Grandma’s on the wireless

Marmalade Spice Cake

Grandma listened to all sorts of radio programmes while she was knitting or sewing - plays and news on ‘The Home’ service, now Radio 4, and music on ‘The Light’ programme, which is a bit like Radio 2 - and she called it the 'wireless'.

This week, I’ve been interviewed on BBC Radio Sheffield and been sharing recipes from Grandma book. Rony Robinson, the presenter asked me about being brought up by Grandma and life on the Railway Station at Bolton on Dearne and of course about Grandma’s recipes and why I was passionate about home baking.

I made Marmalade Spice Cake for the BBC people to try and they told me it was 'Yum Yum'. Here's the recipe :

8oz/225g self raising flour

3oz/75g margarine or butter

5oz/150g marmalade

6oz/175g golden syrup

2 tsps ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsps hot water

1 egg (beaten) 

Pre heat the oven to 325F, Mark 3, 170 C. Grease and line a loaf tin. Melt the margarine (or butter) in the golden syrup in a pan. Mix the flour, ginger and cinnamon. Add the liquid from the pan gradually. Add the marmalade and beaten egg and stir in the hot water. Bake in a warm oven for ¾ hour. 

The recipe is one from Grandma’s daughter-in-law, Nellie.  I love this recipe as the ginger gives it a real tang. I make it regularly with Grandma Pat’s homemadeMarmalade although any good quality marmalade will do.

Grandma Abson’s Traditional Baking recipes are going far and wide! 

Yorkshire puddings at the ready

Here in Yorkshire, God’s own country, we celebrate Yorkshire Day on 1st August. The origins of Yorkshire Day allegedly go back to the Battle of Minden during the 7 years' war in Prussia where the English defeated the French army on 1st August 1759. It was said that the heroism of Yorkshiremen from the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry won the day. But it’s also the anniversary of the emancipation of slaves which was put into law in Parliament on this date in 1834, largely thanks to the efforts of Yorkshire M.P. William Wilberforce. A more recent revival of the day came in 1975 from the Yorkshire Ridings Society.

Yorkshire folk are proud to celebrate what’s good about our county and give a boost to all those Yorkshire folk who have to live in exile elsewhere. So we celebrate by eating the world famous Yorkshire Pudding. 

Hannah Glasse

There are lots of stories about the origins of Yorkshire Puddings too.  There’s even a story about an angel giving the recipe to a kindly woman. In the middle ages, they were called ‘dripping puddings’ but the modern recipe is said to come from Hannah Glass, a famous cook in the 18th century, in her book ‘The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy’. The most common explanation is that families used it as a filler to feed children when they couldn’t afford meat. Nowadays, Yorkshire Pudding is often served as a starter to a roast or an accompaniment to a roast beef.

Grandma Abson was an expert in making perfect Yorkshire Puddings. She usually served them with gravy made from the meat juices and Raspberry Vinegar.

Grandma Abson’s Yorkshire Pudding

5 tbsps plain flour (sieved and heaped)

2 eggs

Milk to mix

Salt

Fat or oil for cooking

“Mix the ingredients to the consistency of cream. Let it stand and stir occasionally. Lift a tablespoonful of the mixture to get air in. Heat the fat in Yorkshire Pudding tins in a very hot oven. Pour in enough mixture to cover each base. Cook in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes.”  (425F, Mark 7, 220C).

Grandma’s 10 tips for perfect Yorkshire puddings :

1. Get the fat (or oil) sizzling
2. Get the oven really hot
3. Use Plain not Self raising flour
4. Sift the flour
5. Use a wooden spoon to mix
6. The batter should be fairly runny like cream
7. Best leave the batter to rest for half an hour before using
8. Don’t fill the YP tin more than one third
9. Don’t open the oven door during cooking
10. Serve straightaway - Grandma used to have us sitting at the table waiting!

Meryl says : I use about 4½oz/125g flour and ½ pint/275ml milk. I also find my fan oven stops my Yorkshire Puddings from rising, so I switch to a conventional heat setting to ensure they come out light and airy like Grandma’s.

