tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4304413462938725552024-03-04T20:22:50.245+00:00The Caked CrusaderThe Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.comBlogger715125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-13303280860364421942016-08-29T15:06:00.000+01:002016-08-29T15:06:48.052+01:00Goodbye…for now definitely, possibly forever (ooh, that came out more dramatic than intended!)<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">I thought I should
post to say goodbye to you all. I haven’t
posted anything now since June and suppose I’ve just fallen out of love with
blogging. The coming weekend would be my
blog’s 9<sup>th</sup> birthday and it’s made me realise that I’ve been doing
this for so long now that it’s started to feel like another job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">I still love
baking, and still bake most weekends, but it feels liberating not to have to scrabble around each
week and find something different to bake, write it up, take photos, post it
online etc. It was starting to take up a
big chunk of my limited free time, which is fine when you enjoy it, but not so
much when you don’t. And sometimes I
just want to make the same cake three weekends in a row without worrying about not
having anything to post!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">It’s been a blast
and I’ve loved all your comments and emails – thank you to everyone who’s
stopped by whether leaving a comment or not.
The blog will stay up and available (I use it as my personal recipe book
and would be lost without it!), and I’ll do my best to continue responding to
any questions left in the comments section.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">I don’t want to
say that I’ll never be back – in a few months’ time I might desperately miss
the blogosphere and return to it, but it doesn’t feel likely at the moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">To paraphrase
Douglas Adams’s dolphins when they leave Earth: so long, and thanks for all the
cake!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-37197521798919366252016-06-19T14:45:00.002+01:002016-06-19T14:45:57.020+01:00Coconut brownies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0mw10eIywheCJvqjENeFAZyz9ywV7EVpR-2HHTkD38_hQ_72oZyXw5KIL7k8M32W71RomJx_ZeVZG5FsSJKWU08xO1wS7SEmeapUj8PAz4pnFyz7J6LRfUCgaMGn9glTvA37sz-uuPx5/s1600/P6197445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0mw10eIywheCJvqjENeFAZyz9ywV7EVpR-2HHTkD38_hQ_72oZyXw5KIL7k8M32W71RomJx_ZeVZG5FsSJKWU08xO1wS7SEmeapUj8PAz4pnFyz7J6LRfUCgaMGn9glTvA37sz-uuPx5/s400/P6197445.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
had virtually no time to bake this weekend but, nonetheless, wanted some home
baking. This is the perfect recipe to have up your sleeve – the work of
minutes to get in the oven, very few ingredients, and utterly delicious. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />If
I had to pick my favourite things to pair with chocolate coconut would be right
at the top of the list, perhaps having to slug it out with pear for who
actually had the top spot. There is just something about coconut that
brings out the best in chocolate and vice versa. I love the damp grainy
texture of baked desiccated coconut and that you can find bits of it in your
teeth for a while after eating – it’s the ingredient that keeps on giving!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />One
thing I think it’s important to point out – this recipe didn’t behave like a
normal brownie recipe; usually, when you’ve done the melting of the chocolate
and butter you end up with quite a liquid mixture right until you add the
flour, and even then it’s a runny mix.
This was thicker and only started to loosen when I added the eggs – here’s
what it looked like after the initial melting stage (just so you don’t panic
that it’s gone wrong if yours looks similar!):<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />Possibly
the only difficult thing about baking brownies is judging when to remove them
from the oven. I work on the assumption that things firm up/set/dry out a
little on cooling so try and take them out before they look ‘done’. This
goes against my prudent nature and I feel a bit of a risk-taking daredevil in
removing something from the oven before it looks ready, but I force myself, and
the momentary stress is worth it! In my
opinion a brownie is better a little underdone, than a little over.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">100g
cocoa powder<br />
250g unsalted butter<br />
500g golden caster sugar<br />
4 eggs<br />
100g self raising flour<br />
100g desiccated coconut, plus 2 tablespoons extra to sprinkle on top<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Preheat
the oven to 180C/fan oven 160C/350F/gas mark 4.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Line
a 20cm square tin with baking paper or non stick foil.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Place
the cocoa powder, butter and sugar into a large pan (large enough to
accommodate all the additional ingredients) and melt over a gentle heat,
stirring all the time so nothing catches on the bottom of the pan.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When
everything has combined remove from the heat and leave to cool for about 10
minutes.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beat
in the eggs, one at a time.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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in the flour and coconut.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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into the prepared tin and sprinkle the extra coconut over the top.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bake
for approximately 45 minutes or until the brownie is set but not firm.
Best to start checking after about 30 minutes as ovens vary. If the top
is getting too dark and crusty, cover loosely with foil and continue to bake.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leave
to cool in the tin and, when cool, cut into chunky sized squares.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Serve
with a cup of tea, or warm and serve with ice cream for dessert.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bask
in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-24172318074902576692016-06-12T10:53:00.003+01:002016-06-12T10:53:55.675+01:00Ginger and rum cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
think I must be a contrarian baker. Now that summer actually seems to have
arrived, I know I should be thinking about strawberries, cream and other such
light frippery….but what I really wanted this week was ginger cake. And
rum. And dates. And all things that make you think of colder
weather (not that I even like colder weather). As I said – contrarian.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />This
cake is always better the day after baking, and the day after that; it’s always
the way with sticky spicy cakes – they need time to mellow and let their
flavours mature. I do have a penchant for rum and have a selection at
home that would rival most cocktail bars; for this cake I chose a spiced rum as
I thought the extra punch of flavour would work well. Spiced rum always
seems to have a vanilla note to it too and I never miss the opportunity to get
a bit of vanilla into something.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />You
can taste each of the main flavours in the cake: ginger, dates and rum. Putting the rum in the icing gives a raw hit –
if you like your booze softer, and more baked, consider putting more in the
cake and leaving it out of the icing. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />Without
checking through almost nine years of blogging, I don’t remember putting dates
into a ginger cake before. It was a good move – it turned a standard
ginger cake into something more akin to a sticky toffee pudding. You could
leave the icing off this cake and serve it warm, as dessert, with custard or
ice cream. Personally, I am always partial to a white icing and a bit of
the itchy teeth feel it can sometimes create. Many older people I know
have lost their taste for overly sweet things…I do sometimes wonder if it will
ever happen to me. I just can’t imagine being that person who winces when
they eat something and say, ‘ooh, that’s a bit sweet for me’. Does. Not. Compute.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Ingredients</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">75g
unsalted butter<br />
100g dark muscovado sugar<br />
125g black treacle<br />
125g golden syrup<br />
2 eggs<br />
3 tablespoons rum – I used spiced rum<br />
225g self raising flour<br />
2 teaspoons ground ginger<br />
50g stem ginger, finely chopped<br />
75g medjool dates – pitted and finely chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
the icing:<br />
100g icing sugar<br />
1-2 tablespoons spiced rum<br />
1 tablespoon stem ginger syrup (from the jar of stem ginger)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Method</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Preheat
the oven to 180C/fan 160C/350F/gas mark 4.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Line
a 900g loaf tin with baking paper.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Place
the butter, sugar, treacle and golden syrup into a saucepan and melt together
over a gentle heat.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leave
to cool for at least 5 minutes before beating in the eggs and rum – if the mix
is too hot the eggs will scramble and leave lumps in the cake. Not nice.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Stir
in the flour and ground ginger.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Stir
in the chopped ginger and dates.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Pour
into the prepared baking tin.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bake
for 50 minutes – 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out
clean.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leave
to cool for 10-15 minutes in the tin, before de-tinning and leaving to cool
completely on a wire rack.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now
make the icing: mix the icing sugar with 1 tablepsoon each of rum and ginger
syrup – add the extra spoonful of rum only if needed. You’re aiming for a
thick, glossy icing that has movement to it but isn’t so loose it will just run
off the cake.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Spoon
the icing over the cake and leave to set.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
cake gets better with age – it becomes stickier and more flavoursome.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Serve
in generous slices with a cup of tea.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bask
in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-32720723525136710062016-06-05T13:33:00.000+01:002016-06-05T13:33:38.265+01:00Bakewell thumbprint biscuits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ3JobSHyxuvUEJdFuFoaLnyD_kM971l6GECdZ0SgUBMMSuSDSUxiB_mGBlrN4203m2vyOVx-lZFwDephyYORtozB3VoCLKYffskwrkcZnGzmbaKoxRyZR7I9Wxsu3-I-405oZq6BVjh1X/s1600/P6047412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ3JobSHyxuvUEJdFuFoaLnyD_kM971l6GECdZ0SgUBMMSuSDSUxiB_mGBlrN4203m2vyOVx-lZFwDephyYORtozB3VoCLKYffskwrkcZnGzmbaKoxRyZR7I9Wxsu3-I-405oZq6BVjh1X/s400/P6047412.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
there’s one thing I’ve learned since I’ve been blogging it’s that good recipes
can turn up anywhere; a particularly good source being supermarket free
magazines. This one is from the Co-Op’s magazine and combines two of my
favourite things – biscuits and bakewells. Sadly, I no longer live near a
Co-Op but my mother in law does, and diligently picks up the new magazine for
me whenever it’s available – thanks Dot!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR3jEc-a7fWJX7RGePT_8sWkB-Is0Mc9QBiqMhTkcOeFKjUnhSo6W8lETreTIdJxXZK5XTcL8zwNsDAaaptHcev9Kfaf_vsu8_TvDy3iUNW0XwONqe1-JrSHRDYWsmwS-9SnC89R7lmRhE/s1600/P6057416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR3jEc-a7fWJX7RGePT_8sWkB-Is0Mc9QBiqMhTkcOeFKjUnhSo6W8lETreTIdJxXZK5XTcL8zwNsDAaaptHcev9Kfaf_vsu8_TvDy3iUNW0XwONqe1-JrSHRDYWsmwS-9SnC89R7lmRhE/s400/P6057416.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
all probably made thumbprint biscuits as children; they must be up there with
fairy cakes and rock buns as the ideal ‘starter’ bake for children. But
what I liked about this recipe was that it reinvented the familiar biscuit and
introduced almonds and white icing to create a bakewell hybrid. It really
is a winning combination.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGjd42bgwBEX_-GJr4h0v7tuuHKVc-LBE8XQmhQG2EawU9qt86Uvpia4btpOfGfJ_H4cI-TP5r95RZ36Hq5ZgojRehPoIcVDnAEP_C3ZYh5kVnvXz4iZ1tjmWaJoa16m_TZgrMPPJmzSb/s1600/P6057418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGjd42bgwBEX_-GJr4h0v7tuuHKVc-LBE8XQmhQG2EawU9qt86Uvpia4btpOfGfJ_H4cI-TP5r95RZ36Hq5ZgojRehPoIcVDnAEP_C3ZYh5kVnvXz4iZ1tjmWaJoa16m_TZgrMPPJmzSb/s400/P6057418.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
recipe makes a lot of biscuits. A lot. The recipe said it would
make 40, and I got 26 (this isn’t bad for me – normally when a recipe says 40 I
get about 12!). This is very handy as it is a strong individual who will stop
at one!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaRachLUCj_n9OwRl0nK6d_15rlqbFqDStBbOtkJ4gyDiuIld4QHf9OOlBmo1PZ395525DEA9ZLDw49mVAIThlrfvuv2WW-Gqw01VUwN5WwpJIZIr47cjy7JfOTBFcaOHPz0LITwcNQtP/s1600/P6057423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaRachLUCj_n9OwRl0nK6d_15rlqbFqDStBbOtkJ4gyDiuIld4QHf9OOlBmo1PZ395525DEA9ZLDw49mVAIThlrfvuv2WW-Gqw01VUwN5WwpJIZIr47cjy7JfOTBFcaOHPz0LITwcNQtP/s400/P6057423.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
lemon zest in the biscuit and the lemon juice in the white icing is quite
strong; if you want the almond and jam to be more dominant I would recommend
maybe using the zest in the biscuit and making the icing up with water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
the biscuits:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
175g unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
175g caster sugar<br />
1 lemon’s zest<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
1 egg<br />
150g ground almonds<br />
150g self raising flour<br />
approx ½ a jar of raspberry jam<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
the icing:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
80g icing sugar<br />
1 lemon’s juice<br />
Handful of toasted flaked almonds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Preheat
the oven to 180C/fan oven 160C/350F/Gas mark 4.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Line
two (or four if you have them, otherwise you can just rotate the baking trays
and use them twice) baking sheets with baking paper or non stick foil.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beat
together the butter, sugar, zest and vanilla until light and whippy; you will
notice the mix turning pale.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Add
the egg and beat well.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Add
the ground almonds and self raising flour and stir until just mixed.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Take
a heaped teaspoon of the mix and roll into a ball.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Place
on the baking sheet.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Repeat
until the tray is full – they do spread while baking so aim for a maximum of 8
per baking sheet (depending on the size of your sheet.)<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Push
your thumb into each ball to form a well.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Spoon
