Christmas Mince Pies

I love this pastry. Avoid if you are a Weight Watcher! This is another favourite from The Times Cookery Book (1972) by Katie Stewart.

Ingredients:

10 oz (275g) plain flour
1oz (25g) ground almonds
6oz (175g) butter
3 oz (75g)caster sugar
grated rind of half a lemon
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons milk

450g jar Robertson's mincemeat
1 tablespoon brandy
icing sugar for dusting


Method:

Mix flour and ground almonds in a large mixing bowl and rub in butter. Add sugar and rind. Mix the milk with the egg yolk and then add to bowl and stir in to form firm dough, adding extra milk/flour as required to get correct consistency. Chill dough for 30 mins before rolling out. Grease patty pans. Cut out pastry circles and line tin. Mix brandy into jar of mincemeat. Add a teaspoon of mincemeat to each tart and top with smaller circle of pastry or try small star shapes for decoration. Bake for 15-20 mins at 220C (200C fan-forced). Dust with icing sugar and store in air-tight tin. Serve warm or cold with cream or brandy butter.

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Brandy Butter

This recipe is from my rather ancient and battered copy of  "The Times Cookery Book" by Katie Stewart 1972.

Very easy and delicious served with Christmas pudding or mince pies.

Ingredients:

6 oz (175g) unsalted butter
8 oz (225g) sieved icing sugar
2 tablespoons brandy



Method:

Cream the butter until soft and then gradually beat in the icing sugar followed by the brandy. Store in the fridge.

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Christmas Pudding

This is the Christmas pudding I have made every year since 1993. Once described by a visitor as "the best Christmas pudding I've ever tasted". My son Nat loves this. It is from the Women's Weekly Celebration Cookery book.

Ingredients:

500g (31/4 cups) mixed fruit
125g (3/4 cup) chopped dates
125g (3/4 cup) chopped raisins
1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
125g butter

1tsp bicarb of soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup plain flour
1 cup self raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons dark rum

Christmas Day 2015 leftovers, pudding in foreground, with chocolate birthday cake and Christmas cake, yum!

Method:
Combine fruit, water sugar and butter in saucepan. Stir constantly  over heat until butter is melted and sugar dissolved.. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 8 mins uncovered.  Then stir in the soda and transfer to a large bowl. Now stir in the eggs, sifted dry ingredients and rum.

Spray a 10 cup capacity pudding basin with oil. Spoon mixture into basin and smooth surface. Cover with a double sheet of foil (greased) and secure with string.

Place pudding in a large saucepan. Pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the side of pudding basin. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 hours. Add extra boiling water as required. Never allow saucepan to boil dry. Set aside to cool. Store pudding in refrigerator. I place a broken saucer under the pudding basin so that it is lifted off the bottom of the pan. (The saucer broke the first time I did this and I kept it to use every year!). Otherwise the pudding might burn on the bottom - I think this happened to me one year and I just chopped the burnt part off.

Remove the foil and allow to cool. Cover with cling film and store the pudding in refrigerator. (I make the pudding a couple of weeks before Christmas.)

To reheat: You could place pudding in large saucepan of simmering water and steam for 2 hours, but I actually reheat the pudding in the microwave, which is much quicker and convenient on a hot day (I live in Australia). Nice served with custard, whipped cream or brandy butter.

Based on 16 serves, this has a Weight Watchers ProPoints value of 9 per serve.

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Homemade Lemon Cordial (Lemonade)

This is another great recipe to use up excess lemons. The cordial may be diluted with soda to create lemonade. Bec loves this.

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup lemon juice



Method:

1. Place the sugar and water in a small pan over low heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Cool.
3. Add lemon juice and stir.
4. Chill in fridge.
5. Dilute with water or soda for delicious refreshing drink.

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Banana Cake with Passionfruit Icing

Yesterday I decided to use up some very ripe bananas that were looking a bit sad and unwanted in my fruit bowl. I also had some buttermilk to use up and a couple of passion fruit. I searched the net and based my recipe on the following two: 96five.com  taste.com.au.

The result was delicious. The icing is very special indeed.

Ingredients:

125g margarine
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups mashed banana (I used 4 small very ripe bananas)
100ml buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder


For the icing:
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp margarine
pulp of 2 passion fruit

Method:

Preheat oven 180C (160C fan forced).
Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin.

Cream margarine and sugar and then beat in the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla, buttermilk and mashed banana. Finally beat in the flour and baking powder.
Bake for about 50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when poked into the centre of the cake.

Icing: Mix the ingredients in a small bowl and spread on cooled cake

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Sponge Cake with Jam and Cream

This is an easy version of the old-fashioned Victoria sponge. It uses the "all-in-one" method. I add a splash of milk for extra moisture and a use a generous 4 egg quantity. Cutting back to 3 eggs and 6 oz will work well in the 8 inch pans too, or use 7 inch pans. Last week I upped the quantities and used the recipe for a 3 layer 10 inch square birthday cake for my 10 year old daughter. We filled it with cream sweetened with icing sugar (she didn't want jam) and covered it with chocolate ganache (melted dark chocolate mixed with a tablespoon or two of cream - cool a little before spreading)  and Smarties and Maltesers for decoration. 

