Tag Archives: cakes

Luxury Eccles Cakes recipe

Luxury Eccles Cakes

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Luxury Eccles Cakes

Time 40 minutes.
Per portion: 223 Kcal, 13g fat (5.7g saturated)
Makes 12
Suitable for vegetarians
Suitable for freezing

Luxury mixed dried fruits 175g (6oz)
Dark muscovado sugar 50g (2oz)
Ground mixed spice 1 tsp
Grated nutmeg ½ tsp
Lemon 1, finely grated zest only
Butter 40g (1½oz), melted
Ready-rolled puff pastry 375g packet
Egg 1, beaten
Caster sugar for sifting

1 Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7 and grease two baking sheets. In a large bowl, mix together the dried fruits, sugar, spices, lemon zest and the butter.

2 Lay the pastry on a lightly floured surface and using a 9cm (3½in) plain round cutter, stamp as many rounds as you can from the pastry and set aside.

3 Re-fold the pastry trimmings, in layers, and then re-roll and stamp out more rounds until you have 12 of them.

4 Dividing evenly, place a rounded teaspoonful of the fruit mixture in the centre of each pastry circle. Brush the edges with cold water, then bring the sides of the pastry up and over the filling and pinch firmly together to seal. Turn over and gently flatten with your hand.

5 Place the Eccles cakes on the greased baking trays and brush lightly with beaten egg, then lightly score the tops, diagonally, three times. Bake for 12–15 minutes until the cakes are well risen, golden brown and crisp to the touch.

6 Sift the Eccles cakes with caster sugar while they are still hot. Eat warm, or leave until cold.

 

Recipe taken from the new Fantastic Food For Less cookbook.

Bramley Apple Week | Recipe: Spiced Apple Cake

Spiced apple cake recipe

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Bramley Apple Week

The Most Requested Dairy Diary Apple Recipe

Ever since childhood, when summer seemed sunnier, the grass seemed greener and those apples plucked from the boughs of my Grandad’s tree tasted like the most delicious fruit in the world, I’ve loved apples.

Needless to say, I don’t need much encouragement to eat or cook with them. And as it’s Bramley Apple Week this week I am using it as an excuse to bake a recipe that’s been requested on numerous occasions by customers who have lost the original.

Printed decades ago in a very eighties Dairy Diary, the original photograph of this apple cake doesn’t really make you want to dash in the kitchen and don your apron. However, after so many requests, it must be a good ‘un, so I’m going to give it a go.

Recipe: Spiced Apple Cake

Spiced apple cake recipeServes 12
Suitable for freezing
Suitable for vegetarians

Self-raising flour 350g (12oz)
Mixed spice 2 tsp
Butter 175g (6oz)
Soft brown sugar 175g (6oz)
Raisins 225g (8oz)
Egg 1, beaten
Milk 200ml (7fl oz)
Bramley apples 2, peeled and sliced
Demerara sugar 25g (1oz)
Clear honey to glaze

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Spiced apple cake recipe

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1 Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Lightly grease and line a 20.5cm (8in) diameter deep cake tin.

2 Sift the flour and spice into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the soft brown sugar and raisins, than add the beaten egg and milk and mix to a soft consistency.

Spiced apple cake recipe3 Spoon half the mixture into the tin, cover with half the apples and then top with the remaining mixture. Decorate with the rest of the apple slices and sprinkle with demerara.

4 Bake for 1¾ hours (cover with foil if the apples are browning too much) until browned and firm to touch.

5 Cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. Remove lining paper and glaze with warmed honey.

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Spiced apple cake recipe

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Mini Carrot Cakes

Mini Carrot Cakes recipe

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Mini Carrot Cakes

Makes 12 cakes Time required 45 mins plus cooling. Per portion: 466 Kcal, 22g fat (6.5g saturated)

Bananas 2
Carrots 175g (6oz), peeled and finely grated
Self-raising flour 275g (10oz)
Baking powder 1 tsp
Ground mixed spice 1 tsp
Soft light brown sugar 175g (6oz)
Eggs 3, beaten
Sunflower oil 175ml (6fl oz)

for the topping
Butter 50g (2oz), softened
Icing sugar 300g (11oz), sifted
Full fat soft cheese 125g (4½oz)
Ready-made chocolate carrot decorations 1 packet with 12 carrots

 

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 and thoroughly oil a 12-hole non-stick muffin tin.