½ teaspoon of jam into each well.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bake
for approximately 10-12 minutes until golden and nicely spread. I found mine
needed longer – about 16-18 minutes, but it’s good to check after 10 minutes if
only to rotate the trays for an even bake.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Repeat
the process until all your biscuit dough is used up.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leave
to cool.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now
make the icing: mix together the icing sugar with just enough lemon juice (you
won’t need it all) until you have a thick but runny icing.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Drizzle
across the top of the cooled biscuits.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Scatter
over the flaked almonds.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bask
in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-66672820094111728862016-05-29T16:31:00.001+01:002016-05-29T16:31:59.184+01:00White chocolate cheesecake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrjJGwF9tpr8TrW2ILcm7YUdJ0pOkDyMuB2VDJi2KWDTpH8HwOK_Ctlhe9YN3T9lxAhg7ngc85S9n4t-ogK1mBN0utFjIz4HYY_69y9x74AiGnTdi5mLz4AHat-GdFouU-Boyzs4e5EKP/s1600/P5297393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrjJGwF9tpr8TrW2ILcm7YUdJ0pOkDyMuB2VDJi2KWDTpH8HwOK_Ctlhe9YN3T9lxAhg7ngc85S9n4t-ogK1mBN0utFjIz4HYY_69y9x74AiGnTdi5mLz4AHat-GdFouU-Boyzs4e5EKP/s400/P5297393.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
is something about a bank holiday weekend that just makes you feel like you
have more time for everything, including baking. I wanted to bake
something that was rich and indulgent, and would also be a fancy treat across
the whole three days. I don’t usually make baked cheesecakes but the
minute I laid eyes on this one, on the BBC Good Food website, I knew it had to
be!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nrrH0XVmUY2K1CmOI737ehWm4HlkxPCOFEkwZ_Ui92HDt2_Xwe0HD2WIvrBHYq3yZeTtUuUnKcbYd3Z3P3wVoxwgS_y3IYpOOylQj6gu3uCFfp0G60Rh32rdoqgRQS4kLMdyG_UlAehc/s1600/P5297401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nrrH0XVmUY2K1CmOI737ehWm4HlkxPCOFEkwZ_Ui92HDt2_Xwe0HD2WIvrBHYq3yZeTtUuUnKcbYd3Z3P3wVoxwgS_y3IYpOOylQj6gu3uCFfp0G60Rh32rdoqgRQS4kLMdyG_UlAehc/s400/P5297401.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Just
reading the ingredients list indicated that this was going to be rich, rich,
rich! I tried to balance it by serving with fresh raspberries. Any acidic
fruit would work well such as rhubarb or citrus.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />The
texture of this cheesecake is beautiful – I often find that baked cheesecakes
can be a bit dense and heavy, resulting in that squeaky tooth feeling. This one is light and almost mousse-like, but
unmistakably a cheesecake. Surprisingly,
it isn’t too sweet either.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Iy7T5wY1E8HnRUkzuYi-WxY1IMtJ20vp6wegbxeCqNC7oruIwl4NSi8pBS8XEYR8u9JBBjtx3gXroO4Rp4kNZWliPasDzAIQyuyowWN7BWeBx3t5OlM-nkI-gHkPHXajUBYTsQUPTFgk/s1600/P5297405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Iy7T5wY1E8HnRUkzuYi-WxY1IMtJ20vp6wegbxeCqNC7oruIwl4NSi8pBS8XEYR8u9JBBjtx3gXroO4Rp4kNZWliPasDzAIQyuyowWN7BWeBx3t5OlM-nkI-gHkPHXajUBYTsQUPTFgk/s400/P5297405.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
possibly the first time I’ve made a baked cheesecake where I avoided a split on
the top as it cooled. I think I’ve had
this in the past because I’ve overbaked it and not trusted that it would firm
up enough during cooling; this time I made a conscious effort to turn the oven
off after an hour even though the cheesecake looked barely set.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />This
makes a big cheesecake but don’t worry if you don’t want it all at once.
Cut it into slices and freeze for future treats! Or eat it all up in a couple
of days – I won’t judge you.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42ed3yIzFX86VEKlDw7hFbkfuB8WLVtv3hp_KliFo6BpxWW0xZnfImXegBs5t24AoAkwIvcu-a8ZFSS2HjqgDXi-6d8Fhhez2RvhxddkdW_yi4AA4yKZkFd34YcmXDY3PRNwyFJYxdL_d/s1600/P5297403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42ed3yIzFX86VEKlDw7hFbkfuB8WLVtv3hp_KliFo6BpxWW0xZnfImXegBs5t24AoAkwIvcu-a8ZFSS2HjqgDXi-6d8Fhhez2RvhxddkdW_yi4AA4yKZkFd34YcmXDY3PRNwyFJYxdL_d/s400/P5297403.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
the base:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">200g
digestive biscuits, or Hobnobs<br />
85g unsalted butter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
the topping:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">400g
white chocolate<br />
300ml double cream<br />
400g cream cheese – I used Philadelphia<br />
4 eggs<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">To
serve: raspberries<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Preheat
the oven to 180C/fan 160C/350F/gas mark 4.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Blitz
the biscuits in a food processor and then add the butter (no need to melt if
you’re using a food processor) and blitz again until combined.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Press
into the base of a 23cm round springform tin.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bake
for 10 minutes, then leave to cool.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Reduce
the oven to 140C/fan 120C/280F/gas mark 1.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Wrap
the outside of the cake tin tightly in 2-3 layers of foil – this is to make it
waterproof for its water bath later!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now
make the topping: Place the chocolate and the cream into a saucepan and melt
together over a gentle heat.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leave
to cool for 5 minutes.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beat
together the cream cheese, eggs and vanilla.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Add
the cooled chocolate cream mix and beat until smooth.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Place
the tin (wrapped in foil) in a deep roasting tin and pour the filling into it.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Pour
boiling water, from the kettle, into the roasting tin so that it comes about
halfway up the side of the cake tin.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bake
for 1 hour, then turn the oven off.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leave
the cheesecake to cool in the oven for 1 hour with the door closed, then for
about another hour with the door slightly ajar. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Remove
the tin from the water bath and remove the foil.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Cover
the top with clingfilm and refrigerate until about 10 minutes before you wish
to serve it.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Serve
either on its own, or with some fruit for a fancy dessert.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bask
in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-50886084817595376532016-05-22T14:54:00.000+01:002016-05-22T14:54:14.200+01:00Cider cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGo8tAj5X6SG8DZukYIY1wjR93uA_JWNDluRLd0_IL8ZxjramMPWdBNzE1wn8CTWPOE3mCKGzF6IU5qaJWsr_54tp5Cmdwb_3jpgb9wx9OVHQtM_awCRMYswuhYj6JAJK4UkJ0i2F4NGh/s1600/P5227385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGo8tAj5X6SG8DZukYIY1wjR93uA_JWNDluRLd0_IL8ZxjramMPWdBNzE1wn8CTWPOE3mCKGzF6IU5qaJWsr_54tp5Cmdwb_3jpgb9wx9OVHQtM_awCRMYswuhYj6JAJK4UkJ0i2F4NGh/s400/P5227385.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
Mr CC’s birthday we took a luxury train trip right the way across the country
to Somerset; the carriages were all authentic Pullman carriages from the Art
Deco era (the sort of train someone usually gets murdered on in an Agatha
Christie tale…luckily our trip was less eventful!) – ours had been used by the
Queen for a trip so we felt pretty pampered:<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji-HsEslipAkLMy3FMXp0D_FomC4GMbnjTuCN0wN8SwCJDIKTvMVJnBntAbG23kNn2hWXmKjZNx0jrOfHlJ8tk7SqdaeFxTScgU1cKKuLBvsMH3m4roKjqrQHZ0slbTJCQEe0Z5oOWB-as/s1600/IMG_0469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji-HsEslipAkLMy3FMXp0D_FomC4GMbnjTuCN0wN8SwCJDIKTvMVJnBntAbG23kNn2hWXmKjZNx0jrOfHlJ8tk7SqdaeFxTScgU1cKKuLBvsMH3m4roKjqrQHZ0slbTJCQEe0Z5oOWB-as/s400/IMG_0469.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />I
think I mentioned a week or two back that, wherever we visit, I try to buy a
fridge magnet and honey. Honey didn’t seem right for Somerset so I flexed
the rule to mean ‘local food produce’ and came back with a rather lovely little
jug of cider. If I’m being entirely honest it was the jug that swayed me
more than the cider.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2Nv5HDjsCUleNT4uRB3owWW_ZD1DhRHcmKKiJq4kPfbEIAVtBaq5z5eMgXjcrNCBAgvfiM-q1cJRIqJnI1cwFPtONQBIY9eUENlTTgeE1nG_YzhK9BoMsGzDNaNBcXXEXpDAnZkhI07R/s1600/P5227378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2Nv5HDjsCUleNT4uRB3owWW_ZD1DhRHcmKKiJq4kPfbEIAVtBaq5z5eMgXjcrNCBAgvfiM-q1cJRIqJnI1cwFPtONQBIY9eUENlTTgeE1nG_YzhK9BoMsGzDNaNBcXXEXpDAnZkhI07R/s640/P5227378.JPG" width="374" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />The
cider is somewhere between the extremely fizzy ciders you find in supermarkets
and the more traditional flat cider. ‘Flat’ always sounds an unappealing
description; it has a critical edge to it, but all I mean is it’s not
fizzy. While I’m always partial to a bit of fizz I must confess to rather
liking the less carbonated varieties as I seem to taste the apple more
somehow. I also thought it would be nice for baking with, hence this
week’s choice of cake.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYE0XUnDF-Hi4CRfHFYm4a5unnnf68cowe_sJJdTVlKxxHiP0ycDEC74CIsPm-qA3kL5RQ82M4bbdPso-PnXK9qMA5rKL4qtr8Xi8GCge4NnMNygD-D2InbUYi7HLGpo2_vzifG8eeWypg/s1600/P5227388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYE0XUnDF-Hi4CRfHFYm4a5unnnf68cowe_sJJdTVlKxxHiP0ycDEC74CIsPm-qA3kL5RQ82M4bbdPso-PnXK9qMA5rKL4qtr8Xi8GCge4NnMNygD-D2InbUYi7HLGpo2_vzifG8eeWypg/s400/P5227388.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />The
addition of the cinnamon is lovely because it emphasises the apple element and
conjures up the flavours you expect from an apple pie. The sponge is a
light texture and makes the cake very eatable (I know – all cakes fall into
this category, but there is just something about a soft, crumbly sponge!). I added a sprinkling of sugar on the top for
a bit of crunch.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">150g
unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
150g light muscovado sugar, plus 2 tablespoons extra for the topping<br />
3 eggs<br />
340g plain flour<br />
1 ½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda<br />
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon<br />
225ml cider<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Preheat
the oven to 180C/fan oven 160C/350F/gas mark 4.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Line
a 20cm round springform tin with baking paper.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beat
together the butter and sugar until light and pale – it won’t go truly whippy,
as it would with caster sugar, as the muscovado is grainier.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beat
in the eggs, one at a time.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Weigh
out the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon and mix together.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fold
in a third of the flour mix, followed by a third of the cider.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Repeat
until all the ingredients are incorporated.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Spoon
into the prepared tin and level the surface.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sprinkle
the additional sugar over the top.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bake
for approximately 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes
out clean.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leave
to cool in the tin for approximately 20 minutes, until you can safely handle to
de-tin. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leave
to cool completely on a wire rack.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
cake will keep for several days in an airtight tin.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bask
in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-17116915580642355812016-05-08T14:32:00.000+01:002016-05-08T14:32:10.889+01:00Date, honey and walnut cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Whenever we go on a trip out there are usually two purchases I
make: a fridge magnet, and a jar of local honey. My latest honey acquisition came after a
visit to an Essex Wildlife Trust centre at the wonderfully named <a href="http://www.essexwt.org.uk/reserves/fingringhoe-wick">FingringhoeWick</a>. It doesn’t sound like it should be a
real place!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />I’ve spent a lot of time recently sorting through my cookbook
collection; it had got out of hand and so disorganised following our house move
(over 18 months ago now – eek! No excuse anymore!) that I couldn’t find
anything. Now it’s all nicely arranged
by type, so I had no trouble locating an old cookbook I have dedicated entirely
to honey.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />This simple cake stood out as the one to make; I’ve boosted
the quantities a bit but the ratios remain the same. With the weather predicted to be warm, I
didn’t want anything too fiddly or involving buttercreams – and this cake
couldn’t be easier or quicker to make.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />Don’t be fooled by this cake’s plain Jane looks; it packs a
glorious punch with comforting flavours and a soft texture punctuated by
walnuts and chewy dates. It’s a more old
fashioned sort of crumbly sponge and the walnuts stop it getting too sweet,
which you might think it would be given the inclusion of sugar, honey and
dates. It really is worth making. Keeps
well too…which might not be an issue!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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185g unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
115g castor sugar<br />
75g runny honey<br />
3 eggs<br />
115g dates, chopped<br />
115g walnuts, chopped<br />
300g self raising flour<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Preheat the oven to 180C/fan oven 160C/350F/gas mark 4.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Line a 20cm round springform tin with baking paper.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat together the butter, sugar and honey until light, soft
and whippy.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat in the eggs one at a time.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Mix in the dates, walnuts and flour and ensure everything is
well combined.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Spoon into the prepared tin, level the surface and bake for
approximately 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Start checking it after 40 minutes, as ovens
vary.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Leave to cool in the tin until you can safely handle; de-tin
and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-76200009618629916842016-05-01T17:57:00.000+01:002016-05-01T17:57:23.976+01:00Chocolate pecan tart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I suspect this may be the same as a Mississippi mud pie but
haven’t called it that in case, like key lime pie, there’s a specific ingredient/aspect
that defines it and I’m not aware of it!
