Recipe LXXIV - Traditional Flapjacks

Autumn has arrived quickly this year. In fact, I barely remember any summer at all, let alone doing much summer activity. There were hardly any apples on the tree in the garden and nearly nothing in the way of nuts either. I got a measly handful of strawberries and a plate's worth of peas. Better luck next year. However, the forsythias loved it, as did the wild flowers, who just want to grow anywhere. This is when traditionally people would put all their gathered fruit and nuts into conserves and make recipes from them that would last the winter, hence the mighty Plum Pudding, which was eaten as a Midwinter feast, and centrepiece of a winter solstice celebration that the longer days were on their way.

Flapjack has similar origins. The name is most certainly not, but the recipe would have been pretty much the same since its inception. The idea would have been to make a filling oaty cake to chew on for energy. Now, of course, it's more like an accompaniment for an autumn party. I remember being regaled with flapjacks at the annual Bonfire Night celebrations at the beginning of November. I used to get told off by my mother for eating too many... But now I'm old enough, I can make as many as I like and eat them all. So there!

Ingredients:
500g oats - usually jumbo oats, but for mine I used the smaller variety
250g demerara sugar
200g raisins, sultanas, etc
4 tablespoons of golden syrup
1 table spoon of cinnamon
250g butter
The peel of one orange
A large, square or rectangular baking tray



Instructions:
Heat the oven to about 175°C.
Put the raisins and sultanas into the oats and give it a good mix. Take the baking tray and grease the inside with the butter. With the rest of the butter, put it into a large pan and on a low heat melt it. Add the sugar, orange peel, cinnamon and syrup to the mixture and heat it gently until the sugar has melted.



Pour the oats, raisins and sultanas into the melted butter and allow the oats to soak up the liquid until there is a good consistency.



Put them into the baking tray and spread them out evenly until they reach all four corners.



Bake in the oven for 17 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Cut it into pieces immediately, because it's still quite soft.



Serve with a nice cup of tea.

Put the rest in a biscuit tin and eat at your leisure!

Recipe LXXI - Bread and Butter Pudding and Custard

Yes, you read that right. Bread and butter pudding; the childhood memory of most British adults who went to a school with a good kitchen. And here's the thing: with the UK being this year's country of focus, it heartened me a lot to read reports of its culinary resurrection. The UK has always been a pioneering food nation, but this is back to basics.

Whilst I was in London a few weeks ago, I went to "Fish!", my favourite restaurant, and as I promised, a recipe from their desserts menu. This is it. I love that restaurant's commitment to excellent food without the pretentiousness and stuffiness of many quality establishments.
It is so simple, so delicious and so pleasing to the eye and the stomach that it is a wonder that it has not ventured out of the English-speaking nations. You hardly need anything for it, and it
makes a truly lovely setting on the table after a delicious dinner.

Ingredients:
A bag of sliced bread (but you can do your own, for example sweet bread, panettone or something similar)
A block of butter
3 to 5 eggs
About 0.5 litres of milk
3 to 4 tablespoons of sugar
Some vanilla essence or sugar
A bag of raisins/sultanas
Some cinnamon powder
A decent baking tray



Instructions:
Put the milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla into a bowl and give it a very good mix. Leave it on the side. Turn on your oven to 180°C.



Cut the crusts off your bread, butter both sides of the slices and start packing them into your baking tray in layers. It's easier to butter one side of the bread before you put it in, then the other side once it's fit into place. Put some raisins onto the first layer, then do the second with more raisins, until you have reached about two-thirds of the way up the baking tray. I used only half the bread, so I'll make some more tomorrow when I've been to the shop for more eggs and milk! You can put some cinnamon in each layer, or just sprinkle the top layer with it.



Then return to your milky mix and give it a good stir before you pour it over the bread and put it in the oven for twenty to thirty-five minutes, depending on your preference. I like the tope slightly burned, so I had mine in for about half an hour.

Serve it with custard (see the second part of recipe LIII for details, or make some from an instant packet, like back at school!)

