Cake House

FAT RASCALS This lovely old Cornish recipe was given to me by Helen, from Wadebridge and it was her mother’s recipe. Priscilla Milne was originally from Port Isaac which is why, when she was made a Cornish bard in 1997 at the Gorsedh, her title was Musycyen Portyssack. She won a lot of cups for her work, either music or written work. She even wrote a piece of music and translated the Lord's prayer into Cornish, and won a cup after she died as they let Helen and her family enter the piece she had worked on for the next Gorsedh. Helen describes the Fat Rascals as a cross between a biscuit and a bun [the term bleedin’ ‘andsom, was also used, love it!] Thank you so much Helen. My husband loved them, not waiting for them to cool, he ate two warm. I think they could be buttered too, especially the next day. You will need a straight edge 3” cutter. Lightly butter a large baking tray or two smaller ones and pre heat your fan oven to 180C  In a large mixing bowl, place: 1 lb self raising fl...

POLISH CAKE Is this polish, as in get a duster and do some housework or Polish as in from Poland? I have no idea and maybe there is someone out there who can answer this question. The bare bones of this old recipe comes from the 1960s WI Cornish Recipes book and the only help I have is ‘creamed method”. So I start by guesswork and pre heat my fan oven to 150C and grease and line the base of a 7” spring form tin. Prepare the dry ingredients before starting. 4 oz softened butter 5 oz caster sugar vanilla extract 2 large eggs 8 oz SR flour 4 tablespoons milk 3 oz glace cherries, quartered 2 oz coconut 2 oz chopped walnuts 2 oz grated chocolate, I used 70% cocoa solids.  [I chopped mine, grating chocolate is a pain] Cream the softened butter, vanilla and sugar, until light and fluffy then add the beaten eggs, then the flour, along with the milk. Fold in the remaining ingredients and tip into your prepared tin. Bake for about 1¼ hours, until golden and firm to the touch, cool on a rack ...

R ava and sesame seeds laddoo is a quick dessert which can be prepared within no time. Usually, we will be preparing either only Rava laddoo or on sesame laddoo, but a combination of these two is something to try out. A perfect combination, which will be liked by all. Here I have added ghee to bind the laddoos as I want to store them. You can add little ghee and little milk to bind, but if milk is added it should be consumed within a day. You can increase or decrease the amount of ghee or sugar as you like. It all depends on upon your tastes and preferences. This is one of the easiest sweets which can be within less time. This can be stored in airtight containers and in refrigerators it will stay fresh for a long time. Ingredients: Rava/ Semolina- 2 Cups Sesame seeds- ½ Cup Powdered Sugar- ¾ Cup Cardamom powder- 1 tsp Ghee/ Clarified Butter-½  Cup Nuts- few Method: Roast the semolina till light brown and keep this aside to cool. In the same pan roast the sesame seeds till it gets c...

Liver and Onions Pasties Our forebears didn’t just make the traditional Cornish pasty, they loved other fillings, especially dates, pork, jam, herbs and bacon. I have many pasty recipes from my old 1920s Cornish Recipes book and will make some more during the winter. But a firm favourite at tea time were little liver and onion pasties. Ann, from the famous pasty shop in The Lizard tells me that her mother, Hettie loved these and Hettie said they are good, hot or cold. After making them I agree! Hettie stated that Ox liver should be used, but I prefer pork or lamb liver, but the choice is yours. Pastry: Use rough puff. for about 4 or 5 little pasties: 8 oz plain flour, 2 oz butter, 2 oz lard or Cookeen, [I love Cookeen]  salt and a little very cold water. Rub the fat into the flour, bind with the water, lightly knead for a moment then chill for at least half an hour. Pre heat your fan oven to 200C Thinly sliced liver, tossed in some seasoned plain flour, sliced onions, seasoning, in...