Enjoy Yorkshire Day wherever you are. 

And lots more of 

 Grandma Abson’s 

Yorkshire Recipes 

Yorkshire Brack

Doncaster Butterscotch Cake

Yorkshire Christmas Spice Loaf

Yorkshire Curd Tart

Yorkshire Drop

Fat Rascals

Lemon (Tour De France/Yorkshire) Cake

Rhubarb Crumble

Rhubarb Tart/Rhubarb Lattice Flan

Yorkshire Parkin

Yorkshire Mint Pasties

Yorkshire Moggie Cake

Life is just a bowl of cherries

I’ve had a request from a Grandma Abson fan in France about how to cope with gluts of cherries, which are growing in abundance in his garden in southern France. Grandma Abson always make good use of gluts of fruit and vegetables in season with her collection of recipes for jams, jellies, chutneys, pickles and puddings.

Over the years, my French friends have given me some wonderful dessert recipes, including one of my favourite one which can be made with cherries.

Tarte aux cerises

Line a tin or flan dish with shortcrust pastry. Prick the bottom with a fork. Stone the cherries. Cover the pastry with a layer of cherries. Bake in a fairly hot oven (200C, Mark 6, 400F) for about 30 minutes. After about 15 minutes of cooking time, pour an egg and milk custard mixture (1 egg to ½ cup of milk) over the cherries and bake until set. Allow to cool and pour over a couple of warmed tablespoonfuls of red currant jelly to make a glaze.

When I lived in France in the 1970s as a student, I  bought a jar of Cerises a l’eau de vie (cherries in brandy) for Grandma's Christmas present. She loved spooning the cherries and brandy into a little glass to have as a digestif at the end of a meal or on the top of vanilla ice cream. It became one of her favourite treats when she was in her eighties! 

 Cerises à l’eau de vie

Here's how to do it : Fill a clean preserving jar with firm cherries with half the stalks still attached. Cover with sugared brandy (½ cup of sugar to 5 cups of liquid). Seal and leave for 6 months. 

A votre santé! 

Good old fashioned Afternoon tea

Victoria Sandwich perfect for afternoon tea

Summer weekend afternoons are the perfect time to try out your baking skills with plates of cakes, teabreads and scones to tempt your guests. 

I’ve been doing some teatime research to find out the difference between afternoon tea and high tea. They are both considered to be small meals in themselves and have been popular social activities since the Victorians and in particular, the Duchess of Bedford took delight in serving up teatime treats in the 1840s. The interest in them shows no sign of waning today.

Afternoon tea is generally considered to be served at 4 oclock and consists of a pot of tea, small finer sandwiches (often with cucumber and the crusts removed), scones, teabreads and cakes. These are usually cut into small portions such as squares or diamond shapes.

High tea is altogether a more substantial meal generally around 6 o’clock with a savoury to start such as ham and eggs, crumpets, cold meat, cheese or poached eggs on toast followed by scones and cake as before.

We’re planning a good old fashioned afternoon tea just like Grandma used to serve to the Edwardian family when she was in service. I’ve been making a list of my favourite recipes from Grandma’s book. It has to include Victoria Sandwich, Scones, Almond fingers, Coffee Cake and Bridlington Cake which went down exceedingly well at Grandma's baking book launch. 

Some of the cakes we’re going to make! 

What's your favourite cake for afternoon tea?

Last minute Chocolate mini muffins

Chocolate Mini muffins 

Grandma Abson was always adept at rustling up something tempting when people dropped by unexpectedly. She had this ability to produce delicious homemade baking ‘at the drop of a hat’ from her time in service in the 1900s. At the ringing of a bell, she would be summoned to serve tea to visitors in the Edwardian House, Oakleigh, where she worked as a cook housekeeper. 

Grandma’s recipes generally take no time at all to prepare. So, when last Sunday, a friend, texted to say she and her partner were calling by, I followed in Grandma’s footsteps. My friend adores chocolate so this recipe for Chocolate Muffins is perfect with its double hit of chocolate!

