Cherry and Almond Loaf

Feeling a autumnal nip in the air, I wanted to bake something comforting and homely. This is cake is the equivalent of a cosy snuggly jumper. Based on a recipe from the Domestic Goddess herself, Nigella, its a pretty easy bake. Glace cherries always remind me of when I was little and my Mum used to buy glace cherries in different colours (green, yellow, red) and other dried fruits for Christmas loose from a lovely shop in Southport, the shop is no longer there and loose dried fruits is something you don't see now. 

Ingredients

• 200g glace cherries, preferably the undyed if you can get hold of them
• 250g self raising flour
• 225g butter softened
• 175g caster sugar
• 3 eggs beaten
• 2-3 drops almond essence
• 100g ground almonds
• 6 tbsp milk

Method

Preheat your oven to 170c, grease and line your 2lb loaf tin

Firstly rinse your glace cherries,drain and dry and then tosh in a little flour. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then gradually add your eggs and almond essence, until well mixed, now add the flour and ground almonds. Lastly mix in the milk and the cherries. Now spoon into your tin, bake for approximately 45 -60 minutes until golden and baked through when tested with a skewer. 

Allow to cool in the tin, stores very well in foil.

Awesome beef stew & fluffy dumplings

My all time favourite casserole / stew is based on Jamie Oliver's Jules Beef stew, Jo had the idea of including butternut squash in his vegetables which cooks down to a satisfying mush in the gravy and not browning the meat. Both contribute to producing a casserole which has non of the bitter edges which sometimes result from slow cooking beef.

Ideally when sourcing you beef, buy from a good butcher or farm shop and go for beef skirt or shin which should ensure a great result if its available. I will be buying my from Spout House Farm, delicious local meat.

Ingredients

• Beef - stewing, shin or skirt, toss in seasoned flour
• Onions - chunky chopped
• Carrots - chunky chopped
• Butternut squash - chunky cubes
• Fresh sage 
• Fresh Thyme
• Beef stock
• Red wine or beer
• Tomato puree
• Other vegetables, maybe parsnip, celery, swede - chunky chopped

Dumplings

• 50g Suet - vegetable
• 100g Self raising flour
• Dried herbs
• pinch of salt
• Water

Method 

Preheat your oven to 150c, add all your non dumpling ingredients to a cast iron casserole, ensuring you only add as much stock / wine to just cover your ingredients, bring to a gentle simmer, cover and place in oven for anything from between 2 - 4 hours. I often use my slow cooker and simmer all day whilst at work. Be assured its better to cook long and slowly to achieve a good result, this is slow cooking at its best. You know its ready when the vegetables are beginning to fall and the meat is soft and tender.

Now to make your dumplings, mix all your dry ingredients in a bowl and then add enough water to make a soft dough, split the dough into small round balls - golf ball sized this mix makes approx 6 - 8 balls, be gentle with your mixture as over working makes your dumplings tough, pop into your casserole for 20-30 minutes until well risen and fluffy, serve and enjoy.

Banana and almond tray bake

This weekends bake is an easy traybake using up a couple of spotty bananas from the fruit bowl in the process. The recipe is based on a recipe from "The Great British Bake Off, How to Bake" book. I like traybakes as they are perfect for lunch boxes and for packing in a picnic.

Ingredients

• 175g butter softened or quality margarine
• 250g caster sugar
• 1/2tsp vanilla extract
• 3 free range eggs - beaten
• 50g ground almonds
• 225g self raising flour
• 150ml creme fraiche
• 2 ripe bananas

Method

Preheat your oven to 180c. Grease and line a tin approx 25 by 20 by 5 cm.

Beat your butter until softened and then add your sugar and beat together until lighter and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then gradually add your eggs , beat well after each addition.Now fold in the ground almonds. Sift in approx 1/3 of the flour and fold in, add 1/3 of the creme fraiche and fold in. Now add the rest of the flour and creme fraiche and fold in. Now add the lightly mashed banana and stir in, tip into your tin and level before baking for approximately 50 minutes until golden brown and a cocktail stick inserted in the centre comes out clean. 

