'V' is for....Victoria Sandwich Mini's

My first cookery lesson at school was not very inspiring....how to make a cup of tea! Followed by slicing bread and toasting it, then chocolate rice krispie cakes....Then we were given a list of ingredients to bring in the following week so we could make a classic Victoria Sandwich, our very first proper bake. I was sooooooo excited and could not wait for the next class to come round.

So after lots of mixing, pouring in to 2 greased and lined tins, they were ready to bake. They were placed on a baking rack to cool, perfectly risen, warm and the delicious smell was so tempting. After mid break time we all returned to the classroom whipped up our cream, then spread it onto one sponge, and on the other we spread strawberry jam. Sandwiched them together and dusted the top with icing sugar. Carefully putting into my tin I walked proudly home, looking forward to showing Mum my creation. In my haste to open the tin to show her, my grip on the sides was lost and I dropped the lot on the stone floor. I stood alongside the sorry mess crying while the dog could not believe her luck and tucked into the cake devouring every last crumb:(

Mum came to the rescue though, she gathered up all the ingredients we needed to make another. A lovely bonding time with Mum and Daughter mixing and baking together, and we created the best cake ever.
So tea time was on again. My tears were forgotten as we tucked into the lovely light sponge and delicious filling. So I decided to make mini cakes as a tribute to my mum for making my tears turn to smiles :)
These mini versions turned out really well and were a hit with my taste testers. Oh and thanks Mum for rescuing me that day :)
Hope you enjoy making these as much as I did....love M xx
Ingredients
6oz each of castor sugar, soft butter, sieved flour with 1 tsp baking powder and 3 eggs. A few drops of vanilla extract (optional) Milk. Whipped cream and jam for filling
Method
Grease a 12 portion deep Muffin tin. Set oven to 200C conventional oven or180C fan assisted.
Put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and using the all in one method, beat until the mixture is thick and creamy, adding milk if needed. Spoon into into each muffin cup, place in oven and bake for 15-20mins until golden and risen. remove and leave to cool on a backing rack.
When cold cut each one in half and fill with jam and whipped cream. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy with a cuppa :)

'U' is for....'Up the Garden' Berry Lemon Drizzle Cake

With all this rain our soft fruits are doing well, the only problem is picking....its not much fun when its wet. Dreams of harvesting under blue skies wearing a summer dress and sunhat have vanished and its mackintosh and wellies for me!!
I picked the last of our strawberries yesterday....a good yield around  40lb this year, so lots of jams, jellies and of course cakes and desserts have been made. I quite often make a berry drizzle cake for family and friends....but this 'Up the Garden' cake has been created from many special garden moments.....

Back to my Grans house....As a child I would be packed off to her house for a few weeks over the summer. She lived in a small hamlet in Wiltshire, in a typical english garden cottage, with roses round the door. all set in beautiful countryside. There was only one thing I hated, and that was the spidery outside toilet and the baths that had to be taken in an old tin bath in front of the kitchen range....and this was in the 60's !
I always enjoyed helping her in the garden digging up carrots and new potatoes, runner beans and broad beans....but when we reached the pea patch I knew I was in trouble. I had been there earlier in the morning, picked and eaten them, I can still taste the sweetness of fresh podded peas in my mouth!

Then onto fruit for pudding, like me now she would have all the summer berries, then later in the year pears, apples and plumbs. She was brilliant at preserving all the surplus, making chutneys, jams, curds, and storing the rest in the freezer. 
Plum jam was always interesting at tea time, thick homemade bread, spread with fresh butter from the local farm, with a selection of jams to help yourself to. I would spoon the jam on the side of my plate and count how many stones had come out with the jam....why she left them in I have no idea, but I enjoyed playing tinker, taylor soldier sailor...for any of you who don't know what this is you line up all the stones or pips  that you find in the fruits and counting each one saying tinker, taylor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief would supposedly tel you who you would marry! Well the predictions were not right my husband does something entirely different.
Anyway enough of my ramblings. I celebrate my Nans garden with this recipe....enjoy x

