I was looking for a small cake to bake for teatime over the holidays. I wanted a cake that would be very similar to a fruit cake in texture and somewhat dense, like the cakes in Great Britain are. Sturdy cakes, not little puffs of air. Cakes that are very much at home on the tea table and enjoyed with hot cups of tea.
I baked them this morning and was very pleased with the results. I could not resist enjoying one with a hot cup of chocolate. The rest have been stored in a tin for a bit later on. Stored properly these will cake for several days. They will also freeze well.
If you can't get glace cherries, feel free to use some dried sour cherries, or maraschino cherries, rinsed and dried. Both work well.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHOCOLATE CHIP CHERRY CAKES
Very simple baking cupboard ingredients. The only thing you might have to pop out and buy are the cherries.
- 3/4 cup (172g) butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 1 1/2 cups (210g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup (120ml) warm, undiluted, evaporated milk
- 3/4 cup (113g) glace cherries, chopped
- 2/3 cup (118g) chocolate chips (I used a mix of semi-sweet and milk chocolate)
I just used regular salted butter. I never keep unsalted butter in the house. I prefer to keep a butter that I can use for many purposes. If salt offends you you can always reduce the amount of salt in a recipe to compensate.
Glace Cherries are candied cherries. They come in a variety of colors. I had red and green ones. Some of the red ones were starting to change color a bit by being in the same tin with the green. Just wash and dry them before chopping. I chopped each one into quarters.
Evaporated milk is milk from a tin that has been treated to remove some of the liquid. Do not confuse it with the sweetened condensed milk. No sugar has been added, and they are not the same thing at all.
Barry uses 3 tsp of lemon extract in his recipe. I felt that was too overpowering and risked the cakes tasting like perfume. I used only 1 tsp and that was plenty. In fact I might even cut that back to 1/2 tsp. Lemon extract has a very strong flavor and perfume that can take over if not used carefully.
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE CHIP CHERRY CAKES
These are fairly simple to make. I found that mine did take a bit longer than the recipe to bake. You will be able to tell when the time is up if you need to keep them in longer or not. The tops should be set and spring back when lightly touched. Mine took an additional five minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325*F/160*C/ gas mark 3. Butter a medium muffin tin really well and dust with flour, shaking out any excess. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the extracts.
Sift the flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Add alternately to the creamed mixture along with the milk, folding it in and making three dry and two wet additions. Fold in the cherries and chocolate chips.
Divide the batter equally amongst the muffin tins.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until risen, golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top should spring back when lightly touched. (It may take longer. Use your judgement, but don't overbake.)
Leave in the tin for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
At first I thought perhaps these had not turned out and I was a bit disappointed. They came out of the oven well risen, but then they dropped a bit. All of my fear was for naught however.
These are a lovely dense cake with a beautiful buttery flavor, lovely crumb and lots of cherries and chocolate chips. I did dust them with some icing sugar to pretty them up for serving.
Some other small cakes baked here in The English Kitchen that you might enjoy are:
ORANGE BLOSSOM CAKES - Delightful little dense cakes, flavored with orange flower water. Buttery and sweet and iced with a lush buttercream frosting. Orange blossom water is a culinary flavouring which is distilled from the fragrant blossoms of the orange tree. It has a distinctive citrusy floral aroma and adds an unmistakable orange flavour to recipes.
SCOTTISH DUNDEE CAKES - You can either bake this as a large cake or as smaller individual cakes. This is a buttery dense fruited cake, filled with loads of dried currants. Topped with blanched almonds prior to baking, they have a lovely citrus flavor and beautiful texture.
Yield: makes one dozen medium cakes
Chocolate Chip Cherry Cakes
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 35 Min
Dense and buttery and stuffed with loads of candied cherries and chocolate chips. You can use dried cherries instead of the candied (glace) cherries or you can use maraschino cherries, rinsed and dried.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (172g) butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 1 1/2 cups (210g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup (120ml) warm, undiluted, evaporated milk
- 3/4 cup (113g) glace cherries, chopped
- 2/3 cup (118g) chocolate chips (I used a mix of semi-sweet and milk chocolate)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325*F/160*C/ gas mark 3. Butter a medium muffin tin really well and dust with flour, shaking out any excess. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the extracts.
