Let’s party with Lily’s Praline Cake

Praline Cake

 I did a presentation about Grandma’s baking for a fabulous group called ‘The Breakaways’. The name of their group was intriguing since, much as they loved their husbands and partners, they just enjoyed a couple of hours 'break' away from home to chat and relax with their friends. They had all sorts of hobbies and baking was high on the list. 

Lily sent me her recipe for one of their favourite cakes – a proper party piece and perfect for a birthday treat – Praline Cake –  and it's very easy to bake. She had been making it since Cadbury Flakes cost 14p so you can tell it’s an old favourite.

Praline Cake

4oz/110g caster sugar

4/oz/110g butter or margarine

2 oz/50g self raising flour

2 oz/50g ground almonds

2 oz/50g coconut

2 eggs

1 Cadbury’s Flake

Cream the sugar and butter/margarine. Add the dry ingredients gradually with the beaten egg. Crumble in the Chocolate Flake. Put into a square tin and bake in the oven 150C/Mark 2 for 45 minutes

Meryl says : I  topped my Praline Cake with butter cream  and chopped nuts to make a perfect party cake but you could decorate with chocolate pieces too. Thanks to Lily, Diana and The Breakways for sharing this glorious recipe! 

Melting Moments just melt in the mouth

There can be no better bake which typifies that ‘melt in the mouth’ sensation than Melting Moments. Jenny sent me a family favourite recipe from her Mum, Betty with the following message : 

"You recently came to our Social History group in Chesterfield to give a talk on your grandmother's recipes which I enjoyed very much. It inspired me to look at an old exercise book of my Mum's and bake a few of her favourite recipes again. I do remember Mum making ‘Melting Moments’ and helping her. They were delicious, a sort of a cross between a biscuit and a bun; she used to put a cherry on the top of each one too.”

Melting Moments

 2½oz/65g lard

1½oz/35g margarine

3oz/75g caster sugar

Porridge Oats

5oz/150g self raising flour

1 small egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

Cream the fats and sugar and beat in the egg, Work in the flour and the vanilla essence. Roll into balls with wet hands and coat with rolled oats. Place on a greased tray and press out slightly. Bake in a moderate (180C/200F/Mark 4) oven 15-20 minutes. Cool slightly on a tray before removing and decorate.

Meryl says : Betty used lard and margarine but I used butter instead. I preheated the oven to 180C/200F/Mark 4 which equals Grandma's term for 'moderate'. I put a cherry on top just as Betty did too.

Many thanks to Jenny (and, of course, Betty) for this glorious memory box recipe. I remember having them as a treat in a sandwich box. They were as light as a feather. They’re perfect to bake with children too. Let's keep up the tradition!

Spring forward with Daffodil Cake

Daffodil Cake

I love the month of March when Spring arrives in all its golden yellow glory. This delicate recipe for Daffodil Cake is the perfect harbinger of Spring with swirls of yellow and white in every slice. Decorate with Spring flowers for a perfect seasonal cake for Mothering Sunday or as an Easter Cake.

What you need

Oil and flour (to line/cover the inside of the tin)

4 large eggs (separated)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cream of tartar

10g/4 oz caster sugar 

1 orange (zest and juice)

50g/2 oz plain flour, sifted

1 tsp baking powder

Lemon Curd for filling 

Icing sugar to decorate

How to Bake

Preheat the oven to 190C/ Gas 5 /375F. 

Lightly oil a 20cm/8 inch cake ring tin (you can use a round or square cake tin and line with baking paper) and dust with flour. Separate the eggs into 2 large bowls.

Beat the egg whites, vanilla extract and cream of tartar in one bowl until stiff. Gradually add in 50g/2oz of the caster sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form. 

In the other bowl, beat the egg yolks with orange zest, juice, and remaining sugar until thick and light. Sift the flour and baking powder together and add to the egg yolk mixture. Spoon the egg yolk mixture and egg white mixture alternately into the cake tin. Stir the mixture with a fork to give a marbled effect. Bake for about 30 minutes (allow 5-10 minutes more if using a round cake tin). Remove the cake from the oven. Invert the cake tin over a cooling rack and let it cool for 30 minutes. 

