Ginger up the shortbread

 

Ginger and Orange Shortbread biscuits

I’m a great fan of ginger in baking so enjoy baking Grandma’s traditional recipes with this distinctive spice. Dotted with ginger pieces, Grandma’s shortbread biscuits work well. I’ve added orange zest and citrus peel to complement the ginger taste. 

What you need 

150g/5oz butter

225g/8oz plain flour

75g/3oz sugar

Zest of an orange

50g/2oz mixed peel

2 tsps powdered ginger

50g/2oz stem ginger or ginger pieces (& more for decoration)

1 yolk of egg

Rub the butter into the flour and add the sugar, orange zest, mixed peel, ginger and stem ginger. Then add the egg yolk and work into the flour as quickly as possible, making a dry dough. The mixture must be kept dry. Roll out thinly and cut into rounds. Top with more ginger pieces as a decoration before baking. Bake for 25 minutes in a slow oven. (300F, Mark 2, 150C)

Enjoy Shortbread biscuits with...

 lavender

glace cherries

ginger

Let me know if you have another type of Shortbread. 

Carrot Cake stands proud

Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake has been around since medieval days but became popular during the 1940s when food was rationed and everyone grew carrots in their gardens to 'Dig for Victory'. So because there were gluts of carrots, the Ministry of Food distributed recipe leaflets showing how to use them in cakes and puddings.  Carrot Cake has a ‘healthy’ cake tag and appears in the top ranks of favourite traditional tea time treats. Here's Grandma's recipe for a perfect one.

What you need to bake

6oz/175g self raising flour

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

4oz/110g butter

4oz/110g soft brown sugar

2 eggs (beaten)

4oz /110g carrots grated

1 tbsp honey

grated zest and juice of ½ orange

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Mark 4. Grease and line a 7inch/18cms cake tin. Sift the baking powder and cinnamon into the flour. Add the grated carrot and mix well. Cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, then add the eggs gradually. Fold in the flour mixture together with the carrots, honey, orange zest and juice.  Place the mixture in the cake tin. Bake for 45 minutes approximately. Leave to cool then turn out onto a cooling rack.

For the topping

4oz/110g icing sugar

2oz/50g butter

zest and juice of ½ orange

walnuts

Beat the icing sugar and butter together then add the orange zest and juice. Cover the top of the cake with the mixture and arrange the walnuts on top.  Or top with a glace icing or cream cheese instead if you prefer.

Meryl says : Carrot Cake is a moist cake and keeps well for a few days in an airtight container. Could a small slice of this be one of our 5 day a day?😋

Abernethy biscuits and a quick digestion fix

 Abernethy biscuits

Looking through some old recipe books which Sheila from Eckington kindly sent me, I found a recipe for the famous Abernethy biscuits. They were named after Dr John Abernethy, an 18th century Scottish doctor who baked biscuits with caraway seeds. These were thought to be good for digestion. They are really an early 'digestive' biscuit and are still popular today in Scotland. I’ve suggested an oven temperature to the original recipe. 

 Abernethy biscuits

8ozs/225g plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

3ozs/75g butter

3ozs/75g sugar

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 egg (beaten)

1 tbsp milk

Pre heat the oven to 375F/190C/Mark 5 Sift the flour and baking powder into a basin. Rub in the butter.  Add the sugar and caraway seeds and moisten with the beaten egg and milk until the mixture forms a stiff dough. Turn onto a floured board and roll out thinly. Cut into rounds. Place on a greased baking tray and prick each one with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes in the oven.

Meryl says : Whether they fix your digestion or not, these biscuits are very tasty. They'll keep for a week in an airtight tin – that’s unless they are snapped up with a morning coffee or afternoon tea treat! What do you think?

French Rhubarb Flan isn’t just rhubarb, rhubarb!

French Rhubarb Flan 

The annual Rhubarb Festival in Wakefield in February marks the appearance of forced rhubarb. I love the tender sweetness of the young rhubarb, grown in dark sheds in the Rhubarb Triangle in West Yorkshire. It makes delicious rhubarb crumbles and tartes to savour. Looking through an old recipe book, I came across French Rhubarb Flan. It looks impressive but is easy to bake.

 French Rhubarb Flan

250g/9oz Rhubarb

1 tbsp Demerara sugar

175g/6oz shortcrust pastry

50g/2oz butter

50g/2oz (golden) caster sugar

2 eggs – yolks and whites separated

1 tbsp milk

50g/2oz plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

25g/1oz ground almonds

½ tsp ground ginger

50g/2oz (white) caster sugar

Pre heat the oven to 325F, Mark 3, 160C, 140C Fan.

