Pear Flapjack Cake

I love a good flapjack (and I'm probably not alone!) so in one of my more eccentric moments I came up with this idea to combine the sweet chewiness of a good flapjack with the melting butteriness of a cake. I've also added pears into mine, which gives the cake a fruity extra dimension that I think it needs, but you can experiment with other fruits if you'd like. I've also used a larger tin which ensures a nice balance between the sponge base and flapjack topping.

Prep time: 20 Mins

Baking time: 45 Mins

75g Unsalted Butter (Softened)

150g Jumbo Oats

75g Golden Syrup

150g Unsalted Butter

100g Dark Soft Brown Sugar

50g Golden Syrup

2 Medium Eggs

1tsp Baking Powder

150g Plain Flour

3 Large Pears (Cored and peeled)

So let's begin! Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and grease/line the base of a 23cm springform tin. Rub the 75g of butter into the oats until evenly combined, then stir in the 75g of golden syrup. Set to one side whilst you get on with the cake batter.

In a large bowl cream together the butter with the sugar, then when it is light and fluffy stir through the golden syrup. Beat in the eggs, one at a time then sift in the baking powder and the flower. Mix it all together until you are left with a smooth batter. Spoon the mixture into your prepared tin and spread it out to the edges. Slice your pears into eighths, then arrange over the top of the batter. You can do this however you want, as long as they are evenly distributed. Break off little pieces of the flapjack mix, and scatter over the cake. It doesn't matter if there are a few gaps as it'll spread out during baking. Place in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes, until the top is golden and a metal skewer can be cleanly removed when inserted into the middle of the cake. Remove from the oven and leave to one side for 20 minutes, then carefully remove it from the tin and leave on a wire rack. You can eat this one cold but it's also AMAZING served warm with custard or vanilla ice cream!

Golden Syrup Soaked Banana Cake

Golden syrup and bananas are a classic combination so I've had a go at coming up with a cake that not only showcases their deliciousness, but accentuates their flavour and compliments them with delightful textural notes. I've only seemingly made a few adjustments to a pretty a standard recipe for this, but they make a massive difference. The result is a super moist and rich sponge with a syrupy, aromatic flavour and is beautiful eaten either on its own or with a little vanilla ice cream in the summer sun!

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Baking time: 45 Minutes

200g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
200g Light Muscovado Sugar
3 Medium Eggs
1tsp Vanilla Extract

100g Ground Almonds

1/2tsp Salt
1tsp Baking Powder
1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

100g Plain Flour
2 Big Bananas (Well mashed)
4tbsp Golden Syrup

Right you know the drill! Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3 and grease/line the base of a 20cm loose bottomed tin. In a large bowl cream together the butter and the sugar, then beat in the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract. Fold through the ground almonds with the salt, then sift in the baking powder, bicarb and flour and do the same. Carefully stir through the bananas, then spoon the mixture into your prepared tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes, until a metal skewer can be cleanly removed when inserted into the middle of the cake. Remove from the oven a leave in the tin for 15 minutes, or until the tin can be safely handled. Turn out onto a wire rack, then using your metal skewer pierce the top all over. Drizzle the golden syrup evenly over the top and leave to cool. Sumptuous and scrumptious!

What I've been baking - May 2012

I've been asked a few times to see pictures of what I've been baking, so here's what I've had a go at over the last couple of weeks. I will try and put a few up at the end of each month in the future!

Fairings

The beautiful weather we’ve had this week has taken me back to childhood holidays on the Cornish coast with my family, so in tribute I thought I’d try out a traditional Cornish recipe. Fairings are sweet tasty biscuits, heavily spiced with a syrupy almost cookie like texture. They are perfect to nibble on in the morning sun, with a cup of tea as the world wakes up around you, so why not give them a try ready for tomorrow?

