Cake House

FUDGE CAKE How good does this look!! Not bad, considering this is exactly as printed in the 1917 Modern Cookery. It looks yummy and up to date! We loved the grainy fudgy filling and topping. Butter and line the base of a 8” spring form tin.. Pre heat your fan oven to 160C 6 oz plain flour 1½ oz ground rice 4½ oz softened butter 3 oz demerara sugar 3 oz golden syrup ½ teaspoon each of mixed spice and ground ginger 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 large tablespoon milk 3 eggs In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar to a soft cream, then add the spices and syrup. Mix well then beat in the eggs, with a little of the flour with each addition. Now add the ground rice, flour, baking powder and milk. Mix well then turn into your tin and bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes. When cold split in half. Meanwhile, while it is cooling: Fudge Filling: 9 oz demerara sugar 1½ oz butter 3 tablespoons milk Topping: walnuts Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir over a gentle heat until the ...

Marmalade Muffins So scrummy!!!! My husband absolutely loves marmalade in any form, so these are like manna from heaven. Plus the recipe is so easy and quick to make. You will need a 12 hole muffin tin, and can use paper cases, but there is no real need. I recently bought a can of spray greaser and it is brilliant for fiddly jobs like this. Pre heat your fan oven to 170C. Prepare your tin [s]. This quantity makes about 16-17 so I used two tins, but it can be halved, of course. 11 oz Self raising flour 4½ oz  softened butter 3 oz chopped almonds, lightly toasted in a dry pan [a lovely bite] 5 oz caster sugar grated zest of a large orange [eat the orange after!] 125 ml marmalade 2 eggs 125 ml buttermilk a few flake almonds for the top, if you wish. In a medium bowl, rub the butter into the flour then add the sugar, zest and toasted nuts, then the marmalade, milk and eggs. Mix well and fill your muffin holes to about three quarters full. You can sprinkle over some extra nuts in you wi...

GEMS I found these crispy, delicious biscuits in the Modern Cookery recipe book from 1917. Made in a few minutes, no creaming or rubbing in. So easy. But most of all, delicious and unfortunately very moreish. Hey ho. 8 oz self raising flour 4 oz caster sugar 2 oz melted butter 1 egg 2 oz glace cherries 1 oz mixed peel Pre heat your fan oven to 160C and butter a large baking sheets. This quantity makes 15 x 1¼oz biscuits.  In a medium bowl, sift the flour and sugar together. Chop the fruits very very finely, then mix into the flour and sugar, making sure all the little bits are separated. Stir in the melted butter and enough of the beaten egg to for a soft dough. If you use a large egg then you might not need the whole egg, [I used one large] the dough should be soft, but not sticky. Form the dough into large marble shapes and press lightly onto your prepared baking sheet, leaving plenty of room for them to spread. Bake for about 15-17 minutes in your prepared oven. Just lovely. Ext...

B aked fish or karimeen pollichathu is a traditional Kerala delicacy which I would love to eat in restaurants in Kerala. This is my all time favorite, which is available in different shapes, varieties, and sizes in different restaurants. We can make these at home, but whenever we get this pearl spot fish, we will end up making a Kerala curry or fry. Rarely we will do this pollichathu on special occasions. Keralites love for fish is well known. Meen pollichathu is one classic dish which will be loved by all and this one is made using a fish which is called as “karimeen” or “pearl spot fish”. We can make this pollichathu with other varieties of fish but this pearl spot tastes delicious for this type of preparation. “Karimeen” is the name of the fish and “pollichathu” means burnt or fried. It’s been 2 years since we ate this pearl spot fish. Here in the US, very rarely we can see any pearl spot fish in frozen section.We will get all other varieties of fishes in the Indian store, but th...

O ne of the best things to have a food blog is that I get a chance to try different varieties of dishes so that I can feed my blog. This is one of the recipes which I was thinking to make for so long, as I was not sure about broiling. One day I tried and this is the result. Broiled Bell Pepper Pasta is one of the most preferred dinners on any day in my house. My kids, even the small one, love the pasta made in any sauce. They love Mac and Cheese a lot. So I make sure that they get all the healthy nutrients by adding lots of veggies. By adding different varieties of cheese and herbs, we can make the pasta more delicious and flavorful. In this recipe, I broiled the bell peppers till it becomes soft and the skin came out easily. We can also roast these bell peppers on the stove top. These freshly roasted peppers will give the pasta a nice smoky taste. I have mixed both penne and fusilli pasta. We can also add cooked chicken pieces instead of sausage. As my kids love to eat the small ro...

