The best fruited buns, ever !

These buns are amazing, soft, aromatic and stuffed full of fruit and spices, the perfect combination of flavours and great toasted or served simply buttered. Ok, so perfect buns aren't an instant thing but I promise you these buns are worth the additional effort and like any bread recipe its all about planning what you will do in the time your dough is working.

The other good thing is that you are in control of what you want in your buns, so in this mix we have a little crystallized ginger and chopped figs alongside the more traditional, raisins, sultanas and citron peel (hand chopped, ready chopped peel is vile), and you wouldn't want to spoil these amazing buns. To create the soft texture you need to use some fat in your dough, lard and dripping work well but you can also use white chocolate or even milk chocolate at a push, it makes the dough have a soft crumb, just the texture you want for your buns.

The buns would be great for festive celebrations and would easily adapted for Easter too, but frankly you'll love them so much you will eat them all year round !

What you need

• 600g strong white bread flour
• 150ml skimmed milk
• 14g dried yeast (2 pkts)
• Approx 120ml warm water but this will depend on your flour and the temperature in your kitchen
• 1 tbsp golden syrup (you could maple syrup or honey instead)
• 25g caster sugar
• 50g white fat (dripping, lard, chocolate)
• 300g dried fruit mixed (whatever you like)
• 1 1/2 tsp mixed spices (ginger, nutmeg, cardamon, cinnamon, feel free to mix and match)
• 1 tsp finely ground salt
• 3 eggs - free range please
• Another egg for glazing purposes

What you do 

• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, I always add a little flour as I find this get the yeast activated more quickly and leave in a warm place until frothy and the yeast is clearly active.
• Warm the milk and the syrup, caster sugar, white fat until melted and then add the spices, salt and the dried fruits. Allow to cool.
• Add the beaten eggs to the cooled milk mixture.
• In a large bowl combine the flour, yeast mixture and egg and milk mixture, stir until you have an loose dough. Leave this to rest for about 10 minutes covered, then knead again, do this again a couple of times but leaving it rest longer in between.
• You should eventually have a soft well combined active dough, divide this your require number of buns, I went for 10 but these were monster sized.
• Form balls and press flat, leave these to rest again on oiled trays until doubled in size, covered in plastic so the dough doesn't form a skin ( as this is an enriched dough it may take several hours)
• Bake at 200c in a pre heated oven, brush the tops with a beaten egg if you want a shiny top.
• They will be ready after about 15 minutes or so when well risen and golden on top, don't overcook them as they will go dry.
• Cool on a wire rack and devour slathered with butter, toasted or just as they are.

I am entering this post in the Tea time Treats challenge hosted by Karen over at Lavender and Lovage and Kate who blogs over at What Kate baked. The theme is "Dried Fruit" and I think this bun more than qualifies.

                                                

Cereal loaf cake

On this years schedule for the Lancashire Federation of Womens Institute county show one of the set recipes is a Weetabix cake. I remember this cake from my childhood as one that my Nanna would bake, I think she also did an All bran version too which would give a very similar result. I haven't decided as yet if I am going to enter any of the baking classes and do foray with the local equivalents of Mary Berry but in the meantime I baked this classic to remind me how it tastes. Its a pretty easy recipe and the secret is the soaking of the fruit overnight to ensure that the dried fruit is plump and juicy. There are a myriad versions of this recipe on the internet but I am using the classic supplied by the WI (the measurement is in ounces so its old time for sure).

The cake is better if wrapped for a couple of days as it improves with keeping , its great served plain or buttered.

Ingredients

• 2 weetabix or similar quantity of all bran, bran flakes, etc
• 1/2 pint of milk (I used skimmed)
• 8 oz demerara sugar
• 8 oz mixed dried fruit
• 1 egg - free range
• 8 oz self raising flour
• 1 tsp mixed spice ( this is my embellishment or not to schedule in WI speak)

Method

• Crush the weetabix in a bowl, add the sugar, milk and dried fruit. Stir well and leave to soak overnight
• Add the egg and flour and mix well
• Scoop into a lined 2lb loaf tin
• Bake at 160c for 1 hour or so (mine took 1-20 mins) until tested cooked with a skewer
• Cool on a wire rack

I was recently on BBC Radio Lancashire and took a sample of this loaf in with me and it proved very popular with the presenters.

I have been having a rummage in my old recipe archive some of which has been passed to me by my Mum and have found a couple of postcards with variations on a theme for this recipe in my Nanna's writing.

Spicy fruited poppyseed loaf cake

I am one of those people who if I don't have cake in the cupboard I feel unprepared and slightly bereft for some reason. I bake at least once a week and like to ring the changes responding to the seasons and the weather mood, I also enjoy spicy fruity bakes and love trailing new recipes or experimenting with a known recipe by adding sneaky additions. This mildly spicy fruity loaf is such a bake, warming and homely.