Recipe LIII - Two-In-One: Spotted Dick (without suet) and Custard, plus a Chocolate Mousse spin-off

Yes, you read it right: Spotted Dick. No, this is not an article on sexual health, it is actually an old English pudding. And one of the most delicious things to ever come out of my kitchen. It is known as "spotted" due to the currants in it. The name "dick" is said to come from the Dutch/German word for dough (Deeg/Teig). In any case, it is king of the puddings at the moment in my house. It is traditionally made with suet, which is beef kidney fat, an unattractive prospect at the best of times. But its 21st-Century remake is done with butter, flour and sugar. The reason there are two recipes this week is because for the custard, I needed some egg yolks, which give the custard its yellowish hue. I only used four, because I think it an exaggeration to waste so many eggs simply to colour up the custard. I could then recycle the whites to make a chocolate mousse. The great thing about these three items is they follow each other in a sequence as you make them and don't require you to do too much at one time.

Ingredients for the Spotted Dick:
100g flour
Half a teaspoon of baking powder
A handful of raisins
A tablespoon of cinnamon
1 pinch of salt
100g butter
100g sugar
2 large eggs
A dribble of milk
I included some treacle (Karamell) in the photo because you could make a treacle version by putting some in the bottom of your bowl before steaming. I didn't.



Instructions:
Put the sifted flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, put the sugar and butter. rub the butter and sugar together really well until they become consistent. Add one egg and a tablespoonful of flour. Fold it into the mixture. Repeat with the second egg. Now put in the remaining flour, the raisins and a dribble of milk to help the moistness. Finally, add the cinnamon.



Your preparation should look something like this:



Put the mixture into a heatproof bowl of about 750ml, seal it with tin foil and put it into boiling water, making sure no water is high enough to not enter the bowl (I put a jam pot lid in the bottom of the saucepan to keep it up). You will need to boil it for about 2 hours.
To remove it, take off the foil, put a large enough plate over the top of the bowl and turn it upside down onto the plate.


In the meantime, you can make the custard.

Ingredients for the custard:
500ml of milk
100 ml of cream
4 egg yolks
1 vanilla pod
40g fine sugar
2 teaspoons of cornflour



Instructions:
Take the eggs and separate their yolks from their whites. Put the whites aside for the mousse. Take the yolks, the sugar and the cornflour, and mix them together in a bowl very, very well.



Heat the milk, cream and the vanilla pod (split open) slowly. Before it boils, pour it into the bowl with the yolks, stirring with a whisk until consistent.



Put it back into the saucepan and allow it to thicken. Serve it immediately on your spotted dick.



Chocolate Mousse - Ingredients:
600g cooking chocolate (broken into pieces)
Those 4 egg whites
40g sugar
100ml cream (thick if possible, but not essential)

Instructions:
Put the egg whites in a mixer and whizz them until they are nicely fluffy and produce peaks. Add the sugar and do it a little more.



In a saucepan, put the chocolate into a heatproof jug and melt it.



Whip the cream for a bit to get it airy. Fold the melted chocolate into the cream with a wooden spoon, then fold in the whipped egg whites. Make sure it is a consistent mixture before you put it into dessert bowls.



Put the bowls into the fridge and let them set. Serve when you're hungry!

Recipe XXXIX - Mince Pies and Mincemeat Vodka

Christmas wouldn't be complete without several essential items: a decorated tree, a few presents, some strong, unctuous alcohol and Bing Crosby. But there's one item which has become so vital to my perfect Christmas, that I fear I wouldn't feel right without it: the mince pie.

Mincemeat: Mincemeat is called mincemeat, because back in the 16th century, there was minced lamb or beef in the recipe. Fortunately, today there isn't such a combination, but the name lives on. This recipe makes approximately 20 to 24 mince pies.

With the remaining mincemeat, don't chuck it away - get a merry drinke out of it!




Ingredients for the mincemeat:
250g dark brown sugar
1 kg chopped apples (some unpeeled for flavour)
A teaspoon of allspice
A teaspoon of cinnamon
180g-200g raisins, sultanas & currants according to taste
75g glacé cherries
6 to 10 chopped dried apricots (optional)
2 or 3 pieces of chopped candied peel (optional)
70g-90g blanched or ordinary almonds, finely chopped
Grated rind of half a lemon + its juice
3 shot glasses of rum or brandy, but put more or less in depending on your taste
Some sterilised pots to contain them (if storing for a later time)


Instructions for the mincemeat:
Put the chopped apples in a bowl, add the lemon rind and juice to stop the apples going brown, then add the sugar and spices, followed by the dried fruits. Mix them together well. Add your alcohol. Mix further.
Put them in the sterilised pots and remove when needed. If immediately, go straight on to the instructions below. Normally you should make the mincemeat at least a month before Christmas, but as it's Christmas Eve, just go straight onto the next part!


