COOKBOOKS GALORE

After all the indulgences of Christmas and the New Year, I thought I'd make a simple cake. The addition of rum makes it a bit different, and as I brought a bottle back from France, this is a good way of using some of it.  Doing some research about the origins of the rum, I found that in the 18th century it was very popular in Nantes, and came in on the trading ships from the Caribbean. The cake is perfumed, dense, moist and has a hint of almond, and to enhance the rum flavour, the traditional white icing is usually made with rum instead of water.  The cake: Preheat oven 180C/gas 4             Grease and base line a 23cm cake tin Beat 220g of room temperature butter with 250g caster sugar till white and fluffy. Gradually add 80g of sr flour, 200g ground almonds and 4 tbspn rum. Mix together thoroughly. One by one beat in 4 eggs. Spoon the batter into the tin and bake for 30-40 mins till golden. Cool on a wire rack. Icing: 3 tbspn icing...

I seem to be making a lot of chocolate cakes lately, but this one is a bit different in that it has tropical flavours and ingredients.  I found the recipe in a booklet I picked up at a food fair, and it's a cake I've been meaning to try. I found a bottle of rum in the back of the cupboard, and as well as my using it for Flognarde, a recipe you can find on   Phil's blog  'As Strong As Soup' , I'm going to use some in this cake [opt]. The tropical part comes from the creamed coconut, pineapple and dessicated coconut. Preheat oven 180C/gas4 and grease and line a 20cm springform tin. For the cake: Cream together 100g soft butter and 200g caster sugar till pale and fluffy. Stir in 60g melted chocolate and 2 egg yolks. Sift together 175g sr flour and 1 tspn mixed spice, then fold these into the batter with 4 tbspn creamed coconut, 3 tbspn milk and 1 tbspn rum [or you could use pineapple juice]. Beat the egg whites till stiff then gently fold them into the ba...

I'm going through a 'nostalgic phase' at the moment, having made coconut ice, coconut pyramids and an orange coconut cake in the last few weeks - all recipes from my Mum's notebook, and which I remember from my childhood. I wanted to continue with the coconut theme, and I remembered a recipe I'd always meant to try. I have a few US cookery books and magazines brought back from when we lived there, and I've adapted this cake from a book called 'Cakes That Mom Baked' - it has 2 of my favourite ingredients in it - bananas and coconut. I've changed to metric measures and altered some of the ingredients. When living in the US, we got used to the fact that a cake wasn't a cake unless it had 'frosting' on top. This was usually a heavy butter cream, flavoured or coloured. This cake has a 'frosting' which is flavoured with banana and rum, and it's then sprinkled with shredded coconut [which I bought on Amazon UK]. I made it in a 9...

                                      Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Healthy New Year. These are a nice treat to have if anyone pops in for a coffee or a hot chocolate over the festive period. The recipe makes about 14 cookies. The biscuits have a chocolate filling with a coffee mascarpone topping. Preheat oven 200C/gas6 and line 2 baking trays with baking paper or silicone sheets. For the biscuits you cream together 60g of softened butter with 90g of caster sugar till nice and fluffy. Add 1 beaten egg and mix in, then fold in 60g of plain flour. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a 1cm plain nozzle and pipe 28 blobs on the baking paper, spacing them a bit apart. Bake for 6-8 mins till firm in the middle and beginning to go brown at the edges. For the filling - put 150g mascarpone cheese in a bowl; stir 1/2 tspn of instant coffee powder into 1 tbspn of dark rum and st...

Yet another loaf cake to add to my repertoire - well the recipe used a 900g loaf tin, but I wanted a round cake so used a 20cm springform tin. Inspiration for the cake was a few very ripe bananas in the fruit bowl. I rarely use alcohol in cakes, but this time I did what the recipe said, and soaked the sultanas in the rum. I wanted to try a different topping so I used a butterscotch one I'd wanted to try for ages - I know it has a lot of sugar in it, but for a special occasion..........! 100g sultanas 50ml rum 185g plain flour 2 tspn baking powder ½ tspn bicarb pinch salt 2 tspn cinnamon - I used 3 tspns 125g soft unsalted butter 150g light soft brown sugar 2 large eggs 4 small very ripe bananas 1 tspn vanilla extract For the icing: 75g golden caster sugar 15g butter 50g light muscovado sugar 1 tbspn golden syrup 75ml double cream In a small pan pour the rum over the sultanas and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to soak. Preheat the oven 17...

Honey cakes are supposed to be some of the oldest cakes in history. It's not something I've ever made, so wanted to try this recipe, from an old cookery book called 'The complete book of baking' inherited from Mum. The recipe says that it's best made a week before you need it! It also uses rye flour, which I couldn't find in my local supermarket, but did find in Waitrose. No fat or sugar in the cake so it must be good for you!! 175ml honey - acacia if possible 3 eggs, beaten 300g rye flour 1 tspn cinnamon 120g ground almonds or hazelnuts 2 tbspn dark run [opt] 1/2 tspn bicarb. of soda 1 tbspn milk almond halves to decorate Preheat oven 175C/gas 4 Grease a deep 30x20 tin [12x8"] Warm the honey in the jar in a pan of hot water then pour into a bowl and whisk till frothy and thick. Beat in the eggs and gradually add the flour. Mix the spices and nuts together and stir in the rum [if using] and add to the honey and egg mixture. Dissolve the bi...

This recipe is supposed to have Romanian origins. I've tweaked it a bit, substituting hazelnuts for the original walnuts, and making it a coffee cake, as I love the combination of hazelnuts and coffee. It's the filling that makes this different from the usual Victoria sandwich. 175g butter 175g caster sugar 175g sr flour 1 tspn vanilla essence 3 eggs 2 tbspns coffee essence [I used Camp] or you could use instant coffee dissolved in hot water Filling : 100g ground hazelnuts 1 tbspn milk 1 tbspn rum 25g sugar icing sugar for the top Preheat oven 180C/350F/gas 4 Grease and line 2 x 20cm sandwich tins Cream together the butter and sugar, add the eggs and vanilla essence and fold in the flour. Divide the mixture between the 2 tins. Bake for 20-25 mins till golden. Leave to cool in the tins for about 5 mins then put the cakes onto a wire rack. Filling - you can grind whole hazelnuts finely in a coffee grinder or, as I did, buy them ready ground...