Pumpkin and Apricot Fruit Cake, with a touch of nostalgia

 

Here we are in September already, and it's Father's Day tomorrow. This is a delicious cake for a very special day. Spring has well and truly sprung, and it is still cool enough here to bake a fruit cake and have this on hand over the weekend. This one is a real favourite in our family, particularly Mr. HRK, incorporating beautifully rich Kent or Jap pumpkin. It can also be iced with a lemon or cream cheese icing if you wish so that it is even more festive.

Mieze's Plum Cake

 

Red plums are in season at the moment and they are perfect for making this very special cake. However in North Queensland, unfortunately it's a short season and they aren't available for long. This cake makes an incredibly delicious dessert, or is perfect to serve if friends are coming over for coffee, or even have it ready for Easter, which will be upon us before we know it.

Shirley's Christmas Fruit Mince Tea Cake

  

Bottled Fruit Mince is available for purchase at the supermarkets here in the lead up to Christmas, so if you are running out of time, why not take a shortcut, and instead of making your own batch of fruit mince, buy it and bake this warm and delicious Fruit Mince Tea Cake. However, if you have already made your Christmas fruit mince, your homemade batch will no doubt take this festive cake to the next level. As this cake is baking,  your home will be filled with the spicy, rich and nostalgic aromas of festive holiday baking. 

Paul's Cherry and Brandy Fruit Cake

 

This is my go to fruit cake recipe, all year round, when I'm not baking my Rum fruit cakes at Christmas time. This cake is also festively flavoured enough to grace your Christmas table, when dressed up in ribbons and bows.  Laced with brandy and adorned with whole glacé cherries throughout, it is a delicious cake to have on standby in your pantry or refrigerator when needed. This one will be travelling away with us shortly.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Shortcake with Streusel topping

 

It's strawberry season when I adore using strawberries in cooking, and this shortcake exceeded my expectations with how delicious and satisfying it is. Strawberries are enjoyable just to eat fresh, however red, ripe strawberries transform superbly into intense luscious flavours when used in cooking to make jams, cakes, or just a simple coulis

Country Style Green Apple And Walnut Cake

 

I like to have fresh cake made for the weekend, such a treat don't you think to eat cake on Sunday with a nice coffee, and this one ticks all the boxes. No icing on this one though, just sifted icing sugar, but you could ice them if you really must. This recipe, was adapted from a school recipe book in Western Australia by Matthew Evans, of Gourmet Farmer fame. These aren't fancy cakes,  they are low cost country style apple cakes, moist and crumbly, and taste even better the day after they are made. Matthew Evans lives in Tasmania where apples are plentiful, and I always have apples in the fruit bowl and walnuts in my freezer staying fresh, so it is easy to make this cake. Apples and walnuts should always be together.

Granny Smith green apples are the best kind to use for this cake. Those of you of my generation might remember Roger Miller's famous song "little Green Apples, from his 1968 album "A Tender Look at Love", which he wrote for his wife. It has been covered many times by various artists and even though I have to say it wasn't an actual favourite of mine, the song bounced into my head as soon as I started thinking about green apples.

"God didn't make little green apples

And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the Summertime

And when myself is feelin' low

I think about her face aglow and ease my mind" 

And if that's not lovin' me, then all I've got to say, .........

Written by Roger Miller. 1968

After that moment of self indulgence, back to the cake. The consistency of this cake mixture reminds me of a mixed fruit cake mixture, where there is a minimum of cake batter and maximun of fruit, and where the mixing spoon stands up by itself in the centre, a sure yardstick of a good fruit cake.  The first time I made these cakes, the mixture makes two 20 cm cakes,  one was eaten very quickly, and the other one sat in the refrigerator for over a week and still tasted perfect, like any fruit cake should. I was pretty thrilled with this recipe. The bonus with making two cakes, is that if you need one for an occasion, pop that one in the frig, leaving the other one to be eaten by the family. 

My 4 year old grandson living  in the Falkland Islands is invited to a lot of birthday parties, in fact in Stanley it seems that everyone in the class is invited to every birthday party always held at a large venue in the town with jumping castles etc, so that means a lot of parties and a lot of cake. Because the population there are basically British, and we know they have a sweet tooth and love cake, well they do in the Falkland Islands anyway, (hope I'm not generalising too much),  I am told there is always a predominance of cake over savouries and healthy food, at the children's parties. Some of the parents, including my son and his wife worry about the amount of cake the children are eating, and when I made this cake I thought this would be the perfect kind of cake for a children's party. Sweet enough, or the sugar can be halved, and there is plenty of fruit in the mixture. That's what I told myself anyway as I ate a second slice. It could be iced and decorated and still be much healthier than a bought one.

Ready to be iced if you wish.