Allow to cool slightly in tin and then cool on a wire rack. Cut in to approx 20 pieces. 

Apple Cake

Maple apple cake was my second bake for the South Lancashire Clandestine Cake Club, despite a cake malfunction which involved shedding most of the icing and a broken plate whilst transporting the cake to the meeting, the cake turned out well and was incredibly light yet moist. I hope all my cakey friends enjoyed it. Sorry I haven't a piccy, I 'll have to bake it again, in the meantime here's the recipe.

Ingredients

• 400g cooking apples
• 3/4tsp ground cinnamon
• 2tsp maple syrup
• 125ml sunflower oil
• 150g light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 lemon grated zest
• 2 large free range eggs
• 275g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1tsp bicarb of soda
• good pinch of salt
• 2 large free range egg whites

Method

Preheat your oven to 180c. Peel, core and the apples, cut into approx 1cm chunks and toss in a bowl with the cinnamon and maple syrup. Now mix the oil, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and sugar in a mixer, until fluffy, break in the eggs and whisk until fluffy.

Now sift the flour, powders( salt, bicarb, etc), into the bowl and mix, add the apple mixture and stir,  this will be a stiff mixture.

Whisk the egg whites ( I use my lovely Kitchenaid mixer) until at the stiff peak, now fold into the other mixture trying not to lose air. Spoon into your prepared (base lined and oiled tin), I used a round springform tin approx 8 inch across, or you could use a tray approx 25x20x5cm.

Bake for approx 30-35 mins until cooked through, well risen and golden.

Allow to cool in the tin and then on a wire rack. I iced mine with a cinnamon soft cheese icing, but its so pretty that you don't really need to.

Store in an airtight tin.

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.

Blondies

A few weeks ago my weekend bake was chocolate beetroot brownies, so to ring the changes its blondies, these offer  the same dense squidgy experience but with white chocolate and comforting vanilla hit. The recipe is almost identical to normal brownies, in this case I added a handful of dark chocolate chips, you could use nuts, they do have a tendency to sink through the mixture but who cares it chocolate. You are aiming for a more buttery caramac ( for those old enough to remember) flavour rather than an intense chocolate hit.

Ingredients

• 125g butter
• 200g white chocolate
• 4 eggs 
• 1tsp salt ( if using unsalted butter, otherwise adjust)
• 350g caster sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 300g plain flour

Brownie tin- 25by20 by 5cm ish tin - buttered

Method

Preheat your oven to 170c. Melt the butter and chocolate using either the microwave, a bain marie or the warming oven. Mix the eggs, salt, vanilla and sugar and whisk until fluffy, Then add the chocolate, butter mixture once cooled slighty, mix and finally fold the flour (and choc chips, nuts if using), pour into your prepared tin and bake for approx 30 minutes, until golden, well risen but still a bit squidgy in the middle. Allow to cool initially in the tin and then cut into small chunks and allow to cool fully on a wire rack.

Enjoy.

Chocolate Banana Muffins

This weekend's bake is inspired by a couple of spotty banana in the fruit bowl and a recipe I came across in "Cupcakes and Muffins" as reviewed in an earlier post. It's an easy recipe that uses things you would normally have in the store cupboard, I switched the spice from cinnamon to cardamon as that is what I felt needed to be experimented with but it's your choice.

Ingredients

• 125g softened butter or quality margarine
• 225g soft brown sugar
• 2 large spotty bananas - peeled and mashed
• 2 eggs - free range of course
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon or cardamon
• 225g plain flour
• 25g Cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarb
• 85ml buttermilk (or milk with a couple of drops lemon juice)

Method

Preheat your oven to 180c. Line your muffin tin with paper cases, the mix makes approx 12-14 large muffins.

