Day Trip to London Chinatown

I have been wanting to visit London’s Chinatown for several months but somehow it is just one of those things I never got around to arranging. Then this week I was contacted by an old uni friend who lives in London. She is doing a teacher training course and was on school holls for Easter and suggested we meet up. After a quick discussion we decided to go and explore the delights of London’s Chinatown – hurrah!

Hidden away down a side street in the heart of Leicester Square, you suddenly turn a corner and find yourself standing underneath a big gate archway at the top of a street lined by small Chinese shops and restaurants, all presenting a very Chinese outlook. We wandered down the street gazing at restaurant windows full of whole roasted ducks, buffets of dim sum and ornately typed menus. It wasn’t quite time for lunch so we did a bit of shopping in the two Chinese supermarkets situated opposite each other in the middle of the street. They look deceptively small from the outside but they were both crammed full of exciting and unusual vegetables, spices, jars of sauces, Chinese cookies and sweets that ranged over three floors. I couldn’t resist picking up a few intriguing items including some strips of dried candied sweet potato that look like extra long strips of dried apricot and a jar of a dark sticky looking substance that was labelled as Sweet Coconut Spread.

The dried sweet potato strips were chewy in the same way as dried mango but their flavour was distinctively that of sweet potato but with a touch of sweetness. It was such an unexpected flavour sensation but I really liked it.

Once home, I couldn’t wait to try the sweet coconut spread. It looked dark and very sticky with the aroma of coconut milk. It had the consistency of Dulce de leche caramel and as the ingredients list comprised of only coconut milk and sugar, I’m not surprised it was so similar. The flavour was wonderful. Very sweet but with a deeper flavour than standard caramel, it was more like toffee enhanced with the subtle flavour of coconut. I think it would be delicious drizzled over ice cream, yogurt or as a filling for two sandwich cookies.

By far the most exciting part of visiting Chinatown, and one of my main reasons of wanting to go there, was to visit a Chinese bakery. There are actually three Chinese bakeries hidden around Chinatown but the one that we hunted out, and seemed to have the best reviews online, was Kowloon. As we approached it the golden letters seemed to shine out to me, beckoning me to come and indulge in all its delicacies. I suggested we take a peak inside and maybe try a pastry – trying to act as though I didn’t want to go and try one of everything! I haven’t tasted a Chinese pastry since leaving Sheffield nearly a year ago and was longing to eat them again.

We took a few moments to take in the shop window before actually going in. They do savoury pork buns too, which I know some people drool over – but these are of no interest to me! It’s their coconut, red bean, sesame, peanut, sweet melon, custard, pandan and lotus buns and pastries that appealed to me! I then spent about 3 minutes agonising and drooling over all the buns and pastries before making my choices. Oh it was hard, but in the end I was very restrained…really I was…I limited myself to FIVE! I did share them all with my family too.

I got a sesame peanut pastry roll, a red bean bun (round one), a pandan roll (green roll) and two coconut custard buns (long ones) one for me and one for my mum as I have had these before and know how utterly delicious they are. Don’t they all look so delicious and exciting different to normal pastries?

Once home I couldn’t wait to taste them all. First up was the pandan roll. This was the one I was most intrigued by. I have heard talk about pandan rolls on blogs, but never seen nor tasted one for myself. I wasn’t even sure what pandan was, but according to Wikipedia pandan cake is made with “juice of Pandanus amaryllifolius leaves. The cakes are light green in tone due to the chlorophyll in the leaf juice” The roll itself was incredibly light, soft and springy in texture, quite different to sponge. It had a thin spreading of buttercream and together tasted faintly of coconut and a pleasant sweet flavour I hadn’t encountered before. Overall very tasty.

Next was the red bean bun. I have had red bean in other things before and love the sweet earthy flavour and the thick smooth texture of it. This bun didn’t disappoint and was very generously filled with the paste. I love the texture and flavour of the bread bun too, it’s similar to a brioche, yet more substantial, very buttery, soft and light.

The sesame peanut bun looked delicious but was actually very disappointing. Once cut into, the middle was quite bland and a little dry. All the nuts and sesame seeds seemed to have disappeared and it tasted like a big wedge of baked puff pastry, flaky but dull and boring.

