The Rose Cottage Recipe Book

Ingredients

200 g	dates, roughly chopped
200 ml	milk (plus an extra splash)
250 g	butter, softened (plus extra for greasing)
280 g	self-raising flour
200 g	light brown soft sugar
½ tsp	baking powder
4	large eggs
1 tbsp	mixed spice
2 tsp	vanilla extract
3	small red apples
a squeeze	lemon juice
handfull	toffees
	icing sugar, for dusting

Method

1. Heat oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan). Grease and line a 20 x 30cm baking tray with baking parchment.
2. Put the dates and milk in a small pan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and set aside for 15 mins to cool.
3. Whizz the date mixture to a smooth purée in a food processor or blender, then scrape into a large mixing bowl.
4. Tip in the butter, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, eggs, mixed spice and vanilla. Set aside while you prepare the apples.
5. Quarter and core the apples, then slice quite thinly, tossing in a little lemon juice as you go.
6. Quickly beat together the cake ingredients with an electric whisk until smooth, then scrape into the baking tray.
7. Arrange the apple slices, overlapping in rows, on top of the cake - you should be able to get 3 rows lengthways down the tray.
8. Bake for 45-50 mins until a skewer poked into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the tray.
9. Put the toffees in a small pan with a good splash of milk and gently melt, stirring until runny.
10. To finish, dust the cake with a little icing sugar. Drizzle the sauce all over the cake. Cut into squares or slices to serve.

One of our oldest "family" recipes that we were given by Sandra Davison, many years ago in Plymouth.

Ingredients

110 g	butter
110 g	sugar · for the dough
225 g	self raising flour
1	egg · beaten
450 g	baking apple · peeled, cored and thinly sliced
50 g	raisins or sultanas
2 tbsp	sugar · for the fruit
1 tsp	ground cinnamon
1 tsp	ground ginger

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C.
2. Melt the butter and allow to cool a little. Add the sugar for the dough and the beaten egg and mix well. Stir in the flour to make a soft dough.
3. Put half the dough in the bottom of a lined deep cake tin.
4. Mix the sugar for the fruit, cinnamon, ginger & apples together and spread over the dough.
5. Top with the remaining mixture
6. Bake for 40-45 mins at 180°C

• Serve hot with clotted cream, or cold and sliced.
• Goes nice and crispy on the outside.
• Don’t slice the apple too thickly as it needs to cook inside the cake.

Background

Banoffee Pie on Wikipedia. Ian Dowding on how he invented Banoffee Pie in 1971.

Ingredients

200 g	Digestive biscuits, fairly finely crushed
50 g	soft brown sugar
100 g	butter
2 tins	condensed milk
	bananas
	cream
	chocolate Flake, crushed

Method

1. Crush the biscuits either in a plastic bag with a rolling pin or in a food processor.
2. In a small pan, melt together the butter and sugar. When bubbling nicely, take off the heat and stir in the biscuit crumbs.
3. Line a cake tin with foil and press the biscuit mixture into it to form a base. Chill in the fridge to set.
4. Put the tins of condensed milk (unopened) into a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 2 hours. Keep an eye on the pan and ensure that the tins are aways covered by water. Top up with boiling water, as required.
5. Allow the tins to cool for just 5 minutes. Open very carefully (the hot filling may ooze or explode out and is very hot). Spread over the base. Allow to cool.
6. Slice the bananas and layer over the toffee.
7. Whip the cream until thick and spread over the banana. (Uncovered banana will turn black to make sure to cover it all.)
8. Crush the Flake in the packet then spread the crumbs over the top of the cream.
9. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 large (or 2 small)	butternut squash (about 1.5 kg)
50 g	butter
1	garlic clove, finely chopped
200 g	Feta cheese
1 tbsp	basil leaves, shredded
	salt and pepper
	olive oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
2. Make sure the outside of the squash is scrubbed clean. Cut the squash in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds and soft fibres.
3. Put in an ovenproof dish, put a little chopped garlic and a small nut of butter in each cavity, brush with olive oil and season well.
4. Bake for about an hour, until the flesh feels very tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.
5. Carefully scoop out the soft flesh, and the buttery, garlicky juices, into a bowl, leaving a 1cm-thick layer of flesh still attached to the skin, so the squash holds its shape. Roughly mash the flesh.
6. Fold the feta and basil into the soft squash, along with some more salt and pepper.
7. Spoon the filling back into the two empty squash halves, return the squashes to the oven.
8. Bake for a further 15 minutes before serving.

Vegetarian. Serves: 4 (easily). Prep. and cooking: 35 mins.

Always a reliable filling meal.

Ingredients

1	large cauliflower
50 g	flour
75 g	butter
½ l	milk
100 g	fresh cream
50 g	grated Gruyère cheese
	salt and pepper
pinch	nutmeg

Technique

Wash the cauliflower and separate into small florets.  Boil gently in salted water for 10 minutes.

Prepare the Béchamel sauce:  Melt 50 g of butter in a saucepan and blend in the flour gradually, stirring constantly to avoid any lumps.  Pour in the milk slowly, stirring all the time.

Bring to boil and leave to look for 5 minutes.  Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Remove from the heat and blend in the fresh cream.

Heat the oven to 230℃.  Strain the cauliflower.  Butter a gratin dish with the remaining 25 g of butter.  Arrange the cauliflower florets on it and pour over the Béchamel sauce..  Scatter with grated cheese and cook in the over for about 15 minutes before serving immediately.

Note:  Cheddar cheese can be substituted for the Gruyère quite happily and can also be mixed into the sauce, if desired..