Apple and yoghurt cake with sultanas

This cake was given to me by my sister Saira.  I was looking for a light cake which would satisfy my sweet tooth and also reduce the fat content a bit - no I am not a health freak but like to try lighter versions as they leave me satisfied and feeling less guilty!

Serves 6 generous slices

This version of the cake has brown sugar to give a
crunchy top

Ingredients

3 oz sugar

4 oz plain or all purpose flour

4 tbsp low fat yoghurt

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

3-4 hard apples peeled, cored and sliced (thick or thin - it's up to you)

1 small cup raisins

Method

	Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees (160 for fan oven)
	Grease and line an 8 inch loose bottom cake tin.
	Beat sugar and eggs with vanilla until the mixture becomes light and fluffy
	Add the flour and beat well.  Add yoghurt and beat for a couple of minutes till the mixture is smooth.
	Put sliced apples and raisins and mix together.  Pour the mixture into prepared tin and bake for 25 minutes or until firm to touch.
	Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or custard along with a nice hot cup of tea!

Note:  The mixture will be wet so don't worry about it.  If the mixture looks runny, just add some more flour before adding the fruit.  This cake is good warm or cold but always refrigerate once cooled and it will keep for two days.

If you want to give it a richer look sprinkle top with brown sugar then bake as above. This will give a nice shiny (and crunchy) finish to the cake as seen in the picture above.

Upside down raspberry & pear cake

I don’t know what it is about upside down cakes but I am mad about them! The original upside down cake involved a pineapple, however, I have used all kinds of fruit and the results have been the same juicy, caramelized and sometimes stunning displays of fruit placed delicately on a light sponge (see plum upside down picture).

Give it a try and I guarantee the taste will put a smile on your face J

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking: 45 minutes to 1 hour

Oven temperature: 180C (160C fan oven)

Deep Pyrex dish: 28 cm

Ingredients

6 oz self raising flour

6 oz butter softened

6 oz sugar

3 eggs

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons golden syrup

1 teaspoon extra butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large pears peeled, cored and sliced

1 punnet raspberries

Method

• First prepare the dish – rub the base roughly with one teaspoon of butter and drizzle one table spoon of golden syrup on top. Sprinkle with brown sugar and then place the fruit in any design you fancy.
• Put the flour, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of golden syrup into a mixing bowl and whisk/mix on a medium speed till all ingredients are well combined.
• Pour batter over the fruit mixture, level the top and put in the oven to bake, checking after 30 minutes.
• The cake is cooked once the middle springs back once lightly touched or cake tester comes out clean when the centre is pierced.
• Cool for about 5 minutes in the dish then turn upside down on a plate. As you can see from the pictures, the sugar and golden syrup give a nice glaze to the fruit.
• Enjoy warm with a large scoop of ice cream or cream or pour custard on a generous slice once cooled.

Moist chocolate cake with chocolate ganache icing

I have been experimenting with a lot of chocolate cake recipes and have finally found one that works all the time. Not my own recipe but a mixture of recipe ideas from books, magazines and lots of trials on eager chocolate cake fans!

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 to 55 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups plain flour

2 cups sugar

1 cup cocoa

2 large eggs beaten

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup milk

1 cup hot water

Oven: 180*C (fan oven 160*c)

Tin Size: 13”x9”x2” rectangular tin or a 26” round tin (greased and lined with baking paper)

Method

• Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir with a metal spoon – blend well
• Add all the wet ingredients (apart from the water) and mix using a balloon whisk or wooden spoon until well combined.
• Then add the hot water and whisk. The end result will be a runny cake batter but don’t worry - that is how it is supposed to be!
• Pour the mixture in the prepared tin and give a sharp tap on the counter before putting in the oven.
• Bake in the oven for up to 55 minutes or until the middle of the sponge springs back when touched lightly. Turn the tin around halfway through baking.
• Allow the cake to cool in the tin, then turn out on a wire rack to cool down completely.
• Put in the fridge to chill while the ganache is made as cutting a chilled cake is easier to manage.
• Put ¼ of ganache in middle of cake and use the rest to ice and decorate the whole cake any way you like (see earlier picture of chocolate cake with ganache icing and raspberries).
• The cake is best eaten chilled with a nice latte or cappuccino!

