MELTING MOMENTS

Another old recipe from the pre war Be-Ro booklet. I can recall my mother making these and had completely forgotten all about them. The biscuits are so light and crumbly and melt in your mouth. 

Pre heat your fan oven to 160C and butter a large baking sheet.

You can vary the biscuits by rolling them in either coconut or rolled oats. I will do half and half!

5 oz SR flour

3 oz caster sugar

2½ oz butter

1½ oz lard

half an egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or bean paste

Rolled Oats or desiccated coconut, on plates ready to roll

Glace cherries, halved or quartered [or any other you fancy]

In a medium bowl, cream the fats and sugar and beat in the ½ egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour and mix well. Dampen your hands with water and form the mixture into balls the size of large marbles, then coat with the oats or coconut. Place on your buttered baking tray and press ever so slightly. Pop a piece of cherry on the top.

Or for a modern up date, try some dried cranberries, little pieces of dried apricots or anything you fancy!

Bake for about 17 or 18 mins. Should make about 28-30

Just lovely. Literally, melts in your mouth.

Orange Fruit Cake

All my friends know I collect old recipe books and clippings. The older the better. This unusual recipe comes from such a source and I have to thank Rick and Maureen for this. The newspaper clipping is very yellow and aged although I have no idea exactly how old. Well before Celsius and the terms used suggest around 1950s. I have updated it slightly to suit modern times and ingredients. The original recipe tells you to bake it in an “angel cake” tin, explaining it is one with a hole in the centre. This must have been a novelty in those days! I used one of my bundt tins. No photo can do this cake justice, or capture the most wonderful flavour. Keeps well too.

Butter well your tin and pre heat your fan oven to 160C

4 oz softened butter

8 oz caster sugar

2 large eggs

5 fl oz sour cream

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

8 oz plain flour

6 oz sultanas

4 oz chopped walnuts

grated zest of 3 oranges, then juice the oranges

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or bean paste

6 oz icing sugar [for juice]

Start by zesting the oranges, then juice them. Set the juice aside, along with 6 oz of icing sugar stirred into it. Let it stand whisking occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add the eggs, one at a time, then the cream and the sieved flour and soda. Stir in the fruit and nuts, vanilla and zest. Pile into your prepared tin and bake for about 50-60 mins.

Invert your cake onto a rack then with a small pointed knife or fine knitting needle make plenty of little holes on the top [base] of the cake. Drizzle over the orange juice and sugar while it is still warm, allowing it to slide into the slits, and down both sides.

Just delicious. The cake looks gooey in the pic, but it does dry a little, with the most amazing taste. The cake is intensely orangey. A real find.

PS. you could dust with icing sugar before serving if using for a special dessert.

PORK PASTIES

This is taken from the excellent Cornish Recipes, dated 1929, which gives such a good insight into the recipes our forebears used in the early part of the last century. A few months ago I made  the liver pasties and now it is time for the pork. I will “quote” and make exactly as instructed in the book.

Make a batch of rough puff pastry, using half fat to seasoned plain flour. Use half butter and half Cookeen or lard. Bind with very cold water then chill before use. [did our forebears do this? I doubt it!]

“Use fresh pork [I am guessing shoulder as it was a cheaper cut, with more flavour]

Chipped potatoes

finely chopped onion

Sage or thyme [I will use sage]”

Salt and pepper

These will be great at tea time, so I am making tea plate size pasties. “Bake in a quick oven” - I love that expression and know it means quite hot. Pre heat your fan oven to about 220C and lightly butter a baking sheet.

Chop the pork into small cubes, using plenty of lean and some fat. Discard any really fatty bits. Roll out your pastry and cut out the rounds, using a tea plate. Place a small rolling pin across the middle, forming a D, then fill the flat half with the above ingredients, layering up the pork, sage and onions. Season and sprinkle over a little plain flour. You can add a dob of butter too, if you wish.

“Damp the edges and fold over into a semi circle. Shape the pasty nicely and crimp the edges”.

“Cut a slit in the centre of the pasty, lay on a baking sheet and bake in your quick oven”. I also brushed the top with a little milk [or egg] for a nice colour.

Start off at 220C, turning down after ten mins to about 190C. Bake for about 45-50 mins, or even longer for a large pasty.

They really were just delicious.

Note: As you may be able to see from the pics on my Blog, I layered it it by, first covering the base with a generous amount of pork, then onions, sage, about half a medium chipped potato, more pork, onion and sage, lastly seasoning and a sprinkle of flour.

ps - I wonder why they did not use turnip?

Chocolate Fudge Cake

I am loving these recipes from the 1960s. The WI Cornish Ladies who passed on these wonderful recipes had a great understanding of baking. Here is another example of a few simple ingredients being turned into a delicious treat. It is undoubtedly the easiest and simplest recipe I have ever used, from the start to putting it in the oven takes less than 5 mins, without getting my hands dirty! I decided to spread some melted chocolate to the finished squares though, but there is no need to really.

You will need a rectangular shallow tin. I used a 10” x 7” and lined the long side, hanging over to help lift it out. Pre heat your fan oven to 160C

4 oz butter 

2 eggs 

2 oz cocoa [good quality - you can’t beat Green & Black]

10 oz caster sugar

6 oz plain flour

½ teasp of vanilla extract

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the sugar and beaten egg, then the flour, cocoa and vanilla.

Mix well then pour into your prepared tin and bake for about 30-35 mins.

Cut into squares when almost cold. They are just perfect served warm as a dessert but are still so good when cold!

