Apple & Mincemeat Crumble Cake

This cake reminds me in appearance, and taste (and in construction) of the favoured Dorset Apple Cake from my own recipe library. After much excitement decided to give this one a go and found i throughly enjoyed it. Its incredibly rich, but beware - its also incredibly moreish. I suppose in some ways it could be a refreshing alternative to the fables xmas cake, and would be a worthy dessert with some custard, or cinnamon and honey creme fraiche on boxing day or similar family oriented gathering.

In true "me" fashion we put half of this cake portioned into the freezer for later use, should visitors drop by.

Ingredients

4 firm apples , peeled, cored and cut into thumb-size pieces
3 tbsp golden caster sugar (or demerera)
1 tsp mixed spice

For the cake mix

250g softened salted butter
250.0g golden caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract / vanilla essence
5 large eggs
200g self-raising flour (or plain flour - but be sure to add a heaped tbsp of baking powder if using plain)
100g ground almonds
7 tbsp plain flour
6 tbsp mincemeat

The doing bit:

Add pears to a pan with 2tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp water. Cook on a moderate heat until just tender, stirring occasionally.

Heat oven to 160C, grease and line cake tin (20cm).

In a mixing bowl combine sugar, butter and vanilla extract. Beat together until uniform paste and pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time then flour gradually.

Remove 90g of the batter and put into a small bowl. Add the 7tbsp plain flour and rub together into a crumble mix.

Spoon half of the cake mix into the lined tin, then add half of the apples and mincemeat. Reapeat with the other half, then top with crumble mix.

Bake for 90 mins approx, then cover the tin with foil and return to oven for a further 30 mins. Check with a small knife - if the knife comes out clean its ready to cool.

Cool throughly before portioning. Devour, with avarice.

Brandy Snaps

Image courtesy of kinbaskitchen.com

This recipe for brandy snaps is a simple one. I've seen some complex ones in my time and often wonder why so much effort and complexity is applied to something so simple - they always taste the same. Granted some have a netter depth of flavour, but in the long run i dont think it matters an awful lot to the home cook. Even professionally, little things like brandy snaps are a "job on the side".

Surprisingly theres no brandy. Theres no means to say you cant add a tabslepoon or two to the mix, just be mindful of the wetness of it when using it. If you want the curled professional "tuile" appearance of these brandy snaps, by all means use a stencil for the paste. If you prefer the more rustic approach, by all means folow the directions below.

Be sure to treat yourself to a brandy whilst making these. It is after all a festive treat.

Ingredients (makes a very generous batch)

250g of Soft butter
250g of Golden syrup or Glucose
250g of Flour
250g of Sugar
Pinch of ground ginger

Melt together the butter, golden syrup and sugar
Blend in the flour bit by bit and ginger

Place a tablespoon full on a silicone mat and bake at 190 C for 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown. While still warm allow to cool further curled on a rolling pin for a tuile finish. Otherwise just leave flat. Its up to you. If youw ant to go the whole hog, while almost cool but still malleable, by all means roll and mould around a wooden spoon. For top notch presentation on service pipe cinnamon & honey creme fraiche or chantillly cream into them. Oh, and have a glass of brandy also. It would be rude not to.

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Classic Plum Tart

Before and after glazing

This recipe is one I've been thinking about doing for a while - although my thoughts had oriented around a plum and rosemary tart, this is one that i think could be adapted to incorporate such an animal. That said, praise be to this dessert anyway as its startlingly good on its own, full of late autumn and winter promise.  With the added boon of finding some reduced plums in the supermarket yesterday, I am more than happy that this is an omen of good things.

No road to wonderfulness is easy however, and this recipe does take a bit of time. That said, it is more than well  worth the wait (and the weight, he chuckles). You wont be disappointed.


500g of sweet pastry
800g of plums halved and stones removed
A little icing sugar
2 tablespoons of apricot jam
1 tablespoon of brandy
Creme patisserie (see below)

Crème patissiere

2 egg yolks
60g caster sugar
40g of Corn flour
350ml of milk
1 vanilla pod split and scraped

Method

Blind bake the pastry case, and dry out (you can cheat and buy one, i wont tell)

Cream together the egg yolks and sugar then work in the corn flour

Bring milk and vanilla pod to the boil then allow to cool slightly

Pour the milk onto the eggs and whisk (using a bain marie)

Rinse out the pan return the custard to the heat and cook out gently stir all the time do not over cook and scramble, do not allow the mix to stick and burn

Spread crème patissiere onto the flan case

Roast the plum halves cup side upper most, sprinkle with icing sugar cook for 20 minutes

Arrange the plums on the tart

Heat up the apricot jam and brandy and glaze the plums

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Image provided courtesy of the baking pan.com

This is the original (and best) sticky toffee pudding recipe that i came across during my time in the catering industry. NOT at all to be confused with treacle sponge and other variants (which are more than often passed off as sticky toffee pudding), this recipe uses dates and their wonderful caramel-esque flavour to provide our stickiness and toffeeness. Its not for the fainthearted.

