COOKBOOKS GALORE

I love Simnel cake at Easter and always made one for my husband and me, but the rest of my family either don't like marzipan or dried fruit, so I thought I'd try making small cakes with almost the same ingredients, then I could freeze some for me and give a few to friends. I didn't put the marzipan layer in the middle of the little cakes, but put a layer on top, and to make it more springlike, I cut it out with a flower shaped cutter. The final decoration was a sugar flower  - I'd bought a packet a while ago and they needed using! Preheat oven 180C/gas4                  You need a greased 12 hole silicone or metal muffin tin. 125g butter, 125g soft brown sugar, 2 eggs, 125g sr flour, 1 tspn mixed spice, 1 tspn cinnamon, 1-2 tbspn milk, 125g dried fruit and zests of 1 orange and 1 lemon [I didn't have any good mixed peel, hadn't got any home made, and I hate the cheap stuff, so decided to use zest instead], 100g marzipan, 2 tbspn apr...

I have to say that I'm not a fan of the American type cupcakes with lots of sickly icing on top, but these are upmarket fairy cakes.  Peaches were on offer in the local supermarket, so thought I'd try using them in a small cake for a change. The recipe makes 20 cakes. You need 2x12 hole greased  bun tins [not muffin tins- you need the ones you make jam tarts or mince pies in] or you can cook 2 batches of the cakes. You need 2 ripe peaches with stones taken out and cut into 40 thin slices - you need a good sharp knife! Preheat oven 180C/gas4       You can use paper cases in the tins if you want. Beat 225g soft butter with 225g caster sugar using a hand beater, till nice and creamy. Add 4 eggs a bit at a time, then fold in 250g sr flour; add 3 tbspn sour cream or crème fraiche [and 2 tbspn peach or apricot jam if you want a more fruity flavour] and mix in. Spoon into the cases or tins and put 2 peach slices on top of each cake and bake fo...

My friend Jenny came to stay recently, and as usual, brought me a few recipes she thought I'd like. We've always exchanged recipes, and her cheesecake is legendary in my family. I have to say that I cheated a bit, as I used tinned peaches because I couldn't find any ripe ones in the shops; it still tasted great. It's very simple - peaches in frangipane. You can use bought pastry too. Jenny said that it tastes better if you grind whole almonds, instead of buying ground almonds ready done. It didn't take long to whizz them in the food processor.                              400g shortcrust pastry [can use butter JusRol if you're feeling lazy]                             200g whole blanched almonds                             150g caster sugar       ...

Another recipe to use up some fruit. The original recipe used blueberries with the apples, but I love cranberries and wanted to try this combination. The method used to make the cake is a bit unusual, whizzing the flour and butter first. The dough is quite firm; more like a cookie dough. You can bake it, as I did, in a 20cm cake tin, or as a loaf in a 900g loaf tin. 125g butter 225g sr flour 175g caster sugar 2 large eggs, beaten 2 large eating apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced 125g cranberries [or blueberries] 2 tsbpn apricot jam Preheat oven 190C/gas 5 Grease and line a 20cm cake tin or a 900g loaf tin. Sieve flour into a food processor and add the butter. Whizz till it becomes like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and eggs and whizz again to make a smooth mixture. Spoon half of the mixture into the tin, then scatter over half the apple and cranberries. Spoon over the rest of the mixture then scatter the rest of the fruit on top. Bake for about 45 mins till ...