Tag: Afternoon Tea

Apple Bourbon Pecan Cake

Apple bourbon pecan cakeThis recipe is courtesy of Easy Living Magazine.

Serves: 8-12   –   Prep time: 20 mins   –   Cook time: 70 mins

Ingredients: 225g (7oz) unsalted butter, softened; 220g (7oz) plus 1 tblsp caster sugar; 220g (7oz) plus 1 tblsp dark brown soft sugar; 3 eggs; 280g (9oz) plain flour; 1 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda; 1 tsp ground allspice; 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg; ¼ tsp ground cloves; ¼ tsp ground ginger; ¼ tsp ground cardamom; ½ tsp salt; 3 tblsp bourbon; 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks; 120g (4oz) shelled whole pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

  1. Heat the oven to 160oC (gas mark 2-3).  Grease a 20cm (8 in) round cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.  Using an electric mixer with paddle or beater attachment (or an electric whisk), beat the butter and both sugars until the mixture is almost light in colour and fluffy in texture.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until thoroughly combined before adding the next. Scrape down the side of the bowl and mix again for 1 minute.
  2. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, all the spices and salt and sift twice. Add one third of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix until well incorporated.  Repeat with another third of the flour mixture, then the rest of the flour mixture and mix until just combined.  Pour the bourbon over the apples in a bowl and mix.  Fold the apples and pecans into the cake mixture.  Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin.
  3. Bake in the hot oven for 55-70 minutes.  A wooden skewer inserted in the middle should come out with almost no crumbs attached, and the middle of the cake, when pressed, should spring back slightly instead of sinking.  Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes if necessary.
  4. Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin for 10 minutes.  Slide a table knife all around the edge to loosen the cake, then remove from the tin. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 1 hour.

Cake tin:

Recipe taken from this book:

Red Velvet Cake

red velvet cakeThis recipe is courtesy of Easy Living Magazine

Serve:  8-12   –    Prep time:  40 mins plus time for cake to cool   –   Cook time: 25 mins

Ingredients:  2 eggs; 225g (7oz) caster sugar; 1 ¼ tsp salt; 250ml (8 fl oz) sunflower oil; 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract; 150ml (4 ½ fl oz) buttermilk; 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 2 ½ tsp apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar; 225g (7 oz) plain flour; 1 ½ tblsp cocoa powder; ¾ tsp red food colouring paste

For the frosting: 250ml (8 fl oz) whipping cream, very cold; 175g (6oz) mascarpone; 175g (6oz) cream cheese; 85g (3oz) icing sugar, sifted; 2 tsp vanilla extract

  1. Heat the oven to 170oC (gas mark 3).  Grease a 20cm (8 in) round cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.  Place the eggs, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. While whisking, add the oil in a steady stream until fully combined and the mixture thickens slightly. Stir in the vanilla extract.
  2. Place the buttermilk, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar in a smaller, separate bowl.  The mixture should bubble quite actively and then fade.  In another bowl, combine the flour and cocoa powder and sift twice.  Add one third of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix until well incorporated.  Add half the buttermilk mixture and mix until just combined.  Repeat with another third of the flour mixture, then the rest of the buttermilk.  Finally, add the last third of the flour mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.  Add the food colouring last and stir until thoroughly incorporated.  Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin.
  3. Bake in the hot oven for 28-35 minutes.  A wooden skewer inserted in the middle should come out with almost no crumbs attached, and the middle of the cake, when pressed, should spring back slightly rather than sink. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes if necessary.
  4. To make the cream cheese frosting, whisk the whipping cream to stiff peaks. Set aside. Put the mascarpone, cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract in another bowl and beat until well combined.
  5. Add one third of the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and beat until combined. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream until thoroughly combined.  Refrigerate for about 15 minutes. Frosting must always be refrigerated, due to the fragility of whipped cream.
  6. Cut the cake horizontally into 3 equal layers.  Spread a little of the cream cheese frosting over one layer of cake and top with another layer.  Spread a little more frosting over the second layer and top with the final layer.  Spread the remaining frosting all over the cake using a spatula.
 Red Food Colouring Paste:

Recipe was taken from this book:

