTIONS
Pop all ingredients into a pan with no lid
Reduce the heat and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, for at least an hour or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Once you're happy with the thickness, pour into sterilised jars

SLOW COOKER CRAB APPLE CHUTNEY

Put into slow cooker:

5 cups of quartered and cored crab apples (just over one litre/approximately 25oz)

2 crushed cloves of garlic

1/2 cup sugar

1 inch fresh ginger, grated

1 tspn each cinnamon, powdered ginger and cumin seeds

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 - 2 chillies, mostly deseeded but with a few seeds

salt and pepper

3/4 cup vinegar

Cook on LOW for 10 - 12 hours until dark and soft. Bottle into sterilized jars.

Mayonnaise

 

• 2 eggs - blend for 30 seconds
• Add and blend for 15 seconds:
• 2 tablespoons organic lemon juice 
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 
• 
  
• Drizzle slowly 1 1/4 cups sunflower oil 

Tiffin

 

• 150g chocolates - maltesers, chopped creme eggs, chopped mars bars/snickers etc
• 100g Raisins
• 200g Digestive Biscuits
• 125g Butter or Margarine – Plus extra to grease tin
• 3 tbsp Cocoa
• 4 tbsp Golden Syrup
• 100g Milk Chocolate – Broken into squares

To Top:

• 150g Milk Chocolate – Broken into squares
• 150g Dark Chocolate – Broken into squares

Adapted from https://donnadundas.co.uk/daim-bar-tiffin/#mv-creation-55 - see video on this link. the mixture will look very wet and greasy.

Blackberry Bakewell flapjack

 Adapted from https://donnadundas.co.uk/ recipe for Cherry Bakewell flapjacks

Ingredients

• 200g Oats
• 60g Ground Almonds
• 90g Soft Light Brown Sugar
• 90g Golden Syrup
• 130g Butter or Margarine - Melted
• 1 tsp Almond Extract
• 4tbsp Blackberry Jam

Instructions

1. Grease and line a cake tin and preheat the oven to 180 degrees
2. Mix oats, sugar, and ground almonds together in a large mixing bowl
3. Add the almond extract, golden syrup and melted butter and stir together until the oats are all wet
4. Tip half of this mix into the cake tin and use the back of a spoon or your fingers to press down and out to the edges, so it’s level and covers the tin
5. Spoon on the jam and spread evenly
6. Tip on the remaining oats and flatten and spread out until the jam is covered
7. Sprinkle over flaked almonds.
8. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes until the almonds are toasted and the oats have browned.
9. Melt the white chocolate in a small pan and drizzle over the top of the flapjack

Apple flapjack

Ingredients

250g (8oz) butter
250g (6oz) caster sugar - reduced from 8oz, try reducing further
175g (6oz) golden syrup
425g (15oz) porridge oats
2 apples, peeled and grated

Method

STEP 1
Preheat oven to fan160°C. Oil and line base of a 20x30cm (8x12in) cake tin with baking parchment.

STEP 2
Melt butter, caster sugar and golden syrup together in a pan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in oats and apples.

STEP 3
Spread mixture in tin, pressing down HARD and bake for 20-25 minutes UNTIL GOLDEN BROWN AND FIRM. Cut into 12-14 bars; allow to cool before turning out of the tin.

Note: a very moist bar because of the apple. Could try cooking slightly first, then draining.

Coconut macaroons

 

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, whites only
• 80g caster sugar  (try less)
• 150g desiccated coconut
• 90g dark chocolate

Method

• STEP 1

  Whisk together the egg whites and caster sugar in a large bowl for 2-3 mins until light and frothy, and the sugar has dissolved - meringue-like. 

• Add the coconut, and a pinch of salt then stir until combined. Leave to stand for 10 mins.

• STEP 2

  Heat the oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3½. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Scoop tablespoonfuls of the mixture and roll into compact balls, then arrange on the prepared baking sheet and flatten slightly. Bake for 10-12 mins until golden.

• STEP 3

  Leave on the baking sheet to cool completely. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water, or in short 20-second bursts in the microwave. Tip the melted chocolate into a small bowl, then dip the bottom of each cooled macaroon into the chocolate and wipe off any excess. Arrange on a sheet of baking parchment, chocolate-side up, then put in the fridge for 20 mins, or until set. You can use any remaining melted chocolate to pipe in zigzags over the top, if you like, then leave to set.

Clementine gluten free cake

 

INGREDIENTS

Serves: 8-10

METRICCUPS

• approx. 375 grams clementines (approx. 4)
• 6 large eggs
• 225 grams white sugar
• 250 grams ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (see NOTE below)

METHOD

1. Microwave pierced, whole clementines for 8 minutes or until completely mushy.
2. Blitz in a food processor
3.  Preheat the oven to gas mark 5/190ºC/170°C Fan/375ºF. Butter and line a 20cm / 8 inch Springform tin.
4. Add all the other ingredients to the food processor and mix. 
5. Add the pulped oranges.
6. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for an hour, when a skewer will come out clean; you'll probably have to cover with foil or greaseproof after about 40 minutes to stop the top burning. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, on a rack, but in the tin. Remove when cold
7. If using lemons, increase the sugar to 250g / 2¼ cups and add a glaze made of icing sugar mixed to a paste with lemon juice and a little water.