Chocolate (Mini) Muffins

200g/7oz plain flour 

25g/1oz cocoa powder

1 tbsp baking powder 

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

115g/4oz golden caster sugar 

185g/6 ½ oz white chocolate, broken into pieces 

2 eggs 

100ml/3 ½ fl oz sunflower oil 

225ml/8floz milk

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Line a 12 muffin tin with large muffin paper cases. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder and cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and 125g/4 ½ oz of the white chocolate.  Place the eggs and oil in a separate bowl and whisk until frothy, then gradually whisk in the milk. Stir into the dry ingredients until just blended.  Spoon the mixture into the paper cases, filling each three-quarters full. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the muffins and cool on a wire rack. Melt the remaining white chocolate and spread over the muffins. Leave to set, then dust the tops with a little cocoa powder.

Meryl's tip : I did adapt the recipe as I didn’t have large muffin cases but so I made Chocolate ‘mini’ muffins in smaller cases and cut the oven time by around five minutes.My friend said they were the best chocolate muffins she had ever tasted. The muffins were ready in under thirty minutes.

Have you got a recipe for something quick to bake?

Hitting the right spot with cream tea

View from The Bay Hotel in Coverack

I love holidaying in Cornwall. It’s a gorgeous place to visit. This time we stayed in the fabulous Bay Hotel in a small village called Coverack on the Lizard peninsula where you wake up every morning to see the sea gently lapping on the shore.

There is a vast number of places to visit with beautiful scenery, interesting tin mines, attractive gardens and historic castles and of course you have to sample the Cornish cream teas. This generally consists of a scone, butter, jam and clotted cream, washed down with a pot of tea. It’s the perfect afternoon teatime treat.

I’m baking some Scones to remind me of the glorious Cornish cream teas, using Grandma Abson’s trusted recipe. The sultanas keep the scones moist and the scones have a perfect texture.

Grandma’s perfect Afternoon Tea Scones  

A bit of a calamity

 A really sad cake plate

A few weeks ago, I had a bit of a calamity. When I was getting out Grandma's three tier cake stand, I broke one of the three matching plates. Like many things we all keep as family heirlooms, it isn’t worth a great deal in £ but it's the sentimental value which is the hardest to bear.

The plate is decorative pottery from the 1930s. I did a bit of research about the Parrott mark on the back and discovered that Arthur William Parrott and his brother Charles Henry Parrott operated the Albert Street Pottery in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent from c.1921 to the 1960s.  I love to see cakes, teabreads and biscuits on old fashioned patterned plates, perfect for afternoon tea so love putting up the stand with cakes just like Grandma did.

Grandma’s glorious 3-tiered cake stand 

Fortunately, I found a ceramic restorer who has experience of conserving items by invisible restoration so that they can be displayed and enjoyed again.

I never imagined that I would see the plate appear as if it had not been damaged but Doreena did a brilliant job. Here's Grandma’s plate with Paradise Cake in all its glory on the front cover of Grandma Abson's Traditional Baking book. 

Beside the seaside in Bridlington

Bridlington Cake

We didn’t go on holiday much in the 1950s but I do have a distant memory of day trips to Bridlington. Being a railway family, of course we always went there by train, pulled by a steam train engine, from Bolton on Dearne Railway station where we lived. 

Grandma Abson at Bolton on Dearne Railway Station 

It took around about 2 hours. Bridlington was certainly one of the popular places on the East Coast, alongside Scarborough and Filey and most Sundays in the summer, we would be busy at the station with excursions from the station. A couple of weeks before, I would go around the villages nearby with my father who was the stationmaster, pasting up handbills advertising the excursions on railway billboards. Then on the day, I would help out with handing out tickets for the journey and then collecting tickets when the passengers returned tired but happy after their trip to the seaside. Bridlington is still a popular resort with lots of things to offer with award winning beaches, the old Town and a famous spa which has just been revamped.