When putting this together for the first time, much like me you'll think "this will never work". Trust me it does. And I promise you one thing.... you'll never confuse sticky toffee pudding and treacle sponge desserts ever again.

Ingredients:

12oz dates
1 pint water
1 earl grey teabag
2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
4oz butter
12 oz caster sugar
4 eggs
12 oz self raising flour.

Preparation:


Boil the dates in the water, with tea bag
Once boiled for 5 minutes, add the bicarbonate of soda and remove from the heat, Remove tea bag.
Cream the butter and sugar
Add eggs gradually
Add flour and fold in
Remove the tea bags from the water and add the dates and the water to the mix
Mix together

Bake in loaf tins (you should get about 2 out of this mix.) at about 160 degrees C or thereabouts. To test if done pierce with a sharp knife. When the knife comes out clean, its ready.

Serve with butterscotch and ice cream. Enjoy eternally.

Mulled Pear Frangipan

This adaptation of traditional frangipan incorporates the comforting flavours, and spices of late winter with mulled pears. This recipe is posted at the request of Tyler Sharp, and his love of frangipan. Service reccomendations include cinnamon & cognac creme anglaise, a light but very luxurious form of the traditional custard. From beginning to end, from preparation to finish this recipe is a fun, and incredibly sensory experience - nothing can warm the heart and appetite greater than the smell of frangipan - savour every moment, and mouthful :).

Mulled Pear Ingredients:

2 Conference pears

1 Vanilla Pod

1 tsp mixed spice

50ml brandy

50ml amaretto

150ml port

150ml good red table wine (pinot reccomended).

Frangipan Ingredients:

1 deep pre cooked flan case
300g of Butter
300g of Caster sugar
6 Eggs
60g of Self rasing flour
360g of Ground Almonds

(The day before)

Core the pears and cut into halves. Fan pear halves if necessary, and put into a bowl. Add liqours & spices. Open the vanilla pod using a sharp knife and scrape out the seeds into the bowl with the rest of the mix. Leave to soak for 24 hours.

Once soaked, place fanned pears into the pastry case at quarter points. Reduce liqours to an essence (approximately 4 tbsp), and allow to cool.

For the frangipane mix:
Cream the butter and sugar, and add eggs one by one whilst beating slowly. Fold the almonds and the flour into this mix. Add the reduced liqour from the pears, and fold in until uniform. Add the mix to the flan case (the pears should just peek out of the frangipane mix), & bake at 180 degrees centigrade until golden brown. To test if done, insert a sharp knife into the centre of the flan. If the knife comes out clean, you're done. Allow to cool somewhat, and serve warm to a very grateful recipient. :)

Treacle Tart

Image provided courtesy of femalefirst.co.uk

Treacle Tart is a wonderful thing and is nice year round, but often presented from late summer through winter. Its surprisingly easy to make, and provides a wondrous accompaniment in a variety of settings, inclusive of elevenses, afternoon tea, or as a dessert at mealtimes. In the more social settings however i belive its best enjoyed with coffee.

Ingredients:

500g of Golden syrup

Juice of one lemon

500g of fresh bread crumb crusts removed

50ml of double cream

2 egg yolks

Line the flan tins with sweet short crust pastry , then blind bake

Warm up the syrup & lemon juice, then add the egg yolks and beat in very slowly

Stir in the breadcrumbs and add the cream

Pour into the pastry cases and bake in a moderate oven for 20 minutes or until it is light golden brown

Can be served with a variety of accompaniments inclusive of warmed pecan nuts, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, creme chantille or even double cream on its own.

Devour.

Everlasting syllabub

3 Lemons zested and juiced

100g of caster sugar

300ml of medium dry sherry

Two sprig of rosemary

600ml of double cream

The day before the syllabub is needed: In a bowl put in sherry, juice of the lemons the lemon rind, caster sugar and rosemary Cover and leave overnight to let the flavours develop

Next day strain the liquor On a machine start to beat the cream and gradually add the sherry/lemon liquor until the cream holds its own shape Do not over beat or it will curdle.

Serve into glasses with almond biscuits or on a Pavlova base with lemon curd.