Whisk the butter and sugar together , add the mashed banana, eggs and vanilla extract and mix, sift the spice, flour, cocoa powder and raising agents and mix gently and then add the buttermilk, mix until smooth. Spoon the mix in to the cases and bake for 25 minutes until well risen and firm in the centre. You can then decorate to your taste once cooled.

Bought, Borrowed or Stolen - Allegra McEvedy

Bought, Borrowed and stolen is not your usual cookery book, its the intensely personal food journey of chef "Allegra McEvedy". Allegra is well travelled and has visited a myriad of countries both as a chef and as a child following her historian Father.The book charts her journey and the life experiences she encountered on the way  and where and how she experienced the recipes  that are detailed in the book.

Unusually Allegra collects knives where ever she goes and these are sharply displayed in the book making a point of their importance in her life, the countries or cities each having a bio so you get a sense of the place before going on to the recipes. The recipes in the book  come from such diverse locations as Malawi to New York.

I particularly liked the fact that every recipe is illustrated, the two recipes I have tried so far where easy to follow and gave good results, they did however challenge some of my culinary boundaries, this is a cook book to buy for yourself or a close friend who will appreciate the personal stories Allegra tells.The narrative is modern and chatty, I can almost hear Allegra making the comments in the book.

My only criticism is that the book has a fabric cover, which isn't very practical for the kitchen.

You can purchase a copy from Amazon, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to review the book by Octopus Publishing.

Boil and Bake Christmas Cake

Last weekend I made mincemeat for the store cupboard for Christmas, this week I am baking a Christmas cake. Over the last few years I have made a variety of different cake recipes , traditional fruit , chocolate fruit, so this year I have gone for a boil and bake fruit cake, sort of a combination of the two. This recipe is based on one I came across in Good Housekeeping magazine and is very easy, the result appears to be quite impressive but only time will tell.

Ingredients

• 175g butter
• 500g mixed luxury dried fruit
• 100g ready to eat prunes - chopped
• 100g glace cherries - roughly chopped
• 100g Cranberries / Stem ginger (your choice)
• Finely grated zest of a lemon ( unwaxed)
• 150ml amaretto
• 175g dark brown muscovado sugar
• 200g self raising flour
• 1tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 3 eggs beaten

8inch cake tin, loose bottomed - greased and lined on base and sides

Method

Preheat your oven to 140C. Place all you dried fruit in a large pan with the lemon zest and amaretto, bring to the boil and allow to simmer for approx 5 minutes. Then add the butter and sugar and allow to melt and stir to ensure well incorporated and the sugar has melted.

Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool  slightly before adding the other ingredients and spices, stir to mix well and pour into the prepared cake tin. Bake for approx 1-45 to 2 hours, until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Once baked leave to cool in the tin, once completely cool, wrap and store in an airtight in, feeding at weekly / fortnightly intervals until Christmas.

Beetroot Rosti

Another #thinkyouknowbeetroot recipe this time for an accompaniment to a main meal, based on the traditional rosti recipe this one uses beetroot.

Ingredients

• 3-4 large cooked and peeled beetroot 
• 2 tsp Rosemary fresh leaves chopped
• Salt and pepper 
•  ½ cup of plain flour
• 2 tbsp butter

Method

Grate the beetroot with a coarse grater or food processor, Press any excess water out of them using a sieve. Heat a large non-stick pan on a medium heat ready to fry the rosti.Mix the grated beetroot in bowl with the rosemary and season to taste, then mix in the flour, adding just enough to bind the ingredients.

No with your hands press the beetroot mixture into patties and form the rosti, add the butter to the pan and once it begins to sizzle, add the beetroot patties.Turn the heat up a little, fry the patties for 10 minutes and allow them to crisp, shimmy the pan if they start to stick. Flip them over and fry for another 10 minutes on the other side.

Delicious, here served with chicken and a spinach sauce.