Ingredients 

• 175g soft butter 
• 175g caster sugar
• 250g self-raising flour
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 200g fruits in season, washed and chopped if they are largish
• 140g granulated sugar
• 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
•  Method
• Oven 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line   a 900g/2lb loaf tin

• Put the butter, sugar, flour, eggs and vanilla extract into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 5 mins until pale and creamy, the mixture will be thicker than normal.
• Spread one-third of the cake mix into the tin, then scatter over some of the fruit.
• Spread another third of the cake mix on top, and scatter with more fruit. Finally put the rest of the cake mix over and gently spread with a spoon. Bake for 60mins h, until an inserted skewer comes out clean
• Poke the cake all over with a skewer. Put remaining 75g fruit into a bowl with the granulated sugar. Stir in 1 tbsp of the citrus juice first with a fork, mashing a little of the fruit as you go. If it's a bit dry, add a splash more juice and spoon over the cake. Leave in the tin until the cake is cool and the topping is set and crisp.bbc good food
• I used blackcurrants, tayberries, gooseberries and strawberries

‘T’ is for……Truly Scrumptious refrigerator cake

A posh version of chocolate Rice Krispy cakes …..a mix of biscuit, Maltesers, Milky Way Stars, Minstrels, and marshmallows encased  in chocolate and decorated with chocolate covered strawberries…….Diet tomorrow me thinks!!! 

Last week during one of the Wimbledon matches a woman was caught on camera doing something that many called disrespectful, disgusting, unbelievable...what was she doing to provoke such outrage? .......well she was knitting!!! lol funny how times change as I remember when I was growing up most women took their knitting wherever they went, hoping to get a moment to knit a few more rows, and no one batted an eyelid. Now it has been branded as the ultimate crime. Maybe there is a time and a place, but I can think of worse things that the camera could of discovered!!!!   

Anyway this made my thoughts turn to my gran, aunts and my mum with their knitting, which became the inspiration for this easy cake!  Saturday mornings were always given to the task of baking, as a child I was given the task of making Rice Krispie Cakes.....I felt very grown up and important being able to make these without any help from my Gran or Mum.....Much of the mixture ended up on the table top and floor, although I expect quite allot ended up in my mouth, never reaching the pretty paper cases!  
In the afternoon all the women would sit together enjoying each others company, and while they chatted, ate cake, and sipped tea, they got on with their knitting! What a wonderful way to multitask!!!! 

Knitting vanished as a hobby for many years but has grown very quickly into a popular pastime and many knitting circles have been formed up and down the country. Men and women alike have embraced this craft, and discovered its therapeutic and help to chill out....Knitting is yoga for the brain!!
So this cake is for knitters everywhere......Hugs 4 smiles M x

100g (3 1/2oz) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
200g (7oz) milk chocolate, broken into pieces
3 tbsp golden syrup
225g (8oz) digestive biscuits, finely crushed
Handful of Maltesers, Milky Way Stars, Minstrals, Marshmallows (or chocolate delights of your choice)

Grease a 20cm (8") square cake tin and line with greaseproof paper.
Melt together the butter, chocolate and golden syrup and stir until smooth.  Add the crushed digestives and stir until well coated.  Then add the Maltesers and stir quickly so they don't melt.
Press into the tin and chill in the fridge until set. Cut into squares

I decorated mine with chocolate dipped strawberries.....everything comes with strawberries right now as we have a huge glut of them!!!

