I don't want all of you purists out there saying that Stollen doesn't belong in an English Kitchen . If the shops are anything to go by at this time of year, Stollen is definitely an English Christmas tradition, even if it is a German recipe. The supermarket shelves are filled with them!



There's almost as many stollen on the shelves as mince pies! And not just full sized stollen either, scrummy stollen slices and little stollen bites . . . another weakness of mine . . . I just adore them.

All buttery and fruity and moreishly yummy.



I haven't quite taken to the full sized loaves though . . . they always seem a bit dry and dull, that's why I always go for the bites or slices . . . they're definitely a moister mouthful.



Up until recently I had never tasted anything other than a store bought Stollen and like I said, I was not totally impressed. This year, since the arrival of the new breadmaker, I thought I'd try to make one from scratch.



Using the dough cycle of the machine, natch. How hard could it be?



It turns out, not hard at all! It was really quite easy, and you get the bonus of an extra loaf to give away to a beloved friend.



This was so good we've already eaten the first one all up . . . time to make another couple of loaves!! Yummo!!



I wonder how long the next one will last. This one didn't even make it through the week waiting period . . . sigh . . . I know . . . ME<====CoMpLeTeLy InCoRrIgIbLe!! ahem . . . and a bit of a pig . . . but shhh . . . don't tell anyone! ☺



*Christmas Stollen*
Makes 2
(One to keep and one to give away!)
Printable Recipe

I had never eaten anything other than storebought stollen up until this year. I'll never buy it again. There is just no comparison!
Done in the dough cycle of the bread machine for ease.

Dough:
7g packet of easybake yeast
1 pound 2 ounces of strong white bread flour (4 1/2 cups)
3 ounces golden caster sugar (scant 1/2 cup)
1 tsp fine sea salt
5 1/2 ounces unsalted butter, cut into small bits (2/3 cup)
150ml of milk (approx. 2/3 cup)
2 large free range eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Fruit and nut mixture:
5 ounces raisins (1 cup)
4 ounces currants (2/3 cup)
4 ounces chopped mixed peel (2/3 cup)
4 ounces chopped, blanched almonds (1 cup)
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 tsp ground cinnamon or cardamom
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 TBS rum (Optional, can use fruit juice)

To fill:
250g (1/2 pound) marzipan

5 ounces unsalted butter melted (scant 2/3 cup)
icing sugar to dust

Put all the dough ingredients into your breadmaker according to the directions for the breadmaker. Select the white dough setting and press start.

Meanwhile combine the fruit and nut mixture in a bowl and leave to stand while the dough works. Once the dough cycle has finished, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surgace and knead lightly, knocking out the air until smooth. Roll out until about an inch thick. Spread the fruit and nut mixture over top, roll up and then knead until well incorporated. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and roll each out to an oval about 1 inch thick and pleace each on a seperate buttered baking sheet.

Using the side of your hand make an indentation down the middle of each oval. Roll the marzipan into two long sausage shapes. Lay one roll down the length of each oval slightly off to one side. Fold the dough over top to cover (lengthwise) so that the top layer doesn't quite meet the side of the bottom layer. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm room for about 30 minutes. It does not need to double in size.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Remove the tea towels and then bake the stollen for 45 minutes in the heated oven until cooked through. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool. Brush all over with the melted butter until it is all used up. Dust generously with some icing sugar. Allow to cool completely, and then dust generously with icing sugar again.

Store tightly covered for one week before serving.

Funny . . . the traditions we hang on to . . . like the apple being the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden . . . and Eve being responsible for the fall of mankind . . .



Oh well . . . it all makes for a scrumdiddly pudding.



Eve's Pudding was not something I had ever heard of before I came over here to live. One night the cook at the care home I worked at when I first came here made it for the residents one night . . . I never got to taste it, but the name intrigued me! It wasn't long before I was looking it up and finding out how to make it.




You can find my recipe for regular Eve's Pudding here. And, mighty tasty it is too!



This is a slight variation on that theme . . . you all know how I like to grab the ball and then run with it. I can never leave well enough alone. I've added some tasty cranberries to the mix. They give it a slight tartness and lots of colour.



Oh my but it's some delicious, and very seasonal. I alway buy up bags of cranberries when they hit the shops before Christmas, and then I throw them into the freezer so that I have these tasty little berries to use whenever the mood hits.



They're not just for sauce you know! (I think you can buy them in the freezer section of Waitrose as well. Not sure about the other shops) I love using them in tasty quick breads and they make a scrumptious pie too.



This is my favourite way of using them though . . . sweet and tart, topped with a moist sponge and then served up warm with lashings of warm custard. That's a must!!




