Recipe for Rock Cakes

Many years ago I worked in an office in Red Lion Square in the Holborn district of London, England. Just around the corner from the square was a small sandwich store that sold freshly baked rock cakes, fresh out of the oven, just in time for the start of office hours. It made going to work a real pleasure.

I have always loved rock cakes; they are easy to make and absolutely delicious fresh out of the oven with a nice cup of tea. The whole process from start to sitting down with my oven fresh rock cake and a nice hot cuppa took only 30 minutes. Here is how I made them:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 fistful of sultanas or raisins
• 1 dash vanilla essence
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 dash of milk

Preparation

• Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl
• Rub in the margarine until the mixture is nice and smooth
• Add the sultanas - go on throw in lots of them!
• Break an egg into the mix along with a dash of milk and a dash of vanilla essence then mix thoroughly until you have a stiff paste
• "Splat" rough lumps of dough onto a greased baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes at 400F
• For best flavour, serve straight from the oven

John's Notes
The distinguishing feature of rock cakes is their hard, knobbly exterior with a light soft interior. I like lots of sultanas inside my rock cakes. And the great thing about this recipe is that it is very easy and quick to make. Feel like something nice to go with a cup of tea in the afternoon? In half an hour you could be caressing your taste buds with hot delicious rock cakes - give 'em a try.

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Easy Eccles Cake Recipe

Eccles Cakes got their name from the small town in England where they were invented sometime in the 18th Century. The town of Eccles has now been swallowed up by the City of Salford near Manchester and is now little more than a famous suburb of the larger city. Eccles Cakes are famous the world over and were exported to North America as early as 1818. They are very tasty and surprisingly easy to make. Here is how I made mine.

Ingredients

• 1 pack frozen flaky pastry - defrosted
• Raisins
• Candied peel
• Butter or margarine
• Sugar
• Grated nutmeg

Preparation

• Roll out the pastry to about 1/4 inch thickness
• Using a small tea plate (or similar) mark approximately 6 inch diameter circles in the pastry and cut carefully (if you have one, use a 6 inch cookie cutter)
• Melt a generous tablespoon of butter in a saucepan, then stir in 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of raisins, 1 tablespoon of candied peel plus half a teaspoon of grated nutmeg
• Stir well then set aside to cool
• Place a tablespoon of the fruit filling into the centre of each circle of pastry them moisten the edges of the pastry with water
• Fold the pastry edges up over the fruit filling and seal around the filling
• Flip cakes upside down on a floured board and very gently flatten them and, restore their round shape using your hands
• Make three cuts across the top of each cake then spread some sugar on top and sprinkle lightly with water
• Place on a baking tray in a pre-heated oven at 400F for about 20 minutes or until the cakes turn a light brown colour

John's Notes
Eccles Cakes are delicious hot or cold. I ate one of mine straight from the oven but if you are planning to eat yours cold make sure you wrap them in cling film to keep them moist.

Blighty's British Bourbon Shortbread Recipe

Shortbread is a light, buttery cookie with four essential ingredients: flour, butter, sugar and vanilla. But it can be made in many different ways to create exciting variations of the basic recipe. Many people love chocolate so I created a "bourbon" shortbread variety that is very chocolatey. But if you really love your chocolate try my double-chocolate or triple-chocolate versions. Here is how I made them.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup demerara sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon Cadbury's cocoa powder

Preparation

• Cream the butter using an electric mixer (butter should be at room temperature)
• Whisk in the demerara sugar and keep mixing until all the sugar has thoroughly blended with the creamed butter
• Add the salt, cocoa and vanilla extract and mix thoroughly
• Slowly add the flour and mix thoroughly until the dough is smooth
• Refrigerate for at least fifteen minutes to firm the dough then knead lightly and roll out onto a floured board
• Cut the cookies to the desired shape then bake at 350F on a sheet of parchment for 20 minutes

John's Notes
Security alert: Unless you live alone Blighty's British Bourbon Shortbread Biscuits should be kept under lock and key. They will mysteriously disappear if left unattended in a family household.

Double Chocolate: As if these delectable treats weren't irresistible enough, try dipping them in melted chocolate to create a double chocolate version.

