Grandmas baked the best

Grandma's Doncaster Butterscotch  Cake

One of my favourite recipes  is Doncaster Butterscotch Cake - a sponge sandwich cake recipe based on Grandma's Victoria Sandwich Cake which I baked to celebrate one of Doncaster's famous products, Doncaster Royal Butterscotch.

Grandma  Abson’s Doncaster Butterscotch  Cake

3 eggs & their weight (= approx 6oz /175grams)in

6 oz /175g Butter 

6oz/175g soft brown sugar

60z/175g self raising flour(sieved)

Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Mark 4. Line the bases of 2 x 20cm/8 inch sandwich tins with non-stick baking paper. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat the eggs and add a little at a time, adding a dessertspoonful of sieved flour with each egg. Fold in the remaining flour. Divide the mixture between the 2 cake tins and bake for about 20-25 minutes until the cakes start to shrink from the sides of the tins and a cake skewer inserted into the centres comes away clean. Place on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto the rack and leave until cool.

Butterscotch Butter Cream Filling

3 oz (75g) butter

3 oz (75g) soft brown sugar

3 oz (75g) Icing sugar

Milk to mix

Butterscotch chips for decoration

Cream the butter and icing sugar. Add the milk. Cover one cake with the filling. Then place the  other cake on the top. Dust the top with icing sugar and sprinkle the butterscotch chips over the top.

The taste of Lavender is as good as the scent!

Visitors to Cusworth Hall were surprised to learn that Lavender was a popular ingredient in baking as they enjoyed sampling Grandma’s scrumptious Lavender biscuits. As well as being a beautiful plant, Lavender is one of the best kept secrets for baking. Lavender sugar can be used to bake a wide range of teatime favourites such as Scones by substituting the sugar with Lavender sugar in the recipe.

How to make Lavender sugar 

Place the caster sugar in a bowl. For every 4oz/110g sugar, you need a tablespoonful of lavender. Add the lavender to the sugar by pressing it through a sieve with your fingers or the back of a spoon. Put the sugar in a clean jar and add another tablespoon of lavender flowers to the jar. Cover the jar and shake well every couple of days. Leave for 3 to 5 days for the lavender to infuse into the sugar. Then it’s ready to use.

Lavender Biscuits  

150g/5oz butter

225g/8oz plain flour

75g/3oz lavender sugar

1 yolk of egg

Rub the butter into the flour and add the sugar and the salt. Add the egg 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. Bake for 25 minutes in a slow oven. (300F, Mark 2, 150C)

Chris at Fragrant Lavender sent me a very simple and scrumptious recipe for Lavender Cakes which uses flower buds mixed with the flour. These are for small cakes which Grandma would call 'buns'. 

Lavender Cakes

4 oz/110g Margarine or butter 

4 oz/110g Caster Sugar

4 o/110g Self Raising Flour

2 Eggs

1 tsp Lavender flower buds 

(Chris says: 'I use fresh ones but you could use dried ones.')

Cream the margarine/butter and sugar until light and creamy in texture. Add the eggs a little at a time and beat well. Add the lavender flower buds to the flour then fold into the mixture. Half fill paper bun cases then bake at 180-190C, 350-375F, Gas mark 4-5 for about 20 minutes until firm to the touch.

If you haven’t got lavender in your garden, visit a Lavender farm and pick up a plant.   

Gooseberries - the forgotten fruit?

I’ve heard very little about gooseberries for a while and yet this tart berry is perfect in a range of desserts and puddings. A neighbour surprised me with some gooseberries from her garden, so I’ve made a delicious Gooseberry Pie. 

Gooseberry Pie

 8oz/225g gooseberries

60z/175g caster sugar

60z/175g Shortcrust pastry

Prepare the gooseberries by topping and tailing them. Wash them before stewing them in a saucepan with sugar and a little water for around 5 minutes on a low heat. Allow to cool then pour onto a pie dish. Make the shortcrust pastry: For an 8 inch (20-21cm ) pie dish you will need 6oz/175g of flour and 30z (75g) of butter. Rub the butter or margarine into the flour. When the mixture is like breadcrumbs, make a well and add the egg. Knead and add the water to make a dough. Let it stand for ½ hour in a cool place before rolling out. Roll out the pastry to the size of the pie dish and cover the gooseberries. Trim the edges then brush the top with milk. Sprinkle a teaspoonful of caster sugar over the top so it will crisp in the oven. Bake at 200C, Mark 6 for about 25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Serve hot or cold.

Meryl says : You don’t need much pastry for this dish as just a pastry lid will suffice.

Here's another old Gooseberry dessert recipe which Peter and Jan gave me a while ago when I was doing a baking talk at Hodsock Priory during the Snowdrop season. Jan has been making this recipe for over 40 years. Try it out and tell me what you think.