Dusted with icing sugar

This recipe will make 2x20 cm cakes and this time I made a loaf cake and a round one, I have also made a large 23 cm cake, and a couple of muffin size cakes which can be frozen. Whatever works for you will be fine.

Ingredients:

6 large apples, or 8 small, preferably Granny Smith or some other sour variety

200 g (1 cup) demerara or raw sugar (or use a mixture of brown and caster sugar)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

few drops vanilla extract

125 ml (1/2 cup) Extra Virgin Olive Oil

200 g very fresh walnuts, broken up

250 g (2 cups) self-raising flour

pinch salt,

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice or baharat

Icing sugar and thick cream to serve

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg. C. Grease and line two 20 cm round cake tins or use loaf tins. 

This is a sit down job. Peel and core your apples. Cut and dice into pieces the size of a 5 cent piece. 

Place the apple into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, eggs, vanilla, oil and walnuts.

Sift in the flour, salt, and cinnamon, and stir to make a smooth batter.

Divide the batter between the tins, then bake for 40 minutes. Test to see if it is cooked by inserting a skewer into the mixture and if it comes out clean, voila the tins are ready to place on a cooling rack. 

Cool the cakes in the tins for a few minutes, then turn them out onto your wire rack to cool.

To serve, dust with icing sugar and serve with a dollop of thickened cream or yoghurt. 

I hope you are enjoying a relaxing weekend, wherever you are.

Warm wishes,

Pauline

Golden Almond, Pear, Raspberry and Maple Cake

Cakes are healthy too. You just eat a small slice.

- Mary Berry

This is a Matt Preston upside down cake recipe, which I found in his book, 187 recipes that will make you incredibly popular. That would be really nice Matt. I've already made the Burnt creamy cheesecake out of this book, and that made me quite popular at the time, and I think this cake might as well, it's a keeper. I'll be making it again.When I saw the recipe, I felt a cake challenge coming on as it steps outside my comfort zone, with ingredients like almond meal (no flour at all), oat bran,  canned pears, and frozen raspberries or fresh if you can get them. Then I discovered it has also been published online for Delicious magazine, albeit a couple of variations to the original printed recipe which I compared and then came up with this recipe. Once I managed all of that I decided it would perfect to bake for yesterday's afternoon tea and I'm so glad that I did,  as it was my turn to host Tuesday Mahjong.  Gosh it comes around quickly.

Yesterday was the hottest day we have experienced in Mackay for some time. At 36 deg. C and with the Mahjong ladies arriving at 1.00 pm the air conditioning was turned on for the first time and Mahjong was played in our lounge room. There were just four of us yesterday so we played for 3 hours, just stopping for afternoon tea and cake, and everyone won a couple of games  so it was a very enjoyable afternoon. We really moved into the Mahjong zone. Mr. HRK was the perfect barista on duty, and drinking his espresso coffee flat whites adorned with coffee art, and eating cake in the airconditioning was a treat. Do yourself a favour and make this cake, it exceeded my expectations and was delicious. And it was cinch to make. It is half fruit and half cake and the frozen raspberries make it blush unashamedly. I wasn't expecting so much colour. I couldn't find any fresh raspberries in the shops here this week, otherwise I would have served it with fresh raspberries as well and they would have made the photo even more attractive. Never mind, it tasted great.

Let's Cook:

Ingredients:

Serves 8-10 but only just as they will want two helpings

100 ml light olive oil, plus extra for greasing the cake tin
2 tablespoons good quality authentic maple syrup
3/4 cup (125 g) brown sugar (or white)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (100 g) almond meal
1/2 cup (75 g) oat bran
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
350g of canned pear pieces, weight of fruit after draining the can (or two large poached pears)
40-60 g frozen raspberries, or fresh if in season ( I used 60 g frozen for this one, hence the blushing colour. 40 would be fine)
creme fraiche, ice cream or mascarpone to serve

Let's Cook:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg. C. fan forced
Lightly grease the sides and the bottom of a cake pan or loaf tin with olive oil or oil spray, approximately 30 cm x 12 cm, and line the sides and bottom with baking paper. (I used my large loaf tin which is these exact measurements that I bake my large loaf of bread in.)

In a large bowl combine the maple syrup, sugar, olive oil, vanilla and eggs.
Stir with a spoon or whisk until well combined.Stir in the salt, almond meal, oat bran, baking powder and cinnamon.

Dice 150 g of pear into small pieces and stir it through the cake batter.

Cut the other 200 g of pear into small wedges and arrange on the bottom of the pan in a row. (This might already be done for you in some brands of canned pear, it was for me.)






Scatter the raspberries into the cake pan and pour the batter on top.



Place in the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes.

Remove your cake from the oven and leave it to cool for about 10 minutes. Run a  knife around the inside of the pan.

Place a serving plate or board over the pan, turn it upside down on your bench, and gently remove the pan. Because of the baking paper it will slide out easily.