Chocolate Ganache

300 g dark chocolate

175 ml double cream

                               

• Heat double cream until it is hot (but not boiling).
• Pour over broken chocolate pieces and stir until melted and the icing gets a glossy sheen.
• Chill in fridge for 20 minutes before icing the cake.

Marian's banana walnut bread

Anyone who has worked at the Oban Times newspaper on the west of Scotland in recent times (as my other half did) will have sampled Marian Miller's delicious banana loaf - so it's well worth bringing to a wider audience.

Ingredients

125g butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (three soft bananas)
3/4 cup self raising flour
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 cup walnuts (or sultanas if preferred)
1 loaf tin

Method

Cream the butter, sugar and essence with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time.
Sift the dry ingredients together and then add half the dry ingredients, bananas and walnuts to the creamed mix and fold in.
Then add the other half and fold in.
Bake at 180C for 55-65mins.

Chicken curry and savoury rice

Someone at work asked me for a simple curry recipe so I made this one up for them on the spot.  He liked it so much he passed it on to other people.  I was of course obliged to put it on my website!  Hope you like it as much as everyone else.

Marinade

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

Splash of white wine vinegar

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

	Mix all the above ingredients together and rub thoroughly on chicken breast fillets.
	Cover & leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.

Curry Sauce

1 large white onion thinly sliced

1 green chilli chopped finely

1 tsp garlic & ginger paste

3-4 tbsp yoghurt

1 tbsp tomato puree

Garnish

4 green chillies (whole)

Handful of fresh coriander washed and roughly chopped

Method

	Put olive oil in pan and heat.
	Put onions and stir till brown.
	Take chicken fillets from marinade and cook till each side is browned off.
	Add garlic & ginger paste, stir well and then add rest of marinade, tomato puree and yoghurt.
	Cook in medium heat ensuring the mixture blends in well till the sauce is bubbling.
	After about 5 minutes, put chopped chillies, whole chillies and coriander leaves.
	Leave to simmer for 20 minutes till oil comes on top.  Serve with savoury rice and crisp salad (sliced radish, cucumber, onions & tomatoes in vinegar).

Savoury Rice

2 cups basmati rice

1 cup cashew nuts, sultanas and sliced dried apricots

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp garam masala

Salt & Pepper to taste

4 cups hot water

	In a pan heat the oil and add nuts & dried fruit along with garam masala.
	Stir till cashew nuts have browned. Add salt & pepper to season followed by rice stirring to mix well.
	Add water, bring to the boil.  Reduce temperature, cover with lid and simmer till rice puffs up.  This should not take more than 15 – 20 minutes.

Buttery scones

I owe my Mother-in-Law a lot for introducing the Be-Ro book of baking.  This book has helped me a lot and now I use it as a guide for new ideas or even adapting existing recipes to suit me.  One of them is your basic scone - there are so many variations I cannot even start listing them.

Whatever you do, never make scones when your mind is on other things.  I was so pre-occupied with writing for my website I ended up using plain flour instead of self raising and the result was a batch of fancy door knobs!  Here is my version of scone/rock buns which I call buttery scones as they just melt in your mouth.

Makes 6 large scones or 4 large and one huge one for hubby!

Ingredients

280 g/9 oz (2 cups) self raising flour

1 large tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

90 g/3 oz butter cubed (I prefer to use margarine as it makes the scone very soft)

250 ml/8 fl oz (1 cup) semi skimmed milk

90 g/3 oz sultanas (or as much as you like)

Method

	Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees (fan 160) and put baking parchment on a baking sheet or tray
	Sift the flour in a wide bowl and add sugar and salt.  Stir to mix.
	Take the butter or margarine and rub into the flour till the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
	Throw in the sultanas and mix well.  Add the milk and mix with a knife to get a wet dough together.
	If the mixture is too wet, just add some more flour and once it has dough like consistency, put on a floured surface and gather the dough into a circle which is about 1.5 inch thick
	At this point you can use individual round cutters or the multi cutter to cut in batches.
	Place the scones on the baking tray.  You can put an egg or milk wash or just sprinkle plain flour on top and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
	To test if the scone is ready, turn it over and tap gently.  If you hear a hollow sound the scone is cooked.
	Serve it warm with jam and butter.

When you make scones as much as I do, after a while you forget about the measures and just make by throwing things together.  It is more fun making scones this way as they get rated on a weekly basis by my husband.  One thing is for sure whatever the verdict there is never any left to throw away!