Try the famous Anzac Biscuits

Anzac biscuits

Here’s a recipe from World War 1 baking for Anzac biscuits. 25 April marks Anzac Day,  a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand to honour the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) troops who served  during World War 1. The biscuits were sent by mothers, wives and girlfriends to soldiers abroad because they kept well when shipped around the world. 

Anzac Biscuits

1 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup coconut

1 cup quaker oats

1 cup margarine or butter

2 tbsps golden syrup

1 tbsp hot water

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Mix all the dry ingredients together except the bicarbonate of soda. Just melt the butter and syrup then add them to the dry ingredients. Mix the bicarbonate of soda with the hot water and add to the mixture.mix well. Roll into small buns. Place on a tin and bake at 375F, Mark 5, 190C for 15 minutes or until (golden) brown.

Meryl's tips : The recipe refers to a 'cup'. I measured this as 4oz/110g for each of the ingredients. These biscuits are so easy to make and taste delicious. You can reduce the amount of sugar to less than half a cup if you wish to make them less sweet. I’ve also made them with gluten free flour and they get full marks from gluten free friends.

Get out in the garden!

 My Mini Greenhouse

It’s National Gardening Week and time to get sowing and planting. I love being out in the open air, remembering how I used to help my dad in the garden at the railway station where we lived. He would grow all sorts of vegetables and fruit which kept Grandma busy in the late summer preserving jams, chutneys and bottling syrups as well as serving up fresh vegetables. 

With all this hard work, we gardeners need a break so what could be better than a mug of tea or coffee with a homemade biscuit (or two!). Here’s a recipe for a perfect tea break.

Chocolate Orange Biscuits

5oz/150g butter

6oz/175g caster sugar

8oz/225g plain flour

2 tsps baking powder

3oz/75g plain chocolate (chopped)

Grated rind of an orange

1 tbsp orange juice

Pre heat oven to 350F, Mark 4, 180C. Beat the butter until it’s light and fluffy. Then sift the flour and baking powder straight onto the creamed mixture. Add the rest of the ingredients and work the mixture together until you get a fairly stiff paste. Roll out onto a floured working surface, about ¼ inch thick. Then cut out the biscuits with a 2 inch cutter and place on baking sheets. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the biscuits are a golden colour. Remove from the oven, leave to cool for 5 minutes and place on a wire rack. Store in an airtight tin.

Grandma’s hints on how to make biscuits :

Biscuit baking depends on the type of method of mixing i.e. rubbing in, creaming or melting. The main difference is usually the amount of liquid added to the mixture. Just enough is needed to bind all the dry ingredients together as a stiff dough is the usual consistency. Then the dough or paste can be shaped or rolled out and cut without crumbling.

Soft flour such as rice flour or cornflour can be mixed with wheat flour to reduce the gluten content. You can make tasty biscuits with full gluten free flour.

The type of sugar depends on the type of biscuit: 

Caster sugar gives a smoother result. 

Granulated sugar has coarser crystals which give a speckled appearance when cooked.

The same applies to golden caster and granulated sugar and soft brown and demerara sugar. 

Get out in the garden and celebrate everything about gardening everywhere but don’t forget the tea or coffee break!

Simply scrumptious Simnel Cake for Easter

Grandma’s Easter Simnel Cake

I’ve been getting ready to bake Grandma’s Easter Simnel Cake. It’s one of my favourite recipes.  Simnel Cake is said to mark the period at the end of the 40 days of Lent. ‘Simnel’ comes from the Latin ‘simila’ meaning wheaten flour which was used to make the cake.  It’s also a traditional cake for Mothering Sunday. It’s traditional to decorate it with 11 marzipan balls on the top marzipan layer to signify 11 of the 12 disciples of Jesus.  