Gooseberry Ambrosia

Ingredients

1lb gooseberries + 4 tbsp water

2oz granulated sugar (or more to taste)

1 level dessertsp cornflour (or a bit more to thicken them a little)

8oz plain Madeira cake (Peter says Sand Cake in Grandma’s book is perfect for this)

1oz glace cherries (or a few more if you like them)

2oz butter

2 level tbsps clear runny honey

Top and tail the gooseberries. Simmer with the little water and sugar for about 5 minutes till cooked, but not mushy; remove from heat. Blend together cornflour with a dessertsp water and add to the fruit, bring to boil stirring gently. Cook for 2 minutes to thicken a bit. Pour into 1½ pint shallow casserole. Cut cake into 1” cubes. Halve the cherries. Place butter in saucepan, measure honey carefully and add to the melting butter. When butter has melted, remove from heat, gently stir in cake pieces and cherries until they are coated with the butter and honey. Pile the mixture on top of the gooseberries. Prepare a moderate grill.  Put the ambrosia under the grill to lightly brown the topping. Serve hot or cold, with custard or cream.

Have you any gooseberry recipes to bring this fruit back into favour? 

The Yorkshire ‘Drop’

Yorkshire Drop 

On 1st August we Yorkshire folk get a chance to boast about our identity, be proud of our county and give a boost to all those sad Yorkshire folk who have to live in exile away from this wonderful region. There’s more to read about Yorkshire Day and the tale of the origins of our special day. 

So, have you heard of Yorkshire Drop?  This recipe is based on Yorkshire pudding batter mixture but served up as a dessert with a fruit filling instead. It’s a close relative of the mouthwatering French Clafoutis and usually made with plums.

You'll need

4 ½oz/125g plain flour (sieved)

2 eggs

1 ½oz/40g sugar

Pinch of salt

 1/3 rd pint/200ml milk

*Fruit as in season

        

Make the batter as for Yorkshire Pudding. Mix the eggs and flour with a wooden spoon. Mix in the sugar, salt and milk and beat to the consistency of cream. Let it stand for about half an hour or so and stir occasionally to let the air in. Butter an ovenproof flan or pie dish and pour in the Yorkshire Pudding batter mixture.  ‘Drop’ in the fruit into the mixture and cook in a preheated moderately hot (Grandma called this temperature ‘quick’) oven for about 45 minutes (Mark 5, 190C, 375F). The batter will rise to perfection!

Meryl’s tips for the fruit: Now’s the time to make good use of summer fruits, so you can vary the fruit to ‘drop’ in according to the season : Plums, Raspberries, Blackberries, Cherries and Rhubarb, are all perfect for this dish. Wash and dry the fruit carefully. Slice fruit such as Plums and pre cook Rhubarb.  

Here’s a round-up of Yorkshire baking to celebrate our rich culture. 

 Yorkshire Parkin which we usually have on Bonfire Night 

Celebrate with Doncaster Royal Butterscotch Cake 

Bridlington Cake

By far the most well known dish is Yorkshire Puddings 

and Grandma was an expert!

Here comes summer…..

Tarte aux framboises

We've just got back from a fantastic holiday in the Vercors district of the French Alps. where we met Dominique Fluzin runs La Taiga, a lovely little hotel  in the village of Villard de Lans. The Hotel gets its name from a link with the Siberian Forest as it hosted members of the Russian Olympic team who stayed for the Winter Olympics in Grenoble in 1968. The sporting links don’t end there as Dominique offers expert guidance for cyclists, walkers and winter sports enthusiasts throughout the year.

Dominique and his wife Marie Jose are keen to offer guests a taste of local traditional food including Tartiflette and he kindly wrote out his family recipe for Tarte aux framboises. The flavour of the raspberries is enhanced with ground almonds. I’ve made a version using a thin base of Grandma’s Shortcrust Pastry which is like French Pate Brisee but Dominique uses Puff Pastry /Pate feuilletee. A vous le choix!

Line a large flan dish with Shortcrust Pastry and bake blind for around 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Filling

160g/6oz caster sugar

3 eggs

75g/3oz butter (melted)

70g/2½oz ground almonds

150g/5½oz raspberries

Beat the eggs and sugar until they are creamy white. Add the melted butter and ground almonds. Mix in the raspberries. Pour the mixture into the flan case and bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes at 180C/Mark 4/350F.

Dominique decorated his Tarte aux Framboises with chocolate vermicelli but you could always dust with icing sugar.

Dominique's recipe is already bringing back wonderful memories of a fantastic ‘sejour’ in the Alpes. Let’s make the most of the sun, and our own local produce.  Have you got a summer recipe to share? 

Getting a soaking

Jackie’s Tea loaf

I’ve often been asked if Grandma has a cake recipe where you soaked dried fruit overnight. Yes - Grandma regularly soaked raisins, sultanas and currants overnight to make sure they were plump.

View over Loch Linnhe

Here’s a recipe from Jackie at the Huntingtower Lodge near Fort William in Scotland. Jackie serves her Tea Loaf to her guests as they arrive at her wonderful boutique B&B. Jackie and Chris are so welcoming and our room was absolutely stunning with amazing views over Loch Linnhe.