These things can be a minefield so I thought I’d avoid causing any
offence – in all honesty it was the inclusion of pecan nuts that made me just
think, ‘hmm, best not go there!’<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s a bank holiday weekend so that means the glorious
euphoria that only an extra day off work can bring! I wanted to make something that would last
all weekend and provide dessert. This
met the brief and was also a tart that I knew we wouldn’t get bored of –
seriously, how you could you ever tire of chocolate tart?<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />The tart souffled up whilst cooking and sank when
cooling. Don’t panic when this happens;
although my outer ring of pecan nuts stood up like sentries and meant the edge
couldn’t sink back down giving an ‘interesting’ final look! Here it is souffled….<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />….and sunken:<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />I do admire the design of pecan nuts – they look like
shrivelled brains. Walnuts and pecans
have it sewn up regarding ‘interesting looking nuts’. Most nuts are a bit dull looking – smooth and
pale, but these two have raised the bar and always make me pause to look whenever
I bake with them. The complexity in
shape that nature can produce is fascinating.
I’ve re-read what I’ve just written and concede that some people may
find it weird. I can assure you that it’s
when I say I’ve started talking to the nuts that you should worry (or when I
claim that they answer back!)<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For the
tart base:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
225g biscuits – I used hobnobs, but digestives or ginger biscuits would also
work<br />
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For the
filling:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
170g plain chocolate<br />
170g unsalted butter<br />
4 eggs<br />
170g dark muscovado sugar<br />
150ml whipping cream<br />
100g pecan nuts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">To serve: whipped cream<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Start by making the base: blitz the biscuits to crumbs in a
food processor, then add the butter and blitz again until you have clumpy wet
sand. NB. If you use the food processor
there is no need to melt the butter, unlike it you use the old ‘bash the
biscuits with a rolling pin’ method!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Press the crumbs into a 20cm loose bottomed flan tin taking
care to come right up the sides.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Place in the refrigerator while you make the filling.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Preheat the oven to 190C/fan oven 170C/375F/gas mark 5.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Melt the chocolate and butter together over a gentle heat.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Leave to cool for about 10 minutes – if the mix is too hot the
eggs will scramble when you add them causing a lumpy final texture.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Whisk in the eggs and sugar until smooth and well combined.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Whisk in the cream.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pour into the chilled biscuit base and place the pecan nuts on
top, arranged however you wish.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the chocolate filling looks
set.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Leave to cool before de-tinning. Don’t worry that your tart will settle as it
cools – this is normal.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Serve in generous slices with cream.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Eat<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-29677766705970950962016-04-17T14:58:00.001+01:002016-04-17T14:58:31.829+01:00Fruit tea loaf<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">This recipe came into being because I made a whim
purchase. Whilst visiting a Greek Cypriot supermarket on the quest for
baklava (as instructed by Mr CC; if only all quests in life were this tasty!),
I spotted a pouch of dried red and white mulberries. I was starting from
a position of ignorance: I didn’t know anyone other than silk worms ate
mulberries, but, seeing as I didn’t see any silk worms doing their shopping I
deduced that they must also be human food.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />What caught my attention was their beautiful
knobbly appearance. I want to describe them as looking like a raisin that
had suffered a severe allergic reaction to something but this wouldn’t convey
how cute they are. Texturally, they are similar to a dried fig i.e. they
have a bit of grittiness about them. They are also very dry, which was
why I decided to use them in a tea loaf, where they’d have the opportunity to
plump and rehydrate.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Having read up about mulberries they seem to be
considered a superfood. I always struggle with this term as – to me –
most food is pretty darned super, but it is because they’re high in protein, iron
and vitamins blah blah science etc. They taste nice too – which is the
most important thing; imagine a less sweet sultana.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Thickly buttered fruit loaf is one of life’s great
joys. I always say that you can toast the loaf and then butter it, but I
never have any left to get to do that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">340g dried fruit – I used dried mulberries and
sultanas<br />
60g glace cherries – chopped<br />
110g dark brown soft sugar<br />
200ml cold tea – I used 2 teabags to boost the flavour<br />
225g self raising flour<br />
1 egg<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The night before you wish to bake the cake: place
the fruit, cherries and sugar in a bowl and mix with the tea. Cover the
bowl and leave - ideally overnight but longer won't hurt.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Day of baking: Preheat the oven to 190C/fan oven
170C/375F/gas mark 5.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Line a 900g loaf tin with baking paper.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Mix the flour and egg into the pre-soaked fruit mix
– ensure it is well combined and no pockets of dry flour or egg remain.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Spoon into the prepared tin and level the surface.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Bake for approximately 1 hour or until a skewer
inserted into the cake comes out clean. If the cake is browning too
quickly, don’t be afraid to cover it loosely with foil.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Leave to cool on a wire rack. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Serve in slices with butter thick enough to leave
teeth marks when you bite into it!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have
created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-11402312821049318222016-04-10T11:12:00.001+01:002016-04-10T11:12:48.330+01:00Pecan cupcakes with cream cheese frosting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I haven’t yet baked a single cupcake during 2016 so thought it
was about time I rectified this most heinous situation. The pecan sponge is an adaptation of a recipe
where it was intended as a 20cm cake served as dessert with toffee sauce. Most sponges can be converted into cupcakes
pretty simply by a reduction in baking time.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />The original recipe used maple syrup instead of the golden
syrup I used; I made this switch because Mr CC actively dislikes the smoky
flavour of maple syrup. He’s not known
for being picky about food, there are probably less than a handful of no-go
ingredients for him, so it would seem rude not to accommodate him. I prefer golden syrup too!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />Take time to blitz the pecans to a fine crumb but, at the same
time, don’t blitz them for too long so they start to release their oils. Once you hit the look of ground almonds,
stop! I kept mine perhaps a bit coarser
than ground almonds:<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSN-lLhnUNyOpqLE0k7tDlGhZ-4QEBYg8xwyTmtuAhyphenhyphenXC_HGHGkl9P_tXsYhM1m-yILTqT_EKAg0x4Qcv-8IhKAr0qvNeAZwgzaYw6qfzqgSLqaZlFMWephxFPCh8-gu26JqhnzkVSP1J/s1600/P4097312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSN-lLhnUNyOpqLE0k7tDlGhZ-4QEBYg8xwyTmtuAhyphenhyphenXC_HGHGkl9P_tXsYhM1m-yILTqT_EKAg0x4Qcv-8IhKAr0qvNeAZwgzaYw6qfzqgSLqaZlFMWephxFPCh8-gu26JqhnzkVSP1J/s400/P4097312.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />Pecans have a robust flavour so I chose a cream cheese
frosting as I thought it would hold its own against the nuts. The tang of the cream cheese works well and I
kept it simple with a dash of vanilla. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />There are three distinct flavours to these cupcakes – cream cheese,
syrup and pecans. They all hit together
but the pecan is the one you’re left with at the end. They are sweet – as you’d expect with sugar,
syrup and pecans (which I always think of as a sweet nut) - but it’s a
flavoursome sweet rather than a sugary sweet; you aren’t left with itchy teeth!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For the
sponge:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
200g unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
150g muscovado sugar<br />
350g pecans – blitzed to fine crumbs in a food processor<br />
3 eggs<br />
100g golden syrup<br />
150g self raising flour<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
</span><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">For the frosting:<br />
</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">200g unsalted butter, at room
temperature<br />
300g icing sugar<br />
180g cream cheese – I used Philadelphia<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">To decorate: pecan halves</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Preheat the oven to 170C/ fan 150C/340F/gas mark 3 ½. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Line two cupcake pans with paper cases – I got 20 generous sized
sponges.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat together the butter and sugar until light and well
combined – it will never go quite as fluffy with brown sugar as it would with
caster.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat in the ground pecans.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat in the eggs, one at a time.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat in the golden syrup.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fold in the flour.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Spoon into the paper cases and bake for approximately 20-25
minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean. Mine took 20 minutes.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">De-tin and leave to cool on a wire rack lined with either
kitchen or baking paper – the reason for this is that the nuts release oils
during cooking and by standing it on something absorbent you will end up with
nice dry paper cases by the time they’ve cooled. (NB. Removing them from the tin ASAP stops
them continuing to cook when out of the oven -this is what can cause the paper
cases to gap and look ugly).<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Now make the frosting: beat together the butter and icing
sugar until well combined and smooth.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat in the cream cheese and vanilla.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If the frosting is very soft don’t be afraid to refrigerate it
for 30 mins or so before using.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pipe over the cupcakes, or spread with a knife if you prefer.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Decorate with pecan halves.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-28330720621174957452016-03-28T11:28:00.001+01:002016-03-28T11:28:40.805+01:00Lemon cream pie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYV1c-UaeNyLa7JzJmlZebJXkCD2t_GhSJILpOFJDYaHgQ1Wfa8b-Kp4sKS_us3WwRO6YCXXIU7-GayWScfybKRd6T2_j4rfbV_HERcZ7l-SnkfAOS2LR5th1V_3E5IuEyjNdToR4ttJdt/s1600/P3267300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYV1c-UaeNyLa7JzJmlZebJXkCD2t_GhSJILpOFJDYaHgQ1Wfa8b-Kp4sKS_us3WwRO6YCXXIU7-GayWScfybKRd6T2_j4rfbV_HERcZ7l-SnkfAOS2LR5th1V_3E5IuEyjNdToR4ttJdt/s400/P3267300.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sometimes, I can be sceptical about recipes if they look too
simple. This was such a recipe and gosh
was I wrong! Firstly, it’s no bake so is
super quick to make; secondly, it has few ingredients and thirdly, it requires
no skill or techniques whatsoever.
Win-win-win!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The texture of this is amazing – it is the softest, lightest,
smoothest texture I can recall. Imagine
a whipped mousse crossed with a cloud and you’d be getting there! The lightness of texture offsets the richness
so it’s actually deceptive; I could quite easily have been on my second slice
before I realised how creamy it was!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgviw8H_kwfY1RIoM6aDCIvg6sKhmpWfwM2bL7YWLeuP18SuiUzBhwSJoTua7zX1vkYvByuUZM2v4ae41I4bo1rCaOozJ1r-QNN3IwCPy81ye7OnTVkzHdwq9v2KYGa-4VDpdQrUXERpn1O/s1600/P3267304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgviw8H_kwfY1RIoM6aDCIvg6sKhmpWfwM2bL7YWLeuP18SuiUzBhwSJoTua7zX1vkYvByuUZM2v4ae41I4bo1rCaOozJ1r-QNN3IwCPy81ye7OnTVkzHdwq9v2KYGa-4VDpdQrUXERpn1O/s400/P3267304.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />The basic method could be adapted to any citrus fruit – it’s
the acid from the fruit you need to set the cream. It worked very well with lemon because the fresh
zing balanced the richness of the cream.
