Friday Cake Bake 2020

Regular readers of this blog will remember that every Friday I used to put up a post of something I had baked and usually the recipe too.  Today I decided to do one again!  I have almost come to the end of my flour now - just eking it out as much as I can.  I purchased the mini eggs well in advance of the lockdown and it is one purchase that I am happy to have made.

Iced Fairy Cakes

5oz (150g)  self-raising flour
4oz (100g) soft margarine
4oz (100g) caster sugar
2 eggs
Few drops of vanilla essence

4oz (100g) icing sugar 
2 tbsp (approx) warm water

mini eggs or any other edible decoration

Makes 20

Preheat oven 180C 350F Gas Mark 4

Stand 20 small paper cases (not muffin cases) onto a large baking sheet.  Put the first 5 ingredients into a large bowl and beat for 2 minutes with a wooden spoon until a smooth dropping consistency.

Place teaspoonfuls of mixture between the cases.  Bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden brown.

When done, place on a wire rack until cold.  Mix together the icing sugar and water to make a thick paste and drop spoonfuls onto the cakes.  Decorate as you wish.

Happy Easter Weekend!

Friday Cake Bake #21

I did a bit of experimenting yesterday and came up with my version of a fruit and veg cake.  I should think that the cake is highly nutritious and highly fattening too!  The end result is a sweet, moist cake with a crunchy top.  It makes two 2lb loaves and would be great for batch baking.

Fruit and Veg Cake

3 eggs
12oz caster sugar
half pint sunflower oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
8oz plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
6oz grated carrots
1 grated apple
4oz tinned pineapple drained and chopped
4oz desiccated coconut
4oz chopped mixed nuts

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees C/325F/gas mark 3

Grease and base line two 2lb baking tins

1. Beat together the sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla.

2. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt.

3. Combine the two mixtures together and beat well.

4. Fold in the prepared fruit, veg,  nuts and coconut and spoon into the tins.

5. Bake for about 1 hour and check if cooked until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

6. If necessary cook for a further 10 minutes covering the top of the cakes with grease proof paper to prevent further browning.

7. Leave to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes and then turn onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

There are quite a lot of stages of preparation in making this cake but it is not difficult.  Take your time as the end result is well worth it.

Friday Cake Bake #20

Okay.  Today's recipe is not a cake - it is a pie!  A pumpkin pie.  I used to make pumpkin pie from scratch, peeling and dicing the pumpkin and making a puree.  I never had much success with this and ended up with a stringy, watery goo!  Since I found pumpkin in a tin I have made it with that ever since.  I even use the recipe that is on the tin.

Libby's® Famous Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15oz) Libby's® 100% pure pumpkin
1 can (12floz) Carnation® Evaporated Milk*
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell *

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a small bowl.  Beat eggs in a large bowl.  Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture.  Gradually stir in evaporated milk.


Bake in preheated 425F (220C) oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 350F (180C); bake for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near centre comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack for 2 hours.  Serve immediately or refrigerate.

*I bought a ready to use shortcrust pastry sheet and lined a deep Pyrex dish with it.  I substituted another brand of evaporated milk for the Carnation® milk.

Here is the pie baked!  Not the prettiest presentation and rather rustic all round.  For those of you that have never eaten a pumpkin pie, I would describe it as like an egg custard tart.

Happy Baking!

Friday Cake Bake #19

I shouldn't think these are very healthy but they taste so good.  Bake them as an occasional treat!  I've called them bumpers because of their bumper size!


Coconut Bumpers

4oz (115g) unsalted butter
6oz (170g) soft light brown sugar
10oz (280g) self raising flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
6oz desiccated coconut
1/4 pint (150ml) milk

Pre-heat oven  to 180C (gas mark 4)


Cream butter and sugar together.

In another bowl sieve flour and cinnamon and stir in the coconut.

Add the dry ingredients and milk to the creamed mixture and mix well until a dough is formed.

Divide mixture into 10 portions.  With wet hands form into slightly flattened balls onto a greased baking sheet (or use grease proof paper.)  Bake five bumpers at a time as they spread out when cooking.

Bake for about 20 minutes for the first batch and 18 minutes for the second.