Triple Chocolate: Can you handle this much ecstasy? Spread half the cookies with Cadbury's chocolate spread; place another cookie on top to make a sandwich, then dip the whole thing in melted chocolate.

Traditional Empire Cookie Recipe

Empire Cookies are a traditional British treat made from two thin shortbread cookies sandwiched together with raspberry jam filling, topped with almond frosting and a cherry. They are very popular indeed and, no wonder, they taste great. Here is how I made mine.



Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (icing or confectioners sugar)
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• Raspberry jam
• Candied cherries

Preparation

• Allow the butter to come to room temperature so that it is quite soft, then beat it with an electric mixer until it is well creamed
• Add the caster sugar and mix again until the sugar is well blended into the creamed butter. Don't make any shortcuts at this stage if you want your shortbread to be light and tasty
• Mix the flour and salt together then slowly add it to the creamed butter/sugar mix as you stir the dough. Keep the dough smooth but do not overwork it
• Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least fifteen minutes to allow the very soft dough to stiffen up and be more workable
• Roll the dough to a half centimeter thickness on a floured board then cut it into circular pieces a couple of inches in diameter with a cookie cutter or the rim of a coffee mug
• Place each cookie on a sheet of parchment paper on a baking tray and bake at 350C for about 10 minutes or until the cookies are very slightly brown (do not overbake)
• Mix the powdered sugar with a very small amount of boiling water to make a firm but not thick frosting, then stir in the almond extract
• When the cookies have completely cooled, spread half of them with raspberry jam and the other half with frosting, then place the frosted cookies on top of the ones coated with raspberry jam so that the jam is in the middle and the frosting is on top
• Finally, decorate each empire cookie with half a candied cherry

John's Notes
The preparation sounds more complicated than it really is. You can make a batch of empire cookies in less than half an hour and they really do taste terrific. If you don't have any caster sugar in your kitchen simply put some regular, granulated sugar in your coffee blender for about 20 seconds. You can use granulated sugar directly, but caster sugar has smaller crystals and makes a smoother mix. Enjoy.

Home Made Marmite Crisps Recipe

I love my Marmite but ... I know ... not everybody agrees with me. Marmite is famous for dividing the world into two camps: those who love it ... and those who hate it. Whichever camp you fall into to, this recipe is for you. I will explain in a minute.

If you are of British origin you will know what "crisps" are. For the rest of the world, just read "chips" wherever you see the word "crisps". Not familiar with Marmite? It is a by-product of the brewing process; an intensely strong flavoured, sticky spread with a salty, savoury taste.

But crisps are junk food aren't they? Empty calories. Well maybe, but it depends a lot on how you cook them. Traditional deep-fried crisps are loaded with fat and salt and ... Many crisps are now baked instead. My home-made crisps were nuked. Here is the quick and simple process by which I made them.

Ingredients

• 1 medium potato (per serving)
• 1 jar Marmite (see John's Notes for other ideas)

Preparation

• Slice the potato as thinly as you can
• Spread one side of each slice with a light coat of Marmite
• Spread on a large microwaveable plate
• Microwave on high for about five minutes until crisp

John's Notes
Beware, the potato slices cook very slowly at first as the juices evaporate but, in the last minute of cooking things happen very quickly. Watch your crisps very carefully while they are in the microwave; if you lose attention for even a few seconds you may miss the point at which your delicious, golden crisps become cremated by overcooking.

Oh yes, I promised an explanation of why you should still read this recipe even if you hate Marmite. Well, you can simply substitute tomato ketchup, Daddies sauce, HP sauce, salt & vinegar or whatever your imagination can conjure up. The preparation method is the same. Snack on!

How to Make Them Eat Oatmeal

Horses for Courses
The French have often mocked the British for eating oats. Their point of view, according to one report, is that "horses eat oats; the French eat horses". It is true, horse meat is served in many parts of Europe instead of beef. Perhaps the lowly reputation of oats is the reason many people will not eat oatmeal. Oatmeal is used as a filler in black pudding (principal ingredient: congealed pig's blood) and haggis (principal ingredient: offal).

Let Them Eat Gruel
Oatmeal (i.e. ground oats) is commonly boiled in water and flavoured with salt in Scotland. In England it is boiled with milk and water and sweetened with sugar. On both sides of Hadrian's Wall that dish is known as  porridge and is either loved or hated. If it is made sufficiently thin it is called "gruel" and then it really is hated.

