Autumn Pudding

This was a bit of a random creation I made because I happened to have a Bramley apple going spare. It turned out rather well and is very easy to make. I ate it with custard but I think it would have been improved by some fresh blackberries on the side to add even more to the autumnal flavours.

Autumn pudding

2 oz light soft brown sugar
2 oz soft margarine
2 oz self raising flour
1 egg
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 oz mixed nuts (I used a mixture of brazils, pecans, almonds and walnuts)
1 medium sized Bramley apple

Method
1. Grease and line a deep 7 inch round cake tin.

2. Heat the oven to 180 C.

3. Grind the nuts finely in a food processor.

4. Peel and then finely dice the apple.

5. Place the flour, sugar, marg, egg and baking powder in a bowl. Using an electric whisk beat these ingredients together until they are light and pale.

6. Mix the ground nuts and apple into the cake batter.

7. Spread the pudding mix evenly into the prepared tin.

8. Bake the pudding for about 25 minutes until it is just firm when pressed with a finger.

9. When cooked, turn the pudding out of the tin and eat warm or cold.

Just add custard...

Gammon slow cooked in cider

Well it's been months since my last post, but I'm still here. I wanted to put up a recipe that I cooked for a dinner party over the bank holiday weekend. The idea for using a slow-cooker to cook the gammon was given to me by a friend on a visit home to see my parents. I decided to give it a go using cider and honey to enhance the flavour of the gammon. You will need a slow-cooker to do this recipe and be warned that it does take 9-10 hours to cook so you might need to make an early start if you want this for dinner!

I have various bad memories of eating tough, overly salty, steaks of gammon topped off with tinned pineapple (why?) so it's a meat I rarely eat now. However, this method of cooking gives a well flavoured, juicy and tender result. And no pineapple.

Gammon Slow Cooked in Cider

1 1/2 lb Gammon joint - smoked or un-smoked as you prefer

1/2 pt Dry cider

1 tbsp clear honey

3-4 whole cloves

2-3 small dried bay leaves

1 apple, cut into 8 wedges

1 onion, cut into 8 wedges

Black pepper

Method

1. If the gammon has had a traditional cure (most don't now) it may require soaking in a large pan of water overnight to remove excess salt. In the morning pour away the water and give the gammon a rinse.

2. Place the gammon in the slow-cooker and surround it with the wedges of onion and apple. If your slow cooker is small, leave out a few of the fruit and vegetable wedges rather than over-packing the pot.

3. Place the cider, cloves, bay leaves and honey with a little ground black pepper into a pan. Heat until the honey has dissolved and cider is just below boiling point.

4. Pour the liquid over the gammon in the slow-cooker.

5. Immediately put the lid on the slow-cooker and switch it on. All slow cookers are a bit different, some have low, high and/or automatic settings and some have automatic timers. Mine has a single automatic setting, but basically you need to cook the gammon for around 9 - 10 hours to make sure it is thoroughly cooked. Check your own slow-cooker manual for help if you're not sure about cooking times. 

6. Once the gammon is cooked, gently lift it out of the slow cooker. Discard the apples and onions. 

7. Carve the gammon, which will be very tender, into thick slices on a serving dish. Spoon over a little of the still hot cooking liquid just before serving.

Serves 4 (with maybe just a bit left over for sandwiches :)) 

Honey Spice Biscuits

I had an idea to come up with a new recipe for biscuits using honey and cardamom. I left it late to start cooking and started scrabbling around my kitchen shelves for cardamom pods. After I'd emptied the whole cupboard of every bottle of spice and herbs I realised I didn't have any. I still wanted to do some baking so had a quick re-think and decided to try sticking to the spice theme but with a different mix of flavours. The experiment turned out very nicely. These biscuits actually turned out to be very morish - you have been warned! :)

Thanks to my friend Sarah I also had a new set of animal cookie cutters to try out! I'm just a bit worried that the makers of these cutters (branded by the Natural History Museum, London no less) seem to think that lions are bigger than elephants... :)

Honey Spice Biscuits

Ingredients:

Dough goes in...

5 oz Self raising flour.

1 tsp Ground ginger

1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon

Pinch Ground cloves

Pinch Salt

1 oz Butter

1 tbsp Golden syrup

1 tbsp Honey

2 oz Golden caster sugar

Milk

Method:

1. Grease a couple of baking trays and preheat the oven to 180 C.

2. Place the sugar, syrup, honey, butter and spices into a small pan. Warm these ingredients together gently over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the ingredients are melted together. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.

...biscuits come out.

3. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl.

4. Pour the cooled syrup mixture into the flour and mix together.

5. Add sufficient milk to get a pliable but not sticky dough.

6, Roll the dough out until it's quite thin on a floured work surface. 

7. Cut out any shapes you like from the sheet of dough and move the biscuits onto the prepared baking trays.

8. Bake for around 15 minutes until golden brown. Move the cooked biscuits to a cooling rack and allow to cool and become crisp.

Tea with Lemon Cake

I had a go at coming up with a new cake at the weekend that would combine a tea bread with a type of lemon drizzle cake. As it turned out it worked quite well, the cake is a bit crumbly but that means it's just best to have it in thick slices. :) Earl Grey tea seems to work well here with it's slightly perfumed, lemon flavour. However, if you really don't like Earl Grey you could substitute a regular blend.

Tea with Lemon Cake

225g Mixed dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, mixed peel etc)

1 Lemon

150ml Hot Earl Grey Tea

225g Self-raising flour

100g Soft, dark brown sugar

50g Soft margarine 

1 Egg

2 1/2 tbsp Icing sugar

Pinch salt

Method:

1. Make up some strong Earl Grey tea. While the tea is still hot mix it into the dried fruit in a small bowl. Grate in the zest of the lemon. Cover the bowl and leave over night to allow the fruit to absorb the tea.

2. The following day, preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease and line a 1lb loaf tin.

3. Cream together the margarine and sugar in a large bowl.

4. Add the mixed fruit (along with any remaining tea in the bowl), flour, salt and egg. Mix everything together well. You should end up with a mixture with a soft, dropping consistency.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and level the surface with the back of a metal spoon.

6. Bake the cake for about an hour until browned, well risen and when a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. 

7. While the cake cooks, juice the lemon into a small jug or bowl and mix in the icing sugar. This makes the lemon glaze for the top of the cake.

8. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven pour over the prepared glaze. Return to the oven for a couple of minutes and then bring the cake out of the oven to cool, still in the tin, on a wire rack.

9. When the cake is completely cold run a knife around the edge of the tin and then turn out the cake onto a plate.