Jackie’s Tea Loaf

1lb/450g mixed dried fruit

7 oz/200g soft brown sugar 

(N.B. I used 4oz/110g sugar for a reduced sugar content)

½ pint/10 fl oz/275-300 ml cold tea

1 egg beaten

9 oz self raising flour

Put the dried fruit, sugar and tea in a bowl and leave for 3 hours or until the tea is absorbed. (I left it overnight and it worked well). Beat in the egg and the flour. Pour into a 2lb/1 kg loaf tin. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C (Fan 160C)/Mark 3/350F for an hour to an hour and a half. (I found 1 hour was enough.) Allow to cool on a wire rack.

I’m pleased to say that it didn’t rain when we visited Scotland this time so we didn’t get a soaking! Many thanks to Jackie for sharing a fabulous recipe. 

 Enjoy Jackie's Tea Loaf! Would you like a slice?

A very versatile Orange cake

Grandma said that her Orange Cake recipe was a “very good cake”. It's a great cake for summer so it’s Recipe of the Month at  Tim & Jane's Tasty Flavours stall.

Orange Cake

5 oz (175g) butter

5 oz (175g) caster sugar

3 eggs

5 oz (175g) self raising flour (sieved)

Grated zest of 1 orange

Strained juice of ½ orange 

  

Preheat the oven to 180°C, Mark 4, 350F. Line the base of a 20 cms /8 inch cake tin with non-stick baking paper. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat the eggs and add a little at a time, adding a dessertspoonful of flour with each egg. Fold in the remaining flour, orange zest and orange juice. Put the mixture in the cake tin and bake for about 25 minutes until it starts to shrink from the sides and a cake skewer inserted into the centre comes away clean. Place on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto the rack and leave until cool. 

Decorate with Orange slices, Icing sugar & Orange zest, Butterscotch pieces, Orange Butter Cream or Candid peel. 

Grandma often decorated it Orange Butter cream filling  just like I did with the Olympics Orange Cake for my Gamesmaker team mates in 2012.

Use soft brown sugar instead of white caster sugar to make an Orange & Butterscotch Cake as I did for the Jubilee celebrations. 

I hope you enjoy this versatile cake. Do you think it could be one of my 5 a day? 👍

A Perfect start to Father’s Day

Delicious Wheaten Bread 

Still thinking what to do for Dad on Fathers Day? Here’s a recipe from a neighbour to get his day off to a great start. The family has routes in Northern Ireland and this recipe is a firm family favourite with every generation including the youngest members. It’s a delicious Wheaten Bread made with Soda bread flour and wholemeal flour and has a moist, nutty texture. This recipe makes 2 small loaves.

Wheaten Bread

12 oz/340g coarse wholemeal flour

8 oz/225g soda bread flour (or use strong plain flour with 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda)

4 oz/110g caster sugar

2 tsps salt

3 fl oz/75ml olive oil or 3 oz/75g soft margarine (or a mixture)

1 egg

1 pint/20fl oz/575ml buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C Fan), Mark 4, 350F. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients and mix well together. Divide the mixture between 2 greased tins (or line with loaf tin liners/greaseproof paper). Bake for 35-45 minutes.

Mix well

 Healthy start to a perfect Father's day

It’s delicious served with butter or toasted for breakfast.  You can add seeds, nuts or dried fruit. I tried it with dried apricots. Indulge Dad with this healthy treat – he might even start making it himself! Tell us  if you have a regional recipe to share …

A Twist of Lemon

Lemons are my favourite fruit for home baking whether it's a Lemon cake, Lemon pudding or Lemon biscuits as I love their tangy flavour.  Penny gave me this simple tray bake recipe for Spiced Lemon and Walnut Bake to add to the Recipes page. I’ve tweaked her original recipe by reducing the amount of sugar and adding more cinnamon and an extra twist of lemon.

Spiced Lemon and Walnut Bake 

110g/4 oz plain flour

1 level tsp baking powder

2 level tsp ground cinnamon

1 level tsp ground nutmeg

110g/4 oz rolled oats

50g/2 oz walnuts finely chopped

175g/6 oz butter

110g/4 oz brown sugar

2 large eggs

½ tsp vanilla essence

Finely grated rind of 1 lemon

Juice of 1½ lemons

3 tbsps milk (if needed)

Preheat the oven to 180C, Mark 4, 350F. Cream the butter and sugar and beat until light. Lightly mix the eggs with vanilla essence, lemon rind and juice and beat into the creamed mixture a little at a time. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the rolled oats and chopped walnuts. Fold in the flour mixture, along with the extra milk if needed to make a soft consistency. Place in a greased tin measuring approximately 25 cm x 18 cm/10 x 7 inches or a square tin approximately 20 cm/8 inches and smooth the top with a palette knife. Bake in the centre of a moderate oven for about 30-35 minutes until golden brown.

Cut into squares, triangles or fingers 
Have you got a recipe to share to keep baking traditions alive?