The gingernut base gives an extra flavour too.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />Just about the perfect dessert for a lazy holiday weekend. It keeps for 2-3 days in the fridge so you
can just cut slices as they’re required (makes a refreshing change from all the
chocolate!). I know that I will also
adapt this recipe to build it in a glass too – the creamy filling was light
enough to work with that style presentation.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">225g gingernut biscuits<br />
115ml unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
300ml double cream<br />
265g condensed milk<br />
Juice of 2 lemons<br />
zest of 1 lemon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Blitz the gingernuts in a food processor.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Add the butter (no need to melt it if you’re using a
processor) and blitz again until you have the texture of clumpy damp sand.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Press into the bottom of a 20cm loose bottomed flan dish and
press a little up the sides too.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Refrigerate while you make the filling.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Whip the cream until it reaches the soft peaks stage.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fold in the condensed milk, lemon juice and zest.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Spoon into the biscuit base and spread out.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Eat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-38137273426778213912016-03-20T14:53:00.001+00:002016-03-20T14:53:58.196+00:00Cherry, fudge oat traybake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Cherry, fudge oat traybake aka ‘help – my planned cake/blog
post has turned out dismally and is now sitting in the compostables bin where
even the foxes will snub it’. Yes, this
cake is the phoenix rising out of the ashes of a doomed ancestor. I had planned on a peanut butter based cake
but something was amiss and it came out both Frisbee-like and savoury, neither
of which were ideal outcomes. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />This recipe is my own invention and it developed along the
way. The cherry and fudge components
came from being fed up with seeing the ingredients on my baking shelf, and the
oats then got involved because I love oats and thought the cake might benefit
from some texture.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />I mused whether to make it as a 20cm round cake – and it would’ve
worked – but I decided on a traybake as that would give shallower slices and
stop the oats becoming claggy. I have
mixed advice: wait until it gets completely cool before cutting as it’s very
soft and tears otherwise…..on the other hand; if you eat it warm, before the
fudge has set, you get divine little sticky pockets of fudgy goo that make a
raggedy slice worth it!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />As is often the way, things made on the fly are usually the
tastiest! This is no exception – the flavours
and textures work so well together and it’s a perfect tasty accompaniment to a
cup of tea. Which I definitely needed
after my earlier frustrations…I take it very personally when a recipe fails…i.e.
rude words are spoken.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">225g unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
225g light brown soft sugar<br />
3 eggs<br />
225g self raising flour<br />
100g rolled oats<br />
150g fudge chunks<br />
260g tin of black cherries, chopped into pieces – this was the drained weight,
the tin was 425g)<br />
3 tablespoons milk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Preheat the oven to 180C/fan oven 160C/350F/gas mark 4.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Grease a 20cm x 30cm traybake tin.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat together the butter and sugar until well combined – it
won’t go light and whippy.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat in the eggs, one at a time.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fold in the flour and oats.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Fold in the fudge and cherries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Stir in the milk.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Spoon into the traybake tin and level the surface.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes or until a skewer
inserted into the cake comes out clean.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Leave to cool in the tin before cutting into squares.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-66493425956372958342016-03-06T16:29:00.000+00:002016-03-06T16:29:38.611+00:00Banana and ginger cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqAXwYmX5yCvU_j_GixuEERYHbSKFDwDHOFXv1xtyo93WnLRxwvp02k5GLSxIiz7nVHiNnSUL1Uj9-7UbtK-6D3-jkDGAFRPl_TAbDwBMfjn23jwOinyXO28zS4DmKvko1YXHunni3kQQj/s1600/P3067275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqAXwYmX5yCvU_j_GixuEERYHbSKFDwDHOFXv1xtyo93WnLRxwvp02k5GLSxIiz7nVHiNnSUL1Uj9-7UbtK-6D3-jkDGAFRPl_TAbDwBMfjn23jwOinyXO28zS4DmKvko1YXHunni3kQQj/s400/P3067275.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I
had four bananas, slowly turning black on the kitchen counter, giving me that
judgemental look as if to say, ‘yes, you manage to eat all the biscuits well
before they go off, but look at us – unwanted and unloved’ and realised it was
time to find a good banana cake recipe.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeiD_8uE7p2P-Mi_kWOdJYXuZpUg6TcJ-VcJ7eggfts3fpO6ZRIstockfCQ73XQzdWODxkJ4vQ9xD2LfjYBxAp4KJonpo3XPxxtHIsOaNvyanYESWms5vcUUVQTTEpSAir25g5bfl5eTpu/s1600/P3067281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeiD_8uE7p2P-Mi_kWOdJYXuZpUg6TcJ-VcJ7eggfts3fpO6ZRIstockfCQ73XQzdWODxkJ4vQ9xD2LfjYBxAp4KJonpo3XPxxtHIsOaNvyanYESWms5vcUUVQTTEpSAir25g5bfl5eTpu/s400/P3067281.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />This
cake is adapted from a Dan Lepard recipe and caught my attention because I have
never seen banana and ginger combined and they are two of my favourite
flavours. I only made one minor tweak – changing his glace ginger for
stem.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDotxuBGv2dzuJtd1T1pV2ooGW33HTvQ-bPw8BsNI_8GWWFvv5JJxCd4FR5MxRpxni3xVUyrbEr3Y1RWXfKE8SojeG6r1KtlYFBiwR0rOwiVwY5cRTNf9zYIfATDvAeyr28Succq9Pqx21/s1600/P3067278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDotxuBGv2dzuJtd1T1pV2ooGW33HTvQ-bPw8BsNI_8GWWFvv5JJxCd4FR5MxRpxni3xVUyrbEr3Y1RWXfKE8SojeG6r1KtlYFBiwR0rOwiVwY5cRTNf9zYIfATDvAeyr28Succq9Pqx21/s400/P3067278.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />The
flavour of this cake is rich and indulgent and gets better with age – the dark
sugar seems to get stickier and more treacly. It works well as a
companion to a mug of tea, but is also great warm with custard for
dessert. The smell of it baking drove me half insane – sugar and spice;
if there are happier kitchen smells I can’t think what they are!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CLrf55FGZw6OzogEsx1PtvxkcL1zDIPSOpnugbVx86qQ_DUTWeR1QetrpVm4hZ8QK30UCbWOoBePpJiCyOGiiHxxraimSUxt5JYh08t6nTCECjsk999rhgQpwbxm-xSDe3SMWNSk0B0l/s1600/P3067282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CLrf55FGZw6OzogEsx1PtvxkcL1zDIPSOpnugbVx86qQ_DUTWeR1QetrpVm4hZ8QK30UCbWOoBePpJiCyOGiiHxxraimSUxt5JYh08t6nTCECjsk999rhgQpwbxm-xSDe3SMWNSk0B0l/s400/P3067282.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />The
sponge is soft and lighter than you might expect. The ginger is subtle
and doesn’t overpower the banana. Personally, being a ginger fiend, next
time I make this cake I would up the ginger – probably with a teaspoon or two
of ground ginger. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />Don’t
let the plain looks </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">fool you; this is actually a glossy beauty and has become
my go-to banana cake recipe.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">For
the cake:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
200g dark muscovado sugar<br />
300g ripe bananas – this is approx. 2 large bananas<br />
125ml flavourless oil suitable for baking – I used light olive oil<br />
4 eggs<br />
75g stem ginger – finely chopped<br />
200g wholemeal flour<br />
3 tsp baking powder<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Preheat
the oven to 180C/fan oven 160C/350F/gas mark 4.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Line
a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Put
the sugar and bananas in a bowl and mash until almost smooth – as long as there
are no big lumps it will be fine.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Beat
in the oil and eggs.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Stir
in the ginger. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Add
the flour and baking powder, stir well, then pour into the tin. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Bake
for 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Leave
to cool in the tin for 30 minutes or so before de-tinning and leaving to cool
completely on a wire rack.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Serve
in generous slices.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Bask
in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-72179000871214945702016-02-28T15:24:00.001+00:002016-02-28T15:24:37.767+00:00Pineapple and coconut sponge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4kD1FbwV_MjxKYZf1HwV4Bxh_4tfcwWJP26oAmJohhG1JDHJycTw__gVG4LMWdKdhssPdxRdxt9KKaOlWjnmNLLmaa50fo2Gn0SBCgrZG-QOywJfdsjxApsR4DyR6KzCuUHvC3A0mU8z/s1600/P2277260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4kD1FbwV_MjxKYZf1HwV4Bxh_4tfcwWJP26oAmJohhG1JDHJycTw__gVG4LMWdKdhssPdxRdxt9KKaOlWjnmNLLmaa50fo2Gn0SBCgrZG-QOywJfdsjxApsR4DyR6KzCuUHvC3A0mU8z/s400/P2277260.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
has felt so cold this week that I have been reminiscing about when I used to
have to travel for work and got to dodge some of Winter’s bleakness with trips to
glorious places such as the Bahamas and Cayman Islands. I don’t miss the
travel at all – in fact I love getting to sleep in my own bed every night – but
a bit of sunshine wouldn’t go amiss. I had ice on the inside of my car
windscreen this week – the inside!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
choice of bake was to capture the feeling of more tropical climates – for me,
this is always pineapple and coconut; two flavours I adore. The addition
of sour cream to the sponge created a soft crumb texture. This is a
dangerous cake in that you could happily work your way through several slices
in one sitting…..hypothetically, of course…..this didn’t actually happen….oh
no….never…not my style….<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />I
decided to make this all about the sponge so didn’t bother with any icing or
buttercream, opting for a light dusting of icing sugar – we call this ‘Fannying
it’. Fanny Cradock fans out there will understand what I mean by this;
whenever she made anything and it didn’t look too pretty or seemed burned, she
would always bury it under about 3 inches of icing sugar to hide the defects
(usually claiming it was what they did in Paris!) – her lovely mincemeat
omelette is a good example. There was
nothing to hide with this bake, but I ‘fannyed it’ anyway!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">165g
unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
165g caster sugar<br />
3 eggs<br />
375ml sour cream<br />
300g self raising flour<br />
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda<br />
225g desiccated coconut<br />
300g pineapple, crushed or in chunks – I used tinned, and drained the crushed pineapple in a sieve to stop
it being too wet<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">To
decorate: 2 tablespoons icing sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Preheat
oven to 180C/fan oven 160C/350F/Gas mark 4.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Line
a 23cm springform round tin with baking paper – don’t be tempted to gamble and
use a 20cm tin; it’s a big cake.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beat
together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beat
in the eggs, one at a time.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fold
in the sour cream.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fold
in the flour and bicarbonate of soda.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Stir
in the coconut and pineapple.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Spoon
into the prepared tin and level the surface.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bake
for approximately 45 minutes -1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the cake
comes out clean. Mine took an hour.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leave
to cool in the tin for about 20 minutes before de-tinning and leaving to cool
completely on a wire rack.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Just
before serving, dust the top of the cake with icing sugar.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bask
in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-38799876566189890712016-02-21T15:05:00.000+00:002016-02-21T15:06:17.014+00:00Famous faces' favourite fancies – Gin and lemon drizzle cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I was sad to read about the recent death of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Wogan">Sir Terry Wogan</a> as he was one of those national treasure celebrities who was just part of your
life without you ever realising it. From
loving his hilarious, disrespectful commentary of the Eurovision Song Contest
(being allowed to stay up late for this was a treat in itself) to watching his
face fall when Kenny Everett broke his funny stick microphone in Blankety
Blank, if you were a child of the 70s and 80s he was part of the scenery.<br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />His early evening chat show in the 80s and early 90s was one
of the few shows to see bands perform their new singles and who can forget that
incredible <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2MEN4-49dM">David Icke interview</a> ?(shockingly this was 1991 - 25 years ago!!!! I've never felt so old!) His
charm, wit and refusal to take himself seriously was totally endearing and why
people loved him; it takes a lot of talent to make everything seem so
effortless.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sadly, I didn’t make his request during his life time but felt
it right to make it in tribute to him, and all the entertainment he provided us
with. I can’t make his actual request – Lady Wogan’s lemon drizzle cake – but I
decided to make something a little out of the ordinary and added a measure of
gin to the lemon drizzle mix. Sort of my
way of toasting the inimitable Sir Terry!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />The addition of the gin added a lovely extra element to the
cake – it gave an almost sherbet-like zing to the drizzle. I never used to like gin but have found that
I now rather like the less perfumed versions, and Tanqueray is my
favourite. If you’re looking for a new
way to enjoy a gin and lemon, this might just be it!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For the
cake:</span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
175g unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
175g golden caster sugar<br />
2 eggs<br />
175g self raising flour<br />
1 lemon, zest and juice<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For the
drizzle:</span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
50g golden caster sugar<br />
1 lemon, zest and juice<br />
25ml gin – I used Tanqueray <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Preheat the oven to 180C/fan oven 160C/350F/gas mark 4.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Line a 900g (2lb) loaf tin with baking paper.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and whippy.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat in the eggs one at a time.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fold in the flour.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fold in the lemon zest and juice.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Spoon into the loaf tin and level the surface.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted
into the cake comes out clean.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">While the cake is baking, stir together the sugar, zest, lemon
juice and gin to make the drizzle.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As soon as the cake is baked – and while it is still in the
tin – pierce the sponge with a skewer before brushing the drizzle mixture over
the top of the cake.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Leave to cool. I leave
it in the tin so the drizzle has to be absorbed and can’t ooze out anywhere.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Serve in generous slices.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-79763587636675023852016-02-07T15:12:00.002+00:002016-02-07T15:12:58.951+00:00Mint chocolate biscuits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Long-time
readers of my site will remember the anti-mint sentiments included in my <a href="http://thecakedcrusader.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/10%20Commandments">TenCommandments</a>.
