Showing posts with label Baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baking. Show all posts
You are going to love this recipe I am sharing with you today. It is Irish Tea Brack, and as one would suppose hails from Ireland. (Have I ever told you our landlord is Irish?)
It is a very traditional Irish recipe which is kind of a cross between a cake and a bread. The word Brack comes from an old Irish word "breac" which means speckled, and this lovely bread/cake is certainly well speckled with fruit!
It used three vine fruits . . . raisins, sultanas (or golden raisins) and currants. These are soaked overnight in some cold tea.
I try to use a really strong tea to do breads like this so I tend to leave the tea bag in the water until it goes cold.
This recipe comes from the book "Homemade" by Irish cook Clodagh McKenna. It is the nicest brack recipe I have ever baked, and I have baked a few.
The book is largely out of print now, but you can still find it in some second hand shops as well as buy it from sellers online. Its a great book that I highly recommend!
You can also add the finely grated zest of a lemon to the mix.
Its not necessarily traditional, but it does add a nice flavour if you have it. I rather like it myself.
Its actually a very simple recipe. You begin by soaking the fruit overnight in the tea.
The next morning, you sift together flour, mixed spice, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Easy peasy.
Mixed spice is a very British thing . . . a mix of the warm baking spices . . . traditionally it is about half cinnamon . . . then ground coriander, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Some brands will also have ground pimento in it.
I have a recipe that you can make your own on separate page entitled "Make Your Own" here on the blog. You can access that here.
Once you get all the dry ingredients sifted together, you can stir in some sugar. Once you have done that you can add the soaked fruits, along with any tea left in the soaking bowl.
A beaten egg then gets stirred into the batter.
Mix all together until there are no dry areas in the dough and everything is well mixed.
Spoon the batter into a buttered and lined tin and bake . . .
One hour later you will be rewarded with a delicious fruity loaf that your family will love!
It smells absolutely gorgeous when it is baking.
My husband came downstairs yesterday morning sniffing the air thinking all of his Christmas's had come at once. Yes, it smells that good!
We like it sliced thinly and spread with softened butter. This goes down a real treat with a hot cuppa!
Irish Tea Brack
Yield: 1 loaf
You are going to love this traditional Irish tea loaf! Moist, delicious and fat free! You don't need to feel guilty spreading slices of it with butter because there is none in the bread!
ingredients:
- 350g mixed dried vine fruits (raisins, sultanas and currants) (2 1/2 cups)
- 300ml cold tea, strong (1 1/4 cups)
- 120g caster sugar (1/2 cup, plus 2 TBS)
- 1 large free range egg, beaten lightly
- 250g plain flour (1 3/4 cup)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 2 tsp mixed spice (see my recipe in the right hand side bar, or if on a mobile device down at the bottom of the page)
instructions:
How to cook Irish Tea Brack
- Place all the dried fruit into a bowl. Cover with the cold tea, cover and leave overnight to infuse.
- The next morning preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 1 kg loaf tin (2 pound) and line the bottom with paper. (I make an overhang so I can lift it out easily.)
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and mixed spice. Add the fruit along with any tea still in the bowl, and the beaten egg. Mix well. Spoon into the prepared tin, levelling it off.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour until risen, golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cold store in an airtight container. This will keep up to two weeks. (Not that you will have it that long!) Serve cut into slices, spread with softened butter, if desired.
Properly stored, this lovely loaf will keep up to two weeks. I seriously doubt it will be around that long however. Yes, it is THAT good!
Make Your Own Mixed Spice: You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.
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 at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
One of my favourite of all the British cakes has to be the Madeira Cake. It is a very easy cake to make. It can be quite unremarkable to look at, but when done properly, it is quite simply a lovely cake to eat and to enjoy!
I have often thought it is very reminiscent of North America Pound Cake. It has a dense moist crumb and a beautiful texture.
My mother would often buy a slab of pound cake when she shopped for our groceries. For us it was a real treat! We did not get sweet things or dessert very often.
My mother had been overweight as a child, a chubby young girl. It was really important to her that her children not suffer the same fate. As a result sweet and fattening things were a rarity in our home, which only made them more desirable.
She would cut the pound cake into thin slices and serve it with tinned peaches or ice cream for dessert, and if we were really lucky all three!
Nothing ever tasted better to our way of thinking. Or maybe we were just starved for dessert. I think not however as Pound Cake is a favourite with many people and they can't all be wrong!
You would think with a name like Madeira Cake, this cake would have a somewhat exotic history. Alas, it does not.
Whilst its ingredients are about as simple as you can get . . . butter, sugar, lemon zest, eggs, flour and milk . . . its history is a bit less straightforward . . .
There are a few misconceptions about this cake . . . one being that it hails from the Portuguese Island of Madeira, and another that it contains Madeira wine . . . neither of which is true. This cake is quintessentially, purely British in origin!
I kid you not! Its quite true.