Prep time: 10 Mins

Baking time: 14 Mins

225g Plain Flour

120g Light Muscovado Sugar

2tsp Baking Powder

2tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

2tsp Mixed Spice

2tsp Ground Ginger

1tsp Ground Cinnamon

A pinch of salt

120g Unsalted Butter

4tbsp Golden Syrup

Right, let’s get started! Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line two large baking sheets with baking paper. In a large bowl add in all the dry ingredients and give them a mix to combine. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles damp sand. Pour in the golden syrup, then mix it in a wooden spoon. Using your hands take some of the mixture and shape into a golf ball sized spheres. Place on your large baking sheet and repeat, making sure the balls are well spaced apart. You should get about 10-12 balls out of the mixture so use both baking sheets if necessary. Place in the centre of the oven and bake for about 14 minutes, until the fairings are golden, have spread out and are cracked on top. Remove from the oven and leave on the tray for about 30 minutes, then carefully peel from the paper and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Yum yum!

Strawberry and Elderflower Jellycake

I may well have jumped the shark with this one, but a little madness often leads to the best things and this is no exception. Somewhere between a soaked sponge and a terrine, this is a brilliantly beautiful cake, great as a pudding with cream or just for afternoon tea. There's also a real hit of nostalgia that goes with it too, reminiscent of birthday parties and celebrations. Well, maybe that's just me!

A couple of things to consider before you start. I like having a sense of elderflower in the jelly, but if you wanted a stronger flavour just replace some of the water with more cordial. Also don't worry if your sponge breaks up (Like mine did!) when you come to assembling the finished cake. The jelly will hold everything together!

Prep time: 25 Mins (Plus time to let the cake cool and jelly set)

Baking Time: 35 Mins

150g Unsalted Butter (Softened)

150g Golden Caster Sugar

2 Medium Eggs

1tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2tsp Baking Powder

150g Self Raising Flour

100ml Elderflower Cordial

275ml Cold Water

Juice of 1 Lemon

50g Caster Sugar

4 Sheets of Gelatine

400g Fresh Strawberries (Chopped)

Sponge first! Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4, grease a 22cm loaf tin and line the base with baking paper. Cream together the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs with the vanilla. Sift in the baking powder with the flour, then mix it all together to a smooth batter. Spoon into your loaf tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 35 minutes, until a skewer can be cleanly removed from the centre of the cake. When it’s done leave it to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then remove and leave of a wire rack until it’s completely cold. While it’s cooling, you can wash up your loaf tin as you’ll need it later!

When the cake has cooled carefully slice horizontally lengthways, so you have three layers. Don’t worry too much if it breaks up a bit as you can reassemble relatively easily. Take your loaf tin and line with cling film, ensure you’ve got enough overlap on the sides and ends so you can wrap them over to cover the top. Place your first layer into the bottom of lined tin, then it’s time to get on with the jelly. Put all the ingredients aside from the gelatine and strawberries in a saucepan and turn the heat on low. At the same time cover the gelatine with some cold water to soften. Stir the liquid through as it heats to dissolve the sugar, which should take about 5 minutes. When the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is hot, but not boiling remove from the heat. Remove your gelatine from the cold water, squeeze out any excess liquid and add to your saucepan. Stir through until dissolved, then add in the strawberries. Spoon about half of the strawberry mixture over your first layer of sponge in the tin. Take the next layer of sponge and lay on top. Spoon over the rest of the strawberries, but don’t worry if you’re left with quite a lot of liquid in the bottom. Place on the final layer of sponge, give it a gentle press to secure then pour over the excess liquid. Cover with the overlapping cling film and place in the fridge until set (I left mine for about 4 hours to be safe).

To serve, carefully unwrap the top, then turn out onto a plate and remove the cling film. Slice with a sharp knife and gobble up!

Oat and Sultana Cookies

I've been making a lot of cakes recently, so it's nice to go back to biscuits. These cookies are slightly different to my standard chocolate chip cookie recipe, less chewy and more biscuity with crisp edges. What I really like about them though is that they can be made a day in advance and left in the fridge until convenient to bake. You should get about 16 big cookies out of this quantity of mixture, but you can make them bigger and smaller to suit your preference. Just remember to adjust your cooking times!