*Cranberry Eves Pudding*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

A slightly different version from the traditional Eve's Pudding. Easy Peazy, and oh so scrummy yummy! Lashings of warm custard are a given!

1 1/2 pounds cooking apples, peeled, quartered,
cored and cut into thick slices
4 ounces frozen cranberries
3 ounces of caster sugar (a scant 1/2 cup)
1 TBS water

Topping:
4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature (1/2 cup)
4 ounces of caster sugar (a generous half cup)
2 large free range eggs
4 ounces self raising flour (a scant 1 cup)
2 TBS fresh orange juice
the grated zest of one small orange

Icing Sugar for dusting
Warm custard, or cream for serving

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.

Place the apples and cranberries into a 2 1/2 pint baking dish, at least 2 inches deep. Sprinkle the caster sugar over top along with the water. Place into the heated oven and allow to cook for about ten minutes while you make the topping.

To make the topping measure all the ingredients into a bowl and then whisk together until smooth with an electric whisk. Remove the fruit from the oven and spread this batter evenly over top. Return to the oven and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown and the top springs back when lightly touched.

Dust with icing sugar and serve warm with custard or cream.

Note - You could also use Blackberries, in which case I would use lemon zest and juice in the cake batter instead of orange! Equally as scrumptious!!

When I was a teenager, my mother discovered a recipe for Chili Con Carne. It was on the back of a Tomato Soup Tin. My father absolutely loved it!!

Because my father loved it, that meant we had it every Saturday night for supper, throughout my teenage years. This was amazing actually . . . as this was the man who had told my mother for years and years that the only spices his mother had ever used were salt and pepper, and who refused to eat any dish that was spiced with anything else.



My mother discovered oregano . . . and chili powder. Life was never the same again. Suddenly our food became colourful and more flavourful. It wasn't too long after that she discovered green peppers . . . and pepper steak was born! (At least in our house anyways! Can you believe I had never tasted a pizza until I was about 16??? I know!! I was sooo deprived!!)



I've come a long way from those early bowls of chili . . . they were rather bland actually . . . just tinned tomato soup, beans, onions, and ground beef with some chili powder and oregano thrown in for good measure.



Thankfully, I have been a lot more adventurous in my experimentations . . . and my tastes. Mind you . . . it's a completely different world out there these days . . . it's a much smaller place and so much more is available to us.



This is a fantastic bowl of red, or chili as it is commonly called. Rich and flavourful and oh sooooooo scrummy! We like it with grated cheddar cheese dusted over the top, and a bit of chopped onion . . .



With crusty white rolls to mop up all of those lovely juices, thick like gravy . . .

Can anything on earth taste any better than white bread and gravy? I think not! Especially if it's chili gravy! Yum!! Yum!!



*The Best Chili Ever*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

You can't beat a big tasty bowl of red. This is rich and flavourful and rib stickin' good!

1 TBS oil
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
3 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
4 green chilies, trimmed, seeded and chopped (or to taste)
1 pound of extra lean beef mince (ground round)
1 pound of beef sirloin, trimmed and cut into small cubes
1 (400g) tin of chopped tomatoes in juice (14 ounce)
1 tomato tin measure of dark ale
1 tomato tin measure of beef broth
225ml (1 cup) dark strong coffee
2 heaped dessertspoons of tomato puree (about 3 TBS)
3 1/2 TBS tomato ketchup
2 ounces soft light brown sugar (1/4 cup)
1 TBS ground cumin
1 TBS cocoa powder
(not hot chocolate drink mix)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp mild chili powder, or to taste
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp fine seasalt
4 (400g) tins of kidney beans, drained and rinsed (14 ounce tins X 4)

To serve:
Chopped onion
grated strong cheddar cheese

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and chilies. Cook and stir until soft. Add the meats. Cook, stirring, til browned. Stir in the cumin, cocoa powder, oregano, chili powder, coriander and sea salt. Mix in well. Stir in the tomatoes, ale, beef broth, coffee, tomato puree and brown sugar. Add the beans. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally over low heat for about 2 hours, til nice and thick and rich. Serve hot with some chopped onion and cheddar cheese sprinkled over the top. Delicious!

Brrr . . . Baby it's cold outside!!! Time to cuddle up indoors with a good book by the fire! Time to break out the woolie socks and jumpers . . . Time for soup!



Hot steaming soup . . . bone warming, tummy hugging, soul comforting soup.



This recipe today is proof positive that you need neither fancy expensive ingredients nor extreme talent to create a soul warming delicious soup.