Beetroot Butter Pie

In one of my very early blog posts, I have a recipe for a traditional Lancashire Delicacy, this site is called Lancashire Food after all. I am talking about "Butter Pie" my most popular post by far, so in honour of the #thinkyouknowbeetroot challenge I have decided to "pimp" this most traditional of dishes. Beetroot is a traditional accompaniment to most meals which contain potato in Lancashire and is often served along side meat and potato pies and most famously with Lancashire Hotpot. The pie is a hearty meal which needs nothing with it other than maybe a cup of tea. I used Simon Hopkinson's "The Good Cook" pastry recipe from his Mum's Lancashire Cheese and onion pie as my base and went from there.

Ingredients

For the Pastry

• 60g Lard
• 60g Butter
• 200g Self raising flour
• pinch of salt
• 2-3 tbsp cold water
• Egg Wash

For the Pie filling

• 4 large potatoes peeled, cut into round approx thickness of a pound coin
• 1 large onion
• salt & pepper
• Butter ( it does contain butter!)
• 2-3 lightly pickled beetroot, cut to the same thickness as the potatoes

You will need an enamel pie dish, its not a proper pie unless cooked an enamel tin !

Method

Rub in your flour & salt with your fats until breadcrumb like or use a food processor like me. Slowly add the water, mixing until a soft dough is formed, pull the pastry all together to form a ball and allow to rest in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes, before rolling out to line your tin and to make a lid large enough to cover your pie.

Whilst the pastry is resting, parboil your potatoes and onion until soft, drain the onion and potato and place in the pastry case ensuring that you do this in two layers, inserting the beetroot in the middle, dot each layer with flakes of butter and season with salt and pepper. Once you have filled your pie then top with your pastry lid and crimp the sides, make a 2 small slits in the top ( 2 slits is traditional in my family) to allow steam to escape. Wash the top with egg and then bake in a preheated oven at 180c for approx 30 minutes, until golden and smelling delicious. Serve immediately.

This recipe is dedicated to all Lancashire expats where ever they may be in the world, a taste of home !

Apple and sloe vodka mincemeat

I have never made mincemeat before but inspired by Holly's Blog  , one of the finalist's in the year's Great British Bake Off, I thought I would have a go. Especially as I am still trying to use up the glut of apples from the Garden. The recipe is surprisingly easy and the results look and smell like the luxury mincemeat you can buy commercially ( haven't tasted it yet as you need to leave it for at least a couple of weeks to mature), I also took the opportunity of using some of my store of sloe vodka as the preserving alcohol. This is my second contribution to the  #homemadeandwellpreserved campaign. Check out Sue's blog for further yummy recipes Not just any old food blog or via twitter @TwitTottee using the hash tag.

Ingredients

• Apple - grated equivalent quantity of 1 large cooking apple (peeled and cored)
• 600g mixed dried fruit ( use whatever you like sultanas,raisins, currants, glace cherries)
• 300g suet 
• 250g dark muscovado sugar
• 85g mixed chopped peel
• Good pinch of ground nutmeg
• Good pinch of mixed spice
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon ( unwaxed)
• 100ml of alcohol ( whisky, vodka, gin, brandy, port, etc) whatever you like
• Fresh bay leaves

Method

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, leave for flavours to mingle for approximately an hour. Pack the mincemeat into sterilised jars ( the jars must be cooled otherwise the suet will melt) and seal. Leave for at least two weeks before use, ideally keep until Christmas and use to fill homemade mince pies. Could also make a great gift.

Sweetfire beetroot, goat cheese and rocket salad

As one of the lucky bloggers taking part in the #thinkyouknowbeetroot campaign from lovebeetroot  here is the first recipe using one of the samples I have been sent to play with. Any regular readers of my blog will know that I enjoy finding novel ways of using ingredients. I was lucky to already to have a supply of fabulous local goats cheese from Capra Products, the last of homegrown wild rocket and a few tomatoes from the garden. Sweetfire beetroot is baby beetroots marinated in a chilli olive oil dressing, so the beetroot has a slight chilli piquancy, I mixed up a quick olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing ( I use Gift of Oil black label) to pull the dish together.