I made thee Strawberry Muffins for my Nutty Knitter group at our last meet.....Take any Muffin recipe and add chopped strawberries to the mixture before baking x

        

Knitting is very conducive to thought.  It is nice to knit a while, put down the needles, write a while, then take up the sock again.  ~Dorothy Day 

I like making a piece of string into something I can wear.  ~Author Unknown

    

'S’ is for……Summer Strawberry Sponge

S’ is for……Summer Strawberry Sponge. with an Eton mess filling topped with fresh english strawberries and lemon shortbread hearts

Hello all....once again a little late with this post as time has won. The colourful bunting adorns the local town ready for the annual gala, and although the skies have been grey most of June they add a lovely splash of colour. Strawberries are ripening so fast now, we have picked around 30lb of delicious sweet juicy fruit. I have made lots of jam, baked scrummy cakes, made smoothies and of course a dessert of strrawberries and cream always goes down well. Another delicious way of eating them is with a splash of good quality balsamic vinegar and a little sugar. And everyone's favourite.....strawberries dipped in chocolate mmmmm
This summer cake was inspired by my local church. Ten years ago my family attended our local gala. After the carnival procession, the park spills over with lots of stalls raising money for charities, dog shows, a fair and so on, all the usual that make up events like this up and down the country:)
As I walked on by taking in the atmosphere two young people approached me with the offer of a free fresh strawberries. Me well I rarely refuse a freebie, especially juicy fruit! This was to be a turning point in my life!

I discovered these friendly teenagers were representing a local church, and somehow their whole spiritual enthusiasm was something to really smile about. They gave me leaflets about something called 'The Alpha Course, and I vowed one day I would be able to take part. Rather than waffle on about it I have included a link.alpha.org
I went home and pinned the leaflets onto my notice board......and they stayed there for nearly 10 years! My children had grown up and I had a little more time for me, so off I went and thoroughly enjoyed the course and met so many friendly people. My spirituality grew and I finally took the leap, and was Baptised.....my journey was finally completed....and all because of a strawberry! So here it is a Strawberry sponge as a thank you to those young people who offered me a juicy ripe strawberry !!!

Make 2 sponges using your favourite Victoria Sandwich recipe.
When cool fill with whipped cream mixed with crushed meringues, chopped strawberries and strawberry jam
Decorate with cream, strawberries and little meringues and shortbread biscuits.
I made my little heart shape biscuits ....but to save time you can buy ready made ones.......Dust with icing sugar.....and serve!!!

Enjoy Love M xxx

‘R’ is for…..Rocky Road Brownies with all the extras.

Chocolate brownie base baked with biscuit, marshmallows and pecan nuts. Topped with soft chocolate fudge then covered with all the extras! enjoy :)

I have opted for an old favorite with this recipe, combining a brownie with a rocky road topping, using lots of different sweets and nuts. My gang along with their friends always enjoyed this treat, although I am not so sure all the sugar and E numbers were a good idea when they were all hyped up afterwards.

When my children were little they always enjoyed making a birthday cake for their dad. I tried to persuade them to make something different, but they insisted it had to be a sponge cake filled with jam, iced and then the best part for them was the topping. Sticking as many different sweets as they could find on top of the sticky icing. I always had to buy more than was needed as kids like they do would put one sweet on top, then 2 in their mouths! I would confront them and say 'have you got a sweet in your mouth' and they would look at me all doe eyed with a look of 'Who me?' while still chewing ...ho hum

On each birthday we would decorate the kitchen, put the pressies in pride of place an the table along with the cake and candles. we would call the birthday boy/girl into the kitchen light the candles and sing Happy Birthday.

After opening presents the cake would be cut and eaten.....all this before school, naughty mum for giving them cake for their breakfast!!!! 

With their Dad's cake my children would decorate it with all his favorite sweets so cake cut we could find ourselves munching on wine gums, liquorice allsorts, skittles, tooty fruities, fruit gums and all the chocolaty stuff too.....what a good way to start the day, although I am not sure what their teachers thought when they got to school all hyper!!!!

