⌔ rainy May

on a rainy May day I really fancied some fruit cake

looking through my recipe books

most of them were quite Wintery

with cinnamon or cloves and way too many eggs!

so I stumbled across a recipe from an old neighbour
that I could change to satisfy my craving

it's rather cool as it doesn't use any butter or oil

just good old fashioned tea!

Maytime Fruit Teabread

you will need ....

250g plain flour

125g muscovado sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

1 egg

the grated zest of an orange

375g dried fruit {any you like}

and a 250ml cup of tea {I used lady grey}

first thing to do is make the tea!

pour it over the dried fruits and leave for a few hours

or preferably overnight to plump them up

preheat the oven to 170c/ gas 3

line a loaf tin with baking paper

in a large bowl, put in all the dry ingredients

and mix with a whisk

{this gets rid of any lumps and adds air}

pour in the soaked fruit (& any remaining tea)

add the grated zest and egg

mix well and dollop into the prepared tin

bake for an hour until cooked

then leave to cool in the tin

tasty on it's own or slathered with jam!

♺ recycle

each weekend I save my Sunday newspaper for

my friend Cheryll 

her children have guinea pigs and the

broader sheet papers are great for the hutch

I'm told!

in return she gives me her food magazines

we love looking at the recipes 

and tear out any that catch our eye

before passing on the magazines again!

how's that for moneys worth?

this cake looks and IS delicious

an unusual method, one we've not tried before

and we only had half the amount of blueberries

but it was still good

{the original recipe was in bbc good food mag}

orange & blueberry polenta loaf

you will need ....

100g polenta

140g unsalted butter, softened

140g caster sugar

200g self raising flour

half a teaspoon baking powder

1 large egg

200g blueberries

the zest and 2 tbsps of the juice from an orange

preheat the oven to 160c/gas 3

line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper

put the polenta, sugar, butter, flour, baking powder

and orange zest into a food processor

and pulse until it looks like breadcrumbs

mix the egg and orange juice together

then add to the food processor

pulse until the dough comes together into a ball

place half the mixture in the loaf tin 

and cover with half the blueberries

cover the berries with the remaining dough

and scatter on the rest of the blueberries

bake for 1 hour to 1hour 10 minutes

until golden 

leave to cool in the tin for a while

before transferring onto a cooling rack

delicious for any time of day!

༄ zest for life

we love the taste of fresh coconut

getting the white stuff from the shell 

 really is worth the effort!

the water is refreshing and so so

good for you too

coconut sponge cake and macaroons

are standard bakes for tropical loveliness

but we fancied something different

so I added and tweaked an old recipe!

lemon & coconut polenta cake

you will need ....

50g shredded coconut

50g polenta {finemeal quick cook}

50g ground almonds

125g softened butter

125g caster sugar

half a teaspoon baking powder

*or gluten free alternative

2 eggs {lightly beaten}

grated zest of a lemon

for the syrup ....

2 tablespoons caster sugar

juice of a lemon

heat the oven to 170c/ gas 4

line a 20cm cake tin with greaseproof paper

in a large bowl 

cream together the butter and sugar until

light and fluffy

add the beaten eggs a little at a time

now add the coconut, polenta, baking powder,

lemon zest and almonds

fold through and dollop into the prepared tin

smooth the top, put in the oven and

bake for 40-50minutes or until golden

and firm to touch

while the cake is cooking

mix together the lemon juice and sugar

when the cake is cooked

 put the tin onto a cooling rack

prick all over with a skewer

and drizzle on the syrup

sprinkle with fresh coconut 

and leave to cool completely in the tin

cut into slices and enjoy!

ᄈ herbed

it seems this Winter has lasted forever

so to inject a bit of Spring 

here's a new take on an old favourite

lemon & rosemary loaf cake

you will need ....

125g butter {room temperature}

175g self raising flour

125g sugar

2 eggs

zest of  lemon

two sprigs of fresh *rosemary

*strip the leaves, crush a little and chop finely

4 tablespoons of milk

a pinch of salt

and for the syrup ....

100g sugar

about 4 tablespoons lemon juice

preheat the oven to 180c/ gas 4

line and grease a loaf tin

cream together the butter and sugar until light

add the eggs a little at a time

then the zest and rosemary

now fold in the flour & salt

adding the milk to loosen

pile into the loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes

until golden, testing for doneness with a skewer

while the cake is in the oven mix the sugar and

lemon juice for the syrup

then

as soon as the cake comes out of the oven

prick it all over with the skewer 

drizzle on the syrup and leave to cool completely

in the tin on a cooling rack

so delicious that it didn't last long enough for

me to photograph it!

 Spring can't come soon enough for us

✚ keeps the doctor away

there's something about cold crisp wintery

days that makes me want to make fruit cake!

after noodling on the web for inspiration

I stumbled across this tasty cake

originally by Yotam Ottolenghi {swoon}

so get your mixing bowls ready 

{you'll need a few!}

for 

apple and olive oil cake with maple icing

you will need ....

for the cake ~ 

80g sultanas or any dried fruit

4 tablespoons water

280g plain flour

½ teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

1¼ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

160g sugar

120ml olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or seeds from a fresh pod

2 eggs beaten

3 apples, cored and cut into 1cm dice

grated zest of a lemon

2 egg whites

for the icing ~ 

100g sugar

100g butter

85ml maple syrup

220g cream cheese

preheat the oven to 170c/ gas 4

grease and line a 20cm round springform cake tin

put the dried fruits and 4 tablespoons of

water into a small saucepan and heat 

gently until the liquid has been absorbed

leave to cool

in a large bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, salt, 

baking powder and bicarb and set aside

in another bowl

blend the sugar and olive oil together until smooth

add the vanilla and gradually beat in the eggs

until you have a smooth, thick mixture

fold in the apples, lemon zest and cooled fruits

gently fold in the dry ingredients using a spatula

in a clean and dry bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks

add them to the batter in two goes

folding gently and keeping as much air as possible!

pour into the prepared tin and bake for 1 - 1½ hours

testing for doneness with a skewer

leave to cool completely

when the cake is cool, make the icing

by mixing the butter and sugar until fluffy

add the maple syrup and stir in the cream cheese

if you use a whisk it will be lighter

cut the cake in half horizontally

and spread one half with some of the

icing mixture

replace the top and spread with more of

that delicious icing

put the iced cake in the fridge to set

but let it come back to room temperature to

cut and eat and enjoy!