Meryl with Grandma Abson & (Great)Aunty Mabel  

I found this picture from a holiday we took in Bridlington in June 1952. It shows Grandma with one of her sisters, Mabel and me talking a stroll along the promenade. What do you think of my sun bonnet? And what's so intriguing in that brown paper parcel?

                                                   

Bridlington Cake

Grandma had a recipe for Bridlington Cake amongst her collection. The cake takes its name from the railway excursions to Bridlington on the Yorkshire Coast. Grandma used to have this cake prepared for trips to the coast or for the arrival home. The cake has a summery lemon flavour. It was one of the most popular ones at Grandma's recipe book launch. Have you got a favourite recipe named after a town or county?

A splendid celebration of baking

Tea and cakes were the order of the day as we celebrated the launch of  Grandma Abson's Traditional Baking  book. Dearne Valley College  kindly hosted the event at College’s Training restaurant, The Griffin Restaurant, Wath on Dearne, Rotherham less than half a mile from where Grandma was in service. Catering and Hospitality students made up a delectable array of homemade baking treats from Grandma’s recipe collection for guests to savour. 

Bridlington cake

 

Banana Nut bread

Ginger snaps

Marmalade Spice cake

Raspberry buns

Victoria sandwich

My good friend, John Foster MBE, Managing Director at Fosters Bakery, also spoke about how Grandma’s recipes not only celebrate our baking heritage, but are highly relevant for all of us today and in the future, with food shortages and increased in the prices of foodstuffs. John has always encouraged and supported me and given me fantastic advice about this project.

It was a great day for me to revive Grandma’s legacy of baking, and once again I would like to extend my thanks to everyone who made it possible : students and staff at Dearne Valley College for their delectable baking, Mark and his team at FCD for combining design flair with meticulous attention to detail, Cathi at YPD for her generous advice and expertise in taking me through the publishing process and numerous family and friends, in particular our children, Katherine, Kate and Patrick and my chief quality control expert husband who have all supported me brilliantly in testing out the recipes, proof reading and myriad suggestions. Let the #baking begin!

The heavenly taste of Paradise Cake

Just under one week to go to Grandma Abson's Traditional Baking book launch and the tension is mounting. I never realised how much energy and effort goes into getting a book and ebook into the marketplace. The process was so different thirty years ago when I produced a booklet of Grandma Abson’s Yorkshire recipes.

Putting Grandma's collection of recipes together has been a real labour of love. I love baking and, better still, my family and friends love consuming what I bake. Although we are driven by new technology, there’s a distinct culinary nostalgia to look back to times past. In Grandma’s recipe book, you’ll find out about traditional home baking as well as something of her life in the Edwardian period to the late 20th century.

I've chosen Paradise Cake to feature on the front cover of Grandma’s book. This cake fits perfectly in Grandma’s rich repertoire and her philosophy of simple, baking to delight our taste buds. It’s a very easy fruit cake recipe which is lighter than traditional fruit cakes and perfect for a summer’s afternoon tea with a hint of lemon.

Paradise Cake

9oz/250g flour

6oz/175g margarine or butter

6oz/175g sugar

2oz/50g nuts

8oz/225g raisins

2oz/50g mixed peel

2 oz cherries

3 eggs

Lemon extract

½ tsp baking powder

“Sieve the flour and baking powder. Beat the margarine or butter and sugar until white. Beat the eggs lightly and add to the mixture. Mix well and add the flour gradually, keeping out a little in which to mix the fruit and nuts. Add this and lastly the lemon essence. Bake for 1 – 1 ½ hours in a moderate oven.” (350F, Mark 4, 180 C)

I’m delighted that the launch of Grandma Abson’s book is at the Rockingham Training Centre, Dearne Valley College just a short distance from the street where Grandma was in service in Wath on Dearne in the early 1900s. The Catering & Hospitality students are busy selecting which of Grandma’s 200 recipes to make for the guests. I’m intrigued to find out which ones they’ll choose. I’m looking forward to a splendid celebration of traditional baking and I’m sure Grandma will be watching from her heavenly kitchen to make sure they bake to perfection!