Chocolate Victoria Sandwich

Chocolate Victoria Sandwich


This light chocolate cake is sandwiched together with a white butter cream and looks as good as it tastes, says Mary.

It looks lovely on the picture but the bottom one has a little hole in the middle. Shh, don't tell anyone. I think it happened because i didn't properly divide the mixture evenly between the two tins....



What do we need:

2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
3 tablespoons of boiling water, fresh from the kettle
225 gr. softened butter
225 gr. caster sugar
4 large eggs
225 gr. self-raising flour
2 level teaspoons of baking powder (backing Dr. Oetker)

For the filling and Topping:

50 gr. softened butter
175 gr. sifted icing sugar
1 tablespoon milk
coarsely grated  plain chocolate,
to decorate.







                                                              "Enjoy"

Glazed Cup and Fairy Cakes

A selection of glazed Cupcakes and Fairycakes with different fillings and toppings.

White Cottage Loaf ( Edited)

 

 

 

 

White Cottage Loaf

 

 

 

This is a good, everyday loaf. You can make it in other shapes if you prefer. Individual rolls will take less time to prove and bake says Mary.

 

                                 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                           "Enjoy"

 

 

 



Glazed Fruit Tartlets (edited)

Glazed Fruit Tartlets


These little tarts look best if each one is filled with a single type of fruit.  Use redcurrant glaze for red fruits, and apricot glaze for orange or green fruits such as green grapes or kiwi fruit. Fill the pastry cases at the last moment as they soften quickly. This recipe makes 12 tartlets, says Mary.




                                                               "Enjoy"


                                                                          

South African Melktert

South African Melktert   (Zuid Afrikaanse Melk Taart)


Not a Mary Berry recipe none the less worth writing down.


What do we need:

For the pastry:

2 tbs butter - please not margerine
2 tbs sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup self-raising flour
pinch of salt

For the filling:

2 cups milk
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cake flour (proper cake flour)
1/4 corn flour
pinch of salt
2 tbs butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
Ground Cinnamon


1. Pre-heat your oven to 180C. Blitz all the ingredients together until it all clumps together to form a dough.

2. Press into a lightly greased 24 cm tart dish. Chill in the fridge while preparing the filling.

3. Heat the milk in a medium pan. (do not boil)

4. Beat the yolks and sugar until creamy and light then add the flours and salt- the mixture will be quite thick and velvety.

5. Add some warm milk to the egg mixture and then return all of it to the pan. Bring to the boil and whisk constantly untill thickened.

6. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla. Whisk the egg whites in a clean! bowl until soft peaks form and gently fold into the custard.

7. Pour it into the chilled pastry case and sprinkle it with the cinnamon.

8. Bake for about 30 minutes.

You can try it with frozen puff pastry.


                                                      "Eet Smakelijk"

Apricot Swiss Cakes

Apricot Swiss Cakes

Traditionally a red jam is used for the centre of these cakes, which are buttery and very delicious says Mary.   I say: Very crumbly ! Made it twice to make sure i hadn't made a mistake.
As i took them out of the baking tin they crumbled to pieces in front of my eyes, so i turned it into bird food. Not such an easy recipe as it seems to me. The second batch was left to cool much longer then i think was necessary, just to make sure.


What do we need:
225 gr. butter (hence the buttery)
75 gr.  sifted icing sugar
200 gr. self-raising flour
50 gr. cornflour

To finish: Apricot jam and icing sugar




                                                                 "Enjoy"

Caraway Seed Cake ( Edited)

Old-Fashioned Seed Cake


You either love or loathe seed cake- this one has a lovely buttery flavour
This cake takes up 1 hour of oven time.





                                                               "Enjoy"

Coffee Victoria Sandwich

Coffee Victoria Sandwich

This a a simple but delicious alternative to the classic Victoria Sandwich that is perfect for coffee time, says Mary.

After having made a traybake and a sponge in the same coffee way, i thought i might give this one a go. Not too difficult i have to say.

What do we need:

4 Large eggs
2 heaped teaspoons instant coffee granules
225 gr. softened butter
225 gr. caster sugar
225 gr. self-raising flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder


For the filling and the topping:

50 gr. softened butter
175 gr. sifted icing sugar
1 tablespoon ( yes it looks a lot) coffee essence, but if you don't have that strong coffee
(instant) will do.
and 1 tablespoon milk if necessary, i found it was.




                                                               "Enjoy"

Gingerbread Men

Gingerbread Men





I found these old cutters in the kitchen drawers. Thought it was about time to start practising for the holiday season!



What do we need:

350 gr. plain flour
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 level teaspoons ground ginger, i'd put a half more in to make it slightly spicier

100 gr. butter
175 gr. light brown muscovado sugar
4 tablespoons golden syrup (or agave syrup)
1 large egg, beaten
and some currants, to decorate. I had to cut them in half to make them fit better.




Idea: Buy a glass pot or vase and fill it with gingerbread men, as a gift or just because.

                                                           



                                                           "Enjoy"

Cornish Fairings ( Edited)

Cornish Fairings   Crunchy and chewy

Take care not to bake these spicy biscuits too long as they become hard and too crisp.
Banging the baking tray part-way through cooking makes the mixture crack and flatten, says Mary.




                                                      "Enjoy"

Classic Apple Pie

Classic Apple Pie

Here i decorated my pie with cut out figurines, but you can decorate with leaves, hearts anything. This apple pie can be kept in the freezer.

What do we need:

675 gr. Cooking apples
50-75 gr. caster sugar
4 whole cloves
3 tablespoons cold water


For the pastry:

175 gr. plain flour
50 gr. diced butter
50 gr. diced white baking vedgetable fat
if you can find it. I used butter again.
about 2 tablespoons cold water
milk to glaze
granulated sugar, for sprinkling


1. Use a 900ml shallow pie dish. Peel, core and cut the apples into thick slices. Arrange half the slices in the bottom of the dish, sprinkle with the caster sugar and arrange the cloves evenly among the apples. Cover with the remaining apple slices and add the cold water.

2. To make the pastry, measure the flour into a bowl. Add the diced butter and fat and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the water and mix to a firm dough.

3. Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface to a size that will cover the top of the pie dish. Lift the dough on to the dish and trim the edges. If you like, cut the trimmings into decorative shapes and lightly press on to the dough. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

4. Pre-heat your oven to 200C. Brush the pie with a little milk, then sprinkle the top with sugar. Make a small slit in the centre of the pie for the steam to escape. Bake in the oven for about 40-45 minutes, until the apples are tender and the pastry is crisp and pale golden. Cover the pie loosely with foil towards the end of the cooking time if the pastry starts to brown before the apples are cooked.



Tip: Uncooked homemade pastry is an excellent standby for the freezer.
        Pack it in seperate quantities of 225 gr. and 450 gr., labelling it clearly. Defrost in the fridge
        or kitchen until pliable enough to roll and use.



                                                           "Enjoy"