Finally there was the coconut custard bun (often called cocktail buns too). I was so hoping this bun was as good as I remembered it and I’m delighted to say it was. Mmm, one bite of this bun and you’ll be in heaven. The dough is sweet and soft and the filling was generous, sweet, coconutty and creamy. With hints of vanilla and lots of coconut yet without being gritty, it was just divine. If you ever get the opportunity you simply must try one!

After we had lunch we travelled further afield and did a bit of retail therapy, shopping in a new shopping centre that had some really nice but very expensive shops. Some of which were so posh that we didn’t even dare to enter the doors. One of the things that shocked me the most was the discovery of a well known cupcake company having a stall right in the heart of the centre. This on its own is not shocking, in fact it’s quite exciting. The shocking part wasn’t even the prices – we were in London afer all, no the truly shocking thing was this monstrosity!

It’s (meant to be) a giant cupcake but it looks as though its been decorated by someone who was either colour blind or in a very dark room and then dropped on the floor, partially melted but decided to be sold anyway. It’s awful! I can’t believe they were trying to sell it!

So a very enjoyable and food filled day out – just the kind I like. Chinatown was actually smaller than I expected, but they certainly managed to fit a lot into the street and I’d go back to get another coconut custard bun any day!

Spinach & Curried Pumpkin Tart

I was sorting through the freezer at the weekend and unearthed a bag of diced pumpkin I had completely forgotten was there. I had stored it away back in the autumn after buying such a colossal pumpkin that it was too big to eat all at once. I was pleased I had as it had been a few months since tasting a good pumpkin and now I had some at my fingertips.

After a short recipe hunt I settled on a recipe for roasted curried pumpkin that sounded very tasty. However I wanted to turn it into something a bit more substantial and decided to combine it with spinach and turn it into a tart. I also added an egg quiche style filling to help ‘stick’ it all together. The result was delicious.

The pastry was thin and crisp while the filling was soft and warming. The earthiness of the spinach worked so well with the tender sweetness of the pumpkin. The curry and cumin spices were lingering in the background without being too obvious or overpowering and just added to the whole warming, comforting flavour that seemed to capture the essence of golden autumn days. I loved the striking colour contrast of the dark green spinach against the golden pumpkin too.

Some of the pumpkin poked up above the eggy filling meaning it got a second gentle roasting when baked, giving even more flavour and a fun rustic appearance. I served the tart warm with a spoonful of Indian spiced carrot chutney to enhance the curry notes and which I would highly recommend. If you don’t have any pumpkin I’m sure it would work equally well with butternut squash or sweet potato.

Spinach & Curried Pumpkin Tart
(Recipe adapted from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook)

Pastry
160g plain flour
75g cold butter
1-2 tbsp cold water

Filling
500g pumpkin or squash
100g frozen spinach (or 200g fresh)
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
3 eggs
100ml double cream
150ml milk
Salt & pepper

Method - Pastry

Start by making the pastry. Cut the cold butter into 2cm squares. Place the flour into a bowl, add the butter and rub the butter into the flour using the very tips of your fingers. Do this by picking the little squares of butter and some of the flour up with your fingertips, lift this just above the rim of the bowl and then rub the two gently together, letting it fall back into the bowl. Be gentle with it as overworked pastry goes tough.
When most of the butter lumps have gone you should be left with a mixture that resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add a spoonful of cold water and work this into the pastry using a round bladed butter knife. Add a little more water if it still seems too dry to form a dough.
Once the crumbs are starting to cling together, use your hands to squash the mixture together to form a dough. No not knead it like bread dough.
Wrap it in clingfilm and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes while you prepare the filling.

Roast the Pumpkin

While your pastry is chilling in the fridge prepare the filling. Preheat the oven to 200C. Cut the pumpkin into a fairly large dice and place into a bowl. Mix the curry powder and cumin seeds into 1 tablespoon of oil and drizzle over the top of the pumpkin. Toss together so the pumpkin gets an even coating of the spiced oil.
Transfer the pumpkin to a baking tray and roast in the oven for 25 minutes until soft and lightly brown around the edges.
Once cooked, remove from the oven and set aside.

Blind bake the Pastry
Next, remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it will line a deep 8inch/20cm tart tin.
Lay a sheet of clingfilm over the top of the pastry and cover with baking beans or dried rice to prevent the pastry from puffing up when baking.
Place the pastry into the oven and bake for 15 minutes until the edges are starting to turn golden.
Remove the clingfilm and baking beans from the tart shell and return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes to crisp up the base.
Then reduce the oven to 180C.