My feelings to mint can be summed up quite simply – I hate it with a passion, particularly
when a sprig finds its way onto my dessert plate for no good reason. NB.
There is <b>never</b> a good reason. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />There
are two exceptions I will happily cite: mint sweets, and mint with
chocolate. It has NO place in anything else – particularly savoury foods.
Bleugh….lamb and mint - whoever thought that was a good idea? Mad
people and mint farmers, that’s who.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />Mint
tea??? No! I have tried it on various occasions and
never got past two sips before wishing I just had some normal PG Tips in my
cup. The word ‘tea’ brings so much
excitement into my life but there’s always such sadness and disappointment when
it’s paired with ‘mint’.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />This
recipe appealed to me because I have a fondness for Matchmakers. Often
minty chocolate features in Christmas recipes and I liked that this is very
much an all year round bake. I also liked that the recipe doesn’t use up
the whole box of Matchmakers….so the cook gets some perks!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />These
biscuits are crisp, thin and buttery; they hold their shape well during baking
giving them a smart, uniform appearance.
They are lovely on their own, but would also be nice served with ice
cream for dessert.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
the biscuits:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">225g
unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
140g caster sugar<br />
1 egg yolk<br />
2 teaspoons vanilla extract<br />
280g plain flour<br />
100g mint chocolate sticks, finely chopped – I used Matchmakers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beat
together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beat
in the egg yolk and vanilla.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Stir
in the flour and chopped matchmakers and bring together to form a dough.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Cut
the dough in half, flatten each into a fat disc and wrap in clingfilm.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Refrigerate
for about 30 minutes.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Preheat
the oven to 190C/fan oven 170C/375F/gas mark 5.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Line
two large baking sheets with baking paper or non stick foil – you may have to
use the trays twice i.e. bake in batches.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Take
the first disc of dough and roll out between two sheets of clingfilm – aim for
about the thickness of a £1 coin (3mm approx).<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Using
a cutter no bigger than 6cm, cut out the dough. You need to get 15
biscuits from each half of dough.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Place
onto the prepared sheets leaving space around as they will spread when baking.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bake
for approximately 10-15 minutes until golden.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leave
to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack
to cool completely.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Repeat
the process with the second half of the dough.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bask
in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br />
Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-56918811658516904992016-01-31T16:20:00.000+00:002016-01-31T16:20:13.740+00:00Yorkshire curd tart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Whenever Mr CC and I are in York there are two things I have
to eat: Firstly, a Fat Rascal from
<a href="https://www.bettys.co.uk/tea-rooms/locations">Bettys</a>, and secondly, a Yorkshire
Curd tart from <a href="http://bennettscafeandbistro.weebly.com/">Bennett’s</a> – a lovely
little café right next to York Minster.
Admittedly, the curd tart has a slight lemon tang but I’m warming
towards lemon – I’m not saying we’re ever going to best friends but the
animosity and hurt is over.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I’ve long wanted to make a curd tart but it’s nigh on
impossible to find curd cheese unless you are blessed with a great deli, a
fancy supermarket or farm shop. Some
recipes say you can substitute ricotta but – <i>whisper it for fear of causing offence</i> – I’ve come to the
conclusion that I don’t like ricotta.
Neither the texture nor the blandness do anything for me in baked goods
(it’s ok in savoury recipes).<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />This recipe, adapted from the BBC GoodFood website, starts
with instructions how to make curd cheese and it’s a lot simpler than you might
think. Start with a very high fat, rich
milk:<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />The formation of the curds in the milk is like witchcraft; I
felt like I was at a cauldron making magic happen:<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />The most fascinating thing is that the curds suck the fat out
of the milk so, as they form, the remaining liquid turns more and more
watery. Really one of the most oddly enjoyable
things I’ve done for a long time! I had
no use for the whey, but apparently you can keep it and use it wherever you
would use buttermilk….thinking about it, it probably is buttermilk?<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />The only real thing to be aware of is that you need to start
it the day before to allow draining time.
A lot of draining time….I started it off in a tea towel lined colander
sitting in the sink….<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfAyIPlPwe7WvPzlAKGVykLRBnJ5UEg_oehI_vYQmfsSXp2Y-9iRL3BPyEv1JOiP0z716T-zhoqYCI7Qh5WgoMA299M5cC8MRtYGkW7GqLjCIfgHHSMs9CLa2ifCuVaf84lWV5fHdh2JFy/s1600/P1297209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfAyIPlPwe7WvPzlAKGVykLRBnJ5UEg_oehI_vYQmfsSXp2Y-9iRL3BPyEv1JOiP0z716T-zhoqYCI7Qh5WgoMA299M5cC8MRtYGkW7GqLjCIfgHHSMs9CLa2ifCuVaf84lWV5fHdh2JFy/s400/P1297209.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />… and then, after several hours, stood the colander (still tea
towel lined) in a bowl….<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />….before refrigerating it overnight. The next morning I had this:<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />This tart is perfect for anyone who doesn’t like overly sweet
bakes; it has a sharp zing to it from a combination of the lemon and curd
cheese. One slice will not be enough!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For the
curds:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
1.8 litres full fat Jersey milk – this has 5g fat per 100ml (compared to semi
skimmed which has 1.8g per 100ml)<br />
Juice of 1 ½ lemons<br />
(NB. This made 445g curd cheese – so if you have curd cheese to hand and don’t
want to make it, use this weight)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For the
pastry:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
210g plain flour<br />
130g unsalted butter – cold<br />
2 teaspoons caster sugar<br />
1-2 tablespoons cold water <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For the
filling:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
75g unsalted butter – at room temperature<br />
75g caster sugar<br />
2 eggs<br />
100g currants<br />
Grated nutmeg – allspice is more traditional, if you prefer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Start making the curds the day before you want to serve the tart:
place the milk in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Add the lemon juice and turn the heat to low.<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Gently stir while the curds form; if you are too firm you will
break the curds. The curds form very
quickly – mine were smaller than I expected (but I had nothing to compare it
to, so that probably doesn’t mean much).<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Once the mixture looks watery with creamy lumps remove from
the heat and leave to cool.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Drain the curds overnight in the fridge. I lined a colander with a clean tea towel and
suspended this across a bowl. I started the draining process in the sink
because there was a lot of liquid and I didn’t need it for anything.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">On the day of making the tart start with the pastry: place the
flour, butter and sugar in a food processor and blitz until you have breadcrumb
sized pieces.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Add the water gradually and only what is needed to form a
dough.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Tip the dough out onto a sheet of clingfilm and handle just
enough to bring together.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Flatten into a disc and wrap in clingfilm.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Refrigerate for 20 minutes, although the dough will happily
sit in the fridge for a couple of days.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Preheat the oven to 180C/fan oven 160C/350F/gas mark 4.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Roll out the pastry and use to line a 23cm loose bottomed tart
tin. Leave the excess pastry overhanging
the tin.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">To make the filling beat together the butter and sugar until
soft and well combined.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat in the eggs, one at a time.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Stir in the curds, making sure you break up any large lumps.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Stir in the currants.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Spoon into the pastry case (note – no need to blind bake the
pastry) and level the surface.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Grate some nutmeg over the top, or sprinkle over some ground
allspice.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the tart feels set
and the pastry is golden.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Leave to cool in the tin.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Serve in generous slices.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-11835190543855735422016-01-24T14:23:00.000+00:002016-01-24T14:23:12.278+00:00Sultana sandwich cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB32wcYQNUKW1MPBNWo7qUJ0U2IjK8lDnlBKRVRnYRaz3Sk4oIz0i8pe3bPY_zf9_Rryy9Ix4fvXRuagu65BjIDG-OTDW0MCWm3dlbqmS7wYl0B5A3Y1cfUlGKv_51QWqqjurlPomnjxR9/s1600/P1247194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB32wcYQNUKW1MPBNWo7qUJ0U2IjK8lDnlBKRVRnYRaz3Sk4oIz0i8pe3bPY_zf9_Rryy9Ix4fvXRuagu65BjIDG-OTDW0MCWm3dlbqmS7wYl0B5A3Y1cfUlGKv_51QWqqjurlPomnjxR9/s400/P1247194.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I wasn’t actually planning on baking this weekend – the old
baking mojo is waning a bit of late – but then I really <i>really</i> wanted some cake and I discovered that greed is just about
the only thing that can overpower my laziness!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCiZm3ABaI41nS-cNJyaN_E38-Q-HrWWdwokhDyauugQGDjc2dPKdOUpzZUxN1xJFC3bZpG4BbXxaYNZ2ueS95Cc5aEPI1l98UhVClnXURrjDrU62OA3fRImzFh_a-4k_iFVABJFxd59z/s1600/P1247201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCiZm3ABaI41nS-cNJyaN_E38-Q-HrWWdwokhDyauugQGDjc2dPKdOUpzZUxN1xJFC3bZpG4BbXxaYNZ2ueS95Cc5aEPI1l98UhVClnXURrjDrU62OA3fRImzFh_a-4k_iFVABJFxd59z/s400/P1247201.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This cake plays around with a classic Victoria sponge recipe;
I added sultanas (love them!) and also decided to try out the little pot of
<a href="http://www.lakeland.co.uk/18345/Lakeland-Natural-Flavour-Custard">custard extract</a> I
bought from Lakeland a while back but have never used. My thinking was to try and create a dessert,
like a spotted dick and custard, but in cake form.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I made a very light buttercream and used the custard extract
in that too. It achieved the aim of a
pudding in cake form and was the perfect comforting cake to have with a cup of
tea on a grey Sunday afternoon.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /><br />The custard extract was different to plain vanilla extract but
wasn’t quite as powerful as I’d have liked.
I used it according to the instructions on the bottle – next time I
might bam it up a notch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For the
sponge:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">265g unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
265g golden caster sugar<br />
4 eggs<br />
12 drops custard extract – or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract if you prefer<br />
265g self raising flour<br />
150g sultanas<br />Dash of milk, if required<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For the
buttercream:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">100g unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
200g icing sugar<br />
6 drops custard extract – or a dash of vanilla extract<br />
2 tablespoons milk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Preheat the oven to 180C/fan oven 160C/350F/gas mark 4.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Line two 20cm round loose bottomed sandwich tins with baking
paper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Start by making the sponge: beat together the butter and sugar
until light and well combined – it won’t turn pale and whippy because of the ratios.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat in the eggs, one at a time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat in the custard extract.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fold in the flour and sultanas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Add a little milk if the sponge is too stiff - you want a consistency that will drop from the spoon with only a little encouragement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Spoon into the prepared tins and level the surface.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bake for approximately 45 minutes (but start checking after 30
minutes) or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Leave to cook in the tins for 15 minutes, before de-tinning
and leaving to cool completely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Now make the buttercream: beat the butter on its own until it
is light and whippy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beat in the icing sugar and custard extract until you have a
light, non-gritty buttercream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Place one of the sponges on the serving plate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Spread the buttercream over the top.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Place the other sponge on top and gently press down to ‘fix’
the cake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Serve in generous slices with a mug of tea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-50550067810420272572016-01-17T14:55:00.001+00:002016-01-17T14:55:38.037+00:00Fruit yoghurt sponge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jf89H1OinE9ea9LMzSCogokvsj8pqsGedYMyFor26lxIZHY10sKXPZggNLk6QR8_Yf5_SQ4DCj_Td_xn621YKXADGX6IuXSBH9TfgjjtKkyq0MpSPM4xvgHA1PvmjEVXt71QR1jX5vn9/s1600/P1177178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jf89H1OinE9ea9LMzSCogokvsj8pqsGedYMyFor26lxIZHY10sKXPZggNLk6QR8_Yf5_SQ4DCj_Td_xn621YKXADGX6IuXSBH9TfgjjtKkyq0MpSPM4xvgHA1PvmjEVXt71QR1jX5vn9/s400/P1177178.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sorry
I’ve been absent for a while – it was a triple whammy of New Year low, new job
and new home computer. It’s a fairly
regular pattern I think: after all the richness of Christmas excesses my palate
always starts craving something simple and wholesome around this time of
year. And what could be better than a simple sponge cake?<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjigiwcegcftvLGp7LZJdO0t6WCca9YlDLH6ZNiZo2V7NOxAynEVn4Vn1hVld31mu6vXzkHaS3Ctl2W6Y_chsr6bCPDST9PsvOSEhkvx88KynMPOgBbOJxcNvghSVE8lNCbw5LC3Q6InQ9q/s1600/P1177188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjigiwcegcftvLGp7LZJdO0t6WCca9YlDLH6ZNiZo2V7NOxAynEVn4Vn1hVld31mu6vXzkHaS3Ctl2W6Y_chsr6bCPDST9PsvOSEhkvx88KynMPOgBbOJxcNvghSVE8lNCbw5LC3Q6InQ9q/s400/P1177188.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
cake is enriched by using yoghurt; I’ve experimented by using a flavoured
yoghurt and matching it with some fresh fruit.