Carrot Cake I know, there are loads of recipes around for this cake. BUT, I have tasted many of them and not one comes anywhere near this, for flavour or texture. This recipe was given to me by my sister in law Jo, decades ago, and she found it in her Kenwood recipe book, from about the mid 70s. I had my Kenwood slightly earlier and it was not in mine. I permanently keep one [half] in the freezer for a quick small dessert if needed. It never fails, is so moist and the lemony cream cheese topping/filling is just nectar. Grease and line the bases of 2 x 8” sandwich tins [loose bottom is easiest]. Pre heat your fan oven to 170C 12 oz finely grated carrot [a food processor is way easier!] 4 eggs 8 oz Soft Dark Brown Sugar 6 fl oz of sunflower oil 8 oz of SR Wholemeal flour [or plain wholemeal with a heaped teasp of Baking Powder] 4 oz desiccated coconut 4 oz sultanas 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1- 2  teaspoon of mixed spice, on taste Topping 6 oz low fat cream cheese grated lemon zest 2 tables...

C hokladbollar is a Swedish dessert which we usually find in almost all the IKEA shops in the form of chocolates, not like these round balls. The chocolates from IKEA tastes so unique and fully packed with flavors. I came around this dessert when I was checking for some other recipe on the net and this name caught my attention. I researched about this dessert and found out to be very easy, less time consuming and very healthy and nutritious chocolate balls. It was like love at first bite. These are one of the easiest treats which can be prepared along with kids. This does not require any baking. In this, the powdered oats are mixed with all other ingredients, shaped and rolled in desiccated coconut. The fun part is to roll these cuties in sprinkles or sugar or anything else of our choice. The amount of sugar may vary according to one's preferences. Try this and let me know. Ingredients: Oats- 1 ½ Cups Butter- ½ Cup Sugar-¼ cup Cocoa Powder- 3 tbsp Vanilla essence- 1tsp Desiccated C...

EGG AND BACON CAKES Yet another lovely old recipe I have found, and as so often happened in those days, the base was from a left over roast. It suggests using ham or bacon from the end of a hock or gammon. I love roast gammon, but do not have it that often, but had to buy one to roast, so I could make these with the leftovers! Gammon can be salty, so only season with pepper. The quantity below makes 8 x 4 oz cakes. Basic white sauce: Large knob butter, melted, in a small saucepan.  2 heaped teaspoons plain flour, 10 fl oz whole milk. Seasoning. [+ dry mustard powder]. Quickly add the flour to the melted butter then whisk in the milk, over a medium heat. Keep whisking until smooth and bubbly. Season as you wish [but no salt]. I like to use mustard too, when adding the flour. ½ lb boiled bacon [or ham] 6 hard boiled eggs, cooled in cold water, then shelled 6 tablespoons breadcrumbs from a stale loaf [you can buy them] Pepper ½ pint white sauce 2 dessert spoons catsup [ketchup] [chopp...

Peel pp a boiled beetroot and cut into small cubes. Mix with some horseradish cream from a pot (1/2 tbsp pp) and some thinly sliced red onion. Mix 2 more tbsp horseradish with 2 tbsp creme fraiche , 2 tbsp cream, 1 tsp mustard and some pepper and salt. Fry pp a fillet of mackerel in a lightly oiled pan , skin side down till the skin is nicely brown and crispy. Turn off the heat and turn the fish, It will be done in a minute and a half. Serve as shown with watercress . I had some left over oyster mushrooms but that's not necessary. (Inspiration: Dominic Chapman)

Comfort food in 6 minutes. Cut the tips of some green asparagus in half, slice a red onion , some shiitake ,  courgette and a garlic clove. Wok the onion and garlic in a tbsp oil for about 2 mins, then add the other veggies. After another 2 mins add a tsp rice vinegar , 3 tbsp f ish sauce , 1 tbsp ginger syrup and a tbsp soy sauce. And pre-cooked ramen (noodles). Stir and after another minute or two dinner can be served. Simple food? Yes. Looking good? Who cares as long as its mouthwatering.

Marlene’s Milky Boiled Fruit Cake Here is yet another different Boiled Cake recipe that a Bridge friend passed to me. Over the last two or three years she has given me several recipes, that her Mum made. Marlene, from Falmouth is in her 80s, so you can work out old this is. I had never seen a Boiled Cake using Condensed Milk either. You will notice there is no added sugar, but the sweetened milk is plenty enough. No tin size was given to me, just “large”, so I used a 9” tin, although if you would like a deeper cake use a 8”. Grease and line a 9” spring form cake tin. Preheat your fan oven to 140C. 10 oz Plain Flour 1 lb dried mixed fruit 10 oz butter [the original said use marg] spice [nothing specific to go on, but I used a teaspoon mixed spice] tin of sweetened Condensed Milk [397gr]  ½ pint water 1 large egg 1½ teaspoons baking powder In a large saucepan, place the milk and butter then heat until the fat has melted, then add the fruit and spice and bring to the boil. Leave to co...