This year is my second attempt at making a Christmas cake. I am not a fan of fruit cakes at all, but I made one to bring home for Christmas last year and it went down a storm. Though that could be something to do with the copious amounts of rum I dribbled into the cake during the weeks leading up to Christmas!

Unfortunately, dope that I am, I never wrote down the exact quantities of ingredients I used. I knew I based my recipe on English Mum’s personalised Christmas cake, so I started with that again, and with a bit of thinking and some consultations with those who actually ate it last year, I think I have managed to recreate it.

At least I hope so, as two extra cakes have been requested this year! I’m also going to go the whole hog and ice two of them. I’ll report back on that (scary) process closer to Christmas.

These quantities produce a nice deep 7in round cake. If you have smaller or bigger tins, adjust accordingly. For different sizes and variations, check out the original.

What You Need:

675g mixed fruit. I used a mixture of currants, raisins and sultanas, with a couple of glace cherries. I despise mixed peel, but if you fancy it, go for it.

125ml rapeseed oil

3 tbsp honey

juice of 1.5 oranges

90ml dark rum

150g dark brown sugar

1.5 tsp spices – I used 0.75 tsp cinnamon, 0.75 tsp mixed spice

1 cube of crystallised ginger, finely chopped

25g hazelnuts, chopped

1 heaped tsp marmalade

juice of half a lemon

2 eggs

150g plain self-raising flour

75g ground almonds

What To Do:

Grease and double line the bottom and sides of a round 7 inch tin. I use a springform tin for easy removal. Preheat the over to 150C fan.

Gather together all your ingredients. Place the fruit, oil, honey, orange juice, rum, sugar, spices, chopped hazelnuts and ginger into a large saucepan. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat before the mixture boils (and you lose all the booze!).

At this point I add the lemon juice and marmalade. Have a taste and see what you think. It might be sweet enough for you, so leave out the marmalade, or maybe the lemon juice isn’t needed.  Or just have a shot of rum – it’s Christmas!

Leave to cool until it’s about room temperature. Then add the eggs and mix in. Next, stir in the flour and ground almonds.

Transfer to the prepared tin, smoothing out the top.

Pop the cake into the oven and bake for 90 mins to 2 hrs, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake emerges clean, with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Leave to cool in the tin.

Once completely cooled, remove from the tin, peel off any parchment paper and wrap well, firstly in a layer of clean parchment paper, and then in a layer of aluminium foil.

If you’ve planned ahead and have a few weeks before serving, be sure to feed it with some dark rum (or booze of your choice) every now and then! Just prick the cake (top or sides) with a cocktail stick and dribble a teaspoon of booze over the cake. Then wrap it up again.  But, if it’s a bit late for all that, don’t worry. It will still taste wonderful.

There’s still loads of time to make your own Christmas puddings too! I’m a bit behind my usual schedule this year – I’m going to start my puddings tonight. I’m going to use the same recipe as last year which made a delicious, moist pud.

Now, get baking!

Christmas baking has taken my kitchen by storm, and I’ve already started testing recipes for preserves and chutneys to give as gifts. I’ve made red onion marmalade before, and it has always been very well received. A deliciously sweet, yet savoury preserve that is perfect in cheese sandwiches, or dolloped on your morning eggs.

This recipe is heavily based on one from BBC Good Food. I’ve changed it about a bit, as you’ll see below. I got 5 small jars from that batch, all roughly half lb size. So you should get 2 x 1 lb jars with maybe some over. I calculate that this batch cost about €9.00 to make, sourcing the wine and port in Aldi. Not a cheap preserve to make, but much cheaper than to buy in the supermarket. You also get the inner smugness of knowing you created your luscious preserve yourself.

What You Need:

2 kg red onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

140g dark brown sugar

1 tbsp fresh thyme

pinch chilli flakes – I only used a small pinch, next time I’ll add more to give a bigger chilli kick

750ml red wine – don’t break out your best vino for this. I picked up a bottle of red for €3.99 in Aldi.

200ml red wine vinegar

200ml port – again, I used my Aldi port, €6.49 for 750ml

What To Do:

I own too many cookbooks. Ok, maybe not too many. (How many is too many?).