Happy bumper making!

Friday Cake Bake #18

It's that time again! I adore cakes made with apples and this is my version of a Mary Berry apple loaf cake.

Apple and Ginger Loaf Cake

7oz (200g) self-raising flour

3oz (75g) unsalted butter (cold from fridge)

4oz (100g) soft brown sugar

1 tsp ground ginger

3 dessert apples (peeled, cored,) reserving ½ apple unpeeled and thinly sliced for decoration

2 eggs, beaten

2 tbsps jam  (I used peach) warmed and sieved for glaze

Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin

Pre-heat oven to 180C/ Gas mark 4

Use a large bowl to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Stir in the sugar and ground ginger.

Dice 2 ½ apples and stir into mixture adding the eggs at the same time.  Mix well until mixture is combined.

Pour into tin.  Arrange the reserved slices of apple evenly on top of the mixture , overlapping them slightly, in two rows.

Bake for about 1 hour until golden brown and risen.  Brush the cake with the sieved jam.  Leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes and then remove and finish cooling on a wire rack.

* The ground ginger was very subtle.  I think I may add a touch of fresh ginger next time too so it has a bit more fire!

Friday Cake Bake #17

This recipe came from my step Grandad's sister-in-law.  I am sure Vivien would be pleased that I want to share her recipe far and wide!

Carmarthen Viv’s Chocolate Orange Cake

4 oz. soft margarine*

6 oz. caster sugar

5 oz. S/R flour (sifted)

1oz. cocoa powder

2 large eggs

4 tablespoons milk

Finely grated rind of small orange

Syrup

3 rounded teaspoons icing or granulated sugar (sifted)

Juice of orange

Grease and line a 900g /2lb loaf tin

Pre-heat oven to gas 4/180C

Cream together marge and sugar.  Add eggs, flour, rind of orange, milk and cocoa.  Mix well to a soft dropping consistency.  Put into tin and bake for 45-50 mins until firm.

Mix sifted icing sugar and orange juice and pour over cake as soon as it comes out of oven.  Leave in tin until completely cold before turning out.

 *I used softened butter

Friday Cake Bake #16 and an Extra Slice

Another recipe using up windfalls.  You could use pears or plums instead for variation.

Apple Topped Cake

6oz self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
5oz unsalted butter
5oz caster sugar
1 egg
6floz milk
2 eating apples, peeled. cored and thinly sliced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
A drizzle of runny honey

Pre-heat the oven to 200C.

Grease and line an 8 inch cake tin.  In a large mixing bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Rub in the butter until it resembles large breadcrumbs.  Stir in the sugar.  In a jug, beat the egg with the milk and then pour into the rest of the mixture giving it a good stir until combined.

Pour into prepared tin and lay the apples slices across the top.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle over the honey.  Bake for about 50 minutes until golden brown and firm to touch.

I think this is more of a pudding than a cake and delicious served warm from the oven with vanilla custard or ice cream.

As usual, if you make this let me know what you think about it.

An Extra Slice
For those of you not into baking, I thought I would post about other blogs I have had over the years and of the ones currently in use.  This blog is my original one that I have had since March 2008.  I have been erratic with my posting over the years but settled into a pattern of writing on here twice a week.  In addition to this blog I have two obsolete blogs called Mutant Trees and Linden Grove Kitchen.  Mutant Trees was my 'arty' blog where I showed water colour paintings that I had done and Linden Grove Kitchen was where I shared my cooking recipes.

Blogs I still have but post intermittently on are Pootling with Paper (paper crafting) and Sybil's Plot ( gardening ).  The most recent one is Linden Grove Treasure Trove which is a place for me to showcase the jewellery projects I have been working on.  Phew!  So many blogs and so little time!

The reason I have (had) so many blogs is that I have so many interests.  My blog strap line used to be 'I make, bake and create' and I think that sums me up pretty well.

Blogging has changed so much now that people are on 'Instagram' and 'Facebook' and I feel that us bloggers are a dying breed!  Maybe we will get awards for long service!  If you get time, please pop over to my other blogs if you have not seen them before.  It may give me the incentive to update them more often!

Have a lovely weekend!