- Sift the flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Add alternately to the creamed mixture along with the milk, folding it in and making three dry and two wet additions. Fold in the cherries and chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter equally amongst the muffin tins.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until risen, golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top should spring back when lightly touched. (It may take longer. Use your judgement, but don't overbake.)
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan@aol.com
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Lemon Cookie Cups. If the title along doesn't make your taste buds tingle, perhaps the description will! What you have here are two-bite-sized sugar cookie cups filled with a rich and tangy lush and sweet lemon curd.
Are they tingling yet? I hope so because these cookie cups are amazing and would be the perfect addition to any Holiday Cookie Tray for celebrating or gift giving. They would also be perfect to serve at any kind of wedding or shower, or tea party for that matter!
These tasty little cookie cups remind me very much of Lemon Bars. I adapted the recipe from one I found on Six Sisters! I am crazy about lemon anything and when I saw these I immediately had to print out the recipe!
I really despair of the light at this time of year. My lemon filling doesn't look as yellow as theirs does. But trust me when I tell you it is beautiful and lemony, be it bright yellow or not!
You can of course, use a ready made Lemon Curd if you don't want to go to all the trouble of making your own. There are many quality ones available today.
It really isn't that hard to make your own however and so if you are keen I say go for it! Homemade lemon curd is the best!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE LEMON COOKIE CUPS
You probably have everything you need in the kitchen right now to make these delicious cookie cups! I always keep lemons in my kitchen. I envy anyone who has a lemon tree in their yard who can just go outside and pick them! Lemons are one of my favorite fruits!
For the lemon filling:
- 6 TBS (about 85g) butter softened
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 2 large free range eggs divided
- 2 large free range egg yolks
- ⅔ cup (160ml) lemon juice
For the cookie cups:
- 2 3/4 cups (344g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup (227g) butter softened
- 1 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
You will also need:
- Icing sugar to dust the tops when done
Lemons yield about 1/4 cup (60ml) of juice per lemon. Did you know how to pick good lemons? Pick lemons that are unblemished, firm, heavy and thin skinned. Thick skinned lemons tend to be dryer.
Also a lemon that is light (weight wise) will not yield much juice. Bring your lemons to room temperature and roll them firmly across the counter beneath your palm a few times and they will yield even more juice!
I always scrub my lemons also. This helps to get rid of any pesticides, insect eggs, etc. If there is mold on your lemons DON"T buy them! A good lemon will not have any mold on it.
We are coming into citrus season in January/February. This is when citrus fruit is at its best and freshest. Did you know you can freeze lemon juice and zest? You can. Both freeze beautifully.
It is an easy thing to buy a whole net bag of lemons during season and wash them, then finely grate the zest from them, pop it into a zip lock baggie and freeze. Or you can dry it in a dehydrator, which works very well also.
They can then be juiced, the juiced poured into ice cube trays and then frozen. Pop the frozen cubes out and into some zip lock baggies and you are good to go. You will have fresh frozen lemon juice on tap whenever you need it. So very handy! Each cube will hold about 1 TBS of lemon juice!
HOW TO MAKE LEMON COOKIE CUPS
These are really not that involved. If the thought of making a lemon curd frightens you, by all meals use a ready made curd!
Preheat oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in a small bowl and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar together in a larger bowl until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in dry ingredients until combined. You may need to knead it a few minutes with your hands to really bring the dough together.
Roll into 1 inch balls and place into the prepared muffin tin. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
Press the insides of the cookies down with the backside of a wooden spoon to make an indent for filling. Leave in the pan and cool completely.
For the Lemon curd filling, cream together the 6 Tablespoons softened butter with 1 cup (200g) of the sugar. Mix in 2 whole eggs and the 2 egg yolks, beating until well combined.
Whisk in the lemon juice thoroughly and then pour the filling mixture into a saucepan. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly for about 5 minutes until smooth and thickened.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave to cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon about a teaspoon of the curd into each cooled cookie cup. Place the muffin tin in fridge for 30 minutes, or until lemon curd has set up.
Carefully remove the cups from the pan and dust with icing sugar to serve. Store in the refrigerator.
These were incredibly moreish, dangerous almost. I found myself wondering how wonderful they would be filled with some of my lemon, lime and ginger curd.