Maybe not as many as this guy. And certainly, I don’t create nearly as many delicious dinners as he does.

But last night, I vowed to make something from one cookbook I had never used before: Nigel Slater’s Real Cooking.

I’m also on a ‘living leaner’ buzz, thanks to Móna. I’m trying to plan my cooking a bit more (by more, I mean actually doing some planning), with a focus on working my way through all the storecupboard essentials (read: so, so many bags of dried beans) I have gathered. So last night I decided that tonight we were having beans for dinner!

After a flick through Real Cooking, I decided on this recipe. I grabbed two random varieties of beans (because I never have exactly what a recipe calls for) and proceeded to soak them overnight.

This morning, I rinsed the beans well under running water and popped them in the slow cooker. I covered them with about 1 – 1.5 inches of water, popped in a couple of bay leaves, and set the slow cooker to low for about 10 hours. If you haven’t got a slow cooker (or can’t be bothered with all that hanging about), after soaking the beans overnight, pop them in a saucepan, cover with plenty of fresh water, throw in the bay leaves and simmer for about 50 minutes to 1 hour, skimming off any white scum that rises to the surface.  Whichever method you use, when the beans are cooked (can be crushed with light pressure, but not falling apart), turn off the heat and leave the beans in the cooking liquid until you are ready to use.

As I said above, the following recipe is adapted from Nigel Slater’s Real Cooking. I didn’t have all the ingredients he listed, but I muddled through and it worked out ok. So ok, in fact, that I am sitting here with a burnt tongue from gobbling down my bowl too quickly. I even took that terrible photo above so that I could share this recipe as soon as possible!

This is also a recipe you can go as fancy with as you wish (or as your pocket allows). Lidl and Aldi have their own brand tins of peeled plum tomatoes, or you can use some fancy tinned Italian tomatoes. You can pick authentic pancetta, or use half of the double pack of smoked bacon lardons from Lidl. This recipe served two for dinner with another 2 portions for lunch the next day.

What You Need:

250g dried beans, prepared as above. Nigel recommends cannellini, flageolet or haricot beans. I had some pinto and cannellini beans, so used half and half

2 bay leaves

rapeseed oil

1 white onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

a couple of handfuls of diced fat smoked bacon, such as pancetta ( I used 25og of beech smoked rindless bacon lardons from Lidl)

1 medium carrot, diced

1 small glass of white wine, optional

2 x 400g tins of peeled plum tomatoes

a few handfuls of green beans (I used some frozen green beans)

grated parmesan cheese, to serve

What To Do:

Grab a big saucepan and heat some rapeseed oil, enough to just cover the base of the pan. Add the onion and garlic and fry until soft, but not browned. Throw in the bacon and cook until the bacon fat has started to turn golden. This should just take a couple of minutes. Add the white wine, if using, and allow to bubble for about 30 seconds.

Add the diced carrot, tomatoes and their juice, the beans and enough of their cooking water to cover everything in the pan. I used all the cooking liquid, you may even need to add more water. Allow to simmer for about half an hour.

Don’t be alarmed if the whole plum tomatoes are floating unattractively at the top, they will break down as they cook.

Add the green beans, snapping them in half as you add them (or cutting in half, if fresh). Simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring every so often to break down the tomatoes.

Add some salt (you may need quite a bit, so give it a taste) and plenty of black pepper.

Ladle into bowls and grate some parmesan over the top. Serve with crusty bread (or toasted day-old bread).

Enjoy!

I love this time of year. The weather is cold and dry (though the dry part could end quite soon here in the West!), perfect for evening runs and weekend strolls around town. I really don’t mind the unpredictability of the Galway weather once we get a spell of cool, calm weather like this every so often. Of course, I’ll conveniently forget all this next time it rains for 30 days on the trot and dream of flying south in the winter like the birds. As the weather gets colder, I just crave warm, comforting dinners, filling soups, and rich cakes and puddings. Not quite the ‘light eating’ you get used to in the milder summer months. Though I guess a little of what you fancy can’t be bad?