Ingredients

• 6oz butter, cubed
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 4 eggs
• 12oz sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup s/r flour
• 1tsp baking powder 
• fudge or chocolate spread
• lots of sweets, chocs, nuts, marshmallows and crushed biscuits of your choice

• In a microwave, melt butter and chocolate, stir until smooth; cool for 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla until blended. Stir in chocolate mixture. Gradually add flour until well blended.
• Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 180c fan 160c, gas mark4for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. 
• When cool spread with your favorite fudge or chocolate spread
• Sprinkle with the marshmallows, chocolate chips and walnuts
• Eat and enjoy....then watch the calories for a week after :)

'Q' is for.... Quandong, Lamington Roll

The inspiration for this cake was 2 very special trips I took to Australia. The first was way back in 2005, a family trip of milestones, my children had reached 21, 18 and 13years old, my husband 50 and we had been married for 25 years....it was to be our last family holiday together. We had a lovely time seeing all the sights and being adventurous, well apart from me that is. While my family were doing all things scary like skydiving and climbing Sydney bridge I opted out as I had a fear of heights.So while they did these once in a lifetime challenges I spent my time travelling around Sydney Harbour on the many little boats and ferries.  On my return home I regretted not joining my family in the walk over the bridge, and vowed one day  I would return and face my fears. 

So in  June 2009 I returned and walked that bridge....and as I got to the summit I cannot begin to describe the elation and sense of pride I had in myself. It was a spiritual moment and as I looked down through the bridge then across the harbour I suddenly realised I had left that awful fear of heights behind. I now wear a little gold charm of the bridge around my neck and in times of fear or uncertainty I hold the little charm and it reminds me that I have faced my fears once and I can do so again.

Quandongs are a native bush fruit that are quite tart in flavour, so a good choice for the letter Q. I have been unable to purchase any here in the UK, but after some research I found they are of the peach family and have a tart taste like peach, apricot and rhubarb. 

I wanted to create an essence of Australia, so I used peaches, apricots and passion fruit to give tartness to the recipe, like a quandong would. A light sponge cake and coconut which are used to create Lamington cakes. And I have included some little meringues as a tribute to the Pavlova, which was created in Australia . The passion fruit is also for the passion I have for a wonderful city. Thank you Sydney for giving me some confidence back, and for you I have created this cake as a tribute :) x

Ingredients

3 eggs

85gr castor sugar

85gr plain flour and I tsp baking powder sieved together

Filling

300gr double cream

Apricot conserve

 fresh apricots chop 2 and slice 2

3 fresh peaches chop 2 and slice 1

Pulp of 2 passion fruits

Tblsp dessicated coconut

a few small meringues halved

Method

1. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Grease and line a 30 x 24cm Swiss roll tin with nonstick paper. Put the eggs and sugar into a large bowl and beat with electric beaters until thick and light, about 5 mins. Fold in the flour and baking powder. Tip into the tin, tilt to level the mix, then bake for 12-15 mins until golden and just springy. Turn onto another sheet of paper, dusted with 1 tbsp caster sugar. Roll the paper up inside the sponge, then leave to cool completely. 
2. Whip the cream until stiff. Unroll the sponge, spread with apricot conserve the half of the whipped cream,top with the chopped fruits and pulp of 1 passion fruit, then roll up. Pipe cream on top, sprinkle coconut over then decorate with sliced fruits and .passion fruit. yumm .....enjoy x

Lamingtons are a quintessential part of every Australian's childhood. The little sponge cake is dipped in chocolate icing and then rolled in desiccated coconut.These little treats are sold at school fairs and bake sales around the country.These days Lamingtons are also commercially produced however they don't taste as good as the homemade versions.

Pavlova.....This light, fruity pie with crust made of meringue is the national dessert of both Australia and New Zealand. Pavlova is a colorful, elegant dessert that usually boasts lighter-than-air meringue, juicy green kiwis, luscious strawberries and/or raspberries or tangy passion fruit, and mountains of whipped cream. The meringue shell is creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside. 