Assemble the Tart

Finely chop the onion and garlic. Fry until softened in the remaining tablespoon of oil, then set aside. Thaw the frozen spinach or blanch the fresh spinach until softened. Place into a clean tea towel and wring it out tightly to get rid of all the excess water or else your tart will be soggy.
Cut the skin off the pumpkin and crush the pieces gently in your fingers.
Arrange the onion and garlic over the base of the tart. Scatter the spinach and roasted crushed pumpkin over the top, packing it in well.
Lightly beat the eggs, milk, cream and a little salt and pepper together until combined, before pouring into the tart. (Some of the pumpkin and spinach will poke out above the egg mixture, but this is desired as it gives the veg a roasted top and flavour).
Bake for 35-45 minutes until the egg mixture is set and the pumpkin tops are golden and roasted.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin and serving with salad and a spiced Indian style pickle or chutney (I used an Indian carrot chutney).
Serves 6 as a main course or 8-10 as a starter.

Makes 1 deep 8inch/20cm tart

What to do with Leftover Egg Whites? Bake Nutty Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Cake

A bit of a long title, but it sums up this cake. Nuts, cinnamon and chocolate chips all combined into an egg white buttermilk cake. Sounds good doesn’t it, well it wasn’t just good, it was amazingly good, almost addictive, I couldn’t stop eating it! I found a version of this cake on Chef In You blog while looking for recipes to use up leftover egg whites and stumbled upon an egg white cake containing yoghurt, hazelnuts and chocolate chips and decided to try it – with a few of my own tweaks of course!

I added buttermilk to the cake which helped make it incredibly soft, tender and moist while the egg whites keep it light and fluffy. The cake part of its own would be delicious but it’s the additional dark chocolate, cinnamon chips and chopped nuts sprinkled on top and inside the cake that make it spectacular. They add little pockets of sweet spicy cinnamon, bitter chocolate or nuttiness with each bite, in perfect contrast to the smooth fluffy cake. Most of my centre sprinkles sank to nearer the bottom of the cake but this didn’t matter as I ate the cake with my fingers, selecting little bits of cake with a few sprinkle bits in each nibble. (Have you ever noticed how much more enjoyable it is to eat cake with your fingers?)

I was lucky enough to find American cinnamon chips in an American food shop a few weeks ago, but if you can’t find them then just toss some white chocolate chips around in some ground cinnamon and use those instead. I used a mix of pecans and walnuts in the sprinkle but you could use any nuts you like, or even some raisins or chopped apricots would be nice. I love how the top sprinkle became toasted and crunchy while the middle sprinkles remained soft and melty. Mmmm it was so yummy.

Next time you have a few leftover egg whites don’t even think of throwing them away or turning them into boring meringue – make this cake instead and I am sure you won’t be disappointed. It looks quite plain and simple, no elaborate decoration or frosting - but in my option it’s the best use of egg whites ever!

Nutty Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Cake
(Recipe adapted from Chef In You blog)

Cake
100g butter
200g caster sugar
3 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
240g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
220ml buttermilk

Topping & Centre Sprinkles
50g chopped nuts – I used pecans & walnuts
50g dark chocolate chips
50g cinnamon chips

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line the base and sides of a 9x5 inch loaf tin.
Mix all the sprinkle ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
Start by whisking the egg whites until they becoming opaque and fluffy, but they don’t need to hold a peak.
In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg white and vanilla and mix gently.
Sift over half the flour and fold in gently, followed by buttermilk and then the remaining flour along with the bicarbonate or soda and baking powder.
Pour half of the batter into the loaf tin and scatter over half the sprinkle mix.
Cover with the remaining batter and the rest of the sprinkle mix.
Bake for 1hour – 1hour 10 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean (This sounds like a long time but it needs it!)
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack and leaving to cool completely before slicing.
Wrap well in clingfilm to store and eat within 5 days.
Eat and enjoy

Easter Pizza

With Easter just around the corner this usually results in a flurry of sweet chocolate based baking. This year, along with the usual sweet treats I decided to make an eggception and eggspand into the savoury section and bake an eggcellent pizza too – and it’s egg shaped – how eggciting! *after receiving many rolling of eyes* Ok, enough of the egg related puns!