Friday Cake Bake #15

I thought I would use up some of my windfalls by making an apple and raisin cake.  This is a shallow, moist cake with the consistency and texture of a bread pudding.  It is lovely served warm from the oven as a pudding with custard, thick yogurt or cream or served cold with a nice hot cup of tea or coffee.  A lovely bake for the cooler days.

Apple and Raisin Cake (rubbing in method)

6oz plain flour

Pinch of salt

A little grated nutmeg

4oz unsalted butter

3oz granulated sugar

8oz raisins

12oz or 5 medium sized apples (unpeeled, cored and grated)

3 eggs

Pre-heat the oven to 180C.  Grease and line an 8 inch cake tin.   In a large bowl, sift the flour with the salt and nutmeg and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles large breadcrumbs.  Stir in the sugar, raisins, apples and eggs without beating.  Pour mixture into prepared tin.

Bake for about an hour and then add on 5 minutes at a time until it is cooked through.  Mine took about 75 minutes.  Remove from the oven  and sprinkle the top with a little sugar if desired.

Let me know if you make it.  It is always good to know which recipes are a hit or a miss!

Friday Cake Bake No.14

The last time I did a Friday Cake Bake was May 2010.  I can't believe it was that long ago!  Anyway yesterday I baked a *Caraway Seed Cake to be eaten today.  Hopefully the seeds will remind me to germinate my ideas over the coming months.  I must jot my ideas down today (after eating the cake!) and watch them evolve as I develop them week by week.  I am excited to have creative juices flowing once more!

I must say a huge thank you to everybody who left a comment on my last post.  It means a lot to me when people like the things that I make.  It was interesting to find out your favourite semi-precious gemstones, flowers and animals.  I was not surprised to see rabbits, cats and roses top the lists although the choice in gemstones was much more diverse.

I used a random number generator to pick a winner for the giveaway.  I put in numbers from 1 to 15 as that is how many people responded to the post.  The lucky number was 13 and the 13th person to comment was Lisa.  Well done Lisa.  Could you please email me with your details so I can get a charm sent off to you.  Thank you to everybody that took part.

* Delia Smith's Book of Cakes

Comforting Scones

When the rain outside is lashing down and my mood is low I turn to baking. These sultana scones took less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish. Recipe from here.

I substituted the flour for wholemeal self-raising and brushed the tops with single cream. Split while they are still warm and spread with butter or clotted cream and jam. Delicious!

Friday Cake Bake No.13

Today's cake bake; a baked vanilla cheesecake was started off yesterday, baked in the oven and then chilled overnight.

I have added a strawberry garnish as a cream circle is quite uninspiring to look at!

A digestive biscuit crumb base always goes down a treat with my family.

On to other things - look who found the propagator lid!

Friday Cake Bake No.12 and a Little Eggstra!

I am so pleased to be back! I had a couple of days blogging break and then I lost my Internet connection!!! I have so much catching up to do. Anyway, here we are back to the Friday Cake Bake. Today I made a Lemon Tart from the Wholefood Harvest Cookbook by Rachel Hunt and Paula Cloonan. It has a wholemeal pastry base and is filled with ground almonds (sorry Lyn!), Muscovado sugar, butter, lemons rind and eggs and topped with lemons cooked in Demerara sugar and water and the water/sugar syrup poured over the whole thing.

I haven't made it before and am looking forward to eating it chilled from the fridge. I get through a lot of eggs with my Friday Cake Bake and general cooking so I invited some Hens to stay to supply me with lots of lovely eggs!

This hen is a Mimram Magpie. She is very inquisitive and talkative!

The youngster above is a Hertfordshire Honey White. She is a little nervous and I expect she is the baby of the group.

A beautiful St Pauls Walden Sussex (sounds posh eh?)

Last but not least the Bendish Blue who has lovely soft blue/grey feathers. They have settled in nicely and made themselves at home.

Here they are all together having a communal dust bath! They haven't been named yet but I have a few ideas in mind. Any suggestions on what to call them will be most welcome.

Have a lovely weekend. Hopefully I'll be spending mine in the garden and will report back for Tuesday's Garden Rake! x