Bara Brith Biscuits

Although not a national holiday, St. David's Day is nonetheless celebrated in a variety of ways, from the well-known parades in bigger towns and cities, to children dressing up in traditional Welsh costume. Another ubiquitous event is the school eisteddfod, a festival of poetry, recitation, music, singing and dancing. These played a big role in my childhood, with extra-curricular activities at school nearly all revolving around these important competitions. My favourite was the individual and group recitation but I also enjoyed taking part in the country dancing, as evidenced in the photo below.

Kneeling down in the front row, squinting into the sun, my smile says it all. Unlike our recitation where we regularly reached the national finals, our dancing group never progressed beyond the first few rounds but that never dampened our enthusiasm. Even the opportunity to wear the costume was exciting enough.

Taking the flavours of a traditional bara brith, these biscuits are lightly spiced, crisp round the edges with a slight chewiness from the raisins. The Welsh dragon cutter adds a celebratory touch but obviously any shape would work well.

Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus.

RECIPE

Makes about 15 dragon biscuits, or 25 smaller round ones

90g soft salted butter

50g caster sugar

45g soft brown sugar

1 large egg

45g raisins, finely chopped

half a teaspoon mixed spice

200g plain flour

half a teaspoon baking powder

2 large baking trays lined with baking parchment

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

I use an electric mixer for the whole process but it could be done by hand. Cream the butter and sugar until pale. Beat in the egg, then add the chopped raisins, mixing well.

Sift the flour, mixed spice and baking powder together, then add to the butter and eggs, mixing until everything is combined.

Form into a ball, cover with cling film and put in the fridge for about 1 hour.

Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out to a thickness of about half a centimetre. Cut into shapes and place on the baking sheets.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes until lightly golden.

Remove with a spatula to a wire rack to cool.

Store in an airtight container.

Almond and Apricot Amaretti

Every time I look in the fridge, I always seem to find egg whites that need using up. They seem to stare reproachfully at me from their cling-film covered bowl. I know that macarons are a great way of using them up and I do make these from time to time but to be honest, I find them a bit of a faff, what with having to use a piping bag and all that. The other common option is to make meringue but as I'm the only one at home who really likes meringue, it falls to me to eat them all, not the best idea when they're basically pure sugar mixed with egg white.  

These then, are what I came up with in my latest attempt at not wasting egg whites. The inspiration comes from an Ottolenghi recipe, and although I've called them amaretti, as he does, they're not really like classic Italian ones. These are sweet, soft and moist, with a pronounced almond flavour, perfect for serving with coffee after dinner or as a pick-me-up for that afternoon slump.

I'm sending these to Treat Petite hosted alternately by Stuart from Cakeyboi  and Kat (this month's host) from the Baking Explorer.

As I'm using up egg whites in this recipe, I'm also sending it over to the fantastic No Waste Food Challenge hosted by Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. This is  a great challenge and I'm so glad to see it back.









The theme is eggs, so I’m also taking part in this month's Tea Time Treats, hosted alternate months by Karen from Lavender and Lovage, Manjiri from Travels for Taste (this month's host) and Jo from Jo’s Kitchen.

  

 RECIPE

100g caster sugar
180g ground almonds
grated zest of one orange
pinch of salt
2 drops almond extract
2 egg whites
2 teaspoons honey
50g dried apricots, chopped fairly small
icing sugar

a large baking tray lined with baking parchment

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C

Put the sugar, almonds, orange zest, salt and almond extract in a large bowl and mix well with your fingers, making sure that the almond extract and orange zest are evenly distributed.

Add the chopped apricots.

Beat the egg whites (preferably with an electric whisk) and honey until they reach a soft meringue consistency. Then gently fold this into the almond and sugar mixture. What you should have is a very sticky, soft paste.

Form the mixture into rough shapes, you should get about 20 out of this recipe. They're meant to look irregular and rustic so don't spend time shaping them into perfect little balls. Roll them in icing sugar and place them on the lined baking tray.