Prepare the Rhubarb

Wash and cut the rhubarb into 2cms/1 inch chunks. Place on a baking tray and sprinkle the sugar over them. Then cook the pieces in the oven for about 15 minutes until tender but so they still hold their shape. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly. Line a 21 cm/8 inch flan dish with the pastry, wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Prepare the Filling

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat the yolks of eggs and mix with the milk. Then mix the flour, ground almonds, ginger and baking powder together. Add the flour and egg mixtures alternately to the creamed butter and sugar, mixing well. Place the cooked rhubarb pieces in the flan dish over the pastry and then spoon the mixture over the rhubarb. Bake for 30 minutes and remove from the oven to add the meringue topping.

Prepare the meringue topping

Whisk the whites of the eggs in a bowl until stiff. Add the sugar a little at a time and continue to whisk. Spoon the meringue on the top of the tart and make a pattern of swirls. Cook in a slow oven for about 20-25 minutes until the meringue is slightly brown.

Meryl says : Serve hot or cold with crème fraiche, yoghurt, ice cream or custard. It will keep well for a couple of days. What your favourite Rhubarb recipe? 

Goin’ Courting Cake

Courting Cake

This recipe came from Edith, who was a member of a group in Barnsley where I did a talk about Grandma's baking. ‘Courting’ in the North of England means ‘dating’ or ‘going out’ with a partner. 

Courting Cake is a traditional cake given as a gift to your ‘intended’ or ‘betrothed’ or whoever you had ‘got your eye on’ as a potential partner! The texture of the cake is denser than a Victoria Sandwich but lighter than Shortbread. It's usually filled and topped with lightly bruised strawberries but I’m hoping the baker’s heart doesn’t get bruised along the way!

Courting Cake

6oz/175g butter

6oz/75g caster sugar

2 large eggs (beaten)

8oz/225g plain flour

1½ tsps baking powder

pinch bicarbonate of soda

Milk to mix

Grease and line 2 x 8 inch (21 cm) sandwich tins with baking paper.  Pre heat the oven to 180C (Fan 160c)/Mark 4/350F. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy and add the beaten eggs gradually. Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Add enough milk to give a soft dropping consistency. Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and bake for 25 - 30 minutes until well baked. Allow to cool before turning out onto a wire rack.

For the decoration

8oz/225g strawberries

Double or whipping cream or butter cream

Icing sugar

Whip the cream or prepare the Butter cream and spread on one cake. Slice the strawberries and put on top of the cream, reserving some for decorating the top of the cake. Put the remaining cake on top. Either dredge the top with icing sugar or cover with cream or butter cream and decorate with the reserved strawberries.

Meryl says : It’s a good way to use those luscious strawberries which we get all year round now in the markets and grocery stores and makes a gorgeous cake or dessert for Valentine’s Day. What will you bake for your Valentine? Tempt them with biscuits?

Valentine Shortbread Biscuits

Valentine Gingerbread Biscuits

Warm up with Marmalade Bread & Butter Pudding

I’ve just made this year’s batch of Marmalade with the new crop of Seville Oranges and I can’t wait to start baking all my favourite marmalade recipes. Here’s Grandma recipe for Marmalade Bread and Butter pudding which will warm us up as well as reminds us of the beautiful area of Spain where the super Seville Oranges come from.

Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding

50g/2oz butter

8 slices slightly stale (e.g. 1 day old) bread

150g/6oz Marmalade

50g/2oz sultanas

2 tsp cinnamon

Zest of 1 orange  

350ml/12fl oz milk

50ml/2fl oz double cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 (large) eggs

50g/2oz caster sugar

Nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 180C/355F/ Gas 4. Grease a 1 litre/2 pint pie dish with butter. Spread butter and marmalade on each slice with. Arrange a layer of bread, buttered-side up, in the dish, then add half the sultanas. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon and orange zest, then add another layer of bread, sultanas and cinnamon. Warm the milk and cream with the vanilla extract gently in a pan over a low heat. Beat the eggs in a bowl with the sugar. Add the warm milk and cream mixture and stir well. Pour this over the bread layers and sprinkle nutmeg on top. Leave to stand for 30 minutes. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the custard has set and the top is golden-brown. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Meryl says :  Don’t let the milk and cream mixture  boil - just heat gently until warm before you add it to the eggs and sugar. Serve with crème fraiche, cream or ice cream as you wish. Delicious start to the New Year!