I went for blueberry because that was all my local supermarket had other
than strawberry, and I am not made about strawberries baked into things.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivptau-R8q4CZEdmuXHvj5W1aenF61CkpjwCb5VPm20NoZbsoS199ySQYNzCijPZVNJ2kiwJ06H7JZHqdFH7oSvpCoQfDH8YXaisqk0Wo2yfdiez-ZCMDnMyC6IleAqaD3I5GgRkhiHoFu/s1600/P1177184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivptau-R8q4CZEdmuXHvj5W1aenF61CkpjwCb5VPm20NoZbsoS199ySQYNzCijPZVNJ2kiwJ06H7JZHqdFH7oSvpCoQfDH8YXaisqk0Wo2yfdiez-ZCMDnMyC6IleAqaD3I5GgRkhiHoFu/s400/P1177184.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />I
was hoping for the cake to take on the purple tinge of the yoghurt but, as you
can plainly see, it didn’t. What I didn’t
expect – and what turns out to be the true joy of this cake – is that the
sponge tastes of blueberry….<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzAa_mLJq-kwnq8EWoumfQgqok44PWpeM78sWVpHLeyYyD6MWj_2yg98byvCQ8MXsTwsssRSM5JFOKWWvqE8tjGVfnNpEIUgj8OcfM3yM4f_dgpJMi1-Kya2QxaV8_xj7ym3TI_BouJHB/s1600/P1177191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzAa_mLJq-kwnq8EWoumfQgqok44PWpeM78sWVpHLeyYyD6MWj_2yg98byvCQ8MXsTwsssRSM5JFOKWWvqE8tjGVfnNpEIUgj8OcfM3yM4f_dgpJMi1-Kya2QxaV8_xj7ym3TI_BouJHB/s400/P1177191.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />…let
me clarify: the sponge itself tastes of blueberry. Normally in such a cake, the sponge tastes of
sponge and you get the burst of blueberry in your mouth when you bite into a
blueberry. However, with this cake, the
flavoured yoghurt has infused the sponge resulting in the most wonderfully
fruity tasting cake. I loved it. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2yBki-opzmzXrABO2NgLKYvS8PdG_KJ0vNVUXUTVvicuLyCL6aAdZ0wQaYGFq2lK7-WroDMB6Sfi6Tz6xAXeZBzEZmP8NqM8oTegfWDbaD514w0Ni1RYjbQlokGJa3uF3mi0AKQbj-g1/s1600/P1177180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2yBki-opzmzXrABO2NgLKYvS8PdG_KJ0vNVUXUTVvicuLyCL6aAdZ0wQaYGFq2lK7-WroDMB6Sfi6Tz6xAXeZBzEZmP8NqM8oTegfWDbaD514w0Ni1RYjbQlokGJa3uF3mi0AKQbj-g1/s400/P1177180.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ingredients
<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">175g
unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
275g caster sugar<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
3 eggs<br />
175g Greek style yoghurt – I used blueberry flavour<br />
275g self raising flour<br />
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda<br />
130g fresh blueberries<br />
2 tablespoons light brown sugar to sprinkle on top of the cake<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Preheat
oven to 180C/ fan oven 160C/ 350F/ gas mark 4.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Line
a 20cm round springform tin with baking paper.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beat
together the butter and sugar until light and whippy. Don’t skimp on this
stage.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beat
in the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Stir
in half of the yoghurt, followed by half of the flour.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Take
a spoonful of the remaining flour and toss the blueberries in it to stop them
sticking or sinking in the batter.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Stir
in the second half of the yoghurt, the flour and all of the bicarbonate of
soda.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fold
in the blueberries.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Spoon
into the prepared tin and level the surface.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sprinkle
the light brown sugar over the top of the cake.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bake
for approximately 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the sponge comes out
cleanly. Don’t panic if your cake takes
longer – mine took about 1 hour 15 minutes.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leave
to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes before de-tinning and leaving to cool
completely on a wire rack.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bask
in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-70497633423749898382015-12-20T16:04:00.000+00:002015-12-20T16:04:19.583+00:00Gingerbread houses<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
isn’t Christmas without gingerbread and, much as I always love classic
gingerbread men...<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />...
I wanted to make something different to anything I’d made before. I found
<a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/GingerbreadCutterCo?page=1">this shop</a> on Etsy
selling cutters to make the cutest little gingerbread houses and I fell in
love! (Etsy is an incredible site; I
know it gets some stick for some of the weird stuff you can find on it but I
challenge anyone to spend 20 minutes or so browsing the site without finding
something they want!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />The
houses are a bit of work but can be made in stages, as gingerbread keeps very
well for days and days in an airtight tin. I always prefer piping on a
flat surface so decorate all the panels and let the icing set, before
assembling the houses. As these are small they don’t require much icing
to hold them together.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />To
provide a bit of scale, here’s a house next to my favourite mug (I dread to
think how many cups of tea this cup has held!):<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />I’m
not much of a decorator and – weak and pathetic as it sounds – get hand cramps
if I do too much piping, so my houses are minimalist, but, if you’re better at
that sort of thing you could really go to town.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8Vz5KowNqAkfmQWGk8Z133E1jwIIhttCCIEGzzU2HleETFN5qwZSmtk4Hd0pVzZqA_PpgqK3xL3se40xxKbc8ZBrTNrPBt9g12Kz-2HY7-6fHAjby6J5Y8aR4rG-cpUy5VLh3XzMAZ50/s1600/PC207145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8Vz5KowNqAkfmQWGk8Z133E1jwIIhttCCIEGzzU2HleETFN5qwZSmtk4Hd0pVzZqA_PpgqK3xL3se40xxKbc8ZBrTNrPBt9g12Kz-2HY7-6fHAjby6J5Y8aR4rG-cpUy5VLh3XzMAZ50/s400/PC207145.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />The
gingerbread was lovely – it was somewhere between ginger biscuit and the
softer, more cakey, gingerbread. It
puffed up while cooking giving a nice smooth finish and the taste had just
enough fire to it. I don’t think it’s
been a very exciting year for cookery books but this recipe came from one book
that did capture my interest – Gingerbread Wonderland by Mima Sinclair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is likely to be my last post before Christmas so I shall sign off hoping that
you all have a lovely day – doing whatever it is you have chosen to do! Happy
Christmas everyone!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">140g
golden syrup<br />
200g soft light brown sugar<br />
200g unsalted butter<br />
4 teaspoons ground ginger<br />
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon<br />
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg<br />
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda<br />
500g plain flour<br />
1 teaspoon salt<br />
1 egg<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">To
decorate: tubes of icing, and anything else you wish!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Place
the golden syrup, sugar, butter and spices in a saucepan larger than you need
and melt together over a gentle heat stirring all the time until the sugar has
dissolved – you can tell when this has happened by looking at the back of your
spoon: if you can still see tiny grains it needs a bit longer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Increase
the heat and bring to the boil (don’t stir during this process).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Remove
the pan from the heat and beat in the bicarbonate of soda – it will froth up,
hence using a larger saucepan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Stir
only until the bicarbonate of soda is incorporated and put to one side to cool
– about 15 minutes should be enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fold
the flour and salt into the cooled mixture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beat
in the egg – take care not to overbeat the mixture; as soon as the egg is
incorporated stop mixing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Tip
the dough out onto a work surface or – and this is my preference – a sheet of
non stick foil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Knead
until it is smooth. Initially the dough will be very sticky and it will be
tempting to add flour but DON’T! This will make the biscuit tough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Cut
the dough in half and shape into fat discs before wrapping separately in
clingfilm and refrigerating for 1 hour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Preheat
the oven to 160C/fan oven 140C/325F/gas mark 3.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Roll
the chilled dough out between two sheets of clingfilm and use the cutters of
your choice</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Place
on a baking sheet lined with either baking paper or non stick foil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bake
for about 6-7 minutes, if making a small biscuit, or until just starting to
feel firm to the touch. It will puff up
during cooking and if it feels almost marshmallow soft, it needs a couple of
minutes longer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leave
to cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a wire
rack to cool completely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Decorate
as you wish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bask
in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-21544680947118283962015-12-13T15:53:00.000+00:002015-12-13T15:53:32.628+00:00Chocolate Christmas pudding cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgudflF9QEyagSjOdhWGpfpsdNBIYvtDbaS0jh-TEBhP_Gu69eHTsgG6ADiT9tC34d0dxVwnikHYPYfUEJKNDvrj_v5AyGA1BAIS9kefrMZ6DROsXtAye8xtTTF0opdIvaNco-VVz-8mDTx/s1600/PC137127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgudflF9QEyagSjOdhWGpfpsdNBIYvtDbaS0jh-TEBhP_Gu69eHTsgG6ADiT9tC34d0dxVwnikHYPYfUEJKNDvrj_v5AyGA1BAIS9kefrMZ6DROsXtAye8xtTTF0opdIvaNco-VVz-8mDTx/s400/PC137127.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">As
much as I love daydreaming about having a Nigella-style existence where I can
spend days in my perfect kitchen crafting masterpieces the reality is that, if you
work full time, and factor in all the other stuff you have to do, time is
short – particularly at Christmas. I am planning on some projects for
Christmas that will be more involved but, for now, I wanted something cute and
quick.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />I
have always loved the look of a traditional Christmas pudding but hate the
taste. Therefore, the concept of these little puds was to achieve the
look I covet but made from chocolate chip cupcakes, with the inclusion of
almond to ensure that they will keep well for a few days for entertaining over
the festive period. I decorated them with sugar holly leaves but you can
let your imagination run wild.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fudCvvcGYKiaUeh8oUO6RmuXehZGcyJPYbWLyBfab7KYcbLfVuYQesvtMvpQl2nFvAHg3F3nrUAWK7wieHsLYSzIjtj1a8vpV0Y67OMC-Ce2-gzsiOOEtrdOVNu3yExA02ZoRe1_CsC2/s1600/PC137130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fudCvvcGYKiaUeh8oUO6RmuXehZGcyJPYbWLyBfab7KYcbLfVuYQesvtMvpQl2nFvAHg3F3nrUAWK7wieHsLYSzIjtj1a8vpV0Y67OMC-Ce2-gzsiOOEtrdOVNu3yExA02ZoRe1_CsC2/s400/PC137130.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />In
all honesty, they don’t look like puddings.