Ingredients

• 180g self raising flour
• 90g demerara sugar
• 125g luxury dried mixed fruit
• Pinch of ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tbsp poppyseeds
• 90g butter - melted
• 180g golden syrup
• 1 egg - free range - beaten
• 4 tbsp milk

You will need a 2lb loaf tin, lined

Method

• Pre heat your oven to 160C
• Mix all the dry ingredients in baking bowl
• Melt the butter and syrup in a saucepan
• Add the melted butter and syrup mixture to the bowl and mix well
• Now add the egg and the milk to the bowl, stir well
• Pour in to the prepared loaf tin
• Bake 45 minutes approximately, until tested cooked with a skewer
• Leave to cool in tin initially
• Remove from tin and allow to cool fully on a wire rack.

The resultant loaf cake is slightly sticky and moist, it keeps well in an airtight tin and will freeze successfully.

Quick and easy mincemeat christmas cake

Want to have a home baked Christmas cake for your festive celebrations, but you've left it too late !

Over the years I have made various versions of mincemeat cakes when this predicament has occurred in our household, the mincemeat is a quick way to provide the moist fruitiness needed for celebration cakes, this recipe is by far the easiest I have tried. The other thing that is good about this recipe is that it doesn't actually require as long a bake unlike a traditional fruit cake.

I 'll cover decorating later in the post but first lets bake the cake.

Ingredients

• 1 jar of mincemeat ( ideally homemade or if buying a luxury type) - approx 400g
• 150g butter - softened
• 150g light muscovado sugar
• 2 eggs - free range
• 225g self raising flour
• 50g glace cherries (rinsed, dried and chopped)
• 100g currants or raisins

You will need an approx 8" round deep cake tin, ideally loose bottomed or springform, butter and line with double thickness greaseproof paper.

Preheat the oven to 160c

Method

• Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl or your food mixer
• Now add all other ingredients
• Mix throughly
• Turn into your prepared tin, level the top
• Bake for approx 1 1/2 hours , until tested cooked with a skewer, watch the top if browning too quickly cover with foil
• Allow to cool slightly in tin before removing to wire rack
• Once cool wrap with greaseproof and store in a cool dry place, until ready to decorate

Quick decoration with marzipan, regal ice and silver balls and star cutters of various sizes, I found some silver ribbon and wrapped it in some cellophane. Very festive if I do say so myself. 

Fruity Marzipan loaf cake

I'm not a great fan of the traditional Christmas fruit cake but I do like marzipan , especially when its cooked and when become a lovely morsel of moist intense almond in a bake. This bake makes a lovely light alternative for a traditional cake and its very aromatic whilst baking, you can use any combination of dried fruits the choice is yours. Its also an excellent way to use up the marzipan trimmings from icing your Christmas cake.


Ingredients

• 250g dried fruits ( sultanas, raisins, cranberries, chopped apricots, currants, glace cherries, even mango pieces)
• 2 eggs - free range please
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 150g soft butter or quality margarine
• 100g caster sugar
• 300g self raising flour
• 150ml skimmed milk
• 100g marzipan - chopped into small pieces

Pre heat your oven to 180C , you will also need a 2lb loaf tin, oiled / buttered and base lined

Method

• Mix the butter, sugar and flour together in a food processor or stand mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs
• Now add the eggs, vanilla, milk and mix until you have a loose dough
• Now pulse in the dried fruit until just mixed
• Spoon approx 1/2 the mixture in to your prepared tin
• Add the marzipan in a layer before using the rest of the fruited mixture to top off the loaf
• Smooth the top 
• Bake for approx 60- 75 minutes, carefully testing with a skewer to see if baked through, bear in mind the marzipan
• Allow to initially cool in the tin, then remove and let cool fully on a wire rack.

Cup of Tea cake

One of my most faithful and reliable recipes is a straight forward matter of fact, tea loaf. It can be made with store cupboard ingredients and has minimal washing up so its a favourite I make very regularly. Its also very comforting in a like "Granny used to make" way. You can serve it as it is or buttered and of course with a cup of tea, if you want to ring the changes then use different types of tea, earl grey or Rooibus are nice alternatives.

Ingredients

• 4oz butter
• 1 cup of strong tea
• 8oz Dried mixed fruit
• 1 tsp bicarb of soda
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 8oz self raising flour
• 4oz sugar
• 1 egg - free range

Method

Preheat your oven to 160c and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin. Melt your butter in a large pan, then add your tea and mixed fruit, bring to a gentle simmer for 2 minutes, so as to swell the fruit. Now allow to cool for about 5 minutes so as not to curdle your egg. Once cool add the flour, sugar, bicarb and spice, mix well and then add the egg, mix well. Pour into you tin and bake for approx 1 hour until well risen and golden brown, test with a skewer to ensure its cooked through.

Cool in the tin and then on a wire rack, freezes beautifully when double wrapped with foil.