Simnel Cake

4oz/110g margarine or butter

3oz/75g sugar

1 tbsp syrup

2oz/50g ground almonds

2 large eggs (save some of egg white)

1lb/450g mixed fruit

2oz/50g chopped peel

2oz/50g glace cherries

Grated rind of one orange or lemon

8oz/225g self raising flour

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp mixed spice

2-3 tbsp milk

Almond Paste

Apricot Jam

Almond Paste 

8oz/ 225g ground almonds

4oz/ 110g caster sugar

4oz/110g icing sugar

A few tablespoons of lemon juice or water

Mix the almonds and sugars together. Add sufficient lemon juice and/or water to make a stiff paste. Chill for 15 to 20 minutes.

 To make the Simnel Cake

Pre heat the oven to 300 F, Mark 2, 150 C. Mix all of the ingredients except the almond paste together. Some recipes divide the mixture into 2 and place one third of the almond paste, rolled out slightly smaller than the cake measurement with the remaining cake mixture on top. Turn the mixture into a well greased tin and bake for 2 - 2 ½ hours in a slow oven. Allow to cool.

Decorate the cake  

Brush the top of the cake with the apricot jam. Roll out the almond paste and place on top of cake. Shape any remaining almond paste into 11 balls and arrange them around the edge of the cake and brush with egg white.  Place under a hot grill or in a very hot oven for 1- 2 minutes to allow top to brown. To finish off, then decorate with Easter chicks and mini chocolate eggs.

If you'd like to get regular updates, drop your email address into the subscribe box and you’ll not miss out on Grandma’s new posts. 

Have a wonderful Easter!

Keep Baking alive and start the conversation

Getting the low down on home baking

One of the marvels of  spreading the word about Grandma Abson’s Traditional Baking is that it takes me to all over the country. I’m doing book signings at Waterstones, talks, baking parties and events such as afternoon teas and it’s often to raise funds for various charity causes. With Grandma Abson's blog, I had never imagined that people all over the world would read about her baking. I hope you are enjoying the anecdotes and recipes. I've picked out 5 common themes :

1. Baking cakes breaks down barriers. I’ve learnt that the smells and delights of home baking appeal to all generations : exited anticipation of baking with kids, student grub, thirty somethings who missed out on baking cakes at home, nostalgia among oldies for recipes long forgotten; baking is therapeutic and the taste of homemade cakes or biscuits always bring a smile.  

Cupcakes? No ....Butterfly buns

2. There are always fashions in baking. Grandma was an avid collector of recipes over her long life so ones from early days in service in the 1900s are quite different from those in the 1970s. Economic circumstances will have dictated which ingredients were available. I’m pretty sure Grandma would have been making cupcakes if she were around today! 

3. We all have our own favourite celebrity chefs but people tell me that it’s the Grandma’s recipes work because they are easy to bake, have few ingredients and taste wonderful. 

Marmalade Spice Cake made with Gluten Free Flour

4. Then there’s the ‘health’ bit.  Grandma generally used much less sugar in her baking, so many of her recipes have tastes from spices such as ginger or cinnamon and use natural sugars such as honey or dried fruits. When ingredients were scarce, recipes were created without eggs or dairy products. These are a forerunner of ‘free from’ style recipes for those with allergies. 

5. Many of you tell me you have recipes out there, written on scraps of papers, laying forgotten in cupboards and drawers, just like the ones in Grandma’s collection. So let's start sharing them, so we don’t lose this amazing legacy. 

 Last week, I met a presenter at a workshop about using Social Media in the community. What a fantastic way to get people helping each other by sharing expertise. I want to keep baking alive for many more generations to come by sharing our best baking tips and recipes on Grandma’s Blog – so join Grandma on Facebook and Twitter and let’s start the conversation!

Kathleen’s top bake for St Patrick’s Day

 Kathleen’s Apple and Nut Tea Loaf

It's St Patrick’s Day on 17 March and I've had the luck of the Irish with this family favourite Irish recipe. Maria, my saxaphone friend, had contacted her sister, Patricia, the cook in the family and she sent this delicious recipe for Apple and Nut Tea Loaf.  Demerara sugar sprinkled on the top before baking, gives it a lovely crunchy topping.