Bake for about 12-14 minutes, until very lightly golden on the outside but still pale inside.

Leave to cool completely, then store in a sealed jar. They keep very well for about 5 days.

Apple and Almond Cakes

My fruit trees are groaning with the weight of the apples and pears this year. Not only are there lots of them, they all seem bigger and better than ever before. And it's not as though I've lavished them with any special attention. The trees have been largely ignored as per usual. Whatever it is, I'm not complaining, I'm just thinking of all the delicious things I can make with them...

This recipe is based on my trusted apple cake recipe but with added almonds and a sticky glaze which gives them extra flavour. It also adds a beautiful shine to an otherwise quite plain-looking cake. Not that I mind plain-looking cakes; indeed, they are usually my favourite kind because it means that they are delicious enough on their own without having to add flavour and moisture with icings and fillings. Much like these...

I'm sending these to Treat Petite hosted alternately by Stuart from Cakeyboi  and Kat (this month's host) from the Baking Explorer.

RECIPE - makes 11

100g butter, softened
125g caster sugar
2 large eggs
125g self-raising flour
2 apples, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
50g flaked almonds

1 heaped tablespoon apricot jam

12-bun muffin tin lined with 11 cupcake or muffin papers

 Pre-heat the oven to 200°C

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Sieve the flour and cinnamon and fold in, then add the apples and stir well to combine. 

Spoon the mixture in to the cases, filling each case as equally as possible. Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top, trying to distribute them as evenly as possible.

Put in the oven and bake for about 20-25 mins or until the cakes are cooked and golden brown on top. They take slightly longer to cook than normal fairy cakes because of the addition of moist apple. 

Remove from the oven. Take the cakes out of the tin as soon as possible and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Warm the apricot jam with a splash of water. When the cakes are cool, brush the jam over so that it forms a lovely shiny glaze. 

Witches Hats

Now these are admittedly a little wonky and battered but I was basing them on the hats that a classic Disney witch or the Wicked Witch of the West would wear, or even the Harry Potter sorting hat, something that has seen a lot of action anyway. At least that's my excuse for the rather untidy chocolate exterior...

They would make an ideal addition to any Halloween party, whether for children or adults although if you are making them for children consider using milk chocolate instead of dark. Apart from anything else, they're really delicious with their chocolatey biscuit base and the rich ganache used to make the pointy part. Yes, they are slightly fiddly to make but there's nothing intrinsically difficult and children can help with all stages, from rolling out the biscuits to the very messy job of covering the whole hat with melted chocolate. 

Orange and/or Black is the theme for this month’s Treat Petite, so I am sending these to CakeyBoi who is this month's host and The Baking Explorer.

I’m also sending these off to Karen at Lavender and Lovage for Tea Time Treats as I think they are suitably goulish and spooky for the Halloween theme! This is co-hosted by Janie at The Hedge Combers.

RECIPE

For the biscuits

150g plain flour

15g cocoa powder

65g icing sugar

75g cold butter, diced

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling

100ml double cream

125g dark chocolate

10g butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

200g dark chocolate for covering

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

Start by making the biscuit base. Sieve all the dry ingredients together and put in a food processor together with the diced butter. Pulse until the mixture looks like sand. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix on high speed until the mixture comes together to form a ball.

Tip out onto a work surface and bring it all together into a ball, wrap it in cling film and leave in the fridge for half an hour.

In the meantime, you can make the ganache. Heat the double cream and butter until just simmering, then remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Stir until it has all melted and then whisk until it gets thicker. Leave to cool.

Remove the biscuit base from the fridge and roll out to about half a centimetre thick. Cut out about 8 large discs (about 6 or 7 cm diameter) and 8 smaller ones (about 3 cm diameter). Place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. 

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Put the ganache into a piping bag with a large star nozzle. When the biscuits are cool, pipe the ganache onto the smaller biscuits, making a tall cone shape. Make sure that the ganache is anchored firmly to the biscuit base. Put into the fridge to cool.