I n India, festival season is in full swing and everyone are busy making sweets or snacks. Kids will be enjoying the delicious sweets/ savories made by their moms. Bakeries are filled with mouthwatering, scrumptious ghee sweets. Those who want to try their hands at making these sweets from scratch will be searching the internet or from recipe books. In my house as my kids love sweets/ desserts the most, I thought of making these gulab jamuns, which are my childhood favorite sweet. As a kid, when my dad prepared these gulab jamuns, I used to finish them one by one without my brothers noticing me. You heard it right, my dad used to prepare all the sweets at home as he loved making them and to give my mom some rest from cooking, he used to prepare most of the sweets and we (my brothers and myself) used to assist him in the cooking. Those were the days we used to enjoy the food made at home. Nowadays it's a very busy life and everything will be readymade/ store bought. Gulab jamun got ...

Proper Tea Treat Buns A wonderful Cornish childhood memory! I clearly recall being handed the most enormous bun after games and jollifications at our local chapel Tea Treats. We used to gather in the nearby field, dozens and dozens of excited village children, then sitting crosslegged in the grass and tucking into our Tea Treat Buns. They tasted absolutely divine. Saffrony and choc full of fruit, the size of a tea plate. Heaven. So, as requested, after talking to many folk about what they remember, here is my version of this old Cornish delicacy. Saffron cakes and buns have currants in them, but my friends all recall that they were loaded with lots of different fruit, especially peel, that we know our forebears loved. It is strange using sultanas and raisins in a saffron mix. I saw an old 1920 recipe using spice, as well as saffron and mixed fruit, so I decide to use some nutmeg only. But if you recall it spicier, by all means add a teaspoon of mixed spice. This old recipe also used de...

T he weather is getting colder and colder and so a warm, filling and flavor full soups are the perfect antidote to chilly winter weathers.This healthy soup can be prepared within 15- 20 minutes and everybody will enjoy this delicious soup. This is an ultimate comfort soup, which is very filling than regular food. You just need some tomatoes, onions and garlic for an incredible bowl of soup. Here the tomatoes are blanched, chopped, cooked, blended and served. Garnish with some crunchy, delicious croutons and enjoy a hot steaming bowl of soup. The steps for preparing this soup looks tedious, but once you gather all the ingredients, this can be prepared in no time. There is anything more comforting  than being in the kitchen experiencing the simmer smells of this simple homemade tomato soup. Just try this out and let me know…. Ingredients: Tomatoes- 4 nos Onions- 2 nos Garlic Chopped- 2 tbsp Bay leaf- 1 Olive oil- 1 tbsp Water- 1 Cup Salt- as required Pepper powder- 1 tsp Sugar- 1 tbs...

Jam and Custard Shorties What an unusual recipe I unearthed from an old book. Not a biscuit nor a cake. Almost halfway between them I guess. You could describe it as a rich moist cakey version of shortbread, it uses custard powder to give it that lovely comforting taste, then you cut and mould it to place in shallow patty tins, giving a little hollow space for a dob of any jam you fancy. I have used my homemade loganberry. It was such a good year for this delicious fruit. 6 oz plain Flour ½ level teaspoon of baking powder 2 oz custard powder 4 oz butter 2 oz caster sugar 1 egg yolk Jam of your choice Pre heat your fan oven to 200C and lightly butter a 12 hole shallow ish bun tin [not a muffin tin] In a medium bowl, rub the butter into the flour, custard powder and BP, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs, add the caster, mix well, then bind with the yolk. You need a shortcrust pastry like consistency. Lightly press together until just smooth then cut into 12 and roll out each piece to a...

W hen we were in india, saw a cookery show in which they prepared this milk based dessert which is a very popular sweet in Tamil Nadu. When we went to Chennai, I wanted to try this popular sweet from the shop which they showed in the cookery show. But couldn’t make it and we returned back.   I never thought that this would be so easy to make till I stumbled upon Kannamma’s Blog which is full of traditional Tamil Nadu recipes and thought of giving it a try. Only time consuming part is of continuously stirring the milk till it thickens. Using two ingredients we can prepare a mouthwatering dessert that would be loved by all. Make sure that the jaggery is added only when the milk thickens or else it will curdle. This is usually sold wrapped in tiny packets. In some Tamil marriages, this is distributed among the guests. A very luscious and scrumptious dessert, but can be had little at a time as it is very filling. Adapted from Kannamma Cooks : Ingredients: Whole Milk- 2 ½ Cups Jaggery-...