I would think that they are also delicious filled with dulce de leche, or jam, or even marmalade! Mmm . . . Hazelnut spread would also be very nice!
Some other fancy cookie cups, tarts, etc. that you might also enjoy that I have baked here in The English Kitchen are:
CAPE BRETON PORK PIES - Also called "Porkie Pies" which is Cockney rhyming slang for lies. Because there is no pork at all in these lovely filled cookies. What you have here is a brown sugar cookie cup filled with a sweet date filling and topped with a buttercream icing. Delicious morsels of tastiness! These are fabulous on a holiday cookie tray!
LEMON BUTTER TARTS - These tangy, yet sweet and rich tarts have all of the appeal of a butter tart except that the filling is made with lemon. I added dried currants to half of them. Currants and lemon go very well together. These go perfect with a hot cup of tea, or served as a dessert with a dollop of whipped cream on top!
Yield: 24 cookie cups
Lemon Cookie Cups
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 18 MinInactive time: 30 MinTotal time: 1 H & 3 M
Sweet and tart, these always go down a real treat. If you don't want to make the lemon filling from scratch you can use a good quality ready made lemon curd. They are delicious either way!
Ingredients
For the lemon filling:
- 6 TBS (about 85g) butter softened
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 2 large free range eggs divided
- 2 large free range egg yolks
- ⅔ cup (160ml) lemon juice
For the cookie cups:
- 2 3/4 cups (344g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup (227g) butter softened
- 1 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
You will also need:
- Icing sugar to dust the tops when done
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a larger bowl until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in dry ingredients until combined. You may need to knead it a few minutes with your hands to really bring the dough together.
- Roll into 1 inch balls and place into the prepared muffin tin. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Press the insides of the cookies down with the backside of a wooden spoon to make an indent for filling. Leave in the pan and cool completely.
- For the Lemon curd filling, cream together the 6 Tablespoons softened butter with 1 cup (200g) of the sugar. Mix in 2 whole eggs and the 2 egg yolks, beating until well combined.
- Whisk in the lemon juice thoroughly and then pour the filling mixture into a saucepan. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly for about 5 minutes until smooth and thickened.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave to cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon about a teaspoon of the curd into each cooled cookie cup. Place the muffin tin in fridge for 30 minutes, or until lemon curd has set up.
- Carefully remove the cups from the pan and dust with icing sugar to serve. Store in the refrigerator.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
Here I am again with another Vintage Menu Madness Meal. I do so hope you enjoy me sharing these Vintage Recipes as much as I enjoy preparing them.
I have always been interested in Vintage Cookbooks, recipes and cookery. I find the cooking of the past fascinating along with the history of food. I do follow a lot of Vintage Channels on YouTube which I really enjoy watching.
It was my thought that you might also enjoy these older recipes. That perhaps they might remind you of your mother's or grandmother's cooking. Perhaps of a happy childhood. I know they do me.
Truth be told however, I don't get a lot of feedback on these posts. I am starting to rethink things a bit. I had thought that perhaps you might find them as interesting as I do, but I don't really think that they do.
These posts are a lot of work to put together, but if you are not really interested in them, it may be that I shouldn't continue with them. I think this one may be my last one cooking a whole menu. I will still cook a Vintage Recipe from time to time, but as far as a whole menu goes, unless I am convinced otherwise, this will be the last one.
At any rate this is the last one for December.
I struggle so much with the lighting at this time of year. My little place is very dark at the best of times. Most of my food photos are taken by the front window on a small tv tray. I may have to invest in a good source of light in the new year. I have always tried to use natural light whenever possible.
I take the photos of the whole menu, with the dishes on their individual serving plates on my Dining Room Table. That is the only place I can get the whole thing in. Not ideal.
This week's menu was from a mix of places. The Pork Chops came from my Big Blue Binder. The Corn & Potato Scallop is something my mother used to make for us. The applesauce is my own and the dessert came from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook (1953).
The Menu for this week is for a hearty pork chop supper with potatoes, a vegetable, pickles, homemade applesauce and a scrumptious date and nut pudding for dessert. Here is the menu in it's entirety.