Nutritious, Yes - Now make Them Delicious
Oats are a very nutritious cereal. Cooked oatmeal is a complex carbohydrate that fuels young growing bodies without the detrimental effects of sugary prepared cereals from the supermarket.

Commercially prepared oatmeal cookies are one of the best selling items at Blighty's Tuck Stores (McVities Hobnobs), so many people must be consuming their daily oatmeal without even realizing what they are eating! I thought it would be fun to make my own oatmeal cookies; here is how I did it.

Ingredients

• 2 cups oatmeal (ground or quick-cook e.g. Hamlyn's)
• 1 cup plain or all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Preparation

• Thoroughly mix the oatmeal, flour, baking powder and sugar in a mixing bowl
• Knead the margarine into the mix
• Beat the eggs and fold into the mix
• Stir in the raisins
• Add a little warm water, if necessary, to make the batter stiff but workable
• Plop the batter from a large serving spoon onto a greased baking tray then flatten the blobs of batter with a clean, wet spoon
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375F until golden brown

John's Notes
This recipe is so quick and easy to make and even better still, you can bake a whole plate full of fat, delicious cookies for less than the cost of a pack of Hobnobs. You can even feed them to your horses if you wish.

How to Bake Spiced Sweet Bread

This is quite an easy recipe to make if you don't mind spending a couple of pleasant hours in the kitchen. The end result is a pleasantly unusual bread that tastes great with a slice of ham or even just spread with soft butter. The recipe was inspired by, and similar to, a recipe found on www.greneboke.com and is believed to have originated in the 16th Century. Here is how I made my spiced sweet bread.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons dried yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 cups plain flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 egg yolks
• Spice

Preparation

• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and leave in a warm place to activate the yeast
• Warm the egg yolks, milk, butter and spice in a small saucepan until the mix just begins to thicken. Be sure to remove from the heat before the egg sets in the liquid
• Mix the flour and sugar together and beat in the yeast, then add the egg mixture
• Knead to form a stiff dough, adding water or flour as necessary to make a dry, stiff dough
• Leave in a warm place for about an hour until the dough has doubled in size
• Knead the dough again and shape into a loaf or cut into rolls and leave the dough for a little longer to rise again
• Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes

John's Notes
What spice to use? I used cardamom because it has a delicate, sweet flavour but cinnamon, nutmeg or even mace would work well too. I have the advantage of an electronically controlled range with a bread proofing oven and a "Bread" setting for the main oven. I am sure the same fine result could be obtained, with a little care, using a regular oven.

Really Simple (but strange) Pickled Egg Recipe

Many years ago, in the Land of Hope and Glory, I would often wile away my Sundays evenings with a group of friends from my local cycling club in a hostelry that served a particular treat that I enjoyed enormously. That treat was pickled eggs.

When I look at the jars of pale pickled eggs in my local supermarket I shake my head and think "no, I want pickled eggs the way they made them in that pub I used to go to way back when". So what was so different about the pickled eggs that I remember? They were brown - dark brown!

Just for amusement I did a search for pickled egg recipes on the Internet. There are lots of them. Most involve complicated mixtures of spices and weird vinegars. I believe in keeping things nice and simple so I use only two ingredients: eggs and vinegar. Here is how I made mine.

Ingredients

• Hard-boiled eggs
• English malt vinegar (e.g. Sarsons)

Preparation

• Boil the eggs well to make sure they are truly hard-boiled. I use a large pan with enough boiling water to completely cover the eggs, then boil them for 10 minutes
• Cool and shell the eggs then place them in a large pickling jar
• Pour malt vinegar over the eggs until they are completely covered
• Seal the jar and leave for at least a couple of weeks - the longer the better!

John's Notes
Bingo; these eggs look and taste just the way I remember the eggs from that pub all those years ago. The flavour is a simple combination of eggs and the lovely malty taste of real English vinegar.

You could experiment with other types of vinegar if you wish. The eggs will adopt the colour and flavour of the vinegar you choose. I prefer the flavour of good old English malt vinegar. It makes the eggs brown which is the perfect complement to English brown beer (of which I am also rather fond).