                   Kathleen’s Apple and Nut Tea  Loaf                     

225g/8oz self raising flour

110g/4 oz butter

1 cooking apple

50g/2oz sultanas

50g/2oz chopped nuts

110g/4 oz caster sugar

1 teaspoon mixed spice

2 eggs

1 tbsp demerara sugar (for the topping)

Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees Centigrade/ Mark 3, 325F. Rub the butter into the flour until it ressembles breadcrumbs. Peel and chop the apple into small pieces. Add the apple, sultanas, nuts, sugar and spice to mixture. Add 2 eggs, well beaten, and stir well. Pour into a 1 kg/2lb greased loaf tin and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Bake for about 1 hour.

Grandma Abson's tips : Use a teaspoonful of cinnamon as well as the mixed spice for this recipe. If you use an eating apple rather than a cooking apple, you can easily reduce the amount of sugar and so ‘be sweet without the sugar.

Patricia sent me this lovely message : 
“My name is Patricia and I am Maria's sister. She has been raving about you and Grandma’s baking. She mentioned you were looking for a special Irish baking recipe for St Patrick's Day. The things I can remember being made are Apple tart or Apple crumble.  People were poor and money was very scarce so I think they concentrated on main courses for dinners, savoury foods and breads. Growing up in the 1970s and 80s through the troubles was very challenging for our Mum. She was a fine cook although she wasn't confident. She always made an effort to celebrate certain occasions.  For St Patrick's Day, she set a green jelly. Later she prepared an orange or a yellow jelly and when it was cooled and starting to set she poured it on top of the green jelly. Angel delight was whipped up and that was our Irish special dessert. Mammy loved a Knickerbocker glory when on a trip to the sea side. I'm starting to think of a green yellow and orange Knickerbocker glory style dessert with green grapes, kiwis, mango, pineapple and mandarin orange. Our children would have fun making and eating that!  Anyway – here’s a recipe I did find from our Mammy’s collection. Kathleen was actually a friend of hers”

Thanks to Patricia and Maria for this wonderful story and recipe. If you have a recipe to share, please send it on to me to share.

Give Mum a treat for Mother’s Day

Ana Cecilia’s Coffee Cake from Grandma’s recipe

Grandma’s fame has already reached Paris – here’s the picture of Grandma’s coffee cake made in Paris by Ana Cecilia who is a fashion blogger. She’s written all about Grandma’s recipes. It’s great fun to read and a real tribute to Grandma's many talents! 

I love March as it’s Mother’s Day and also my birthday so double treats! Last weekend, I got an early taste of indulgence with a weekend trip to Paris. Paris has many brilliant memories for me as I used to go there every Friday from my work at a school in St Quentin. I had no lessons to teach on Fridays so was free to travel to Paris, about an hour away by train. I loved to explore the different areas of the city.

The trip began at St Pancras International in London with a glass of bubbly in the Champagne Bar and a surprise ticket in Eurostar's  standard premier. Quel luxe! We stayed in the Opera area, central to all points to visit.

Tres cool at the Pyramide        

                          

La Tour Eiffel  

On Saturday, we breakfasted in style at a nearby café with a freshly made ham and cheese omelette, petit pains au chocolat washed down with fresh orange juice and café au lait. Since it was all about relaxing, we took the Batobus on the river to see the sights, stopping off wherever we fancied to ramble near the Place de the Concorde, Ile de la cite and the Louvre and of course linger over Croque-messieurs and chocolats chauds  at Le Cafe Marly (the weather wasn’t too warm!). It was Paris Fashion week so we saw fashion models and photographers - ‘tres cool’! 

On Sunday we set out for Montmartre to sample the latest Parisian craze for ‘le Brunch’ and managed to get there before the queue snaked around the building. Just time to see Le Sacre Coeur before winding our way to the newly restored café at the Opera, before back to La Gare du Nord. 

If you want an idea for Mother’s Day at home, here’s a traditional Mothering Sunday Simnel Cake. Or have a look at Grandma's Recipes page and choose a favourite one to bake. Go on, give mum a treat, she deserves  it!

Daffodils are out to celebrate all things Welsh!