When people mention Easter and food I’m sure most of us instantly think of chocolate eggs and other sweet goodies, but I don’t see why the Easter egg theme can’t be applied to savoury foods too – afterall traditionally chocolate has nothing to do with Easter. I have been planning on making pizza for a while now and today finally got around to organising myself to make it. While shaping the base I decided to have a bit of fun and make it egg shaped and then to decorate the top in a design. It sort of worked, just squint a bit…see the olives are gems and the pepper strips and the zig-zag design. I may not be the best looking egg inspired pizza, but I had fun being creative and it tasted yummy and that’s what matters.

My pizza took a Greek route as I had some olives and feta to use up in the fridge but obviously you can add whatever takes your fancy. You can make bespoke individual egg shaped pizzas to suit your friends and families topping preferences or if they are not fussy then just bake a giant one and divide it up.

I used my favourite pizza dough recipe for the base, it’s a no knead dough that simply needs mixing together the night before and then leaving in the fridge overnight to slowly bubble and develop into a lovely silky soft and stretchy dough. It couldn’t be easier and means you can be eating pizza within 20 minutes of walking in the door the following day, much quicker than a takeaway or even a shop bought pizza.

I hope everyone has an eggcellent Easter!

Easter Pizza

For the pizza dough
320g strong plain white flour
¾ tsp salt
15g fresh yeast (or 7g dried)
30ml olive oil
210ml warm water
1 tsp caster sugar

Tomato topping
1 onion
1 large can of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp sundried tomato paste
1 clove garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Toppings of your choice
Feta cheese
Olives
Orange pepper
Mushrooms
Fresh basil
Sun dried tomatoes


Method – for the pizza dough

Heat the water until it is just warm to the touch but not hot. Add the olive oil and crumble in the fresh yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved.
Place the flour and salt into a large bowl and pour over the yeast mixture. Mix together using the tips of your fingers until a sticky dough is formed.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed until smooth, around 3 minutes. The dough should become less sticky although still tacky to the touch.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with clingfilm. Place in the fridge overnight or for up to 5 days.
Tear off chunks of dough when required.
Makes enough dough for 3 x 9inch pizzas.

For the tomato topping
Peel and finely dice the onion. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion and oregano. Cook until soft, then finely crush the garlic and add to the pan. Cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the chopped tomatoes, sundried tomato paste and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Allow to simmer for 15 minutes until the mixture has reduced and thickened.
Allow to cool in the pan, then transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film and keep in the fridge until required.
Makes enough sauce to cover 3 pizza bases.

To assemble
When ready to eat the pizza, preheat the oven to its hottest setting, usually around 250-275C. Place a pizza stone or baking tray into the oven to heat up.
Have a sheet of baking parchment or a silicone mat ready and dust the top with flour or fine cornmeal.
Lightly dust your hands with flour and tear off a third of the pizza dough. Gently stretch it, pulling from the middle outwards, to your desired thickness.
When the dough is quite thin, lay it onto a sheet of baking parchment or a silicone mat and pull into shape.
Spread a third of the tomato sauce over the top, leaving a small rim around the edge.
Add the toppings - assorted vegetables or meats of your choosing and a few torn basil leaves.
Grate or crumble the cheese of your choice over the top.
Remove the hot baking tray from the oven and quickly slide the sheet of baking parchment with your pizza on it, onto the baking tray and return to the oven. (This ensures the base is cooked and crisp at the same time as the top).
Bake for 8-10 minutes until the crisp, golden brown and bubbling.
Eat and enjoy.

If you are still craving something sweet then here is a list of my previous Easter themed sweet treats.
Simnel Cake – traditionally for Mothers Day but now often associated with Easter.

Chocolate Rice Krispie Mini Egg Nests

Apple & Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns

Spiced Chocolate Cupcakes topped with Mini Chocolate Rice Krispie Mini Mini Egg Nests

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I realised recently that there is a distinct lack of cookies on this blog. That’s not because I don’t like cookies, far from it, but given the choice of cookie or cake – I choose cake every time. However, I thought it was about time I had a little break from cake, dusted off my baking trays and baked some cookies.

My brother in currently in his first year of uni and every month I have been sending him little packages of baked goodies. So far he has had cereal bars, brownies and peanut butter krispie treats and this month I thought it would be ideal to send him some of the cookies I was planning to make – another incentive.