Espresso Bourbon Cake

Espresso bourbon cakeThis recipe is courtesy of Easy Living Magazine

Serves: 8-12   –   Prep time: 30 mins plus time for cake to cool   –
Cook time:  40 mins

Ingredients:  225g (7oz) unsalted butter; 4 shots (approx. 120ml / 3 ½ fl oz) of good espresso; 110g (3 ½ oz) cocoa powder; 200g (6 ½ oz) caster sugar; 220g (7oz) dark brown soft sugar; 2 eggs; 75ml (2 ½ fl oz) bourbon; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 280g (9oz) plain flour; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; ½ tsp salt

  1. Heat the oven to 170oC (gas mark 3).  Grease a 20cm (8 in) round cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.  Place the butter in a large saucepan and melt, then stir in the espresso and cocoa powder.  Add both sugars and the eggs and whisk thoroughly.  Add 3 tblsp of the bourbon and the vanilla extra and set aside.
  2. Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a large mixing bowl and sift twice. Slowly pour the espresso mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until well combined.  The mixture should be very liquid.
  3. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin.  Bake for 28-35 minutes.  A wooden skewer inserted in the middle should come out with almost no crumbs attached and the middle of the cake, when pressed, should spring back slightly instead of sink. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes if necessary.
  4. Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin for 10 minutes.  Slide a table knife all around the edge to loosen the cake, then remove from the tin. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 1 hour.  Brush the remaining bourbon over the top before cutting in half horizontally and filling with frosting of your choice.

Cake Layer Guide:

Recipe taken from this book:

Doughnut Muffins

This recipe is courtesy of Easy Living Magazine and taken from Tea with Bea by Bea Vo

Makes about 22   –    Prep time: 25 mins   –    Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:
420g (13 ½ oz) plain flour; 4 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp salt; ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg; 330g (11oz) caster sugar; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; 375ml (12 fl oz) buttermilk; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 130ml (4 ½ fl oz) sunflower oil

For the coating and filling:  250g (8oz) unsalted butter, melted; 300g (10oz) caster sugar; about ½ jar of raspberry jam

  1. Heat the oven to 180oC (gas mark 4).  Grease two 12-hole muffin trays.  Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add all the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.  Don’t overmix.  Spoon the mixture into the muffin tray holes, filling them three quarters of the way up.
  2. Bake in the hot oven for 22-30 minutes.  A wooden skewer inserted in the middle should come out dry and crumbly.  While the muffins are baking, put the melted butter and sugar in their own shallow bowls and set aside.
  3. Remove the muffin trays from the oven and tip the doughnuts out.  Immediately dip the muffins in the melted butter, then roll in the sugar to liberally and evenly coat.
  4. Fill a piping bag with jam. Push he nozzle/tip through the top (or bottom if you want it to look neater) of the doughnut, up to midway.  Pipe about 1 tbsp of jam inside each doughnut and serve immediately.

Visit my shop to download this and 9 other Cakes & Baking recipes . A recipe card is available for download here.

Slow-cooked Lamb with Pomegranate

slow cooked lamb with pomegranateThis recipe is courtesy of Easy Living Magazine

Serves: 6   –   Prep time: 10 mins    –    Cook time: 4 ½ hours plus 20 mins standing time

Cals per serving: 258   –   Fat: 15g

Ingredients: 2kg (4 lb) lamb shoulder (with bone); Olive oil; ½ tsp ground cardamom; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; ½ tsp crushed chillies; salt and pepper; 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled; 1 long red chilli; 3 tblsp chopped fresh mint; Seeds from 1 pomegranate; Crushed or ground sumac; 2 tblsp pistachios

  1. Heat the oven to 150oC (gas mark 2).  Rub the lamb with a little olive oil.  Combine the cardamom, cinnamon, crushed chillies, salt and pepper and rub over the meat.  Place in a roasting tin and add enough boiling stock or water to come to a depth of 5mm (¼ in), then add the garlic and whole long chilli.  Cover with foil and cook for about 4 hours.  Check every 30 minutes to make sure the stock hasn’t evaporated, adding more water if needed.
  2. Increase the oven temperature to 180oC (gas mark 4).  Return the tin to the oven, uncovered, for a further 30 minutes.  Remove and allow the lamb to rest for about 20 minutes.
  3. While the lamb is resting, if you wish to make a sauce to accompany the lamb, reduce the cooking liquid by a third by boiling it.
  4. Shred the warm meat and arrange on a platter. Stir through the chopped mint and top with pomegranate seeds.  Sprinkle with a little sumac and the pistachios and season to taste.
A contraption to make preparing Pomegranate easy 🙂

Foolproof Carrot Cake

This recipe courtesy of Easy Living Magazine

This cake is light with a soft texture.  It is based on a simple pound cake recipe, but the butter is replaced with vegetable oil and a luscious cream cheese and orange icing added on top. Make this in a shallow rectangular brownie tin and serve it cut into squares.