Images of Quandongs below

 

Quandong Facts

• Fossilised Quandongs have been discovered in the coal seams of Southern Victoria. Apparently these fossils date from 40 million years ago - a time when Australia was still linked to the Antarctic continent.
• Australian people often refer to Quandongs as the Wild Peach, Desert Peach or Native Peach.
• Quandongs have a vitamin C content higher than oranges and and almost certainly saved many early Australian explorers from scurvy.
• Quandong fruit can be dried and frozen for 8 years or more, without losing any flavour whatsoever.
• Quandong trees possess an aromatic wood that was traditionally used by aboriginal people in "smoking ceremonies".
• Rural Australian children often used Quandong seeds as Chinese Checker pieces.
• The President of the New York Explorers Club once imported Quandongs for one of their annual dinners - along with some Polar Ice!
• To date the only Australian food plant to be successfully domesticated is the Macadamia Nut.The Macadamia Nut was successfully domesticated in Hawaii. Will the Quandong be the second domesticated food plant?
• Aboriginal Name Goorti (Narungga

'Q' is for.....Queen of Cakes

My entry for Good to Know Recipes magazines competition 'Jubilee Queen of Cakes'

Hello everyone :) So we are well into the Jubilee celebrations now, I am just watching the flotilla on the Thames, the Queen looks radiant. I was lucky enough a few weeks ago to attend the pageant in the grounds of Windsor Castle...'All the Queens Horses'. Its being screened on TV this evening and is a feast for the eyes :)

Today I am going to blow my own trumpet and share with you my day at Good to Know Recipes magazines offices in Central London, where the final judging took place on Friday. But first I need to start this story from the beginning.

I started this blog way back in January. I had become poorly at the beginning of December and I was told by my consultant that it was going to be a while for me to bounce back. I spent most days asleep or playing couch potato. My creativity with my art had got up and gone and I was feeling sorry for myself. Even going for a short 10 minute walk was an effort. I have always enjoyed baking and decided I could just about meet the challenge of a cake each week....my a-z of cakes. There have been some weeks that I was unable to push myself , but he ho we are up to Q now.....and yes there will be a new recipe for 'Q'is for....later this week:)

This cake was originally made way back on a dull January day. I decided on the colours and flavours and it was only when I finished it that I realised I had created a Jubilee Cake!

Its funny how things happen as I had started this to give me something to focus on and never once did I ever think I would receive so many mails and comments from friends and strangers as I have, let alone come second in a competition with a food magazine:) But I did and I had the most amazing day.

Me with 2 of the judges. Ruth Clemens on the right and Victoria Threader on the left

 I received a mail from the Magazine on Monday afternoon to tell me I was one of the finalists. I had to re-create my cake and take it with me to their offices for 9.30am on Friday. One minor problem.....Cakes, trains and rush hour are not the best combination. Oh well if I got there and it resembled a trifle then so be it.

Lots of panicky moments making the cake, as I put it together and placed the coconut marzipan over the top  I felt the cake slip. But a little tweaking and it was saved:)

Gino D'Acampo was there to judge as well.....hes a cheeky chappy  with a good sense of humour.

I arrived on time with the cake in one piece thankfully. A general introduction and tea with the staff and judges, then setting up time. I was surprised how chilled I was. We then had 2 masterclasses. We made funny face cupcakes with Victoria, and cookie ice lollies with Ruth.

 Gino then arrived to have lunch with us all before judging the cakes. I enjoyed the friendly banter, hen it was off to the terrace to sip tea and take in the view of the London skyline...its a shame it was such a grey day.

                                             

We were then called back for the winner to be announced. Sam won the first prize and I came in second....I was happy with that as I never thought for one moment that I would get this far. When I sent my entry off I did not give it another thought, so it was a lovely surprise to get this far.

Me and Sam she won the first prize

after the judging

Sams prize winning cakes....a worthy winner x

We both took away a hamper of sugar craft goodies, including Ruth's new book, and a goodie bag from)Victoria which included all the equipment we needed to make here lovely cupcakes :)

A day to remember....oh and I won a stove as did Sam!!! 

Thank you to everyone at Good to Know Recipes for a fantastic day...hugs 4 smiles love M xx

If you want to find out more go to.....

http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/pictures/34519/Jubilee-Queen-of-Cakes-judging-day