Now for the fiddly bit. Melt the chocolate. Dip the large biscuits (one side only) into the melted chocolate, then repeat with the small biscuits with the pointy tops, making sure that they are completely covered with chocolate. Then place the small biscuits carefully onto the centre of the large ones and leave to cool on a wire rack, so that when the chocolate has solidified, the two parts are stuck firmly together. 

Decorate if you wish with star shapes, liquorice laces tied round like ribbon or anything else that takes your fancy. 

Ricotta and Chocolate Cake

It may sound unusual to use ricotta in a cake batter in this way but it really works and goes so well with the chocolate. The texture of the cake is completely different from a normal sponge cake base; the ricotta makes it denser certainly but don't be alarmed - it's not at all heavy and stays beautifully moist. It cuts and travels well which makes it perfect for summer picnics or to take on a walk as a well-deserved snack. It also lasts for a couple of days so you can make it the day before without compromising flavour or freshness. 

This cake is my submission to Choclette’s long-running We Should Cocoa challenge, which is being hosted this month by Choclette herself. The theme is Anything Goes. You can find details of the challenge and past entries over at Choclette's fantastic, relatively new home Tin and Thyme where she blogs not only about chocolate but also Cornish life and food. 

This also fits in neatly with Karen's Tea Time Treats challenge, over at Lavender and Lovage. The theme is Summer Holiday Baking and as I mentioned before, the portability of this cake makes it ideal for a picnic or indeed a camping trip, both staples of a summer holiday. You can read co-host Janie's wonderful July line-up over at Hedgecombers. 

Finally, I'm sending this over to Jibber Jabber's Love Cake challenge as the theme this month is Pack me a Picnic. 

RECIPE

250g ricotta
100g caster sugar
3 eggs
250g self raising flour
80g butter, melted and cooled slightly
120g dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

Grease and flour a round cake tin, 22cm diameter

Start by creaming together the ricotta and the sugar. Add the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition.

Remove one tablespoon of flour and sieve the rest. Fold the sieved flour gently in to the ricotta mixture. Beat in the cooled, melted butter and the vanilla extract. Finally, add the reserved tablespoon of flour to the chopped chocolate (this stops it from sinking to the bottom of the cake) and mix roughly before folding into the batter.  

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing the top.

Put in the oven and bake for about 30-35 mins or until the cake is cooked and a cake tester comes out clean. 

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for about 20 mins before carefully turning out and leaving to cool on a wire rack. 

Deeply Chocolate Layer Cake

This is not a cake for those who are indifferent to chocolate. No, this is a cake for serious chocolate lovers; those with more delicate tastes may even decide to steer clear. But if you like intense chocolate flavours, then you're in for a treat.

The buttermilk and oil-based sponge is moist and fudgy with the added bonus of being easy to make and slice. The layers are sandwiched together with a mascarpone and nutella cream and then the whole thing is covered with a rich chocolate glaze. 

It works because it's all well-balanced - the sponge has sharpness from the buttermilk and sweetness from golden syrup, the filling is saved from being too sugary thanks to the hazelnuts, and the glaze, made with chocolate, water and a little butter, is dark and intense. I used 70% chocolate for this as I wanted some bitterness to counteract the sweetness of the filling but if you don't want such an intense taste, use dark chocolate with a lower cocoa content. The filling (equal quantities of nutella and mascarpone) sounds unlikely but is actually quite wonderful, the two ingredients working together to give an almost crème pâtissière consistency. If you're a nutella lover, be warned - the stuff is addictive and even those who don't much like nutella won't be able to resist.

This cake is my submission to Choclette’s We Should Cocoa challenge, which is being hosted this month by Maison Cupcake. The theme is layer cakes. And congratulations to Choclette who has just moved from Chocolate Log Blog to a fantastic new blog home, Tin and Thyme - I look forward to reading more of her posts about Cornish life and food. 