CRUMB BAKED PORK CHOPS
HOMEMADE APPLE SAUCE
CORN SCALLOPED POTATOES
FRENCH STYLE GREEN BEANS
SWEET MIXED PICKLES
DATE PUDDING
HOMEMADE APPLE SAUCE
CORN SCALLOPED POTATOES
FRENCH STYLE GREEN BEANS
SWEET MIXED PICKLES
DATE PUDDING
(with whipped cream)
I feel like I have to apologize for the way these chops look. They look quite orange, but that is just the lighting in my Dining Room on a cold December day. I hope it doesn't put you off from wanting to make them. They are tender and delicious.
The meat remains moist and succulent and that coating nice and crisp, which is surprising. These are a chop I have been baking for my family for years. They have always loved them. I got the recipe from one of my mother's old cookbooks and hand copied it down into my Big Blue Binder many years ago.
It may have been in her Lawrencetown Co-op cookbook. I am not sure. Lawrencetown is the community my mother grew up in. She was given this cookbook as a wedding shower gift before she got married in 1954.
Back in the day most communities had their own community cookbook, comprised of the tried and trues, the favorite recipes from the women in the town.
These cookbooks have always been filled with real gems. Such is the way with these chops! They are truly delicious.
Yield: Variable
Crumb Baked Pork Chops
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 Hour
Ingredients and instructions are given for one chop. Simply multiply by as many chops as you need or want to cook. These always come out tender and delicious with a buttery crumb coating. Cook time will vary according to the thickness of your chops.
Ingredients
- 1 bone in pork chop per person
- salt, pepper, dried sage and onion granules
- 2 TBS of fine dry bread crumbs per chop
- butter to dot
- fruit juice (apple, orange, cranberry, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Pat the pork chops dry and then place them onto a baking sheet with a raised edge, which you have lined with foil and buttered. The size of baking sheet depends on how many chops you are cooking. Obviously if you are only cooking one or two you will want a smaller baking tray.
- Dust the top surface of each chop with some salt, pepper, sage (rubbed between your fingertips) and onion granules to taste. Then sprinkle a tablespoon of bread crumbs evenly over top of each one. Dot with butter. Pour fruit juice into the baking tray evenly around the chops, trying not to disturb the crumbs on top.
- Place the tray into the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, checking to make sure the apple juice does not boil dry in the pan. Once the crumbs have begun to brown on top, remove the pan from the oven.
- Carefully turn each chop over without disturbing the crumb topping and repeat the process for seasoning and crumbing on the underside. If you need more juice in the pan, once again pour it around the chops.
- Return the pan to the oven and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, until nicely browned on top and the juices have thickened into a bit of a sauce. Check every 5 to 6 minutes or so to make sure the pan is not going dry and top up with more juice if need be. Serve hot with some of the pan juices spooned over top. Fabulous!
One thing which always goes really well with pork chops is apple sauce. I love applesauce with any kind of pork actually. It is great with a roast or with chops.
Today I used the Sweet Tart Apples to make the apple sauce, but you can use any good cooking apples to make it. In the U.K. I used to use Bramley Apples. They cooked up nice and fluffy.
Sweet Tart Apples is a new variety of apple here in Nova Scotia. This is the first year they had them at Spurr's Farm Market. They have a beautiful pink flesh which gives the applesauce a lovely deep pink color.
Apple Sauce
Yield: 6
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 25 Min
Perfect in every way. Slightly tart with just a hint of sweetness. The best condiment to go with pork.
Ingredients
- 3 large cooking apples, peeled cored and sliced (about 3 cups)
- 1/4 cup (50g) caster sugar
- 3 1/2 TBS (50g) butter
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Tip all of the ingredients into a pan. Cover tightly with a lid.
- Cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, or until the apples are very soft and have broken down.
- Beat with a fork to break down the apples, or mash with a potato masher.
- Serve immediately or tip into a bowl, cover and chill until needed.
Corn Scalloped Potatoes is something that my mother used to make for us when we were growing up. We loved it. I used to make it for my own children as well.
It is a simple and old fashioned scalloped potato dish made in a simple way with canned creamed corn added between the layers.
Occasionally if I am feeling especially indulgent I will add some grated cheese to the layers as well. This makes them especially rich and delicious. You can also add bits of cooked ham
Whichever way you choose to make it, you are sure to find that this is a comforting and homey dish which goes with just about anything. Roast pork. Pork Chops. Fish. Chicken. Ham. Ham Steaks, etc.