Ingredients

• Salad Rocket
• Sweetfire Beetroot
• Goats cheese
• Tomatoes (optional)
• Balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil

Method

Place the beetroot on your serving plate, sprinkle with rocket, crumble the goats cheese and drizzle with your dressing. Delicious, simple lunch ideal served with crusty bread to mop up the lovely dressing.

Spiced Apple Chutney

My cake baking, hen keeping friend Susan, who I met as one of the organisers of the South Lancashire Clandestine Cake Club, has launched her own cyber initiative #homemadeandwellpreserved. She has a lovely foodie blog called "A little bit of heaven on a plate".This initiative is for making preserves, either as additions to your store own cupboard or as a gift.

In recent weeks I have fighting a losing battle with fruit off the tree's in the garden. Apples and courgettes are mainly this years glut. As I really hate waste, I am in full blown jamming and preserving mode. This spicy apple chutney is a favourite way to use up some apples. Its an easy recipe and is lovely on a cheese sandwich or with a cold pork pie. 

Ingredients

• 225g Onions - chopped
• 900g Apples - cored and chopped
• 110g sultanas, raisins or chopped dates
• 15g ground coriander
• 15g paprika
• 15g mixed spice
• 15g salt
• 340g sugar
• 750ml vinegar - malt but you can use fruit vinegars as well

Method

Place all the ingredients into a large pan, slowly bring to the boil ensuring all the sugar has melted. Simmer for a couple of hours ( I can't be exact as it depends on the moisture level in your fruit), stirring from time to time to ensure the chutney doesn't stick and burn. Its ready when you can draw a spoon across and the channel does not fill with liquid. Pot into sterilised jars, seal and cool. Store in a dark cool cupboard for a couple of months for the full flavour to develop. Its not easy to be precise with how many jars either this recipe makes between 3 - 6 jam jars. 

Chocolate Beetroot Brownies

Flicking through this month's Country Living magazine I came across another recipe for Chocolate Beetroot Brownies, I normally use HFW recipe but thought I would try this one. The result is a very moist chocolatey brownie that also seems light in texture, this is hubby's favourite brownie so far and uses beetroot one of my favourite ingredients due to its vivid colour. Beetroot are very easy to grow in the garden too !

Ingredients

• 250g cooked beetroot ( or you could use a packet) pureed until smooth
• 200g plain dark colour
• 250g butter
• 250g caster sugar
• 3 eggs ( free range please)
• 150g self raising flour, sifted

Method

Preheat your oven to 180c, whilst the oven is warming for eco reasons, I put the butter and chocolate in a bowl to melt in the warming oven. Meanwhile whisk together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, whisk in the butter and chocolate  mix when melted and then add the flour, mix well and pour into your lined 30cm by 22cm baking tin.

Bake until well risen and until just slightly moist in the centre. This will be approximately 20 minutes. Allow to cool and then cut in to chunky pieces.

Another courgette cake recipe - Spicy this time !

The courgette plants in the garden are still producing in abundance and as we also have builders in at the moment any home baking isn't lasting very long, so I am baking again. This recipe has a lot of similarities to a carrot cake in its spicing and is a from a newspaper cutting I have had for many years, I think this was originally from the "Saturday Telegraph".

Ingredients

• 225g Caster sugar
• 170g soft brown sugar
• 350g plain flour
• 2 tsp bicarb
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 200ml sunflower oil, extra for tin oiling
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 3 eggs
• 225g courgettes - grated finely
• 200g raisins

Method  

Preheat your oven to 180c, oil and flour your deep cake tin - approx 33cm by 23 cm. Grate your courgettes and then add all other ingredients, beat to mix well and pour into your prepared tin. Bake for approx 40 -60 minutes until cooked and well risen. You could decorate with a cream cheese topping flavoured with orange or vanilla if you are serving straight away. This keeps well in an airtight tin and freezes successfully as well if wrapped in foil.