Ingredients for the dough:
250g flour
60g cold butter - the butter must be cold or the dough will go gooey
60g shortening (optional)
The juice of one orange
1 pinch of salt


Instructions for the pies:
Put the salt, flour, shortening and butter into a bowl and turn into a fine crumble dough (below)

Add the orange juice and knead it into a moist, putty-like consistency similar to biscuit dough. This should take no longer than ten minutes. At this point you can break it into two or three parts, wrap it in a sheet of thin plastic and put it in the fridge for 15 to 30 minutes to get stiffer. But if you don't have time, move on. Roll it out as thinly as possible. I did this in two parts, as it saved space on the work surface. Turn your oven on to 200°C.

Take your Yorkshire pudding or muffin tray, grease it with butter (essential) and with the aid of a glass or a round cutter, cut out the base crust for the mince pies.

Take a spoon and place a dollop of mincemeat in each one. With some other shapes, put a pastry roof on top, sprinkle with sugar or glaze with an egg, and slide it into the oven for about 10 minutes.

With a knife, carefully remove from the tray and get the next batch ready. Repeat this process until as much of the dough as possible is used up.

Put them on the cake rack or in a tin and hide from all gluttonous people.



Mincemeat vodka:
With the leftover mincemeat, don't throw it away - put the mincemeat into a jar, get a cheapish bottle of vodka and pour it over the top. Add a little cinnamon and whatever else you feel like (brown sugar, allspice, more raisins, etc...) and serve to the neighbours when they spring over. Stir every day.

Recipe VII - Rhubarb Crumble and Custard

A few people have written saying they'd like a good old-fashioned dessert recipe. I went for crumble because I made one yesterday - it takes about an hour, and makes a perfect outdoor afternoon accompaniment to your coffee during these gorgeous spring days.

Ingredients for the lower layer:
5 stalks of rhubarb, washed, beheaded, cut into centimetre-wide pieces
Brown sugar, maximum 150g, depending on taste
A handful of raisins
Half a glass of red wine
A large spoonful of cinnamon
4-6 cloves
A glass of warm water

Ingredients for the crumble topping:
180g flour
160g butter
80g sugar
A teaspoonful of cinnamon

Instructions for the lower layer:
Put all the ingredients except the water into a half-covered saucepan and put on a low heat for half an hour.
Once heated up, add the water depending on how runny you would like it.
You can do this part on the day, or if you have a lot to do, you can even do this a few days before, provided you keep it stored well.

Instructions for the rest:
Put the butter, sugar, cinnamon and flour into a bowl and mix until the consistency is crumbly.
Take a correctly-proportioned, round or square 10cm-deep baking dish and pour in the lower layer.
Spread it evenly over the bottom of the dish.
Take your crumble mix and carefully spread it evenly over the top of the rhubarb until it covers all the surface area.
Place the baking dish in the oven at 200°C for 35 to 45 minutes. If, after 20 minutes it is browning on top, turn the heat down to 175°C for the remainder of the time.

Ingredients for the custard:
300ml milk
A tablespoon of vanilla essence or a vanilla pod, split along its length
1 large spoonful of thinly ground (caster) sugar
2 egg yolks

Instructions for the custard (do this while your crumble is in the oven):

Heat the milk and vanilla slowly and allow it to just reach boiling point. Turn down the heat after boiling.
While the milk is heating, put the egg yolks and sugar into a bowl and whisk them together.
Pour your boiling milk and vanilla over the eggs and sugar, continuing to whisk until the consistency is completely homogeneous.
Return them to the pan and then back onto the cooker at the lower heat I mentioned earlier.
In about five to seven minutes the mixture should start to thicken.

Endnote:
I love my crumble topping to be really thick, so I increase the ingredients proportionally.
Spring greetings!


My rhubarb crumble