These cookies are your simple crowd pleasing chocolate chip cookie. Quick and easy to make, crispy round the outside and chewy in the centre. I used a combination of white and dark chocolate that I cut into pieces myself in order to keep it nice and chunky. I used an ice cream scoop to measure out my cookie dough which helped make the cookies lovely and thick, ensuring a chewier centre.

I posted most of them to my brother who demolished the lot in about 2 days flat, so I think he liked them. Personally I would have liked them to be a little softer, as well as having a chewy centre, but this is just personal preference. Anyone got any tips for achieving a softer cookie, or should I just bake them for a couple of minutes less?

They were best when still warm, while the chocolate was all soft and melty.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
110g butter
70g caster sugar
80g dark soft brown sugar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
200g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
50g dark chocolate
50g white chocolate

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line two baking trays with baking paper or silicone liners.
Beat the butter until soft and fluffy. Add the caster and dark brown sugars and beat until combined.
Mix in the egg and vanilla (don’t worry if it looks a little scrambled) followed by the flour and baking powder. Mix until just combined.
Chop the white and dark chocolate into 1cm chunks. Work them into the dough until well incorporated.
Use an old fashioned ice cream scoop to measure out equal scoops of dough. Place them on the trays with 3-4cm space between each one. Flatten the balls slightly with your fingers until you have a thick disc rather than a mound.
Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. They should be lightly brown around the edges but still seem quite soft in the centre. (They firm up on cooling).
Allow to cool on the trays for 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes 9-12 cookies

The Cake Slice March 2010: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Pineapple upside down cake is a much loved cake dessert. The rings of pineapple filled with a shiny maraschino cherry make it instantly recognisable. It is traditionally made in a cast iron skillet, started off on the hob and finished in the oven, but it works equally well in a cake tin.

Believe it or not until I made this cake I had never tasted a pineapple upside down cake before, so I was delighted when it won the vote for this month’s Cake Slice choice. Now I have tasted it, I will definitely be making it again. I loved the whole fruit, cake, caramel combo.

A word to the wise though – if you make it in a springform tin (like I did) make sure you either wrap the outside of the tin well in foil or place it on a baking tray. I did neither and soon found out that a springform tin will not hold the beginnings of bubbling caramel. It managed to seep out of the tin and start dripping into the base of the oven within the first 10 minutes. This then burnt and produced smoke signals that some ancient tribes would have been proud of!! I hastily stuck the tin on a tray and wiped the oven as best I could – thankfully it didn’t seem to affect the cake, but you have been warned!

Making the caramel is very simple. A mix of melted butter and dark brown sugar are sprinkled over the base of a pan before being topped with rings of pineapple and glossy red maraschino cherries. This is then topped with a thick vanilla sponge and baked. The juices from the pineapple seep out of the fruit and combine with the butter and dark brown sugar in the base to produce a delicious dark and treacly caramel layer, which becomes the top once turned out. The cake top/base is a little dense, but this means it happily soaks up all the pineapple juices and the caramel once inverted, making one delicious dessert.

I loved how the caramel layer added a bronze glaze to the pineapple rings. The first flavour when taking a bite was of sweet and treacly caramel but this was counterbalanced as the pineapple released its slightly sharp, yet tropical juice as you bit into it.

I made this when my grandmother was visiting for dinner and she said she remembered it with great fondness from her childhood. This created a long discussion about other food memories and recipes. I think its amazing how certain dishes or flavours can transport us back to events that may have happened years ago.

Click here to see the other Cake Slice Bakers cakes.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
(Recipe from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)

Pineapple Topping
1 x 430-450g can pineapple rings, in juice
50g butter
140g dark brown sugar
10 maraschino or glace cherries

Cake
180g plain flour
155g caster sugar
1½ tsp baking powder
½ salt
110ml milk
50g butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp pineapple juice from can

Method – Pineapple Topping
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Drain the pineapple well, reserving 2 tablespoons of the juice for the cake batter. Melt the butter in a 10inch/25cm cast iron skillet over medium heat. Or, melt the butter and pour it over the base of a 9inch/23cm round cake tin.
Remove the pan from the stove and sprinkle the brown sugar over the buttery surface. Place the pineapple rings carefully on top of the scattered brown sugar and melted butter, arranging them so they fit in 1 layer. (You may have a few left over). Place a cherry in the centre of each ring, and set the pan aside.