Prep time: 15 Minutes (Plus some chilling time)

Baking time: 18 Minutes

200g Unsalted Butter (Softened)

150g Dark Soft Brown Sugar

100g Caster Sugar

1 Large Egg plus 1 Egg Yolk

2tsp Cinnamon

100g Jumbo Oats

100g Sultanas

1/2tsp Baking Powder

1/2tsp Salt

225g Plain Flour

Right, let's get cracking! Cream together the butter and sugars, then beat in the eggs. Add in the cinnamon, then fold through the oats and sultanas. I add them at this stage as I find it easier to fold them through evenly. Sift in the baking powder, salt and flour and mix until thoroughly combined (This is a great bicep workout by the way!). Spoon the mixture onto some cling film, wrap it up and leave in the fridge for at least two hours.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a large sheet with baking paper. Take the mixture out of the fridge, break off some of the mixture and roll into a ball, slightly larger than a golf ball. Place on the tray. Repeat, ensuring there is enough space between each cookie to allow them to spread. Bake in the centre of the oven for 18 minutes until golden brown, then remove and carefully pull the paper onto a wire rack to cool.

Repeat in batches until you've used up all your cookie dough. Once the cookies have cooled for about 20 minutes you should be able to remove them easily from the paper so they can cool completely on your wire rack. All finished!

Chocolate Brondant Bars

This was originally going to be a brownie recipe, but after a great deal of (definitely necessary) testing I didn't think the name really did it justice. These bars are like brownies turned up to 11, with a slightly biscuity, chewy crumb yielding to a molten, fudgy almost fondant like centre. They are one of those creations that make you melt away into chocolate fuelled ecstasy the second you take a bite, so consider yourselves warned!

Prep time: 15 Mins

Baking time: 20 Mins

125g Unsalted Butter (Softened)

100g Dark Chocolate (I used one with around 70% cocoa solids)

50g Cocoa Powder

30g Plain Flour

1/2tsp Baking Powder

100g Caster Sugar

50g Golden Syrup

1tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Medium Eggs

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4, then line a 30cm loaf tin with baking paper and grease it. Break the chocolate up into a bowl with the unsalted butter. Melt them together, either in a bain-marie or (carefully) in the microwave, then set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In a fresh bowl, mix together you cocoa, plain flour, baking powder and sugar. Tip in the melted chocolate, along with the golden syrup and vanilla. Give it a good mix around for a minute or so, then crack in your eggs and vigorously beat, until you are left with a smooth glossy batter. Spoon into your prepared tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes, until the top has just started to crack and the surface is slightly springy to the touch. This isn't one where you need a skewer to come out clean so don't be tempted to leave it any longer! When you're happy, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.

Once cool remove from the tin and carefully peel away the baking paper. Using a sharp knife, slice into your brondant bars. I'll leave the thickness up to you! You can serve these on their own, but they are also amazing with cream or warmed through with vanilla ice cream. Decadent, delicious and just a bit devilish!

Apple and Lemon Puringo

Although this has all the basic components of a normal cake the result is something very different. Binding the large amount of apples very lightly with a fragrant lemon batter gives the finished 'Puringo' a super moist texture and syrupy sponge flavour, which makes it a great one to serve with cream or custard. I've glazed the top with a light elderflower syrup, which not only adds another sweet and perfumed dimension but also provides a beautiful note of caramel, reminiscent of toffee apple.