There, I’ve said it. The design
in my head didn’t quite manifest itself in the finished item. Mostly because I went overboard with the
ganache – I put on an amount that created the pudding effect, but then had lots
left so was faced with the dilemma of not using it all, or adding too much to the
cakes. As Thom Yorke (never) sang:
gluttony always wins.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxe_u23uOuyMlrem2dbyYoRsQ3rhtgFkqJsz36tZPnQEkJyZAShWHLA-jC3tWD-R6B97O6IiWVMFuTxhpfHB1sQyXuaXUhb64R1pDeVfJSWVFNWA8Qk6utjg9ntbElhoSUUkEo4-P5hEn/s1600/PC137133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxe_u23uOuyMlrem2dbyYoRsQ3rhtgFkqJsz36tZPnQEkJyZAShWHLA-jC3tWD-R6B97O6IiWVMFuTxhpfHB1sQyXuaXUhb64R1pDeVfJSWVFNWA8Qk6utjg9ntbElhoSUUkEo4-P5hEn/s400/PC137133.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />The
ganache firmed up a lot quicker than I expected – often ganache can be runny
and you have to refrigerate it, but not this one. It is extremely rich and sweet…but it’s also
Christmas so do not feel any guilt! I read an article stating that the
average person consumes an additional 30,000 calories over the Christmas
period. I’m not sure whether I was meant to take that as a target to aim
towards, like the 10,000 steps a day goal, but……<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
the sponge:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">175g
unsalted butter, melted and left to cool <br />
150g natural yoghurt<br />
3 eggs<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
175g golden caster sugar<br />
140g self raising flour<br />
35g cocoa powder<br />
100g ground almonds<br />
100g chocolate chips<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
the ganache:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">300g
white chocolate<br />
120ml double cream<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">To
decorate: sugar holly leaves<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Preheat
the oven to 190C/ fan oven 170C/ 375F/ gas mark 5.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
Grease 1 cupcake trays i.e. 12 holes. You don’t want paper cases as this
will stop the cupcakes having a smooth pudding like finish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Melt
the butter for the sponges and put to one side to cool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
a jug whisk together the yoghurt, eggs and vanilla.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Place
all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl i.e. the sugar, flour, cocoa
powder, ground almonds and chocolate chips.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Pour
the yoghurt mix and the melted cooled butter into the dry ingredients and fold
together just enough to combine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Spoon
into the greased cupcake pans and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a skewer
inserted into the sponges comes out clean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Turn
the cakes (inverted – so that the domed top is now the bottom) out onto a wire
rack straightaway – I find this helps flatten the domed top as the sponges
cool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leave
to cool completely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now
make the ganache: melt the cream and chocolate together. There are
various ways you can do this – short bursts in the microwave and stirring
between each one; melting in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure
the bowl doesn’t touch the water; or my preferred method: in a saucepan using a
gas diffuser ring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leave
the ganache to cool and set a little. It might require refrigeration (mine
didn’t) to set up enough to spoon over the cakes but don’t forget about it as
you want it to stay a bit runny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Spoon
over the top of each cake and let run down the side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Decorate
as required.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bask
in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-87803019052052725932015-12-06T17:14:00.003+00:002015-12-06T17:14:54.526+00:00Ginger and parsnip cake
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If
I were to say to Mr CC I was making a carrot cake his response would be
favourable. However, when I made <a href="http://thecakedcrusader.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/courgette-and-sultana-cupcakes.html">courgette cakes</a>
he prejudged them negatively even though he ended up eating them and liking
them. The <a href="http://thecakedcrusader.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/brussel-sprout-cake.html">Brussel sprout cake</a>
was admittedly ‘interesting’ (interesting in this context = bleughhhhhh! Don’t
say I didn’t warn you!) but I made that before I met him so, other than hearing
scare stories from survivors, he escaped it unscathed. <br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-73pk8nrWyr_jwUq2IdNUm-J4hwmTxVKJLQRbtGNLPu78BQQVQdhS_ImNAPHzRqMDMjqu-ZJu1cnNjLIuXURQ4ftyXKUvDJUXSITHVR3CYHhkeBJ9L8IdR8uCHShC0Pb-Ax-cyjO0owA/s1600/PC067118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-73pk8nrWyr_jwUq2IdNUm-J4hwmTxVKJLQRbtGNLPu78BQQVQdhS_ImNAPHzRqMDMjqu-ZJu1cnNjLIuXURQ4ftyXKUvDJUXSITHVR3CYHhkeBJ9L8IdR8uCHShC0Pb-Ax-cyjO0owA/s400/PC067118.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Parsnips
are basically carrots that have used higher SPF sunscreen (this view might not
stand up to biological scrutiny) so I was torn whether to ‘fess up to their
inclusion in this cake prior to serving it. I decided not to and instead
turned it into a game of ‘this cake has an unusual ingredient – can you guess
what it is?’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t.<br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Parsnips,
like carrots, have a natural sweetness but, unlike carrots, have an earthiness
that added to the depth of flavour in the cake. I’m not sure my palate
would’ve detected that it wasn’t carrot but, once you know, the taste is subtly
different. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sponge was light and soft
with tiny flecks of creamy coloured parsnip visible. It was a lovely
combination with the ginger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I
attended the BBC Good Food show at the NEC last week and bought a bottle of
ginger juice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used some in the
buttercream; ending up with 2 tablespoons of ginger juice and 2 of syrup from
the jar of stem ginger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It added an
extra bit of zing and heat – I do like my ginger to leave a lasting impression
on my tongue!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I
have never said, thought and written the word ‘parsnip’ as much as I have
whilst baking this cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you think
about it, it’s a pretty odd word...and gets sillier the more you say it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Parsnip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Paaaaarsniiiipppp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a funny
word – and I like it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Ingredients</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For
the sponges:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
250g self raising flour<br />
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda<br />
1 teaspoon baking powder<br />
½ teaspoon salt<br />
2 teaspoons ground ginger<br />
250g golden caster sugar<br />
3 balls of stem ginger, very finely chopped<br />
3 eggs<br />
200g grated parsnip – this equates to two average sized parsnips<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
125g unsalted butter – melted but not hot (leave to cool for about 5-10
minutes)<br />
Splash of milk, if needed</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For
the icing:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
400g icing sugar<br />
200g unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
4 tablespoons stem ginger syrup from the jar</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Method</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Pat
the oven to 180C/fan oven 160C/350F/gas mark 4.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Line
two 20cm loose bottomed sandwich tins with baking paper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Place
the flour, bicarb, baking powder, salt, ground ginger and sugar in a bowl and
stir together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Add
the stem ginger and stir so that it is coated with dry ingredients and not
clumping together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In
a separate bowl – a large jug is easier if you have one - beat together the
eggs, grated parsnip, vanilla and melted butter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Pour
the wet ingredients into the flour mix and fold together, taking care not to
over mix.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If
the mixture is not firm, and doesn’t drop from the spoon easily, add a splash
of milk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Spoon
into the prepared tins and level the surface.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Bake
for approximate 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out
clean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mine took a bit longer – nearer 40
minutes, but it’s worth checking after 25 minutes as ovens vary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Leave
to cool in the tins for at least 20 minutes before turning out and leaving to
cool completely on a wire rack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Now
make the buttercream: Beat together all the ingredients until smooth and
whippy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Place
one sponge on the serving plate and use a stingy 1/3 of the buttercream to
spread over the top.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Place
the other sponge on top.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Use
the remaining buttercream to cover the top and sides of the cake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Place
your decorated gingerbread on the cake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Bask
in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-69138669389750666452015-11-22T17:16:00.000+00:002015-11-22T17:16:21.044+00:00Jam steamed sponge pudding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE33pq05VQkiQ-8GyyhJUj4JrWNWjN2Xw9pwAb8R8b9Ug73EUaARZUC9wig6XE7mwyTlN0lLUGy8qfW910VqV7CEyDMXyx55tbUzE74Df2dX048DX4pYXgUWHk3_B6jXQvkKh2Yt3gv3Zl/s1600/PB227093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE33pq05VQkiQ-8GyyhJUj4JrWNWjN2Xw9pwAb8R8b9Ug73EUaARZUC9wig6XE7mwyTlN0lLUGy8qfW910VqV7CEyDMXyx55tbUzE74Df2dX048DX4pYXgUWHk3_B6jXQvkKh2Yt3gv3Zl/s400/PB227093.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Today
is my birthday but, as I’ve been really busy the last few days (lunches,
cocktails, even the opera daaaaaaahling), I find myself in the position of
having precisely zero birthday cakes. I know!!! I will rectify this shameful situation
when I have time (an interesting ginger concoction has caught my eye) but for
now all I really fancied was a steamed sponge pudding.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Whenever
I post a steamed sponge I get requests for a step by step in pictures. My
method is considered old fashioned now, in that I place a steamer above a pan
of simmering water; the modern method seems to be to place an upturned bowl or
saucer in the bottom of the pan containing the water to elevate the
pudding. This is not the way I do it but, if you’re interested, the BBC
Goodfood website has two tutorials:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/videos/techniques/how-steam-pudding">How to steam a pudding</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/videos/techniques/how-wrap-and-tie-steamed-pudding">How to wrap and tie a pudding</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />I have metal pudding bowls with clip on lids.
I bought them from Amazon almost 10 years ago and find them so much less faff
than glass pyrex dishes where you have to make a pleated lid out of baking
paper and foil, and then tie it up with string making a handle at the same
time. I have never been dextrous with knots. The second tutorial
link above covers the paper and string method. (NB. Amazon don’t seem to stock them anymore but
they do have a different range of lidded pudding basins if you search the site)<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9wAuxSNFrd6QMjR0BYbuf_44OCWQrYuTy4BpnLkLTxWCujs6JsqHIznlBKj01jNZLKbJ5JJMambEsW-FkCEGKkjQMNqucwFlFQW6wZwLd3lPuhAR_LEKUpglQFqlFj2VdAbHLqnrhzc5/s1600/PB227101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9wAuxSNFrd6QMjR0BYbuf_44OCWQrYuTy4BpnLkLTxWCujs6JsqHIznlBKj01jNZLKbJ5JJMambEsW-FkCEGKkjQMNqucwFlFQW6wZwLd3lPuhAR_LEKUpglQFqlFj2VdAbHLqnrhzc5/s400/PB227101.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />Compared to making a sponge mix, spooning it into a
cake tin and baking in the oven for 30 minutes or so steaming could look like a
lot of time and effort but please, please, please give it a try. Firstly,
it’s no more time to prep the pudding for steaming than it is a cake for the
oven, and while the cooking time is a lot longer you don’t really need to do
anything during that time. Nothing that comes out of the oven will ever
match a steamed sponge in terms of lightness. It’s like eating spongey
air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />I grease my pudding bowl and place the jam in the
bottom:<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />Spoon in the batter:<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />Clip on the lid.
Place in the steamer, over a pan of simmering water:<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />Leave for 1.5 – 2 hours. It’s not precise
like a baking time and the pudding won’t suffer for being left to steam longer
than actually needed to cook it so don’t feel pressured by the cooking time or
guess when it’s ready. I always give it two hours.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />Turn out and enjoy!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />NB. Do not adjust your monitor – I did serve rather
large portions. In my defence it was my birthday and freezing cold; I feel either of these facts alone would excuse me but - together - form a rock solid argument. A pudding this size will
serve 6 people easily....just because I cut it into quarters doesn’t mean you
have to!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">4 tablespoons jam – whichever flavour you prefer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">115g unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
115g caster sugar<br />
2 eggs<br />
115g self raising flour<br />
1-2 tablespoons milk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">To serve: custard<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Place a large saucepan on the hob and fill 3/4s
with water – test that the steamer basket will not touch the water. Bring
the water to a gentle simmer while you are making the pudding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Grease, with butter, an 850ml pudding bowl (either
metal, ceramic or heatproof glass). If it has a lid, grease that too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Spoon the jam into the bottom of the pudding bowl.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Now make the sponge: beat together the butter and
sugar until light and whippy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Beat in the eggs one at a time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Stir in the flour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Beat in enough milk to ensure a light dropping
consistency.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Spoon into the pudding bowl and level the surface.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Clip on the lid or, if your bowl doesn’t have a
lid, cover the bowl with a piece of baking paper and a piece of foil, pleated
across the middle to allow for expansion. If you are using the paper/foil
option tie string around the bowl to keep it in place and then loop the string
over the top to make a handle, which will help you lift the pudding out of the
steamer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Place the steamer basket over the pan of simmering
water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Place the pudding bowl in the steamer basket and
place the lid on top to ensure the pudding is enclosed in it’s own personal
sauna!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Leave to steam for anywhere between 1.5-2 hours; I
always leave it for two hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The water level may need topping up after the first
hour – it depends on the size of the saucepan. Simply boil a kettle of
water and then lift the steamer basket off of the pan, top up the water lever,
and replace the steamer basket – this will not hurt your pudding at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Run a knife around the edge of the pudding and turn out onto a plate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Serve with custard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Wrap any left over pudding in foil and enjoy the
next day – it reheats like a dream in either the oven or the microwave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have
created.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-5141253729048127892015-11-15T16:37:00.000+00:002015-11-15T16:37:19.502+00:00Florentine biscuit bars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX5DA0cQCMt9E6pDXS3B62faizHCBgbCPMdihrtW5ilXX9_7i4ECtWUA2k8hth6PWA-7rhHO8IvcdFpefwO5L67jKtQGW33lXAhazhUxcNnlGbcIWknS-zgWuKam4xE-tHLsDymHhey7Ro/s1600/P6286876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX5DA0cQCMt9E6pDXS3B62faizHCBgbCPMdihrtW5ilXX9_7i4ECtWUA2k8hth6PWA-7rhHO8IvcdFpefwO5L67jKtQGW33lXAhazhUxcNnlGbcIWknS-zgWuKam4xE-tHLsDymHhey7Ro/s400/P6286876.JPG" width="340" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">This recipe is adapted from the
one in the BBC Good Food 25<sup>th</sup> birthday edition. As soon as I
saw the combination of florentines and shortbread I was sold! I always
associate florentines with Christmas as that’s the only time of year we ever
used to have them; I don’t know whether they have any particular association
with Christmas but, growing up, I remember they always used to form part of
M&S’s confection/biscuit range. M&S used to make a mixed box i.e.