And another note: some recipes suggest that you refrigerate the eggs after pickling. I say "piff!"; pickling is a perfect way of preserving food, so you only need to put them in the refrigerator if you want them cold. But then you wouldn't put real English brown beer in the fridge would you? ... would you?

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Munchylicious Maltesers Bars

Oh, what the heck, the waistline went boom during the Christmas holidays, it's too icy outside to go jogging, so you may as well let the Devil has his due and forget about dieting until the spring.

That's decided then. Now you can sit down with a cuppa and munch some of these delicious Maltesers bars without guilt.

A customer at the store passed this recipe to me before Christmas; I forgot to ask her name. If you are reading this and it was you, please leave a comment at the bottom of this post. Whoever you are, I have to thank you very much for this incredibly easy and tasty treat. here is how I made it.

Ingredients

• 100g butter
• 1 230g bar Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate
• 1 300g pack McVities Digestive Biscuits
• 1 carton Maltesers

Preparation

• In a double boiler (I use a glass bowl sitting in the rim of a pan of boiling water) melt the butter and the chocolate
• Using the end of a rolling pin and a large mixing bowl, grind the digestive biscuits into crumbs
• Stir in the melted chocolate and the Maltesers
• Grease a cookie tray and pour in the mix
• Flatten and lightly compress the mix and place in the refrigerator overnight

John's Notes
There are several difficulties that you will encounter with this recipe. I found the following challenges the most tricky:

1. Be very careful not to eat any of the chocolate before preparing the recipe
2. Be very careful not to eat any of the digestive biscuits before preparing the recipe
3. Be very careful not to eat any of the finished Maltesers bars during the night after making them

If you can overcome these difficulties (and - please - don't underestimate the temptation) you will have a tray full of delicious Maltesers bars to eat the next day. Oh, and please be aware that Maltesers bars are entirely unsuitable for breakfast - try to wait at least until you have your mid-morning tea or coffee break

Finally, if you pop into Blighty's to buy the ingredients we will give you - absolutely free of charge - a tin cookie tray that you can use with this recipe (while stocks last).

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Tasty Marzipan Tarts

Many people (myself included) are very fond of the flavour of marzipan. For those who are unclear about what marzipan actually is, perhaps I should explain that it is essentially a paste made from ground almonds. At this time of the year, with the Christmas season firmly within sight, marzipan is often spread on top of rich fruit cakes. A layer of royal icing is added on top of the marzipan to make a traditional Christmas cake.

But marzipan can be used in many other ways. For example, you can roll it up into small balls and coat the balls with dark chocolate to make marzipan candies. I chose to make marzipan tarts; here is how I did it.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups ground almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 eggs
• Tart shells (buy frozen or prepare from scratch)

Preparation

• If you can get finely ground almonds you can save yourself a bit of trouble, otherwise break up some shelled almond nuts using a rolling pin and finely grind them in a coffee grinder.
• Place the sugar in a saucepan and add about half a cup of water to it then place over heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring the sugar solution to a hard boil and keep cooking until it becomes thick and sticky.
• Slowly stir in the ground almonds and keep stirring vigorously to ensure a smooth mixture.
• Break the eggs into the almond paste then stir in a dash of almond extract.
• Turn down the heat and cook lightly for a couple of minutes.
• Allow to cool then knead with some confectioners (or icing) sugar.
• Lightly pre-bake some pastry shells then fill with marzipan and top with a glace cherry or some candied peel.
• Return the tarts to the oven and cook for a few minutes until the tarts begin to brown.

John's Notes
Marzipan tarts take a fair amount of time and effort to prepare but the result is worth it. A good project for a rainy Sunday afternoon. Enjoy.

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Real Chocolate & Guinness Muffins

Opulence. Love it - life is short! Let's eat. Here is a memorable recipe that embodies the very essence of opulence. I almost feel guilty eating it; well almost. This recipe combines real British chocolate with real Irish Guinness in what would be called small cakes in the UK. Here in Canada we call them muffins. Here is how I made this delicious little treat.