This is my first time making a bakewell tart. I’ve had a near try before with the bakewell cake, which was a big hit. I am an almond fiend, so it was only a matter of time before I tackled the traditional bakewell tart. Except, I couldn’t leave well alone and leave the recipe as it was. We are flat out of raspberry jam (or any red jam) so I opted for the (more seasonal?) rhubarb jam, which was kindly gifted to me by a friend. I doubled the amount of jam in the original recipe too. I also threw in some almond extract in case the ground almonds weren’t enough of an almond hit on their own.

Did I mention I love almond?

However, if your almond desires are more modest, leave the extract out, or ramp it back to 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon.

Original recipe from BBC Good Food (you can find it here). My adapted recipe is below.

What You Need:

For the pastry:

125g plain flour

75g unsalted butter, cold and diced

25g caster sugar

1 egg yolk

1 egg white

For the filling:

4 tbsp rhubarb jam (or raspberry or cherry if you’re feeling more traditional)

150g unsalted butter, at room temperature

150g caster sugar

3 eggs, beaten (I used 3 large eggs)

1 egg yolk

1 tsp almond extract (or less, optional)

150g ground almonds

1 lemon, zested

2 tbsp flaked almonds

Note: When making the pastry, the egg white is required only to seal the pastry base – you won’t need much. I took the remaining egg white, along with the leftover egg white from the filling and popped them in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Be sure to label the bag so you know how many whites are in there. They’re handy to have in the freezer for emergency meringues!

What To Do:

Firstly, make the pastry. Whizz the butter, flour and sugar in a food processor with a pinch of salt until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and 1 tsp cold water and pulse until the pastry comes together.

Flatten in to a disk, cover with cling film and chill for less than an hour. Lightly grease a 10inch pie dish.  Roll out the pastry and line the pie dish with the pastry. I found the pastry really difficult to work with – it cracked and fell apart a lot.

Epic fail. And that was my second attempt at rolling it out.

Anyway, I trimmed the edges and used the scraps to patch it all up. Prick the pastry base with a fork and put it back in the fridge for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan), line the pastry base with parchment paper and fill with baking beans.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly golden (I left mine in a little too long so the very edges were quite golden) and remove the baking beans. Brush the base with a little egg white to seal and return to the oven for 2 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.

Next, get cracking on the filling. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Slowly add the beaten eggs and yolk. The mixture may start to curdle slightly if you add the eggs too quickly. A tablespoon of the ground almonds can help to pull it back. Mix well.

Add the almond extract, if using. Fold in the ground almonds and lemon zest. Spoon the jam onto the pastry base and spread out well.

Add the almond mixture, smoothing out to the edges to give an even layer.

If, like mine, the edges of the pastry base have started to brown a bit during the pre-baking stage, cover the tart loosely with aluminium foil for the first half of baking. This will stop the edges becoming very well done and drying out. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven (remove the foil if using) and scatter the flaked almonds over the top of the tart. At this stage, the edges of the filling will be starting to set but the middle will still be quite runny. Return to the oven for 15-20 minutes (I needed the full 20) until golden brown and completely set.

Allow to cool completely. But, if you’re like me and can’t let anything cool completely, do give it about 20-30 minutes before diving in. Eat on its own, dusted with icing sugar, or with freshly whipped cream for an indulgent treat.

For some reason, I’m now thinking about Pac-Man.

Enjoy!

Oh my, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Just when I thought I had all the time in the world to make fancy cakes and write about them, my new lack of routine just threw everything askew and time just marched by. I have been baking my ass off but sadly never got round to posting about it. Things have to change around here!

First up, this great recipe for courgette and walnut cake with lime mascarpone frosting. The frosting took (a lot) of inspiration from Jamie Oliver, and is almost the best part, so creamy and lime-y, and goes so well with the rougher, crunchier texture of the cake. Just try not to eat the frosting straight from the bowl.