One of its earliest published recipes was by Eliza Acton in her book, Modern cookery for Private families in 1845. Her recipe went as follows:
The name Madeira comes from the early British penchant for enjoying slivers of this delectable cake along with glasses of Madeira wine, which complemented it perfectly, or so I am told. (I don't drink wine so I can't tell you for sure!)
I can tell you, however, that is has a firm light texture which I find quite enjoyable. Its not light in the least, quite like a pound cake.
Its dense crumbly texture makes it the ideal cake for enjoying with a hot cuppa! You can also find it with cherries in it and I have seen it in the shops, split, filled with a thin layer of butter cream icing and then decorated with a glace icing on top.
You can buy it here in narrow slabs, iced or not, with or without cherries, sometimes with nuts, often split and iced with a butter icing in the middle and a glaze icing on top.
I prefer it this way . . . plain and simple. At its very basic as befits a fabulous cake which has enough redeeming qualities as to render it totally enjoyable all on its own, with only a hot cuppa to go along with it.
Traditionally thin slivers of candied lemon peel are laid across the top while it is baking . . .
I am not sure why this is done . . . but it does add a nice bit of decoration to an otherwise very plain cake . . . or maybe it is to help to disguise the inevitable crack which always shows up along the top of the cake.
I am rather fond of the flavour of peel myself. Today I candied my own peel to lay across the top of this cake.
The cake itself is flavoured plainly with some lemon zest, although I have also seen people add vanilla to it . . .
I prefer it with just lemon, but then . . . I am a simple girl with simple tastes. It does not take a lot to please me. Simple things done well will do the trick every time.
With vanilla or without . . . candied lemon on top or not . . . with wine or with tea . . . I think you will agree with me in thinking that this is a most agreeable and delicious cake to enjoy no matter how you choose to enjoy it!
Boy
I tell you this simple cake blows that horrible almond/omelet cake that
I baked the other day right out of the water! I would much rather have
a real cake. There is no real comparison at all! You can't beat the real thing.
Madeira Cake
Yield: Serves 8
A lovely teatime cake. Dense and delicious and lightly flavoured with lemon.
ingredients:
- 175g softened butter (3/4 cup)
- 175g caster sugar (1 cup minus 2 TBS)
- the finely grated zest of one lemon
- 3 large free range eggs, beaten
- 115g plain flour (1 cup, less 2 1/2 TBS)
- 115g self raising flour (1 cup, less 2 1/2 TBS)
- 1 - 2 TBS whole milk
- thin slivers of candied lemon peel to decorate the top
instructions:
How to cook Madeira Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter and line a medium sized loaf tin with baking paper.
- Sift the flours together. Set aside.
- Rub the lemon peel into the sugar until very fragrant. Cream together with the softened butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs a bit at a time. If the mixture starts to curdle at all, add a spoonful of the flour as needed. Fold the remaining flour into the creamed mixture. Stir in milk as needed to give you a batter with a soft dropping consistency.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, levelling the surface. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven and lay the lemon peel on top, then return to the oven and bake for a further 40 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into slices to serve. You can dust with icing sugar if you wish. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
Spiced Pear Pinch Muffins. Prepare yourself to fall in love with these beautiful pear muffins. Perfectly sized to create only a tiny, yet hugely delicious indulgence.
I've been really thinking lately about reducing the amount of refined sugars and fat that we consume. I heard on the television the other day that people who eat a diet which contains a lot of highly processed foods don't live as long as other people. Food for thought there.
I don't think this knowledge is going to make much of an impact on most people. So long as the food industry continues to offer highly processed food at a lower price than good and wholesome foods, I can't see that changing.
The facts are staring you right in the face when you go into the shops. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out.
If I had a house full of children, was living on a limited income, and I had the choice between a plastic bag holding a handful of green beans or a paper sack holding half a dozen large sausage rolls for about half the price . . . the choice is easy.
It would take several bags of the green beans to feed your children and keep them filled. Or, you could buy a couple bags of the sausage rolls and keep them full and happy at half the cost.
Good food is expensive. End of . . .
Sad but true. Someone needs to get on board with that fact and make processed foods more expensive and good food cheaper.
Anyways, I digress . . . I will get off my soap box now.
In my efforts to make a lower sugar muffin, I created these Spiced Pear Pinch Muffins.
No flour, just oats, making them gluten free.
No refined sugars . . . just a bit of Maple Syrup . . .
No fat, just a medium banana and 2 tinned pear halves, which also add some fiber and sweetness . . .
There is one egg in the lot, as well as some cinnamon and cardamom . . . both ground, along with a bit of salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
You blitz it all in a blender until smooth and then spoon into mini muffin tins you have sprayed with some low fat cooking spray.
Eight to ten minutes in the oven is all it takes. At the end of that time . . . presto chango!
Just look at how high they rose! Lovely!
And they have a beautiful texture. I felt good eating one of these . . . like a real earth mother. Healthy, low fat, filled with fibre and no refined sugars. You can't go wrong!