Ingredients

• 200g bar Cadbury Bournville dark chocolate
• 1 bottle/can Guinness
  
• 1 1/2 cups McDougalls plain flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 pinch of salt
  

Preparation
The Muffins

• Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt together in a large bowl
• Grate 100g of Cadbury Bournville chocolate into the flour and stir
• Soften the butter and beat thoroughly with the sugar
• Add the eggs to the butter/sugar mix and whisk again until smooth
  
• Alternately add flour mix and Guinness and stir until all the ingredients are added and the batter is smooth 
• Grease a muffin pan and pour in the batter
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350F for about a half hour (test the muffins by pushing a sharp knife into a muffin. They are properly baked when the knife comes out clean

The Chocolate Sauce Topping

• Using a double boiler (I used a pyrex dish over a pan of boiling water) melt the other 100g of Cadbury Bournville chocolate then stir in just enough Guinness to make a thick sauce
• Allow the muffins and the chocolate sauce to cool then spread the sauce generously over the top of each muffin

John's Notes
You are going to need at least two bottles or cans of Guinness. Before you begin making this recipe pour one of the bottles into a glass and taste it to ensure that it is safe to use in this recipe. If anybody questions why you are drinking one of the bottles of Guinness tell them the recipe says you have to. You should stock up on extra Cadbury chocolate for the same reason. Now get cracking and enjoy; the world could end tomorrow.

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Recipe for Traditional Yorkshire Wilfra Tarts

Wilfra tarts are traditional apple and cheese tarts made in Ripon, Yorkshire in honour of St Wilfrid. St Wilfrid built the cathedral in Ripon in the 7th Century. Every year, during the first week in August, the local townspeople make Wilfra tarts and leave them on windowsills for passers-by to enjoy. A quaint tradition but I ignored that bit and ate them all myself. Here is how I made them.

Ingredients

• Shortcrust pastry
• Apples
• Wensleydale cheese

Preparation

• Prepare some shortcrust pastry (I used suet pastry leftover from last week's recipe) and roll it very thin
• Line the bottoms of a muffin tray with pastry and lightly bake the empty pastry shells until the pastry just hardens
• Peel, core and cook 2 or 3 apples with a little sugar until tender
• Fill the pastry shells with the cooked apple then top with a thin slice of Wensleydale cheese
• Using some more of the pastry, place lids on the tarts then spread a little milk on top of each one and carefully seal the lids to the rest of the tarts
• Bake for about 20 minutes at 375F until the tarts just begin to turn golden
• Allow to cool thoroughly then eat

John's Notes
I cheated. I didn't have any Wensleydale cheese. It isn't always easy to get in Canada, so I substituted Canadian cheddar. I am sure that readers from Yorkshire will be horrified, but by gum, my tarts turned out very nicely thank you very much.

Please Steal This Recipe!
Go ahead, share this recipe on Facebook, email it to your friends. I want to share it with the world but I would be grateful if you would let people know where you got it. My gratification for taking the time to find these recipes, trying them and publishing them on this blog comes from knowing that lots of people actually read them. Thank you.

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Quick'n'Easy Ginger Biscuits

I was sitting in my armchair the other evening feeling like I needed a pick-me-up. They say a man eats a biscuit (cookie) not because he is hungry, but because he needs comfort. That described me precisely. I had eaten a good supper and I wanted - not needed - something else. So, I popped into the kitchen and twenty minutes later I was enjoying my freshly baked ginger biscuits. Here is how I made them:

Ingredients

• 1 cup of plain (or all-purpose) flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons Lyles Black Treacle

Preparation

• Knead the flour and butter together until smooth
• Add all the other ingredients and stir thoroughly
• Stir in 1 tablespoon hot water to moisten the batter
• Splat dollops of batter onto a baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 350F for 20 minutes

John's Notes
I enjoyed my late night snack. Very tasty, nice ginger flavour. Made me feel good. Ahhh!

