Good Cakes/Puddings

[pmanson]

Anyone got any good recipes for some cakes. I'll start the ball rolling with my personal favourite Frangipan!

Ingredients:

100g marg
100g caster sugar
2 eggs
100g ground almonds
Half a pack of puff pastry (approx 250g)
50g icing sugar
8" flan dish (ones with the bottom that come out are good)
Jam (apricot or raspberry work well)

• Pre heat the oven to approx 175 degrees
• Mix the marg and sugar together then slowly add in the two beaten eggs. Once that's mixed...
• Slowly stir in the ground almonds into the mixture (adding a little at a time)
• Rub marg around the flan dish to stop the pastry sticking to it
• Taking the puff pastry roll it out so it covers the flan dish (you should have some left over)
• Cut off any excess pastry from around the edge then cover the bottom of the pastry with jam (but not up the sides of the dish)
• Pour your mixture over the top of the jam and spread evenly
• Roll out the excess pasty left over and then cut it into strips and place some over the cake mixture
• Bake for approx 45mins
• Mix the icing sugar with a couple of tea spoons of boiling water then brush over the top of the pie then bake for another 5mins

Serve either hot or cold with icecream or on it's own.

[Griff Bitch]

Millionaire slices, goes down well in our house, a whole slab of it is usually gone within minutes. Will post up recipe later if you want it.

Lemon Drizzle cake, a nice easy one, I usually knock one up last minute for the cake sale at school.

[Bunglist]

Griff Bitch said:

Millionaire slices, goes down well in our house, a whole slab of it is usually gone within minutes. Will post up recipe later if you want it.

Lemon Drizzle cake, a nice easy one, I usually knock one up last minute for the cake sale at school.

Try a slight twist to the lemon drizzle cake, by adding some lime, it gives it that much more edge and some contrasting colour.

[pmanson]

Griff Bitch said:

Millionaire slices, goes down well in our house, a whole slab of it is usually gone within minutes. Will post up recipe later if you want it.

Love those! My Dad makes it!

Anyone got a recipe for american cookies? They always seem quite soft and moist!

[BigWithey]

As posted last month my Christmas / dark fruit cake.


10oz Currants
10oz Raisins
10oz Sultanas
10oz Self Raising Flour (sieved)
6oz glace cherries (halved)
2 x T spoons Ground Almonds
2 X T spoons of Mixed Peel
large pinch Flaked Almonds
8oz Dark Sugar (I prefer muscovado but molasses will do)
8oz butter
1 x heaped T spoon mixed spice
4 eggs
1 x 500ml Bottle of Guinness (not the widget cans!)
Optional spirit (I use spiced rum but whiskey or brandy can be used)
Grease proof paper
Brown paper

Soak the fruit, cherries and peel in the Guinness over night, the fruit should soak up nearly all the Guinness.
Light the oven gas mark 2
Gently mix the eggs in a jug/bowl
Using a wooden spoon cream the butter {20secs in micro will get the butter just right from the fridge) and sugar in a large mixing bowl then mix in the almonds, spice, flour, eggs, soaked fruit and a large slosh of spirit. I use the eggs as the "water" in the mix adding as you go, if you find the mix too wet just add a little more flour. The finished mix should do the 5 sec drop test, take a wooden spoon full and turn it over, the mix should hold for 5 secs before dropping into the bowl.

The mix should do 2 x medium cake tins, grease and line with grease proof paper, then put the brown paper around the outside of the tins (sellotape will work) 3/4 fill the tins with the mix and give the tins a little tap.

The secret is a low slow cook so middle of the oven gas mark 2 for about 3hrs, I check at 2 - 2 1/2hrs, use a knitting needle pushed into the cake if it comes out "wet" it needs a little longer, it's better to be slightly moist than too dry (ooo'er missus) so check it!!

Once cooked leave to cool in the tin for a couple of hours then leave on a rack to totally cool. Once cool turn the cake upside down and using a skewer / knitting needle make half a dozen holes in the bottom of the cake, make sure you don't push right through, then dribble some spirit on to the base of the cake and leave for 30 mins to soak in, this can be repeated every couple of weeks or so if desired.

I wrap in grease proof paper and store in tins / tupperware type containers, I don't "do" marzipan/ icing ...sorry

Any questions just ask ....

Jon

[staceyb]

Quick apple crumble

4 large cooking apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced.

Cinnamon

Brown sugar

For the crumble
180g of plain flour

60g sugar

90g of butter (cold as it crumbles better)

And a pinch of salt

You'll need a deep baking dish and oven set at 180

Put a layer of apples on the bottom of the dish, then a good sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar.

Repeat this til you run out of apples or you reach an inch under the lip of the baking dish.

Make the crumble by rubbing the butter into the flour and sugar til you get a breadcrumb like mixture. Spread the crumble over the top of the apples. Then another generous sprinkling of cinnamon and brown sugar.

Then whack it in the oven for around 40 minutes. Got with custard its delicious.

[SPR2]

Hello every one. On the subject of festive food - do you prefer homemade Xmas pud to bought ones