Toffee Apple Cake

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.

Carrot Cake

Ingredients

175 g light muscovado or soft brown sugar
175 ml sunflower oil
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
140 g grated carrots (about 3 medium)
100 g raisins
1 large orange grated zest of
175 g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp grated nutmeg (freshly grated will give you the best flavour)
Frosting  
125 g unsalted butter at room temperature
50 g icing sugar
250 g cream cheese

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180℃ (fan 160℃).
  2. Oil and line the base and sides of an 18 cm square cake tin with baking parchment.
  3. Tip the sugar into a large mixing bowl, pour in the oil and add the eggs.  Lightly mix with a wooden spoon.
  4. Stir in the grated carrots, raisins and orange rind.
  5. Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices, then sift into the bowl.  Lightly mix all the ingredients until evenly amalgamated.  The mixture will be fairly soft and almost runny.
  6. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until it feels firm and springy.
  7. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn it out, peel off the paper and cool on a wire rack.
    (You can freeze the cake at this point.)
  8. Cream cheese frosting:  For the frosting, beat the butter and icing sugar together until soft and then beat in the cream cheese. Spread a thick layer on top of the cake.

Notes

  • Ingredient amounts don’t need to be exact.
  • May need to bake longer and at a lower temp in a loaf tin.  Two small loaf tins cook for same amount as a large square tin.
  • Tested successfully with gluten free flour

Stew and Dumplings

You need

3 potatoes
2 carrots
½ turnip
1 or 2 onions
500 g beef (stewing steak), cubed
1 tsp herbs
1 beef stock cube
2 tbsp pearl barley (optional)
50 g suet
100 g self-raising flour
pinch salt

Method

  1. Toss the beef in a little flour to coat it.
  2. Chop all the vegetables into bit sized pieces and layer them with the beef.
  3. Mix up a stock cube with boiling water and just cover the veg. and meat with the stock.
  4. Add the herbs (and pearl barley, if desired).
  5. Bring to boiling point, then cover reduce to a simmer for at least an hour.  Check occasionally to ensure that it doesn't burn.
  6. Make up the dumplings by mixing the suet, flour and salt with just enough cold water to clump it all together.
  7. Toss into the liquid and allow to simmer for 15 mins.

Makes loads.  Also, tastes better the next day!