Tudor Mace Biscuits

Do you sometimes get the feeling that you really want a quick snack only to find out that the kitchen cabinets contain only stuff that requires hours of prep? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to just throw something tasty together that you could eat within, say, twenty minutes? Well here it is.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 3/4 cup plain or all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered mace
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Preparation

• Using an electric mixer with dough hooks, blend the margarine with the sugar until thoroughly mixed
• Add the flour and blend again until smooth
• Add the mace powder and vanilla essence and blend one more time
• Spoon the mix onto an ungreased non-stick baking tray using a teaspoon. Spread the dollops of mix at least an inch apart as the mix will settle and spread during baking
• Bake at 350F until golden (about 15 minutes)
• Bob's your uncle

John's Notes
So did England's Tudor kings and queens eat these biscuits? Not very likely methinks. I believe the name derives from a version of the recipe in which an icing syringe is used to put Tudor Rose shaped dollops of mix onto the baking tray.

And how do they taste? Very light and "more-ish"; a great accompaniment to a nice cup of tea.

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Welsh Rarebit - Alternate Recipe

I know we dealt with Welsh Rarebit only a couple of weeks ago but several people got back to me to say "Oh, no that's not how to make it; here is my recipe". Before the issue became forgotten I decided to go straight back to it and look at the alternative to my previously published recipe.

I have now made Welsh Rarebit two different ways. When I Googled the recipe, the majority of sources (including the venerable BBC) start with a roux of oil and flour as the base and then add the flavourings. Nonetheless, among the people bashing my ears over the issue a different recipe seems to be popular. I tried it and I can say that it is also delicious. Here it is:

Ingredients

• 1 cup Cheddar cheese
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
• Salt, pepper
• 1 egg yolk (optional)

Preparation

• Gently warm the milk and cheese together until the cheese melts
• Add the butter and continue cooking gently until it has melted into the cheese/milk mix
• Stir in the mustard, salt and pepper
• Stir in 1 egg yolk to make the mixture thicker and richer (optional)
• Spoon onto toasted bread and grill for about thirty seconds or until the topping bubbles and begins to brown

John's Notes
So which recipe do I prefer? I liked both actually but I think I'll stick with my roux-based recipe on preference. I'll leave you to choose which is your favourite. Ok, that's it, the Welsh Rarebit debate is over. Next week: do you crack open a boiled egg from the big end or the small end? Yes, I'm only kidding, everybody knows you should do it from the big end.

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Delicious Lemon Curd

Lemon curd is a delicious alternative to jams and marmalades. It is also more versatile. Sure, you can spread it on your morning toast, or on scones for a light, refreshing afternoon tea. But you can also make lemon curd tarts, or use it as a filling in a sponge cake.

It is not hard to make lemon curd; a few minutes careful preparation will yield several pots of the stuff. If you make more than you can immediately use you will find that it freezes well too. Here is how I made it:

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter

Preparation

• Separate one of the eggs and retain the yolk
• Mix the other two eggs, the yolk from the first egg and all the other ingredients
• Blend lightly until smooth
• Cook in a double boiler until the mixture thickens then remove from the heat immediately
• Cool and serve

John's Notes
This recipe makes about one cup of lemon curd. To make more simply scale up the ingredients. If you don't have a double boiler (I don't) simply find a pyrex dish that will fit snugly into the top of a saucepan. My lemon curd had a fresh, zesty flavour. It was simply too good to resist eating it on its own with a teaspoon. However, some of mine did make its way into a sponge cake as filling. Enjoy.


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Simple Recipe for Fern Tarts

Fern tarts, also known as fern cakes, are always one of the best-selling bakery items at Blighty's Tuck Store.

Fern tarts get their name from the chocolate fern design on the top. There is a technique used by professional bakers to get a perfect fern shape. It takes a lot of practice to get it right but the tarts taste just as good if, like me, you draw a simple tree shape. The recipe is not difficult but it does take a little time and patience to get it right. Here is how I did it.

Ingredients

• 1 pack Green's Sponge Mix
• 1 dozen frozen pastry shells
• Icing sugar
• Cadbury Cocoa powder
• Hartley's Strawberry Jelly

Preparation

• Lightly pre-bake the pastry shells and allow to cool
• Prepare the sponge mix according to the directions on the package
• Cut the Hartleys Strawberry Jelly cubes in half and place half a cube in the bottom of each tart shell
• Put a tablespoon of prepared sponge batter into the tart shells
• Bake at 400F for about 12 minutes then allow to cool

• Mix some icing sugar with a tablespoon of vegetable oil and a very small amount of boiling water. Adjust the amount of water and sugar until you have a stiff icing
• Spread the icing on top of each tart
• Make a little more icing, a little thinner this time, and add a generous amount of Cadbury Cocoa powder to it.
• Roll a piece of wax paper into a cone shape, leaving a small hole at the bottom.
• Spoon a small amount of cocoa icing into the paper cone while pinching it at the bottom
• Release the bottom of the cone and draw your best fern design on top of each tart
• Close all the doors to the kitchen and pig out - these are way too good to share with anybody!