RECIPE

175g self raising flour 
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
140g caster sugar
2 eggs 
150ml sunflower oil 
150ml buttermilk
2 tablespoons golden syrup 

For the filling
150g mascarpone, room temperature
150g nutella, room temperature
a few drops vanilla extract

For the glaze:

250g dark chocolate

50g butter, cut into cubes

125ml water

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

Grease and base line a round cake tin, 20cm diameter

Sieve together the flour, bicarb and cocoa into a large bowl (or the bowl of your mixer). Add the sugar and mix. Add the oil, buttermilk, syrup and eggs and beat until smooth. 

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing the top.

Put in the oven and bake for about 35-40 mins or until the cake is cooked and a cake tester comes out clean. 

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for about 20 mins before carefully turning out and leaving to cool on a wire rack. 

While the cakes are cooking and cooling, you can make the filling and glaze. 

For the filling:

Just put the mascarpone, nutella and vanilla extract into a bowl and whisk until smooth. Just make sure the ingredients aren't too cold otherwise they won't mix well. 

For the glaze:

Chop the chocolate and melt gently in the water until smooth, then beat in the butter. Cool until the icing is thick and spreadable.

When the cake is completely cold, cut carefully into three layers. Sandwich the layers together with the mascarpone and nutella cream, right up to the edges. Move to a wire rack and pour/spread with the chocolate glaze, covering top and sides completely. 

Leave to set.

Citrus and Honey Madeleines

The experience of tasting a madeleine, near the beginning of Swann's Way, is by far the most famous part of Marcel Proust's epic novel In Search of Lost Time. Even those who have never so much as opened a book by Proust are probably familiar with the episode: the author, as adult narrator, eats a madeleine dipped in tea, sparking memories of childhood afternoons at his aunt's home in Combray. 

The passage highlights the importance of the senses in jogging our memories and transporting us back to events and experiences in our past. Although madeleines never featured in my childhood, the smell of tea, the sound of china teacups clinking together gently on a tray and the smell of a cake baking in the oven (which I had baked with my mum earlier in the afternoon), take me straight back to Sunday afternoon tea when I was growing up - comforting, warm, cosy. 

And I am happy to report that even now, when I spend the weekend at home with my parents, Sunday tea is still served, with the same china teacups, on the same wooden tray and with a freshly-baked cake standing proudly on a flowered plate. Next time I might just make these madeleines to go with it though. 

It was actually Proust's mother who gave him the madeleine that provoked all his memories so I'm sending these to Treat Petite hosted alternately by Stuart from Cakeyboi (this month's host) and Kat from the Baking Explorer - the theme this month is Mum. 

RECIPE

3 free-range eggs
150g caster sugar
175g plain flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
8g baking powder
175g butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus extra for greasing
2g salt
10g honey

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. 

Brush the madeleine tray with melted butter then shake in a little flour to coat, tapping out the excess.

Whisk together the eggs and the sugar in a bowl until frothy. 

Lightly whisk in the remaining ingredients. Leave to stand for 30 minutes before carefully pouring into the prepared madeleine tray.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the mixture has risen a little in the middle and is fully cooked through. 

Transfer the madeleines to a wire rack and leave for a few minutes to cool slightly. These are best eaten within an hour of cooking.

                                        

Bara Brith Spiced Shortbread for St Dwynwen's Day

It's St. Dwynwen's Day today, the Welsh day of love. My celebrations are restrained - there are no tacky red hearts, no chocolates declaring 'Dwi'n dy garu di' (I love you in Welsh), no balloons professing undying love; I've opted instead for these understated but undeniably delicious shortbread hearts. The delicate spicing together with the sweet sultanas works very well and the biscuits themselves are light and crisp.

It's no coincidence that I've chosen shortbread for my inspiration as the 25th January is a double Celtic celebration. All over Scotland this evening, Burns Night festivities will be taking place so whether you're partying with haggis and whisky or having a romantic, candlelit dinner for two, these biscuits are the answer.