milk, dark and white chocolate. Tactically I would always eat the milk
first as I was the only one in my family to like white chocolate so I didn’t
have to rush with those!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWfYfqZdnS8V8VTHn-obViNBi82Q4_4t6UABXZ0HOcyYo0s3pX-IQeWeZ9zUCkFRoNjd5M__99wYpq8XCD0RJ5v4YHId0JeoV7vJ0KsOQlHyZrgUUH199nM6RAoRm4_w3pe8zc8o_yP1vq/s1600/P6286870.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWfYfqZdnS8V8VTHn-obViNBi82Q4_4t6UABXZ0HOcyYo0s3pX-IQeWeZ9zUCkFRoNjd5M__99wYpq8XCD0RJ5v4YHId0JeoV7vJ0KsOQlHyZrgUUH199nM6RAoRm4_w3pe8zc8o_yP1vq/s400/P6286870.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br />This is a good recipe to use up
all the odds and ends of nuts a baker always seems to have in their cupboard; I
buy a bag of nuts for a particular recipe and then don’t use them all. I
seem to have endless bags with about 20-30g of nuts left in them – this is
where they get to step into the spotlight!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSpqg7AsNa67a7w5ZpK3dNe88kaG-1BLCyUkVB8vwbni_G-v5HisXfGozfTVrAS-aw7Ke6jecu-ffN23Rqi600n8KvlU1GbIbH8mC9gk31jGFsHiGp6AUKqIcq16BFtghNq7KGQXieFIi/s1600/P6286873.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSpqg7AsNa67a7w5ZpK3dNe88kaG-1BLCyUkVB8vwbni_G-v5HisXfGozfTVrAS-aw7Ke6jecu-ffN23Rqi600n8KvlU1GbIbH8mC9gk31jGFsHiGp6AUKqIcq16BFtghNq7KGQXieFIi/s400/P6286873.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lZuSoIqMVY3cNYxNRI-Hp-wWyHReiyrPNfwEewRR9jpLis5QIERIgOXh2mN1g6cu3AmIsaDVhLxR-nyLRaQO2jChPQLAOSzdi3zh60p8qeNFhOLyLSTqAnNKjW9Vm8NH7Wd3JUVqjwHu/s1600/P6276865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lZuSoIqMVY3cNYxNRI-Hp-wWyHReiyrPNfwEewRR9jpLis5QIERIgOXh2mN1g6cu3AmIsaDVhLxR-nyLRaQO2jChPQLAOSzdi3zh60p8qeNFhOLyLSTqAnNKjW9Vm8NH7Wd3JUVqjwHu/s400/P6276865.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br />The cherries and pistachios look
so pretty in amongst the nuts and chocolate. You could make it look
extremely festive by using red and green cherries…although I try not to think
too hard about what they do to turn those poor cherries such a vivid
green. Some questions are best left unanswered.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMNm1fORYBZolCUJFU-vriAg8K-SY_HC5Gw5tcbMusNpQDYwpHe-DZTC0rl92CRUg4aDn5JRmFoVQfwzzdhV8DNBJh3vAXi_p_9czAiBmJ9NXVMVmi42kK56v696zMQSeWn4RnL3GDC0s2/s1600/P6286871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMNm1fORYBZolCUJFU-vriAg8K-SY_HC5Gw5tcbMusNpQDYwpHe-DZTC0rl92CRUg4aDn5JRmFoVQfwzzdhV8DNBJh3vAXi_p_9czAiBmJ9NXVMVmi42kK56v696zMQSeWn4RnL3GDC0s2/s400/P6286871.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Ingredients</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">For the base:<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">200g unsalted
butter, at room temperature<br />
100g golden caster sugar<br />
200g plain flour<br />
100g ground rice flour<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">For the topping:<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">25g unsalted
butter<br />
75g golden caster sugar<br />
1 tablespoon plain flour<br />
75ml double cream<br />
50g flaked almonds<br />
25g whole blanched almonds<br />
75g chopped nuts of your choice – I used a mix of pistachios and chopped
hazelnuts<br />
75g glace cherries, halved<br />
100g chocolate chips<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br />
</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Line a 20cm square tin with
baking papermaking sure the paper comes up high enough that you can use it to
lift the finished bake up out of the tin.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Use a food processor to blitz
together the butter and sugar.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Add the flour and rice flour and
pulse until it starts to come together – don’t overwork it or your biscuit will
be tough rather than crumbly.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Press into the base of the tin
taking care to distribute the mix evenly.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Prick all over with a fork,
cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 days).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan
oven 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Bake the biscuit base for 25
minutes.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">While the base is cooking start
work on the topping: place the butter, sugar and flour in a pan large enough to
take all the other topping ingredients and gently melt together stirring all
the time.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">When all the sugar crystals have
dissolved add the cream and stir until smooth.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Stir in all the nuts and
cherries.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Stir in the chocolate
chips. If you prefer, you can omit the
chocolate chips and instead melt the chocolate and drizzle over the baked bars.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Spoon the hot nut mixture over
the just-baked base and ensure it is well spread out. Be gentle – a
spatula or the back of a spoon works well.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Return to the oven and bake
until the top is firm but retains a little squidge; this will take anywhere
between 10-20 minutes but it can catch quickly so check every 5 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Leave to cool, in the tin, on a
wire rack.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Cut into fingers.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">If you didn’t add chocolate
chips, decorate by melting 100g chocolate by your preferred method i.e.
microwave or hob, and drizzle over the cold bake. (I like to do this after I’ve
cut the fingers as then the chocolate isn’t disturbed with cutting)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Bask in the glory of the
wonderful thing you have created.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span>The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-430441346293872555.post-47241842416851252862015-11-08T13:49:00.002+00:002015-11-08T13:49:59.038+00:00Oat and pear traybake with pecan crumble topping <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSZTWtqobc-YYbW0Z2b21ImkiB83kPAEaH_TdRs5ZLQ2v67mGZRWUX-czepn6hJLnjOgTzh9fiXAeTEU1KlyQZyGFc4I_W0RNa80ALhEv08tl5WEBBi9kbiiHRtD-DKTV_2T2yNgS2zVH/s1600/PB087070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSZTWtqobc-YYbW0Z2b21ImkiB83kPAEaH_TdRs5ZLQ2v67mGZRWUX-czepn6hJLnjOgTzh9fiXAeTEU1KlyQZyGFc4I_W0RNa80ALhEv08tl5WEBBi9kbiiHRtD-DKTV_2T2yNgS2zVH/s400/PB087070.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I’m
such a cliché but the first whiff of winter and I’m cracking open the spice
jars like nobody’s business! I found the recipe for the oat sponge and crumble
topping on a recipe sharing website and decided that it needed an extra
element. Oats, spice and pecans led me to the very easy decision to add
some pear to the mix. Pear is one of my absolute favourite fruits to bake
with.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJIwlFWLsd04Rh5Qr70aNmKsylFzikpSvxaO7PAUVNgy8NHrrtoJjeycWj2WaeA0nC5EY8rvMGF7CoduVJBXo9opLGpIm56iLb-seREXys6VlMGHViESmX9LUV8WzSfMxobcAHAzdX1cX/s1600/PB087072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJIwlFWLsd04Rh5Qr70aNmKsylFzikpSvxaO7PAUVNgy8NHrrtoJjeycWj2WaeA0nC5EY8rvMGF7CoduVJBXo9opLGpIm56iLb-seREXys6VlMGHViESmX9LUV8WzSfMxobcAHAzdX1cX/s400/PB087072.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
pear is fruity and juicy and stops the sponge being too dry or heavy. The
nutty crumble topping adds texture and richness; the dark sugar seeps into the
cak almost like a sauce. I served the cake at room temperature with a cup
of tea but it would work so well warm with ice cream or custard. You
could even bake it in individual pudding moulds for a fancy dessert (but reduce
the cooking time accordingly).<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmFNx6bvQtvarJ1h-LfTcXZscmDwQciLhwbKEEN_F8YT6czXepwv1g8qw5_qNN_5cBIE9iHjj58qNuxa2ATmskUDB5pI7KLp11xHT1kMjPkKjhA_czVxjqjftk0mOcxIzxHqY0gCV8Y7G/s1600/PB087074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmFNx6bvQtvarJ1h-LfTcXZscmDwQciLhwbKEEN_F8YT6czXepwv1g8qw5_qNN_5cBIE9iHjj58qNuxa2ATmskUDB5pI7KLp11xHT1kMjPkKjhA_czVxjqjftk0mOcxIzxHqY0gCV8Y7G/s400/PB087074.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Adding
fruit to a batter always increases the wetness during baking so it’s worth
draining the tinned fruit and patting it dry with kitchen paper. I think that without the addition of the fruit
the sponge may have been a bit dry; the juice was absorbed by the oats making
an almost fragrant sponge – imagine an oaty bread pudding and you’re pretty
close. Have I mentioned how much I love baking with pears?<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_2EXaYkPnJNxmYzfvTZVBeXRbzofqEqNhA1l0-WM3yD5ad466DN2IOlwaoRcRle0xPo7SuEiix99rrH8Mucl_demYFL-IAKI3jHqBimu7CzqJvxgYdrHLROCYQoBas3tjLV-nk66QJno/s1600/PB087077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_2EXaYkPnJNxmYzfvTZVBeXRbzofqEqNhA1l0-WM3yD5ad466DN2IOlwaoRcRle0xPo7SuEiix99rrH8Mucl_demYFL-IAKI3jHqBimu7CzqJvxgYdrHLROCYQoBas3tjLV-nk66QJno/s400/PB087077.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
suspect it won’t be an issue, but the cake keeps really well for several
days. The pear keeps the cake soft, and the nuts in the crumble topping
improve with age (unlike the baker!).<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUg0F1et_-h81sN_m0dkzbQ7tqhYaSoVO7QuZ2PrZKMVKvi9wLFxKvW5EOv825airZbEhZfDVGt2UPpXRSd5OpDZJrYXFaTFbz28T5kaBu_0vbjh5c4WepcTI3BlCXAujhDFUhOt6nfek/s1600/PB087079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUg0F1et_-h81sN_m0dkzbQ7tqhYaSoVO7QuZ2PrZKMVKvi9wLFxKvW5EOv825airZbEhZfDVGt2UPpXRSd5OpDZJrYXFaTFbz28T5kaBu_0vbjh5c4WepcTI3BlCXAujhDFUhOt6nfek/s400/PB087079.JPG" width="373" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
took a photo of a slice and went for my obligatory ‘fork shot’. Then I went for another...and another....and
it ended up like this:<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2EjYj0NmYF7NwJeGCiSogaPd4u7EKPpbI2cyPMtT_XoGIoSNHmRqv7l8uaInBS9nywvnbjopz9FGq9iHOyFod4hzEGrw_iOeDncjNg1AWmG3tXelR8iOsIUqD2lfzujdzylA3nu0YL3hb/s1600/PB087080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2EjYj0NmYF7NwJeGCiSogaPd4u7EKPpbI2cyPMtT_XoGIoSNHmRqv7l8uaInBS9nywvnbjopz9FGq9iHOyFod4hzEGrw_iOeDncjNg1AWmG3tXelR8iOsIUqD2lfzujdzylA3nu0YL3hb/s400/PB087080.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />NB. The crumbs were left on the plate for
artistic purposes and were polished off the moment I put the camera down! Waste not, want not etc.......<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">For
the cake:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">100g
porridge oats<br />
330ml boiling water<br />
115g unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
220g dark brown soft sugar<br />
2 eggs<br />
2 teaspoons vanilla extract<br />
1 teaspoon cinnamon<br />
1 teaspoon baking powder<br />
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda<br />
215g plain flour<br />
1 tin diced pears – the tin was 410g with a drained weight of 225g<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">For
the crumble:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">100g
dark brown soft sugar<br />
10g plain flour<br />
½ teaspoon cinnamon<br />
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg<br />
40g unsalted butter – cold<br />
100g pecan nuts – roughly chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Preheat
the oven to 190C/ fan oven 170C/ 375F/ gas mark 5.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Grease
a 30cm x 20cm traybake tin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Cover
the oats with the boiling water and put to one side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Now
make the crumble topping: Mix together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Rub
in the butter until you have lumpy crumbs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Stir
in the chopped pecans.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Place
in the fridge until needed; a cold crumble is always easier to scatter over the
top as your hands won’t melt the butter as much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Now
return to making the cake: Beat the butter and sugar until soft and well
combined – it will never go fluffy and whippy when you’re using dark sugar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Beat
in the eggs, vanilla and cinnamon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Fold
in the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and plain flower.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">If
there is any, drain any unabsorbed liquid away from the oats and fold them into
the mix.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Spoon
the batter into the prepared tin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Drain
the pears and pat them dry with some kitchen paper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Scatter
the diced pears over the batter and gently press down into the batter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Sprinkle
the chilled crumble over the top of the batter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Bake
for approximately 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes
out clean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Leave
to cool in the tin before de-tinning and storing in an airtight container.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Bask
in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Caked Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840224194242219981noreply@blogger.com11