Here’s how to make Marmalade

and bake Grandma’s popular 

Marmalade Spice Cake

Marmalade Flapjack 

Clementine and Ginger Cake 

All with a kick of ginger to enhance the taste. Let me know which you like best.

Yorkshire Christmas Spice Loaf comes up to date

I’m always on the lookout for old recipes and at Christmas there’s a wealth of traditional baking. I’ve adapted this Yorkshire regional recipe from The Imperial Cookery Book 1913 to make a scrumptious Yorkshire Christmas Spice Loaf. The original recipe has quantities for a large household but I've made a few changes, reducing the sugar, using fast action yeast, replacing half the currants with dried cranberries and increasing the spices to give a festive aroma.

Yorkshire Christmas Spice Loaf

1lb 11oz/750g strong plain flour

8oz/225g butter

1 sachet fast action yeast

½ pint/300ml warmed water

4oz/110g demerara sugar

11oz/300g raisins

5oz/150g currants

5oz/150g dried cranberries

30z/75g mixed peel

2 tsps mixed spice

2 tsps cinnamon

2 tsps ground nutmeg

Rub in the butter into the flour in a large bowl until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the yeast, sugar and water, mixing until a dough is formed. 

Knead for around 5 -10 minutes on an oiled surface until the mixture is soft and smooth or use a dough hook until the dough separates from the mixer bowl. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl. Cover with a tea towel or cling film and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.  This can be up to a couple of hours. 

Oil 2 x 2lbs/1kg loaf tins. Add the dried fruit and spices to the dough and mix in well. Knead for around 5 minutes and then divide the dough into two. Place the mixture in the 2 tins. 

Leave to prove for another hour or more in a warm place until the dough has risen again and it springs back if you push it lightly with your finger.  Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas 7/425F. Bake the loaves for about 30-35 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before turning out.

Meryl’s tips : Make a glaze by warming with 2 tbsps of apricot jam and 2 tbps redcurrant jelly in a pan. Brush over the loaves once they came out of the oven. Serve with lashings of butter. 

We’ll be enjoying a slice or two on Christmas morning. A happy and peaceful Christmas to all!

 Try more Yorkshire Recipes from Grandma’s collection :

Doncaster Butterscotch Cake

Yorkshire Drop

Fat Rascals

Lemon (Tour De France/Yorkshire) Cake

Rhubarb Crumble

Rhubarb Tart/Rhubarb Lattice Flan

YorkshireParkin

Yorkshire Pudding

Yorkshire Curd Tart is the tops

Next to Yorkshire Puddings, homemade Yorkshire Curd Tart is prized above the rest in God’s own Country. Originally baked for Whitsuntide, when there were feasts and fair days across Yorkshire villages to use the leftover curds from cheese making, the filling is made from curd cheese and flavoured with currants, allspice and rosewater. These ingredients are for a 10 inch/25 cms pie dish or 12 small curd tartlets.

Yorkshire Curd Tart

6oz/175g shortcrust pastry

10z/25g butter

3oz/75g caster sugar

8oz/250g curd cheese

2oz/50g currants

2 eggs, beaten

¼ to ½ tsp ground allspice or nutmeg

1 tsp rosewater (optional)

Line a dish or pie plate (or individual tartlets if preferred) with the pastry. Allow to rest while making the filling. Mix the curds, currants, lemon zest and allspice (or nutmeg) together. Beat the eggs and add to the mixture, Melt the butter and add with the sugar. Pour the mixture into the pastry shell and bake in a moderate oven 180C (fan 160C)/Mark 4/350F for 20-25 minutes until set. Allow to cool before serving.

Meryl says :  You can find curd cheese at most large supermarkets and online grocery shopping.  

I posted this recipe for George on the occasion his retirement. I wish him a long and happy one and hope he'll have lots of fun baking! He writes

 'Yorkshire Curd Tart ... gives me such fond memories of my childhood in North Yorkshire. My mother made this and my Auntie Ellen Codling who ran the tea rooms at Shepherds Hall Lealholm near Whitby, assisted by my grandmother. What memories ... tastes and smell remind of us of such wonderful things in our lives.'

Marcel Proust had the same idea about Madeleines. Have you got a memory linked to cake?

Try more Yorkshire Recipes from Grandma’s collection 

Doncaster Butterscotch Cake

Yorkshire Drop

Fat Rascals

Lemon (Tour De France/Yorkshire) Cake

Rhubarb Crumble

Rhubarb Tart/Rhubarb Lattice Flan

YorkshireParkin

Yorkshire Pudding