Dydd Santes Dwynwen Hapus - Slàinte!

RECIPE

110g plain flour
40g cornflour
100g butter, room temperature - I use salted butter but you can use unsalted if you prefer. I do think though that in that case, you should add a pinch of salt to the mixture.
50g caster sugar
50g sultanas
1 teaspoon mixed spice

Either by hand or in a mixer, mix the butter and sugar until combined. Sift the flour, mixed spice and cornflour together and then add to the butter mixture. Finally add the sultanas and mix until the dough comes together. Shape into a rough disk, wrap in clingfilm and chill for about 30 minutes. 

Flour a work surface and roll the dough out thinly. Cut out the biscuits with whatever cutter you prefer, then place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. 

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes (depending on the thickness of the biscuits) and then move to a wire rack to cool.

Spiced Apple Cake

It feels almost as though everything I've been cooking and baking recently has involved apples. This year's crop has been spectacular not only for the quantity of the apples, but also the quality. There's been piles of huge, great, red-cheeked spheres all over the kitchen, awaiting their time to shine in chutneys, crumbles, pies, apple sauce. My fingers ache from peeling. 

Although the crumbles and chutneys have all been wonderful, my favourite use for this fragrant fruit however is apple cake. This year I have veered away from my usual recipe, dispensing with the walnuts which sometimes give a slightly bitter flavour to the cake. Instead, I've added muscovado sugar for a deeper, more rounded flavour and have upped the spices. The result is a lightly spiced, incredibly moist, delicious cake. I can't think of a time during the day when you wouldn't want a slice of this - breakfast, mid-afternoon, supper time - perfect.

As apples are still in season, I'm sending this over to Katie from Feeding Boys who this month is hosting Ren Behan's Simple and in Season challenge. 

 

The spicing in this cake makes it ideal for this time of year so I'm also sending it over to Janie from The Hedgecombers who is this month's host of Tea Time Treats (Bonfire Night), a challenge she runs alongside original creator and host Karen from Lavender and Lovage.

RECIPE

150g butter

90g caster sugar

90g muscovado sugar

180g self raising flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 teaspoon allspice

half a teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 eggs

3 medium-sized apples or 2 big ones, peeled, cored and chopped into small dice. 

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

Grease and base line a round cake tin, 22cm diameter

Cream the butter and both kinds of sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Sieve the flour and spices and fold in to the batter.

 Add the chopped apples, stirring well to combine.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing the top.

If you want a slightly crunchy top, you can sprinkle over a spoon of demerara sugar just before it goes into the oven.

Put in the oven and bake for about 30-35 mins or until the cake is cooked and golden brown on top. It takes slightly longer to cook than a normal sponge cake because of the addition of moist apple.

Remove from the oven. Take the cake out of the tin as soon as possible (without burning yourself of course) and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Strawberry Vanilla Loaf Cake

After the success of my strawberry muffins back in June, I've become slightly obsessed with using this fruit in baking. The heat works its magic on the strawberries, turning the already delicious flavour into a jammy, scented treat. 

I've spoken before about how much I love loaf cakes; deceptively simple, the best ones are moist, buttery and bursting with flavour. This recipe does not disappoint - beautifully textured, the strawberries and vanilla work so well together, resulting in loaf cake perfection. 

This cake is ideal for al fresco eating - it's got a bold flavour, it's easy to transport and even easier to slice and devour! So I'm sending it over to this month's Tea Time Treats Picnic challenge; the challenge is hosted by Karen (this month's host) at Lavender and Lovage and Janie at The Hedgecombers.

As strawberries are still in season, I'm also entering it in to the Simple and in Season challenge, devised by Ren Behan and hosted this month by Elizabeth from the wonderful Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary.