Serves : 12   –   Prep time : 25 mins   –   Cook time : 40 mins

For the cake:
250ml (8 fl oz) vegetable oil; 250g (8oz) caster sugar; finely grated zest of ½ orange; pinch of salt; 3 large free-range eggs, beaten; 250g (8oz) self-raising flour, sifted; 250g (8oz) grated carrot (about 3 large carrots)

For the icing:
400g (1oz) cream cheese (reduced fat, if you prefer); 75g (2 ½ oz) icing sugar, sifted; finely grated zest of ½ orange; 1-2 tbsp orange juice

Method:

  1. Heat the oven to 180oC (gas mark 4).  Grease a shallow 20 x 30cm (8 x 12in) cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper, extending the paper 5cm (2 in) above the edge of the tin, to help remove the cake later.
  2. Place the oil, sugar, orange zest and salt in an electric mixer and mix on medium speed until well beaten.
  3. Transfer the beaten eggs to a jug.  Reduce the speed of the mixer and, with the motor running, gradually add the egg to the mixture, followed by an occasional spoonful of the flour.  Sift over the remaining flour and gently fold in with a large metal spoon until smooth.  Fold in the grated carrot.
  4. Spoon the batter into the tin and smooth the surface. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and firm to the touch. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean.
  5. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then, using the overhanging baking paper turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  6. To make the icing, use a hand-held electric beater to combine all the ingredients until smooth and light.  Spread over the top of the cake. Cut into 12 squares and serve.

Visit my shop to download this and 9 other Cakes & Baking recipes . A recipe card is available for download here.

Classic Fudge Brownies

This recipe courtesy of Easy Living Magazine

Do you like yours fudgy and soft in the centre, or cake-like and full of nuts?  There are probably more variations on the basic brownie than any other chocolate treat. These are definitely the gooey version.  Brownies need no decorating, serve as they are with perhaps a dusting of cocoa or icing sugar.

Makes : 15  –  Prep time : 20 mins  –  Cook time : 25 mins

Ingredients:
300g (10oz) dark chocolate, roughly chopped (look for chocolate with at least 50% cocoa solids); 300g (10oz) unsalted butter, chopped; 5 free-range eggs; 400g (13oz) caster sugar; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 150g (5oz) plain flour; 50g (1 ¾ oz) cocoa powder; ½ tsp baking powder; pinch of salt; 100g (3 ½ oz) dark chocolate chips

Method:

  1. Heat the oven to 180oC (gas mark 4).  Grease a shallow 20 x 30cm (8 x 12 in) baking tin and line with baking paper (leave a little overhanging the two long sides to help remove the brownies from the tin).
  2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth (make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water).  All to cool.
  3. Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in an electric mixer and beat for about 4 minutes or until thick, pale and fluffy.  Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture.
  4. Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt and fold in using a large metal spoon, until smooth.  Gently fold in the chocolate chips.  Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth the surface.
  5. Bake for 30-35 mins or until the top has formed a crust. It should be firm to the touch but still a bit moist in the centre.  Allow to cool in the tin, then remove and cut into squares. Store the brownies in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Visit my shop to download this and 9 other Cakes & Baking recipes . A recipe card is available for download here.

Banana Bread

This recipe courtesy of Easy Living Magazine

This cake needs no more than a mixing bowl and a wooden spoon.  If you’re unable to find buttermilk, you can replace it with a combination of half yoghurt and half skimmed milk.  Day-old banana bread is delicious cut into slices and toasted.