Enjoy!
Yield: 2 - 3
Corn and Potato Scallop
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 Hour
This old fashioned side dish is an old family favorite. You can multiply it very easily to serve more people if you wish. Its delicious, easy to make and goes with just about any protein you can think of!
Ingredients
- 1 large potato, peeled
- 1 small onion, peeled
- 1 can of creamed corn (you may not need it all)
- 2 TBS flour to sprinkle
- salt and black pepper
- grated cheddar cheese to sprinkle (about 4 TBS)
- a handful of buttered cracker crumbs
- milk as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a small (2 cup/1 pint) deep glass baking dish.
- Cut the potato in half lengthwise and then cut into thin half-moons cross-wise. Do the same with the onion.
- Place 1/4 of the creamed corn in the bottom of the casserole dish. Top with 1/4 of the potatoes and the onions. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with 1/2 TBS flour and 1 TBS of the cheese. Repeat 3 times until you have all layered in the dish.
- Pour the milk over top, using the tip of a knife to move things around a tiny bit in order to allow it to get down to the bottom. Do not fill more than 1/3 of the baking dish with milk. Scatter the buttered cracker crumbs on top and then cover tightly with a lid.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the potatoes are soft and everything is bubbling. Uncover and allow to brown for about 10 minutes.
- Remove and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
You may want to place the casserole dish on a baking tray just in case it bubbles over in the oven. Also, I sometimes start this in the microwave to help it cook quicker. About 6 minutes on high, and then pop into the oven as above. It should be done in 35 minutes or so.
This is the type of thing my mother would occasionally buy. I am not that fussy about most canned vegetables and cannot stand canned peas, but I do love canned green beans. Funny that!
The Sweet Mix Pickles are Bick's Brand of Sweet Mix Pickles. They include pearl onions and cauliflower as well as cucumber. This is the kind my mother always had.
I really missed them when I was living in the U.K. They did not have pickles like this at all over there. They did have pickled onions and gherkins, but they were very sour, especially the pickled onions. And those were pickled in Malt Vinegar.
The favorite part of the sweet mix pickles was always the cauliflower and the onion. There were usually only two or three pieces per jar. They were treasures and we used to fight over who was going to get them! That's one good thing about living on my own! They are all mine!
This date pudding intrigued me. It is very similar to a butter tart filling, without the crust on the bottom. Its also similar to my Walnut Slices, which are a scrumptious cookie bar with a blondie like base, topped with a walnut meringue.
The Walnuts fall to the center of the bar somewhere between the brown sugar meringue and blondie base. They are incredibly scrumptious.
It was a very simple pudding to make, containing very few ingredients. And none of them were complicated.
The original pudding contained walnuts. My family doesn't really like walnuts in desserts, and since I was going to be taking the bulk of the dessert over to my sister's afterwards, I switched the walnuts out for pecans, quite successfully.
.JPG "Date Pudding")
This was one very sweet dessert, with plenty of sugar in it as well as sticky sweet dates. You will want to serve it warm with something like ice cream or whipped cream to help cut the sweetness a bit.
It was however, very delicious, served warm, in small amounts. It separates like magic giving you a lovely crisp crust on top and a gooey fruity nutty base on the bottom. Positively scrumptious.
Yield: makes 6 servings
Date Pudding
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 10 M
This sweet dessert is really delicious. Best served warm in small portions with either some softened unsweetened whipped cream or ice cream to help cut the sweetness. A very simple make.
Ingredients
- 3 large free range eggs
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 1/4 cup (35g) all purpose, plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup (151g) chopped, stoned dates
- 1 cup (116g) chopped toasted walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish really well. Set aside. Place a baking tin partially filled with hot water into the oven. It should be large enough to hold the baking dish comfortably.
- Beat the eggs with the sugar until very light and voluminous. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold in the dates and the nuts.
- Pour into the prepared baking dish. Set the baking dish in the pan of hot water in the oven.
- Bake for one hour until nicely puffed and set. Serve warm, spooned into bowls along with some whipped cream or ice cream.
I want you to enjoy and to be interested in the things I post! So do let me know!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan@aol.com
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
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