Apple and Cinnamon Cake

Ingredients

8 oz 225g soft margarine

8 oz 225g light muscavado sugar

3 medium eggs

4 oz 100g walnut pieces

8 oz 225g self raising flour

2 tsps baking powder

14 oz 400g cooking apples peeled, cored and grated

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180/ 350/ Gas Mark 4

2. Grease and base line a 9" round tin preferably spring form

3. Mix all the ingredients together except the apple and cinnamon until well blended.

4. Spoon half the mixture into the tin and cover with the grated apples and sprinkle with the cinnamon

5. Spread the remainder of the mixture over the apple and sprinkle with additional

dememera sugar. I use Waitrose Cinnamon sugar.

6. Bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours until golden and firm and a knife comes out clean.

7. Leave in the tin for a few minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Courgette and Walnut Cake

350g courgettes

100g chopped walnuts

250g sunflower oil – by weight

4 medium eggs

175g light muscavado sugar

175g golden granulated sugar

grated zest of half and orange

100g wholemeal flour

100g self-raising flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

1.     Pre-heat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4

2.     Grease and line two 20cm deep sandwich tins, or if you are making the loaf versions, line two 2lb loaf tins. I usually cheat with the loaves and use the liners that can be bought in most supermarkets now!

3.     Coarsely grate the courgettes and squeeze out as much juice as possible in a clean tea towel

4.     Place in a large mixing bowl with the chopped walnuts

5.     Blend the eggs, oil, sugars and orange zest in a food processor

6.     Pour the mixture onto the courgettes

7.     Sift the other ingredients on and mix well. The batter will be quite soft.

8.     Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake for 25-30 minutes for the sandwich tins and 40-50 minutes for the loaf tins. A skewer will come out clean, the top will be golden brown and feel firm to the touch and the cake will be shrinking slightly from the sides of the tin.

9.     Leave to cool in the tin.

If you have made the loaf tins, use a cream cheese and icing sugar mix topping. If you have made the sandwich version, use the same cream cheese in the middle, along with lemon curd and more of the cream cheese on top. Courgettes are one of your five a day, so why not?!

The cake is quite soft and sticky and will stay moist for several days, if it lasts that long!

Fresh cherry bakewell

I seemed to have a fridge full of cherries, so used some instead of jam in a bakewell tart today. Worked rather well!

Frangipane Tart

This particular tart always goes down well! Warm with a scoop of ice-cream or custard, or cold with cream or even better, a clotted cream, this is a great dessert or afternoon delight!

For the sweet pastry case

300g plain flour

150g unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

60g icing sugar

2 medium egg yolks beaten

For the frangipane topping

110g unsalted butter

110g caster sugar

2 medium eggs beaten

80g ground almonds

30g plain flour

a handful of flaked almonds - how much is really up to how much you like almonds! I like lots so add lots!

Prepare the pastry case

1. Gently rub the butter into the flour using your finger tips
2. Stir in the sugar
3. Add the eggs and use an ordinary knife to cut in the eggs
4. Bring the dough together to form a ball. This is a very sticky dough -don’t worry
5. Chill the pastry for an hour so that the dough is easier to work with
6. Once the pastry has chilled, roll it out between a sheet of greaseproof paper on the bottom and cling film on the top. Try not to handle the dough too much
7. Line either a 23cm fluted, loose bottom round tin or a rectangular tin around 30cm x 15cm with the pastry, cutting off any excess, and then chill again for another 15-20 minutes
8. Use a fork to mark the base

Cover the pastry case base with the filling of your choice - jam, fruit compote, fruit curd. I like a spiced plum jam or rhubarb and ginger compote, although Jo’s mum’s raspberry and tayberry jam is fantastic!

Pre-heat the oven to Gas 3/ 170 and place a baking sheet on the middle shelf.

Make the frangipane topping

1. Put all the ingredients into a large bowl
2. Use a handmixer to bring the ingredients together until they are light and fluffy
3. Use a palette knife to spread over the jam
4. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds

Place the tart tin on the pre-heated baking sheet - this will help avoid a soggy bottom - and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden. Let the tart cool in the tin for 15 minutes.

If you want to, you can drizzle 50g of icing sugar mixed with water until a pouring consistency over the tart.

Fat Free Biscotti

Fat Free Biscotti

Makes 20-24

Ingredients

2 medium eggs

100g caster sugar

250g plain flour plus a little extra for dusting

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Filling ideas

zest of 1 orange

25g toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

25g chocolate chips

The last three can be changed for the filling of choice e.g. macadamia and cranberry or any mix of nuts and dried fruit. Swap 50g of the flour for cocoa powder to make chocolate biscotti. For the mocha ones shown here, I used 45g of cocoa powder and 4 tsp of espresso powder and then 50g of roasted and chopped hazelnuts.

1. Heat the oven to Gas 4/ 180C
2. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment
3. whisk the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy
4. sift the flour and bicarb into a bowl and add the zest, nuts and chocolate chips
5. fold into the egg mix to make quite a soft dough
6. tip onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a 25cm sausage then transfer to a baking tray and flatten to a 3cm thickness
7. bake for 30 minutes until golden brown
8. remove from the tray onto a board and reduce the oven to Gas 3/160C
9. cut the log into 1cm thick slices and return to the sheet with the cut side up
10. bake for another 10-15 minutes until crisp

These should last for 3 weeks if stored in an air tight container.

Gluten free flour, such as Doves Farm, works just as well, but can be a little crumbly. I found it was best to slice the 'sausage' straight from the oven before it had the chance to go hard!