Freemasons at Wiswell

For a quite a while we have been promising ourselves a visit to the Freemasons@Wiswell, especially after we had attended the chef demonstration at Clitheroe Food Festival by Steven Smith. I booked our table a few weeks ago for my birthday lunch, the inn itself is cosily situated in a little nook off the main village green. Parking, I think could be an issue as this is a Lancashire hill village, so leave plenty of time to park but there is plenty of on road parking in the village. The inn's decor is rustic country pub style, warm and inviting, I especially liked the glass cloth style napkins and tartan curtains. We were warmly welcomed and seated at our table by the fireplace, Despite it only being just after 12 noon the pub was busy, we were brought menu's and our drinks order taken. The inn is well staffed and we were looked after well, all staff had a smile and were knowledgeable about the food and drink on offer.

The menu's changes frequently to reflect the seasons and the best local produce.  As this was our first visit and the fact that I like to try a seasonal menu we chose from the excellent value "seasonal menu", the a la carte also looked very tempting.

Various local beers were on offer including one from 3B's from Blackburn and also a local cider, after selecting our choice of the home-baked bread our starters arrived. I have opted for the Chicken and sweetcorn veloute, which was served in a china tea cup, this was a delicious well flavoured soup topped with a thick creamy swirl, crispy chicken skin crumbs and chives. Hubby ordered the the Pughs Piglet, a terrine of "porkyness" including being studded with black pudding, the terrine was garnished with apples and blackberries. If hubby could have licked the plate he would have. 

On to the mains, we had been recommended to order some of the wicked chunky chips cooked in duck fat, as neither of our mains came with potatoes, these were presented in a cute frying basket. Hubby's main was Hake with butter sauce, mushy peas and tartare sauce, this was pronouced "amazing"and quickly demolished, I did get to sample it however and it was beautifully balanced. My main was the Tandoori roast pork belly, pork nuggets and scratchings, pumpkin, apple and cumin. Yummy !


On to the desserts, spiced plum souffle with a hot plum sauce for Mr B, Lemon Tart for me served with a salted walnut crumble, poached blueberries, clove ice cream. The clove ice cream was awesome, I am sure without a delicate touch this so easily could become medicinal, but this was perfectly balanced and absolutely delicious when eaten with the plum souffle.


This was our first visit but I am sure it won't be our last.

Spout House Farm

Today saw our first visit to Spout House Farm in Higher Wheelton, Chorley. We have been meaning to visit for  quite a while as this is a supplier to our favourite restaurant " The Red Cat", which is just down to the road from the farm. The farm shop also comes recommended by Phil from Slow Food Lancashire and Throughly Food. 

We were warmly welcomed and glad to see that this is a family affair with the emphasis on local produce and  Lancashire, the lamb and beef is produced on the premises and at a great price, also they have local free range chicken and pork, cheese vegetables and baked goods. 


Pay them a visit. I have some lamb shanks I am planning to slow cook, so I'll let you know the results.

UPDATE - The lamb shanks were awesome, slow cooked .

Fantasy Cupcakes

This week I finally got the opportunity to use the voucher from Fantasy Cupcakes which was in the NW Fine Foods hamper we won. 


I arranged delivery to my place of work, this immediately created some excitement when the delightful looking box  arrived. When you order you have the choice of various different flavours of cupcakes and the style of decoration, I choose a vanilla sponge but left the decoration up to Melinda  from Fantasy Cupcakes. She didn't disappoint, the cakes had either a pink or blue butter-cream  swirls delicately decorated with rosebuds, butterflies, bows and edible glitter. All my work colleagues were very impressed, one so much so that she is seriously considering ordering cupcakes for her wedding, the cakes were delicious and enjoyed by all. 