Gluten free cake

A gluten-free cake which can be adapted with any filling. 

Serves 8

For the cake:

1 1/2 cup ground almonds

1 1/2 cup wholemeal rice flour

3 eggs

250 g butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

For the filling:

750 g mascarpone cheese

2/3 cup heavy cream

50 g confectioners sugar

juice of 1 lemon 

any kind of fruit (I used mixed berries)

1. preheat the oven to 350F (180oC / gas 4)
2. 
   
3. butter and line 10-11 inch round cake pan (springform is great)
4. 
   
5. beat the butter and sugar in a food processor until pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes)
6. beat in the egg yolks one by one, add the lemon zest and juice
7. 
   
8. stir in the rice flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and add the ground almonds
9. 
   
10. in a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff and gently fold them into the cake mixture
11. 
    
12. put the batter into the tin and bake for 50 - 60 minutes until set and golden
13. 
    
14. let the cake cool down in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and leave it on a rack and rest for an hour
15. 
    
16. whisk all the filling ingredients together until combined (retain a little bit of fruit to use as garnish as well as having some in the filling)
17. 
    
18. When the cake has cooled, cut it into two even layers and place one layer on your serving plate or cake stand.
19. 
    
20. Spread the mascarpone filling on top of the first layer, retaining some for the top and sides of the cake if you desire. You could also just use it all in the middle.
21. 
    
22. Place the second layer on top. If you retained more filling you can frost the top and side of the cake too.
23. 
    
24. garnish with remaining fruit.
25. Allow to rest for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator before serving.

Gluten-free Christmas cake

 After years of trying to adapt my mother's marvellous Christmas/wedding cake recipe, I think I've finally found one, adapted from The Gluten Free Alchemist. This makes an eight-inch square cake, cooked in a silicone tray.

Ingredients

500g dried fruit – I used:

·         50 g currants

·         150 g raisins Flame raisins are extra juicy

·         100 g sultanas I used Turkish sultanas

·         50 g cranberries

·         50 g glacé cherries cut into quarters (I used Morello glacé cherries)

·         75 g dried apricots chopped

·         75 g dried prunes chopped

·         50 g dates, chopped

·         3 large tablespoons marmelade

100g chopped/flaked nuts of choice – I used:

·         Ground chestnuts/almonds/other nuts

·         50 ml lemon/orange juice

·         100 ml  cold brewed tea or apple/orange juice)

Cake Sponge – dry ingredients

·         90g gluten free flour

·         1 tsp psyllium husk 

·         ½ tsp GF baking powder

·         1 tsp mixed spice powder

·         1 tsp ground cinnamon powder

·         ½ tsp ground cloves

Cake Sponge – the rest

·         140 g unsalted butter or Stork margarine, melted

·         1 tbsp treacle

·         110 g brown/white sugar, mixed

·         2 large eggs UK large – lightly beaten/ 6 tablespoons chick pea water - vegan!

Instructions

1.            Weigh the fruit and nuts and juice and zest into a large bowl and add the booze and vanilla.

2.    Stir through, cover the bowl and leave to soak for about 24 hours at room temperature, stirring occasionally.

3.    Prepare your cake tin – Double line an 8 inch (20 cm) cake tin (at least 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 cm) deep) with good quality non-stick baking parchment. (I cut a wide strip long enough for the circumference and folded it in half lengthways to make a double layer). And base-line with a 2 circles of parchment (pre-cut).

4.    Mix the dry ingredients together and set aside (TIP : Weigh into an airtight container and shake vigorously)

5.    Pre-heat the oven to 150 C/300 F/Gas 2. (If using a fan oven – set to 130 C)

6.    In a very large mixing bowl and using a whisk, beat together the butter, treacle, sugar(s) and eggs until evenly combined.

7.    Add and thoroughly stir in the dry ingredients and fruit.

8.    Transfer the mixture to the lined tin and smooth the top.

9.    Bake for 1½ to 2 hours until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean and the cake feels firm to the touch.

10.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin.

11.  Once cold, carefully take the cake from the tin (be sure to remove the baking parchment from the bottom of the cake also) and place on fresh baking parchment.

12.  Pierce the cake with a skewer all across the surface.

13.  Using 50 ml apple brandy/booze of choice/cold tea, brush the cake all over and drizzle or syringe it into the skewered holes.

14.  Once the liquid has been absorbed, wrap the cake tightly in a double layer of baking parchment and a double layer of foil.

15.  Store in an airtight container if possible.

16.  ‘Feed’ the cake every couple of weeks (about 3 to 4 times) with a couple of tbsp booze or cold tea to give both moisture and maturity, being sure to wrap tightly before further storing.

17.  Ensure at least a week between the final feed and covering in marzipan and icing (to give the surface time to dry fully).