Prep time : 15 mins  –  Cook time : 55-60 mins

Ingredients:  210g (7oz) plain flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; ¼ tsp salt; 125g (4oz) unsalted butter, softened (take out of fridge a few hours before you start); 250g (8oz) granulated sugar; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; 3 large, very ripe bananas; 120ml (3 ½ fl oz) buttermilk; icing sugar, to serve

Method:

  1. Heat the oven to 170oC (gas mark 3).  Grease a loaf tin and line the base with baking paper.
  2. Put the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, butter, sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or hand-held electric beaters until just combined.  It’s important not to beat the batter to much – just long enough to make it smooth.
  3. Mash the bananas with a fork and add to the mixture bit by bit, alternating with the buttermilk, mixing until combined.  Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until the top of the bread is firm and deep brown colour.  A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.  Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
  4. Serve dusted with icing sugar.  The flavour improved on keeping.  It will store for up to 3 days if covered with cling film.

Visit my shop to download this and 9 other Cakes & Baking recipes . A recipe card is available for download here.

Raspberry Muffins with Streusel Topping

This recipe courtesy of Easy Living Magazine

The streusel gives these muffins a delicious, baked-on, crunchy topping.  Pecans are used here, but it works just as well with walnuts or slivered almonds.  Make sure you use demerara sugar, as this gives you the right crunch. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes : 12    Prep time :  25 mins   Cook time : 25 mins

For the streusel topping:  40g (1 ¼ oz) unsalted butter, chilled and chopped; 50g (1 ¾ oz) plain flour; 2 tbsp demerara sugar; 2 tbsp coarsely chopped pecan nuts

For the Muffins:  310g (10oz) plain flour; 2 tsp baking powder; ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda; pinch of salt; 150g (5oz) caster sugar; 1 tsp finely grated orange zest; 300ml (9 ½ fl oz) buttermilk; 2 free-range eggs; 100g (3 ½ oz) unsalted butter, melted; 150g (5oz) fresh or frozen raspberries

Method:

  1. Heat the oven to 190oC (gas mark 5).  Grease a 12-hole muffin tin or line with paper muffin cases.
  2. To make the topping, rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.  Mix in the sugar and pecans.
  3. To make the muffins, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Add the orange zest and make a well in the centre.
  4. Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and melted butter.  Pour into the well in the flour mixture and stir until the ingredients are just combined.  Do not over mix – the batter should not be smooth.  Quickly fold in the raspberries.
  5. Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin tin.  Sprinkle over the topping and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are golden.  A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

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Bacon, Cheese and Onion Slice

Serves: 4

Ingredients: 1 tblsp cooking oil; 2 onions, finely chopped; 8oz (225g) puff pastry; English or Dijon mustard; 4oz (100g) smoked bacon, chopped; 4oz (100g) cheddar cheese, grated; sesame seeds, to garnish

  • This slice makes great canapés, finger snacks or an accompaniment to soup.
  • Most people buy ready-made puff pastry but if you want to make your own, here’s how. Melt 2oz (50g) butter, cool. Leave 5oz (150g) butter to soften. Sift 7oz (200g) plain flour and pinch of salt into a bowl. Make well in centre, pour in about 4 fl oz (120ml) cold water, a few drops lemon juice and the melt butter. Knead lightly, then leave to rest for 20 mins. On a floured board, roll pastry from 4 sides, leaving a lump in centre – dough should look like a crossroads. Sit remaining butter on the centre lump of the dough and fold over each pastry flap. Pat into a rectangle measuring about 6 x 12in (15 x 30cm), refrigerate for 10-15 mins. Roll pastry lengthways until double in length. Fold both ends into centre, then fold once more. This is called a double turn. Complete process a further 3 times. Always roll with folded edge on left and leave to rest for 20-30 mins in fridge before each turn. Leave pastry in fridge for a further 30 mins before using. This makes roughly 1 lb (450g) of pastry but you can freeze the excess.
  • In a large frying pan, heat oil and fry onions for a few minutes until softened. Make sure onions do not brown. Allow to cool.
  • Roll out puff pastry very thinly into a 12in (30cm) square. Cut square in half and on one half only, spread a little mustard, according to your taste. Then spread with the onions, bacon and cheese and cover with the remaining pastry half. Roll up pastry parcel like a Swiss roll, then leave to rest in fridge for 1-2 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 220oC/425oF/Gas Mark 7. Remove roll from fridge, cut into ¾ in (18mm) slices, place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 12-15 mins until golden.