What You Need:

For the cake:

150g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

0.5 tsp salt

125g soft brown sugar

2 eggs

100ml rapeseed oil

100g walnuts, chopped

1 medium courgette, grated

pinch cinnamon

For the frosting: (I only used about half of this to cover the cake)

120g mascarpone

240g cream cheese (full fat)

160g icing sugar, sifted

juice and zest of 1 lime

zest of 1 lime + 0.5 tbsp caster sugar (to decorate)

What To Do:

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and grab a round springform cake tin (I used an 8 inch tin). Grease the bottom and sides of the tin, and line the bottom with greaseproof paper.

Using a whisk (or a stand mixer), beat the sugar and eggs together until well mixed.

Mix in the oil. Sift the flour,salt, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda over the mixture and, using a spatula or wooden spoon, stir into the eggy, sugary, oily mixture.

Squeeze the grated courgette to remove any excess moisture, and add to the mixture along with the chopped walnuts.

Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, and bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake emerges clean. Leave to cool slightly in the tin, and then turn out onto a wire rack (removing the parchment paper from the bottom of the cake).

When the cake has cooled, make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and mascarpone to remove any lumps. When smooth, gradually add the icing sugar and the zest and juice of the lime. Add the juice slowly, as it may thin out the frosting too much. If this happens, just add a little more icing sugar until you are satisfied with the consistency. Smooth over the cooled cake. Mix the zest of 1 lime with 1/2 tbsp caster sugar. Sprinkle over the frosted cake.

Serve and enjoy!

Ooh, now this is a lovely recipe. Does anyone remember the sticky Jamaica ginger cake from McVities? Is it still available?  Remember the top of the gingerbread loaf, so sticky and delicious? Perhaps my childhood nostaglia is taking over, and McVities’ offering isn’t so great, but in my mind it’s like a holy grail of gingerbread, and so difficult to replicate. Sometimes homemade gingerbread can be a bit dry and disappointing, and not very ginger-y at all. In this recipe, the Guinness really accentuates the ginger flavour and, along with the sour cream, makes the most moist crumb. The top is sticky, as gingerbread should be, and the flavours and stickiness only improve the next day. Be sure to use the freshest ground ginger you have, not the remains of some sad old jar only brought out from the back of the cupboard for Christmas baking. Lidl (and perhaps Aldi?) both sell ground ginger, so a great fresh flavour won’t break the bank. If you don’t have any ground cloves, you can grind some yourself using a pestle and mortar.

Recipe taken from Nigella’s most recent book, Kitchen. I love this book.

What You Need:

150g butter

300g golden syrup (yes this seems like alot, it will be ok, trust me)

200g dark muscavado sugar

250 ml Guinness (stout, not draught is better here)

2 tsp ground ginger (the fresher the better)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

300g plain flour

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

300ml sour cream (I only had a small tub (200ml), so I made up the difference with creme fraiche)

2 large eggs

What To Do:

Grab a square baking tin (I used an 8x8inch tin), line it with aluminium foil and then grease the foil. Preheat the oven to 170C.

Place the butter, golden syrup, sugar, Guinness, ginger, cinnamon, and ground cloves into a medium saucepan and heat gently until the butter and syrup are melted together. Pick your saucepan carefully, as you will mix all the ingredients in this eventually.

Remove from the heat and add the baking soda and flour. Combine using a whisk, mixing well to get rid of any lumps. The baking soda will begin to bubble.

Beat the eggs and sour cream together in a jug or bowl and add to the saucepan. Again, mix well to get rid of any lumps. Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin.

Yes, the tin looks way too full, but it’s ok as the mixture won’t rise alot during baking. I put a baking tin on the shelf below in case there was an overflow, but the bubbling of the soda has already given the mixture quite a bit of volume, and most of the rising during baking happened in the centre. Bake for 45 minutes (mine took a little longer).

Nigella says the gingerbread is done when the centre has risen to a gleaming dome and the edges are starting to come away from the tin. If you’re unsure, give it another few minutes in the oven. Mine was barely coming away from the edges when I took it out, and the very centre of it was a little squidgy when cooled.

Cool in the tin and cut into squares. Lovely with a cup of tea, or a glass of cold milk. For a more wintery treat, serve warm with homemade custard.

Enjoy!