Remove the cake from the tin carefully and allow to cool. Once cool, cut the cake in half and spread  Lemon curd in the centre. Place the other half on top and dust with icing sugar.

A slice of this and you’ll have a spring in your step

Daffodils blooming in my garden

Ooh er…Rhubarb Betty

 Rhubarb Betty

This old American recipe is very easy to make and makes a change from traditional Rhubarb Crumble.  This is a very easy recipe to serve up and you can take advantage of the superb young Rhubarb during the Rhubarb Festival  in Yorkshire during February. Rhubarb is very tasty and nutritious but you can make this recipe with any seasonal fruit such as apples, blackberries, gooseberries, plums and apricots.

Rhubarb Betty

6-8 sticks of rhubarb

 2 oz /50g soft brown sugar

4oz /110g  fresh white breadcrumbs

2oz /50g butter

2 0z/50g demerara sugar

2 tbps dessicated coconut (optional)

Grated zest of 1 lemon or orange

1-2 tsps ground ginger to taste

1 tsp cinnamon

Prepare the Rhubarb : Wash the rhubarb and cut into chunks. Place on a baking tray. Sprinkle the sugar on top. Bake in the oven (325F/Mark 3/160C/140C Fan) for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, retaining a few pieces for decoration.

To make the crumble : Turn the oven to 350F, Mark 4, 180C , 160C Fan.  Melt the butter and mix with the breadcrumbs. Stir in the demerara sugar, coconut, zest, ginger and cinnamon. Put half the rhubarb in a greased 2.5 pint/1 litre dish. Cover with half the crumble mixture. Add the remaining rhubarb and then the other half of the crumble mixture. Finally top with the few pieces of rhubarb. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden. Serve with custard, ice cream, crème fraiche or yoghurt. 

So who was Betty then?

No eggs, low fat, reduced sugar.... it's Bachelor Cake

Here’s a cake for my friend Charlotte. She loves baking but can’t eat eggs. Help is at hand with this old recipe from Grandma’s collection. Bachelor Cake is egg free, low fat and reduced sugar cake, so it hits a few buttons into today’s healthy eating world. It works well with gluten free flour if you add extra liquid to the mixture. 

Bachelor Cake topped with almonds 

12oz/340g plain flour

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

3 ozs/75g butter

12 oz/340g dried fruit

2 oz/50g sugar

2 tbsps marmalade

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 cups of milk (approx ½ pt/10 fl oz/275ml)

Almonds for topping (optional)

Preheat the oven to  160-170C/Gas 3/325F. Grease and line  2 loaf tins or a 9inch x 9inch (23cms x 23cms) square tin with baking paper. Sieve the flour and spices into a bowl. Rub in the fat until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the dried fruit, sugar and marmalade and mix well. Stir the bicarbonate of soda into a cup of milk and add to the centre of the mixture. Add the 2^nd cup of milk to make a dropping consistency. Beat thoroughly and transfer to the tin. Decorate the top with almonds if you wish. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 150C/Gas 2/300F for another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before turning out.

Meryl’s tips : The taste of this cake is excellent and improves over time.  It keeps very well in a tin for up to a week , if you can resist it before the week is over!

So what's the story? Bachelor Cake was originally intended for a young girl to bake to impress her young man (and maybe keep him fit and slim?). But you don’t need to be a Bachelor boy to enjoy it!

Ring the changes with Gingerbread Cake

Gingerbread Cake

It’s a tradition in Yorkshire to eat Parkin - a sort of Ginger cake with oatmeal on Bonfire Night in November - but we’re great fans of ginger at any time of year. Here’s an old recipe from Grandma’s collection with plenty of ginger to spice things up for the new year. Ring the changes with this easy recipe. 