How easy is that? Scrumptious.

The original recipe used margarine [these days, never!!!!]

BUTTERMILK FRUIT CAKE

It is good to be back after my break!! This is a very special large fruit cake that keeps well and is deliciously scrummy, although it is quite expensive to make, but trust me, it is worth it. You all know I love using buttermilk in recipes, plus apricots and dried cranberries are two of my favourite dried fruits. You can use whatever nuts you have left over in your cupboard. I chopped a mix of walnuts and whole blanched almonds.

It always amazes me that by just tweaking a few basic ingredients you get a different fruit cake.

Butter and line the base of a 9 inch spring form tin and pre heat your fan oven to 160C. 

7 oz softened butter

9 oz caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract 

3 large eggs

6 oz dried chopped apricots

6 oz dried cranberries

4 oz any chopped nuts 

13 oz plain flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

9 fl oz buttermilk [a 300ml tub]

Using the creaming method, beat the sugar, vanilla and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, along with a teaspoonful of the flour with each egg. Stir in the flour, then all the rest of the dry ingredients along with the buttermilk. Mix well, then tip into your prepared tin and bake for about 1¼ hours. Turn down to 140 after 45 mins.

Leave in the tin for a short while. Cool on a rack, then enjoy.  Wonderfully moist and fruity. It keeps well too.

Note: when I made this I found I only had 1 pkt of dried cranberries in my cupboard [100gr] so had to make up with extra apricots. Therefore you will see more orange than red in the pic! Hey ho.

If your taste does not run to dark fruit cakes, this a good alternative. 

Little Chicken Tarts

I love little savoury tarts, so handy for snacks, party food and suchlike, especially now that Christmas is almost here. I also love chicken, maybe thinking of that old 60s favourite Vol au Vents and just re inventing them with a modern taste and twist. Anyway, I hope you like these and will try them over the festivities! This is my last post until mid January, I have too much baking to do for other things! Plus it will be good to have a break, while my husband munches away at the Christmas Cake. But have no fear. I will be back before you can snap your fingers. A very Happy Christmas to everyone and a healthy, prosperous New Year. Laurie xx

Shortcrust pastry. Of course you can buy some, [all butter, of course], but if you have a food processor, it takes a minute and is so easy. I use this base recipe for everything. You can add some caster sugar for mincemeat tarts, or a little fresh grated parmesan, mustard, herbs, whatever.

The quantities below makes 12, with some pastry left over.

8 oz plain flour

pinch salt

5 oz cold cubed butter

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon cold water

In your food processor, blitz the butter in the flour for a few seconds, add the yolk and water, until it starts too bind together. [I added half a teaspoon dry mustard].  Tip onto your lightly floured surface and bring together, lightly kneading until the dough is smooth. Place in a poly bag to chill for at least 20 mins. If you leave it longer, take it out of the fridge for 5 mins before using.

Using a suitable cutter, line your shallow bun tins. Pre heat your fan oven to 190C

Make the filling: Best to do this beforehand, allowing time for it to cool.

1 oz butter

1 oz plain flour

1 teaspoon mild [or hotter if you like] curry powder

6 fl oz food chicken stock

1 fl oz milk

½ tablespoon lemon juice

½ tablespoon redcurrant jelly

8-9 oz cooked chicken, shredded or chopped

Seasoning - sea salt, fresh ground pepper, a little chopped parsley

A little grated parmesan to sprinkle over and some smoked sweet paprika too if you wish.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, stir in the flour and curry powder to make a paste, gradually adding the stock, lemon juice and redcurrant jelly. Stirring all the while, bring the sauce slowly to the boil and cook for a couple of mins. Season to taste. Add your prepared chopped chicken. Cool for ten mins then tip into your pastry cases until they are full. I sprinkled over some grated parmesan and paprika, but breadcrumbs are good too. Bake for 20 mins.

Just delicious and so easy and quick. Use left over chicken,  or grill some breast meat or even buy a cooked chicken.

Chocolate Spice Cake

This recipe comes from an old, post war recipe booklet, given away with the new and modern “SR Flour” ! So I am guessing about 65 - 70 years old. I will give it to you, exactly as printed in the booklet, although I do not know exactly what “pudding spice” is, but I presume mixed spice.

I made it in a tray bake tin, but the original recipe used an ordinary tin [don’t think tray bake tins were out then!]. After baking, I took it along to a Bridge afternoon and without exception everyone said how unusual and utterly delicious it was. The wonderful spicy chocolate flavour lingered on your taste buds. Wow. Just a wonderful cake. Trust me, make it over Xmas!

Butter an 8” square, or similar, shallow tin. Mine was 10” x 7”. Preheat your oven to 350F - I have worked this out to be 160C for fan ovens.

6 oz SR Flour

4 oz butter [recipe states margarine - NO WAY!]

7 oz sugar [caster?]

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon pudding spice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

2 large eggs [yolks and whites separated]

2 oz plain chocolate

2 teaspoonfuls very finely chopped candied peel

8 tablespoons milk [I used buttermilk]

Cream the sugar and butter until fluffy. Blend in the melted chocolate and the two yolks. Mix the salt and slices with the flour and stir in alternately with the milk. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites and the candied peel.

Bake in a moderate oven for about 35 mins. Cool and spread with icing [of your choice?]

I decide to use a simple water icing infused with a little cinnamon and some finely chopped stem ginger that needed using up, grating over a little more more plain chocolate too. Cut into squares and enjoy.

Really good, with a very different combination of flavours that work beautifully