2 Mash the bananas in a large bowl, then stir in the carrots followed by the remaining ingredients. Beat well with a wooden spoon.

3 Pour the mixture into the muffin tins, filling each hole to the top. Bake for 20–30 minutes until golden and well risen, then remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

4 For the icing, using a wooden spoon beat together the butter and sugar until the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs. Then beat in the soft cheese and continue beating until the icing is soft and fluffy. Generously swirl the icing on top of each cake and decorate with a ready-made carrot.

 

Recipe taken from Clever One Pot.

Recipes for Mother’s Day

Recipes for Mother’s Day

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Recipes for Mother’s Day

I have been a mum for just over five years now but I still get butterflies and that little flush of pride as Mother’s Day approaches.

Sorry to sound clichéd and slightly slushy here but there’s nothing more special than being a parent and when you have to wait a long time for little ones to come along as I did Mothering Sunday never loses its shine.

Of course, I have my own fantastic
Mummy who needs to be spoilt on
Sunday too, so this week will be a
flurry of craft and cooking.

With my card-making obsession, there’ll be a home-made card and some naughty-but-nice goodies too (as well as a rather beautiful Cath Kidston bag to take on her next holiday.)

Here’s what I have chosen to cook for our special Mum’s afternoon tea party:

Both these recipes come from Take a Box of Eggs. Of course my mum and I have one of these but there are many that don’t and would love one!

Take a Box of Eggs is our latest award-winning cookbook, which features 100 delicious easy and accessible dishes for all the family. Why not treat your mum or yourself?

This month postage is free! So you can pick one up for just £7.49.

Irish Whiskey Cake

Irish Whiskey Cake

Irish Whiskey Cake recipe

A naughty but very nice cake for adults… This Irish Whiskey Cake is a delectable dessert sure to go down a treat. A Dairy Diary recipe. For more delicious recipes, visit the Dairy Diary Recipe Collection.

CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE

Black Forest Gâteau

A gorgeously retro celebration cake to cook for a special occasion

Black Forest Gateau recipe taken from The Dairy Book of Home CookeryServes 8–10
Preparation 50 mins
Cooking 25 mins
Per portion 613 kcals, 44g fat (24.3g saturated)
Suitable for feezing
Suitable for vegetarians

150g (5oz) butter, melted
6 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
225g (8oz) caster sugar
50g (2oz) plain flour, sifted twice
50g (2oz) cocoa powder, sifted
4 tbsp Kirsch liqueur
450ml (3/4 pint) double cream
410g can black cherry pie filling
Chocolate curls (made with vegetable peeler)

1 Grease and flour bases and sides of three 20cm (8in) sandwich tins.

2 Strain melted butter through muslin or use Clarified Butter (page 183).

3 Whisk together eggs, vanilla and sugar over a saucepan of hand-hot water for 8–10 minutes or until mixture is thick and texture of softly whipped cream. Remove bowl from saucepan and continue whisking for a further 5 minutes.

4 Gently fold in flour, cocoa powder and melted butter, using a metal spoon.

5 Divide mixture between prepared tins. Bake at 180°C (350°F) Mark 4 for 10–15 minutes.

6 Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes in tins, then place on a wire cooling rack to cool thoroughly.

7 Prick cooled sponge cakes all over with a skewer. Spoon Kirsch over cakes and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

8 Whip cream until softly stiff. Sandwich cakes together with some of the whipped cream and pie filling. Spread top with cream and spoon pie filling in the centre.

9 Decorate top with chocolate curls. Serve at once.

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