Gingerbread Cake

4 oz/110g butter

4 oz/110g black treacle

4 oz/110g golden syrup

¼/150ml pint milk

2 eggs

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

4 oz/110g plain flour

4 oz/110g wholewheat flour

2 oz/50g soft light brown sugar

2 tsps mixed spice

3oz/75g ground ginger

2oz/50g chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 300F, Mark 2, 160C. Grease and line an 8 inch/21cm square cake tin. Place the butter in a saucepan with the black treacle and golden syrup and heat gently until the butter has melted. Then take the pan from the heat and stir in the milk. Beat the eggs and add these to the mixture too. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, then stir the syrup liquid into the flour mixture. When it is smoothly blended, pour the mixture into the prepared tin and scatter the crystallised ginger pieces on top. Bake in the centre of the oven for 1 ¼ -1 ½ hours or until the gingerbread begins to shrink away slightly from the sides of the tin and the centre is springy. Cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, cut into squares and store in a tin.

Meryl says : This is a moist cake and keeps beautifully. You can add 2oz/50g sultanas or raisins to the mixture. 

Lightly does it with this Christmas bake

I’m often asked about alternatives to the traditional Christmas baking of rich fruit cakes, mince pies and plum pudding so I’ve adapted Grandma’s popular Orange Cake to make a cake with a lighter texture. Cranberries and pistachios are my favourite seasonal fruit and nuts and they make a great combination with oranges to show off Christmas colours. 

 Cranberry Orange & Pistachio Loaf

175g/6oz butter

150g/5oz caster sugar

3 eggs

175g/6oz self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

125g/4 ½oz  fresh cranberries

50g/2oz pistachio nuts (chopped)

1 orange zest & juice 

25g/1oz demerara sugar

Pre heat the oven to 180 (160C fan), Gas 4. Cream the butter, caster sugar and orange zest until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the flour and baking powder. Fold about ¾ of the cranberries and pistachio nuts and then add the orange juice. Place the mixture in a well greased or lined 1kg/2lb loaf tin. Scatter the remaining cranberries and pistachios on the top and then sprinkle the Demerara sugar over the fruit and nuts. Bake in the oven for around 35-40 minutes.

Meryl says : This is a very simple recipe which you can enjoy in the run up to Christmas. It freezes well. You can make it with dried cranberries if fresh ones aren’t available. I can guarantee there won’t be a piece left!

Take a look at more of Grandma's Christmas recipes

Almond Paste

Boxing Day Cake

Christmas Cake

Dutch Christmas Celebration Wreath 

Plum (Christmas) Pudding

Cranberry & Apple Chutney

Cranberry, Orange & Pistachio Loaf

Cranberry & Orange Muffins

Galette de pommes

Mincemeat

Mincemeat Cake

Mince Pies

Shortbread biscuits

Dan Lepard's Orange and Pistachio Stollen Bars  

Tarte Noel   

Twelfth Night Cake

Yorkshire Christmas Spice Loaf

Whatever you are doing and wherever you are, Happy Christmas Baking! 

Savourez Tante Liliane’s Petits Fours biscuits

 Just like Grandma, I love coming across a traditional family recipe. Elisabeth, who  with her husband, Jean-Michel, runs La Tour de Giry, a comfortable Chambre d’Hote in Burgundy, not far from the Parc Regional du Morvan gave me a copy of her easy recipe for Petits Fours biscuits. She is a superb cook and loves to use local food in season which they often grow in their large garden. They also keep ducks and hens so have a constant supply of fresh eggs.

The Petits Fours biscuit recipe comes from family member, Tante Liliane who lives in the Auvergne region. Liliane is 82 years old and still bakes the biscuits today.  As you see, the recipe was handwritten in French, so I’ve translated it into English.

Petits Fours de Tante Liliane

 2 eggs

150g/5 oz caster sugar

125g/4½ oz melted butter

2 dsps cream ( I used crème fraiche)

1 sachet of baking powder

450g/1 lb plain flour

Beat the eggs with the sugar and add the cream, the melted butter and then the flour with the baking powder. Chill for 20 minutes. Roll out to 0.5cm thick and put into small rounds (Elisabeth suggested a small wineglass) and put onto baking trays. Bake for 10 minutes at 200C, Mark 6.