John's Notes
Of course, you could make these tarts entirely from scratch. I used ingredients from the shelves at Blighty's Tuck Store simply for convenience. Some bakers use strawberry jam at the bottom of fern tarts instead of jelly. I chose to use jelly because it melts in the oven nicely while jam tends to get overcooked.

If you happen to have a proper kitchen tool for the icing you could use that instead. I don't have one and neither did the professional baker that I watched some while ago. He taught me the wax paper cone technique which works very well indeed. When finished simply toss it into the garbage and you're done.

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10 Scottish Crumpets in 10 Minutes

Do you like English crumpets? They are indeed very tasty. There is nothing quite like an English crumpet with a slice of cheese and a poached egg on top for breakfast. But English crumpets take forever to prepare (well about an hour actually). Scottish crumpets, on the other hand, take only minutes to prepare. Feel hungry, cook and eat all in the time it takes to go for a morning walk with the dog; although maybe you should send somebody else out with the dog or you will burn your crumpets.

Okay, Scottish crumpets taste completely different to English crumpets but, nonetheless, in their own way they do taste very good indeed. Maybe I will post a tried and tested recipe for English crumpets some time in the future, but today I made Scottish crumpets. Here is how I did it.

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain (or All-Purpose) flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon melted butter

Preparation

• Mix all the dry ingredients together then beat in the eggs
• Add the milk and stir thoroughly
• Finally stir in the melted butter
• Lightly grease a griddle or crepe pan
• Place a cookie or egg ring onto the griddle and spoon in just enough batter to cover the bottom - do not overfill or the batter will spill over and make a mess
• Cook over medium heat until bubbles appear on the surface
• Push the firm batter out of the ring, flip it over and refill the ring
• Cook until golden on both sides and serve immediately with jam

John's Notes
Scottish crumpets are actually very similar to leavened sweet pancakes. Mine were light, fluffy and had the distinctly "eggy" flavour that I like. Family liked them too for they were all gone almost immediately. Fortunately I just managed to snap an image with the old box brownie before they disappeared.

This recipe makes 10 or 12 Scottish crumpets depending on the size of the ring you use to mould them. Don't have a cookie or egg ring? No problem, just cut both ends out of a small tuna can or similar, but make sure that it is thoroughly washed first of course.

10 Minute Chicken Liver Pate

This week's recipe is very easy to make indeed. The total preparation time is only about ten minutes. Chicken liver pate may not be the healthiest food you can eat as it is high in fat, but if eaten in small quantities it makes an excellent starter dish or light snack.

Ingredients

• 300-400g chicken liver
• 200g butter
• Dried mint leaves
• Black pepper, salt, garlic
• Scotch whisky

Preparation

• Dice and lightly fry the chicken livers in half the butter
• Place in a food processor or blender with the remainder of the butter and blend until a smooth paste
• Add a generous amount of ground black pepper, some salt, garlic, the dried mint and a shot of Scotch
• Stir well, transfer to a glass or porcelain dish and refrigerate until firmly set

John's Notes
The wonderful thing about pate is that you can make an endless variety of different flavours. I flavoured mine with mint because it is one of my favourite herbs; you could use your own favourite herbs or spices. The Scotch whisky is optional but it serves two purposes. First, it richens the flavour and second, it acts as a mild preservative. This recipe makes rather a lot of pate so unless you are making it for a party you might end up with it in your fridge for several days.

You can serve pate on lightly toasted soldiers (narrow strips of sliced bread) or with your favourite crackers. I served mine on McVities Butter Puffs. To make a party platter, finely dice some red and green bell peppers, celery, English cucumber and cherry tomatoes, then place a teaspoonful of veggie mixture on top of the pate on crackers. Line the platter with large lettuce leaves for a nice presentation.