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Baking time: 70-75 Minutes

2 Unwaxed Lemons (Or you can use one if you can find one of those big old beefy ones)

6 Large Apples (I used Cox's)

125g Unsalted Butter (Softened)

125g Light Muscovado Sugar

2 Medium Eggs

1/2tsp Baking Powder

125g Plain Flour

50ml Elderflower Cordial

100ml Cold Water

50g Caster Sugar

Begin by zesting the lemons into a small bowl and setting aside, as you'll need the zest for the batter. In a fresh large bowl squeeze in the juice of the zested lemons. Peel and core one of the apples, then slice as thinly as you can (Or if you have a mandolin you can use this instead). Toss the sliced apple in the lemon juice, which will not only add a nice flavour but will also stop them discolouring. Repeat for the rest of the apples.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and grease/line the base of a 20cm loose bottomed tin. In a new large bowl (As large as you can) cream together the butter and muscovado sugar, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold through the lemon zest, then sift in the baking powder with the flour and mix it altogether to a smooth batter. Tip in some of the sliced apples and fold through gently to coat them, then repeat for the rest of the apples. Take your time here, so not to break up the apples too much. Spoon into the tin and bake in the oven for 70-75 minutes, until the top is golden brown and some of the apples are starting to catch at the edges. Remove the cake from the oven and leave in the tin for 30 minutes. 

For the syrup, pour the cordial, cold water and sugar into a small saucepan and fire up the heat. Bring up to the boil and let bubble away for 10 minutes until reduced, syrupy and just starting to lightly colour. Carefully remove the cake from the tin and place on a plate. Spoon over the syrup. You can eat this one warm or cold. It's delicious either way!

Pear, Ginger and Chocolate Loaf

This little loaf takes a few familiar baking ingredients and brings them together into something that I think is really interesting, both in flavour and texture. The pears give the loaf a lovely fragrant fruitiness, which balances nicely with the spicy sweetness of the ginger and slight bitterness of the chocolate. I admit it doesn't look particularly spectacular, but for me it really delivers.

Prep time: 15 Mins

Baking time: 60 Mins

100ml Vegetable Oil

100ml Milk

100g Stem Ginger Syrup

2 Medium Eggs

150g Self Raising Flour

25g Cocoa Powder

75g Dark Soft Brown Sugar

1tsp Ground Ginger

75g Chopped Stem Ginger (About 4)

2 Pears (Peeled, cored and roughly chopped)

100g Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4, grease a 22cm loaf tin and line the base with baking paper. In a bowl or large jug mix together the vegetable oil, milk, syrup and eggs. Set to one side, so you can get on with the dry ingredients. In a fresh bowl combine the flour, cocoa, sugar and ground ginger. Pour in the wet ingredients and beat, until you are left with a smooth batter. Fold through the chopped ginger, pears and chocolate chips, then pour into your prepared tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for 60 minutes, until a metal skewer can be cleanly removed from the centre. Once cooked, leave for 30 minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack until completely cool. Easy! 

Lemon and Coconut Cookies

These delicious little cookies are a great antidote to all this grey and wet weather we've been having. Sweet and perfumed with lemon, the coconut adds a toasty nuttiness that I think works really well. You should get about 18-20 cookies out of this mixture and I make in three batches, mainly because I can only trust the temperature on one the shelves in my oven!

Prep time: 10 Mins (Plus a couple of hours chilling time)

Baking time: 15 Mins

150g Unsalted Butter (Softened)

200g Caster Sugar

2 Medium Eggs

Zest of 1 Lemon

100g Dessicated Coconut

1/2tsp Baking Powder

225g Plain Flour

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Add in your lemon zest and dessicated coconut, then sift in the baking powder with the flour. Mix it all together until combined. Lay out two sheets of cling film, one on top of the other then spoon out the mixture across the middle. Roll up into a sausage and place in the fridge for at least two hours (You could even do this the night before), until your sausage is firm to the touch (innuendo alert).

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Break off some dough, roll it into a walnut sized ball, then place on the tray. Repeat, leaving a space between the balls as the dough will spread during baking. Place in the oven for 15-16 minutes, until the edges of the cookies start to turn a golden brown. When done, remove from the oven and carefully slide the paper onto a wire rack. Repeat the process for the rest of the dough, but don't rush. If you crowd your baking tray you'll end up with a doughy mass instead of lovely biscuity cookies. 

When the cookies have cooled for half an hour, peel them off of their paper and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Ta dah!