Daffodils on 1 March

Hurray it’s March and the daffodils are out! I always love the beginning of March with the lighter days and the warmer weather. 1st March is the national day of the Welsh patron saint, St David and a chance to wear either a daffodil (or leek) as a symbol of all things Welsh. The traditional meal on St David's Day is ‘cawl’, a soup made from leeks, potatoes and Welsh lamb or beef.

Perhaps the most famous Welsh baking recipes is Bara Brith or 'Os gwelwch yn dda' which translates as ‘speckled bread’. My Uncle Albert, who lived for twenty years in North Wales always made several loaves of Bara Brith whenever we went to stay. It’s a sort of sticky ‘teabread’ made with dried fruit and soaked in black tea overnight. Once it’s baked, allow to cool, slice and spread with (Welsh) butter. 

Here's how to bake it :

450g/1lb dried fruit (mixed sultanas, currants, raisins, mixed peel)

75g/3oz soft brown sugar

300ml/½ pint black tea

1 egg, beaten

450g/1lb self-raising flour

1 tsp mixed spice

Soak the dried fruit and sugar in the tea and leave overnight. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Mark 3. Line a 900g/2lb or 2 smaller 450g/1lb loaf tins with baking or greaseproof paper. Add the beaten egg, flour and mixed spice into the fruit mixture and mix well. Put the mixture into the loaf tin(s) and bake for 1½ hours or until a skewer inserted into the cake(s) comes out clean.

Uncle Albert’s Bara Brith

Celebrate the national cake of Wales with a slice of Bara Brith and enjoy the daffodils. Here's how to say it in Mwynhewch eich bwyd!

Fiesta time in the Rhubarb Triangle

Glorious forced pink Rhubarb

February marks the major event of the year in the Rhubarb calendar. Grown in an area around Wakefield in the north of England, in warm, dark ‘forcing sheds’, this pink fleshy plant is a popular Yorkshire treat. There’s a big Rhubarb Festival going on around the end of February in Wakefield.  The area where it’s grown is famously called the Rhubarb Triangle and you can even go on a tour of the forcing sheds.

Grandma’s Tips for cooking Rhubarb

Grandma usually stewed Rhubarb by cutting off the leaves, washing the sticks and cutting each stick into pieces each one about 2 inches/50 cms long. Then she placed them in a pan over the hob with a little water and sugar.

When she had lovely forced pink Rhubarb, she would wash and cut the pieces and sprinkle demerara sugar over them. Then she would cook them in the oven (325F, Mark 3, 160C) for about 15 minutes until tender. This way the Rhubarb retains its maximum flavour and the pieces look like pink jewels!

Sprinkle with sugar 

Cooked Rhubarb - jewels in the crown!

Grandma used to make delicious crumbles and pies but one of my favourite desserts is Rhubarb Tart.

Rhubarb Tart

To make Shortcrust pastry

4 oz(110g) butter

8 oz (225g) plain flour

Salt

1 egg

A little water (or a little milk and water)

Rub the butter into the flour and salt. When the mixture is like breadcrumbs, make a well and add the egg. Add the water to make a dough. Let it stand for ½ hour in a cool place before rolling out. 

For the filling

Rhubarb (about 450g) prepared and cooked as above

2 oz (50g) butter

2 oz (50g) caster sugar

1 egg beaten

2 oz (50g) self raising flour

1 oz (25g) ground almonds

A little milk to glaze

Sugar to sprinkle on the top

Roll the pastry out to cover a 9 inch (23 cm) flan dish, reserving the trimmings of the pastry for the lattice decoration. Spread the cooked Rhubarb on the bottom of the pastry base. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, a little at a time, fold in the flour and ground almonds. Spread over the Rhubarb. Bake in the oven at 35oF, Mark 4, 180C for about 25 minutes.

If you have spare pastry trimmings you can make a Rhubarb Lattice Flan. Roll out the trimmings of the pastry and cut into thin strips to criss cross the top of the flan. Moisten the ends of the strips with water and arrange over the filling, pressing the wetted ends to seal. Brush the lattice with milk and sprinkle with sugar. 

 Rhubarb Rhubarb