All you need is a few simple ingredients and a bit of ingenuity. All the elements of comfort are in this soup . . . warm milk . . . hot buttered toast . . . meltingly tender soft squidgy onions . . . rich oozy and tangy melting cheese . . .



I think cheese and onion are the quintessential good marriage of flavours. If you don't like cheese and you don't like onions . . . you had better look away now, coz you won't like this.

But it you love them as much as I do, then you'll absolutely go crazy over this.



Trust me!!! Would I lie to you???




*Cheese and Onion Soup*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This may be quick and easy but it's not short on flavour. Proof positive that you don't need complicated or expensive ingredients to make something quite, quite tasty!

4 medium sized onions, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
16 ounces boiling water (2 cups)
16 ounces whole milk (2 cups)
a knob of butter
a couple of handfuls of grated strong cheddar cheese (I like to use a good Farmhouse cheddar)
4 slices of buttered toast (I like a hearty whole wheat)
seasalt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
a pinch of grated nutmeg
2 spring onions, finely chopped for garnish

Place the chopped onions into a large saucepan along with the boiling water and some salt. Simmer until tender. The onions should be quite translucent and very tender. This should take about 20 minutes. Add the milk and bring back just to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for a further 15 minutes. Add the knob of butter and season to taste with some salt, pepper and a p9inch of nutmeg.

Put a slice of buttered toast into the bottom of each of four heated soup plates. Top each with some of the cheese. Ladle the hot soup over top and sprinkle each with a garnish of chopped spring onions. Serve immediately.

Todd's niece June and her boyfriend Jason drove up from Essex to visit us this past weekend. What a sweet and adorable couple they are. We were really pleased that they came up to spend a few days with a couple of old fogies like me and the Toddster!!



While I was waiting for them to arrive I thought to myself, I'd love to bake them something *WOW* just to make their visit that little bit extra special!



And then I thought to myself, I'll bake them my Lemon Drizzle Cake, which is sooo easy and yet sooo yummy!



And then I thought to myself . . . but why leave it at that??? Why not turn my easy peasy Lemon Drizzle Cake into Lemon Drizzle Fairy Cakes, and then bake them in white polka dotted pink cases??? Coz something called a fairy cake and in a white and pink polka dot case just has to taste much better than a mere cake, doncha think???



And then I thought to myself . . . but why leave it at that??? Why not fill these lucious little fairy cakes, each one . . . with an extra little dollop of lemon curd???



And then I thought to myself . . . but why leave it at that??? Why not cover that crunchy lemon drizzle soak . . . the one that soaks itself into the heat of the finished cake and makes it all scrummy yummy . . . why not cover that drizzle soak, with an equally as scrummy lemon drizzle icing???



And then I thought to myself . . . but why leave it at that??? Why not decorate each moist lemon drizzle fairy cake, stuffed with lemon curd, glazed with a crunchy lemon sugar glaze, and drizzled with a lemon drizzle icing . . . with some cute little Lemon Jelly Slices???



And so I did.



Yum!



*Lemon Drizzle Fairy Cakes*
Makes 8
Printable Recipe

Lucious lemon flavoured fairy cakes, filled with some lemon curd, and then soaked with a lemon sugar mixture and then finally topped with a lemon drizzle icing and some sweet little lemon jelly slices! Oh so Scrummy Yummy!!

For the cakes:
140g self raising flour (1 cup)
4 ounces butter (1/2 cup) (115g)
115g caster sugar (2/3 cup)
2 large free range eggs
2 dessertspoons of lemon curd
the grated zest of one lemon
more lemon curd for filling the fairy cakes

For the topping:
the juice of 1/2 lemon
2 TBS caster sugar

For the icing:
4 ounces icing sugar (1 cup) (no need to sift)
the juice from the other 1/2 of the lemon

To decorate:
mini lemon jelly slices

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Line 8 muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.

Put all the fairy cake ingredients into a food processor. (with the exception of the additonal lemon curd to be used for filling the cakes.) Blend together for 2 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Dollop about 1/2 of the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Top each with about 1/2 teaspoon of additional lemon curd, then cover with the remainder of the cake batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the centre of one comes out clean.

While the cakes are still hot, and before removing them from the tin, mix the lemon juice and sugar together until the sugar dissolves somewhat. Prick the cakes all over with a toothpick and then carefully spoon the lemon/sugar mixture over the top, allowing it to soak in. Let sit for about 10 minutes before removing from the tin to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the icing, whisk together the icing sugar along with enough juice from the other half of the lemon to make a drizzeable icing. Spoon this over top of the cooled cakes and then top each with a couple of lemon jelly slices. Delicious!!