RECIPE

125g butter, room temperature
160g caster sugar
2 eggs
175g self-raising flour
3 tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g strawberries

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

Grease and base line a loaf tin, 23 x 13 x 7 cm 

Wash the strawberries carefully, dry, hull and cut into quarters. 

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.

After weighing out the flour, remove one tablespoon (this is used to toss with the strawberries before adding them to the batter). Sieve the rest of the flour and fold in to the cake mixture. Mix in the buttermilk. 

Toss the prepared strawberries in the left-over tablespoon of flour (this prevents it from all sinking to the bottom during baking) and fold in to the cake batter.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing the top.

Put in the oven and bake for about 45 mins or until the cake is cooked and golden brown on top. It takes longer to cook than a normal sponge cake because of the addition of the strawberries.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for about 20 mins before carefully turning out and leaving to cool on a wire rack. 

This cake makes a perfect pudding eaten still warm from the oven, served with crème anglaise. As a cake, it's wonderful too and in fact tastes even better after a day or two - very handy for a summer picnic.

Chocolate Syrup Cake for £1

When I read about Choclette's We Should Cocoa (WSC) challenge for May, I knew I had to try and take part. I'm often unable to participate in WSC but it's a much-loved and incredibly popular challenge and I always enjoy seeing what people have made. Choclette decided to really challenge everyone this month by asking us to make a chocolate cake for £1, in line with the current focus on global poverty. 

Like many others, I found this challenge quite thought-provoking and have really enjoyed doing the research for it. Again, like most people, I soon realised that my usual cake base of butter and free-range eggs was not going to be feasible, so I had to think about alternatives. I know that margarine costs a lot less than butter but it's something that I'm really not keen on using, so the only option was to use oil. I mean, I've used oil in cakes before but usually just vegetable-based cakes such as carrot cake and pumpkin cake. Using oil in a chocolate cake was something I'd never contemplated. I also had to buy the very cheapest option for all the cake ingredients otherwise I would never have been able to manage it. I based my recipe on one I'd seen on the BBC Good Food website which you can see here. 

The results were a revelation. The cake was really delicious. I mean, nicer than my usual standard chocolate cake and a cinch to make. When it came out of the oven, it was moist and tender-crumbed with a slightly crisp exterior, just begging to be eaten (and I did indeed sample it while it was still warm). It also lasted incredibly well, staying moist and fresh much longer than a butter-based sponge. Without any budget restrictions, I would have added some vanilla essence to the batter and maybe replaced the milk with buttermilk. 

I have to confess that the total cost of the cake came to £1.01 and that doesn't include the icing sugar on top but I am still quite proud of my results. I'd like to thank Choclette for such a great challenge; my outdoor cake photos were taken in homage to her wonderful garden photography.

I'm pleased to be able to enter this in Camilla (Fab Food 4 All) and Helen's (Fuss Free Flavours) Credit Crunch Munch challenge, hosted this month by Gingey Bites.



This is also making its way over to Vanesther at Bangers and Mash for this month's Family Foodies challenge (which she runs jointly with Louisa from Eat Your Veg), entitled 'Cheap and Cheerful'. 



RECIPE

Ingredients and cost breakdown
175g self raising flour (5p)
1 tablespoon cocoa (5p)
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (2p)
140g caster sugar (14p)
2 eggs (30p)
150ml sunflower oil (21p)
150ml milk (7p)
2 tablespoons golden syrup (17p)

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

Grease and base line a round cake tin, 20cm diameter

Sieve together the flour, bicarb and cocoa into a large bowl (or the bowl of your mixer). Add the sugar and mix. Add the oil, milk, syrup and eggs and beat until smooth. 

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing the top.

Put in the oven and bake for about 35-40 mins or until the cake is cooked and a cake tester comes out clean. 

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for about 20 mins before carefully turning out and leaving to cool on a wire rack. 

If you're not on a budget, you could also ice this cake but I have to say that with just a dusting of icing sugar, it was pretty much perfect.