Yield: About 24
Spiced Pear Pinch Muffins
Delicious little bite sized muffins that are gluten and refined sugar free. They are also gorgeously fat free! I know, amazing!
ingredients:
- 80g dry old fashioned large flake oatmeal (1 cup)
- 1 medium ripe banana
- 2 tinned pear halves (in juice), well drained
- 1 large free range egg
- 3 TBS pure Maple Syrup (I like the amber Grade)
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
instructions:
How to cook Spiced Pear Pinch Muffins
- Preheat your oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Spray a mini non-stick muffin tin with some low fat cooking spray. Set aside.
- Measure the oats, banana, pear halves, egg, maple syrup, cinnamon, cardamom, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a blender. Blend on low for 20 seconds or so. Scrape down the sides and then blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes or until all of the oats are completely ground, and the mixture is smooth.
- Spoon into the mini muffin tin, filling each hole 2/3 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until well risen and golden brown. Tip out onto a wire rack. Serve warm or cold. Store any leftovers in a tightly covered container.
They really are good. If you are not fond of cardamom just use 2 tsp of ground cinnamon.
I think any mother would feel good about feeding these to her children, don't you??
Can you imagine opening the door of your little cottage in the morning and seeing that someone had dropped amazingly huge muffins into your front garden during the night? I know! Talk about manna from Heaven!
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
One thing I always have in my refrigerator is a tin of refrigerated Croissant Roll Dough. Over here the leading brand is Easy Roll and I know in North America it is Pillsbury. A bit of a cheat, but when you have a tin of those in the fridge a fresh and delicious bread to serve on the side with your meals is never far away!
They are very convenient and easy to use, taste great, and you can do so much with them! I just love trying out new ways to use them. This is my latest experiment.
Caesar Croissant Rolls. Delicious and quick and easy!
The tin makes six rolls here in the UK, and I know it is more in North America. Is it 8? I can't remember. It's been about 19 years since I have lived there!
I think the ones we have over here are a little bit more like real croissants, but no worries, they will be delicious no matter which ones you use!
You only need a few ingredients, the main one being Caesar Salad Dressing. I used Pizza Kitchen Caesar Salad Dressing because that is what I had to hand. I do not recommend using a low fat dressing . . .
The regular dressing will give you a much better result and flavour. I find that when they take the fat out of things, they put sugar in, so go for the full fat version. I think sugar is much more worse for you than fat.
It also used Garlic Italian Herb Seasoning . . . .
This is the one I always buy and no . . . I haven't been given any or paid to tell you so. Its just what I like and what I use, and I use it a lot. Sometimes I like to brush crackers with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle some of this on and bake. Very moreish!
So anyways, you unroll the croissants and you brush them all over with some Caesar salad dressing and give them a sprinkle of the herb seasoning . . . you don't need a lot.
The other thing you will need is Parmesan cheese.
This is the one I buy. I use it for cooking and things like this, but for everything else I like to grate my cheese fresh. This works beautifully in things like these rolls however.
So you sprinkle that over the unrolled croissants also and then roll them up, from the wide end to the narrow tip. I like to tuck in the ends a bit so nothing leaks out. (Yes that is boxed macaroni and cheese . . . with tomatoes in it.)
Sometimes you just crave what you crave . . . and that is one of my favourite things. Boxed mac and cheese with a tin of chopped tomatoes mixed into it.
Once you get them rolled up, just place them onto a baking paper lined baking sheet, brush with a bit more salad dressing, sprinkle on some of that garlic seasoning, and a bit of cheese and bake. Bazinga! Delicious hot rolls with hardly any work and served up pronto! Yum!
Caesar Croissant Rolls
Yield: 6 - 8 (depending on where you live)
A snappy little roll filled with flavour that goes well with salads, soups, etc. Quick and easy to make and oh so tasty!
ingredients:
- 1 tin of refrigerated Croissant dough
- about 6 TBS of good quality Caesar salad dressing
- 6 to 8 TBS grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for dusting
- Garlic Italian seasoning spice mix
instructions:
How to cook Caesar Croissant Rolls
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Crack open the croissant tin and separate the croissants. Brush some Caesar Salad Dressing onto each croissant to cover. Sprinkle with a bit of garlic seasoning and 1 TBS of the grated Parmesan cheese. Roll up tightly from the wide end to the narrow end, tucking in the ends to seal. Place onto the prepared baking sheet in a crescent shape. Brush some salad dressing over top and lightly sprinkle with more Italian seasoning and cheese.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until puffed and golden brown, or according to the package directions. Serve warm.
You can see how flaky the rolls over here are. Really yummy. So . . . tell me, what naughty nasty thing do you crave when it comes to eating? Do you secretly munch on Velveeta cheese? Do you tuck into a tin of Beefaroni every now and then? Do you binge on iced Pop Tarts (with or without sprinkles)? Do tell! I really want to know!
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