Method - Cake
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and gently mix. Add the milk and butter and beat well with a mixer, scraping down the bowl once or twice until you have a thick, fairly smooth batter, about 1 minute.
Add the egg, reserved pineapple juice and the vanilla and beat until well incorporated, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides.
Carefully pour the batter over the pineapple and use a spoon to spread it evenly to the edges of the pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the cake is golden brown and springs back when touched lightly in the centre. Cool in the skillet or pan for 5 minutes on a wire rack.
When the pan is still hot, run a knife around the edge of the pan to release any cooling caramel and use oven gloves to carefully invert the warm cake onto a serving plate.

Serve warm with crème fraiche or cream.

Simnel Cake for Mothering Sunday

Today is Mothers Day here in the UK. Along with cups of tea in bed, a card and some flowers, it is traditional for daughters to bake and present their mothers with a special cake on Mothers Day, known as a Simnel Cake.

A simnel cake is a light fruitcake containing sultanas, apricots and cherries that is topped off with a layer of marzipan and decorated with 11 marzipan balls around the edge. This fruitcake is also extra special as it also contains a middle layer of marzipan that is baked into the cake itself, producing a delicious moist and gooey almond centre layer. It’s quite unique and I know of no other cake which does this. The marzipan on top of the cake is often also toasted gently under a grill to give it a lovely golden appearance and a little more depth of flavour. Alternatively you can go at it with a blowtorch (I did!) and find this helps to give a more even browning.

Simnel cake is now often associated with Easter, but it is traditionally a Mothers Day cake and one that has been going on for decades. Young girls who lived and worked away from home in service were given half a day off on Mothering Sunday, during which they would bake this cake and take it home to their mothers.

The eleven marzipan balls around the edge are meant to represent the eleven disciples, minus the traitor Judas. However, I’m unsure if this was present on the traditional Mothers Day simnel cake as this seems to symbolise an event more associated with Easter, so this may have been added later. Either way if you are a lover of marzipan getting a slice of cake with one of the marzipan balls is an extra treat.

My mother and I both love this cake and I try to bake her one every year in secret. Its light and studded with a colourful array of fruits. The sweet gooey marzipan adding a wonderful flavour. I find it a very enjoyable experience as mixing the batter always gets me reflecting back on happy memories, mixing a little love and care into the cake itself. I’m sure this is one of the reasons it tastes so good, as a cake made with love, for someone you love is truly a special thing.

Happy Mothers Day Mum

Simnel Cake
(Recipe adapted from Mary Berry’s Ultimate Cake Book)

Ingredients
175g light soft brown sugar
175g butter
175g self raising flour
3 eggs
25g ground almonds
2 tbsp milk
100g sultanas
100g dried apricots

100g glace cherries

50g extra dried fruit of choice – raisins, pear, cranberries etc
2 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp cinnamon
250g marzipan
2 tbsp apricot jam

Method

Preheat the oven to 160C. Grease and line the base and sides of a deep 8inch/20cm round cake tin with greaseproof paper.

Weigh the sugar, butter, flour, ground almonds, eggs and spices into a bowl. Beat together using an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the milk.

Weigh out the dried fruit and chop the apricots and cherries into large pieces using a pair of scissors.
Fold all the dried fruit into the cake batter.
Pour half the cake mix into the tin and spread into an even layer.
Take 100g of the marzipan and roll out into a circle. Use the base of the cake tin to cut out a circle. Place this circle of marzipan on top of the cake batter in the pan. Top with the remaining cake mix and spread out evenly.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour before quickly removing the cake from the oven, covering the top of the tin with foil to prevent it from browning any further and return the tin to the oven for a further 30-40 minutes.

It should be firm yet springy to the touch when cooked.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin. Once cool, release from the tin and carefully peel off the greaseproof paper.
Thinly roll out the remaining marzipan and cut out another circle, using the cake tin as a guide like before.
Heat the apricot jam until soft. Brush over the top of the cake and place the marzipan disc on top. Use your fingers to crimp the edges slightly.
Gather up the leftover scraps of marzipan and roll into 11 balls. Use a little jam or water to attach them around the rim of the cake.

Heat your grill and place the cake under the grill and allow the marzipan to toast and go golden brown. Rotate the cake as needed and keep a careful eye on it as it will start to brown very suddenly. Alternatively use a blowtorch (I find this works best) or leave natural.

Tie a ribbon around the cake and present to your Mum.

Makes one 8inch/20cm cake