Cupcakes and Muffins - Ann Nicol Flame Tree Publishing

I have recently been approached by Flame Tree Publishing to review my first cookery book. I was excited to receive a copy of " Cupcakes and Muffins" by Ann Nicol to review, this is a lovely chunky wipe clean softback filled to the brim with delicious looking recipes.

The author Ann Nicol is an expert on cake baking and cake decorating, having written for many leading magazines such as BBC Good Food, Women's Weekly and Home and Freezer Digest. Her passion is all things baking and she has published many books in this topic area.

The book is divided into 8 sections which cover all you need to know to bake and decorate great looking and more importantly great tasting cupcakes and muffins.Sections such as basic techniques, once they're done and decorating lead you through baking and decorating the cakes and muffins.

The book has lots of recipes for you to try, some that are more unusual as well as the basics and has many ideas for novel ways to decorate your creations. Each recipe is illustrated and all are easy to follow and include storage details as well. Whilst loving the looks of cupcakes and muffins, some tend to be all topping and have little or no flavour when it comes to the cake part, so I was keen to try recipes from the book which were more about the cake and its flavour than the topping. I wasn't disappointed.

I tried the recipe for Banoffee cupcakes which used up some over ripe bananas I had in the kitchen, with the following results.

I also baked the Gingerbread Cupcakes as well

Both recipes gave great results and tasted as good as they looked. The book has a lot to offer both the beginner and the more experienced baker and has in particular a strong section on decoration and one on  basic cake recipes which can be used in a variety of different ways.


I would thoroughly recommend this book and this is seconded by the 5 star ratings it has on Amazon, where you can purchase a copy. It would make a great gift for a girlfriend or the bride to be.


The publisher also has a facebook page and is currently running a competition as well if you would like to enter.

Tomato and Tarragon Soup

As things are turning distinctly autumnal and having picked lots of vegetables from the garden recently, I am inspired to make soup. I am very fussy when it comes to soup, I am not  a fan of anything in a can and only really like homemade or may be New Convent Garden cartons.  I think this is  mainly because I like to know what is in the soup. A quick turn round the garden produced the ingredients for this soup. Credit for the lovely Foccacia has to go to Moreartisan bread.

Ingredients

• Tomatoes, chopped, but still with skins, pips, etc. You could use tinned if you haven't got fresh.
• 1 large onion chopped.
• 2 cloves of garlic - crushed.
• Butter - large knob of.
• Chicken stock.
• Tarragon- fresh or dried.
• Lovage - fresh.
• Salt & pepper to taste.

Method

Melt the butter in a large pan and start by sweating off the onion and garlic, until slighty softened. Now add the tomatoes and herbs, cook these gently for a few minutes, don't allow to colour. Now add the stock, you will need enough to cover the vegetables, simmer gently until all the vegetables are soft and the tomatoes broken down. Now seive into a clean pan, removing all the vegetables, pips and skins, taste for seasoning and add to taste. If the soup is too thin for your liking, then thicken with slaked cornflour. Serve with bread for a delicious treat.

More courgette cake - Courgette & Cinnamon Loaf

Another cake recipe to use up that glut of courgettes from the garden, this one freezes beautifully wrapped in foil, so its a good one to make to store for another day. The recipe originally came from the BBC Vegetarian magazine (no longer published) many years ago. 

Ingredients

• 225g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2tsp bicarb
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs beaten
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 150ml sunflower oil
• 100g light brown sugar
• 225g finely grated courgettes
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Sieve the flour and cinnamon, bicarb, salt and baking powder into a large bowl, then add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into a oiled and lined 2lb loaf tin. Its a fairly liquid mixture, but don't worry it rises wonderfully. Bake until cooked through when tested with a skewer, this normally takes 45-60 minutes, but depends on your oven. Cool initially in the tin and then remove to cool fully on a wire rack.

The loaf should be served in thick slices , buttered if you like. Delicious and different too. We have had builders in at home recently and this proved very popular.