Meryl says : These biscuits are perfect at any time of year. The mixture freezes well uncooked so you can bake a smaller quantity.  It’s very versatile recipe too. I’ve baked them adding the zest and juice of a lemon, or 1 tsp cinnamon or 1 tsp cocoa to the mixture for a different set of flavours. There's plenty of scope for baking imagination! 

Grandma Abson’s traditional Christmas Cake

Grandma Abson's Christmas Cake

Grandmas always know best about baking and this is Grandma's simple recipe which I bake every year. I can guarantee there’s never a piece left by Twelfth Night on 6 January.

What you need and how to bake

8oz /225g brown sugar

8oz /225g butter

1 tbsp black treacle (slightly warmed for 5 minutes in the oven)

1 tbsp golden syrup (slightly warmed for 5 minutes in the oven)

5 eggs (beaten)

9oz /250g self raising flour (sifted)

3-4oz / 75-100g glace cherries (washed and dried and cut into quarters)

4oz /100g mixed peel

10oz / 275g each of sultanas, raisins, currants

1 tsp each of cinnamon and mixed spice

2oz /50g chopped nuts +1oz /25g ground almonds or 

3oz /75g ground almonds

1/6 pint / 100ml stout 

Heat the oven 325F, Mark 3, 170C. Line an 8 inch/21cms cake tin (round or square) with baking paper or use a cake liner. Cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. You can do this in a food mixer.  Mix in the warmed treacle and golden syrup. Add the beaten eggs gradually and half of the flour and spices (cinnamon and mixed spice). Stir in the nuts/almonds and cherries, the rest of the flour, dried fruit, mixed peel and stout. Put the mixture into the cake tin and smooth over the top, making a slight indent in the middle. This stops the cake from rising too much in the middle and cracking. Bake for 3 to 3 ½ hours. Start with the oven fairly warm for 30 minutes and gradually reduce the oven temperature to finish in a slow oven at 250F, Mark ½, 130C.  

Grandma’s Tips :    

• Wrap several layers of brown paper or newspaper around the cake tin and tie it with string before putting the cake into the oven to prevent it burning.
• Use a thin cake tester to check if the cake is thoroughly baked. If it’s baked, there’ll be no trace of the mixture on the tester. If there are still traces of the mixture, then the cake needs further cooking time.
• Once cooled, prick the cake all over the top and pour a tablespoonful of brandy over it. You can do this two or three times up to Christmas before decorating it.

The Final Touches

1. To make Almond Paste 

8oz/ 225g ground almonds

4oz/ 110g caster sugar

4oz/110g icing sugar

A few tablespoons of lemon juice or water

2-3 tbsps Apricot Jam

Mix the almonds and sugars together. Add sufficient lemon juice and/or water to make a stiff paste. Chill for 15 to 20 minutes. Spread a thin layer of Apricot Jam over the cake. Roll out the Almond Paste to 3/8 inch /1 cm thick and place on the top (and sides if you wish).

2. Choose your decoration

You can use Ready to Roll Icing to spread over the cake or make your own.

For Royal Icing you need

1 lb /450g icing sugar

2 whites of eggs

A little lemon juice

A tsp glycerine (optional)

Sieve the icing sugar and add the whites of the eggs and a little lemon juice. Beat until the mixture stands in stiff peaks. You can add glycerine to stop the icing drying out. Spread over the cake. Use a fork to make peaks in the icing to create a snow scene or for a smooth finish use a palette knife.

3. For a topping with Glazed Fruits

Fold dried fruit (e.g. raisins, sultanas, apricots, cranberries, cherries) and mixed nuts in a redcurrant jelly and apricot jam glaze and spread over the almond paste to make a jewel of a topping. 

And here’s the best thank you! 

Happy Christmas everyone!