 
Ingredients:
4 eggs
8 oz (225g) self raising flour
8 oz caster sugar
8 oz margarine
1.5 tsp baking powder
2-3 drops vanilla essence
1 tablespoon milk (approx)
strawberry jam (or your choice of flavour)
whipped cream (optional)
icing sugar



Method:
Preheat oven 170C (150C fan-forced).
Grease  two 8 inch (20 cm) sandwich tins and line with baking parchment.
Put first 6 ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low until smooth and combined. Add the tablespoon of milk and continue to beat for a minute or two.
Divide between the two pans and spread evenly with a spatula.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes until risen and lightly  browned and a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre of the cake. Tip: do not open the oven for at least the first 3/4 of the cooking time. Temperature and time vary between ovens, so check after 25 mins.
After about 5 minutes, remove cakes from pans onto cooling racks. Once cool, sandwich together with the jam and cream and dust the top with the icing sugar (using a sieve).

Bec's Birthday Cake - inside is sponge and cream

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Spanish Lamb Chops

This is an old favourite of mine, cooked many times over the last 30+ years. The meat falls off the bone if you leave it in the oven longer.  I love the tomato sauce.


Ingredients:
1.5 kg lamb chump chops (or leg chops) trimmed of fat
2 onions sliced
2-3 cloves garlic crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes (or about 1kg fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons tomato sauce (ketchup) (optional)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 bay leaves
1-2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper

Method:
Preheat oven to 170C (150C fan forced).
Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron casserole dish, and brown the chops on both sides. Remove to a plate. Now add the onions and garlic to the pan with some extra oil and gently cook until softened. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, cinnamon, bay leaves and stock. Stir and bring to the boil. Season to taste. Return the chops to the pan and simmer for a minute or two. (Use enough stock so that the chops are well covered). Cover the casserole and place in the oven for about 45 minutes until the lamb is cooked through. Nice served with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable. Serves 4-6.

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Potato Cakes with Haloumi

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups mashed potato
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• handful of parsley, finely chopped
• about half a cup of grated reduced fat tasty cheese
• about half a cup cooked sweet corn
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• knob of butter
• Haloumi cheese

Method:

Mix mashed potato with flour, egg, onion, parsley, cheese and sweetcorn. Taking handfuls, form into balls, roll in breadcrumbs and flatten slightly. Rest these on a plate until ready to cook.
To cook, fry the potato cakes in the melted butter for about 5 minutes each side. Keep warm in the oven while you fry slices of  haloumi (and/or bacon and eggs) to accompany them.
Serve with a green salad and tomatoes.

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Easy Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:

• 6oz (175g) white/granulated sugar
• 150ml water
• 2oz (50g) cocoa powder

Method:

Dissolve the sugar in the water over low heat and then bring to the boil. Simmer for one minute. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder. Mix until smooth and then allow it to cool, stirring occasionally. It  may be stored in the fridge. Serve with ice cream etc. Yum!

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Yorkshire Pudding

Here's a recipe I brought with me from England. Yorkshires are a must with roast beef, but I also serve them with  roast pork (my husband's favourite - his mum, who was from Leeds, Yorkshire,  would serve them with any roast meat). Ah, fond memories of trips to Portsmouth for Sunday roasts with Cynthia and Norman followed by a walk along the windy beach front sometimes with a bonus sniff of some roses in the rose garden.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz (100g) plain flour
• Pinch salt
• 1-2 eggs
• 300ml (1/2 pint) milk and water mixed
• Oil for greasing

Method:

Sieve (optional, I don’t) flour and salt into bowl.

Make well in centre. Add egg and some of the liquid and mix from the centre drawing in the flour and then gradually stirring in the remaining milk to form a smooth batter.

About 15 mins before the end of cooking your roast raise the temperature to very hot (220C). Pour the batter into greased muffin pan/s and cook until puffed and golden/crispy. Cooked puddings can tipped out and kept warm while the pans are re-greased to cook in batches. Alternatively, cook one large pudding for about 40 mins.

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Pumpkin Soup

Here's my recipe for delicious home-made pumpkin soup, so comforting on a cold day.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 butternut pumpkin peeled, de-seeded and cut into cubes (2cm x 2cm approx)
• 1 red onion peeled and sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed
• freshly grated nutmeg
• chicken stock cube (low salt)
• 2 slices of short-cut bacon chopped into small pieces
• boiling water to just cover vegetables

Method:

Place all the ingredients into a saucepan and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the pumpkin is soft.
Blend until smooth. This can be done very easily in the saucepan using a hand-held stick-blender.

Enjoy with crusty bread and Parmesan  cheese or a swirl of sour cream..

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Anzac Biscuits

It's Anzac Day here in Australia (25/4), so my daughter and I decided to make some Anzac biscuits for afternoon tea.

Ingredients:

•  1/2 cup margarine or butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup shredded coconut

 Method:

Preheat oven to 140C.
Line 3 baking trays with baking paper (or grease if you prefer).
Melt and mix together margarine, sugar, golden syrup and baking soda in a saucepan.
Stir in the other ingredients. Mix well.
Place tablespoonfuls onto the trays leaving space for spreading. Press to flatten slightly.
Bake for 20 minutes and then allow to cool on trays.
Enjoy with your favourite cuppa.

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