Remove the baking paper.



Serve the cake warm or cold on its own, or with creme fraiche, mascarpone, or with ice cream if it is for dessert. I thought it tasted really delicious when it had cooled down on the kitchen bench with creme fraiche. Even plain Greek yoghurt as a healthier alternative would be delicious served with it.

To my blogging readers, keep cool in the Southern Hemisphere, and warm and dry in the Northern Hemisphere.

Warm wishes

Pauline

Pumpkin and Apricot Fruit Cake

Boiled fruit cakes are a great standby to have on hand in case of people dropping in for a cuppa without much warning or if you are busy and won't have time to do much cooking. They take a little while to make, however they are very simple to do. I think it is a good idea to have a boiled fruit cake recipe in your cooking repertoire when planning ahead for morning and afternoon teas, or homemade lunchbox treats etc.

Cherry and Brandy Fruit Cake

Boiled fruit cakes are excellent to fall back on when in a rush, and knowing that I will want cake in the house when I return from being away this is perfect. 

ITALIAN APPLE AND COCONUT CAKE

1 dessertspoon plain flour
2 Granny Smith apples or any other cooking apples
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts ( with extra to sprinkle on top before baking)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup shredded (not desiccated) coconut
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
150g butter, melted
2 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur (or use almond essence)
Icing sugar (for decoration)

Method:

1. Set oven to 180 deg. C(350 deg. F) and grease a 23cm spring form cake pan or just a round cake tin.
2. Sprinkle a dessertspoon of plain flour into the tin and coat the inside of the tin lightly with the flour.
3. Wash the apples well and dry with a clean cloth. Leave the apples unpeeled. With peel on, core and dice the apples into small chunks about one and a half cm square. Toss the apple chunks in a small quantity of lemon juice to avoid them browning, then drain off the lemon juice and place the apple into a large mixing bowl.
4. Tip the walnuts onto a cutting board and sprinkle with one tablespoon sugar. Chop the walnuts, or crush under a rolling pin using greaseproof paper to cover the nuts, or use a food processor,   and add with sugar to the mixing bowl containing the apples.
5. Into the same mixing bowl, add the raisins and coconut. Mix well.
6. Into a separate large mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
7. Into a third (small) mixing) bowl, break the eggs, add sugar and beat with an electric mixer until light and lemon-coloured.
8. Still beating the egg mixture, add the melted butter and the liqueur or essence.
9. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add the egg mixture. Stir until well combined.
10. Add the apple mixture to the flour and egg mixture. Stir until well combined. At this stage it may seem that you have too much apple and not enough cake mix. Don't worry, the cake will turn out beautifully.
11. Turn the mixture into the prepared cake tin. If you desire sprinkle some walnuts on top.
12. Bake at 180 deg. C or 350 deg. F on the centre shelf of the oven for about 45 to 50 minutes or until the top of the cake has turned a nice golden brown. To test whether the cake is cooked, insert a metal skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is cooked.
13. Allow to cool, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with King Island cream.

TIP:  If you don't have any Amaretto liqueur, you can use almond essence. The amount you need to use will depend on the strength of the essence you buy. Use your own judgement - strong essence may need only a few drops, a weaker essence may require half a teaspoon.

Enjoy!

Old-fashioned Boiled Fruit Cake

Fruit cake is traditionally a favourite despite cake fanciers always experimenting with variations of cake recipes. It certainly still comes into its own at Christmas time. This is my Mum's recipe for Boiled Fruit cake, and as it has been a nostalgic week with Easter and Anzac Day so close together I decided to bake it, along with the compulsory Anzac Biscuits of course. Boiled Fruit cake is such a great standby for surprise visitors, or just to have when you are feeling needy with a cup of tea or coffee, and keeps fresh for a few weeks.

 This is an economical version compared to some, originating from the 60's or even earlier I suspect. The Christmas Fruit Cake recipe is much richer and needs lots more time, ingredients and work than this one.

Ingredients:

115g (4oz) butter or margarine
1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 pkt Mixed Fruit (375 g.)
2 teasp. Bicarbonate Soda (Carb. Soda)
1 teasp. Mixed Spice
1 teasp. ground Ginger, or finely chopped crystallised ginger (if  liked)
1/2 teasp. ground Nutmeg (preferably grated fresh)

Place above ingredients in saucepan and boil for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure it doesn't burn. Allow to cool.

Add ingredients listed below to cooled mixture in saucepan:

1 cup S.R. Flour - Sifted
1 cup Plain Flour - Sifted
1 teasp. Vanilla
1 large beaten egg
2 tablespoons Bundy rum (opt.) or 1 tablespoon marmalade

When saucepan mixture is quite cold, add above ingredients and mix in well.

Pour into well greased loaf tin or round cake tin lined with 2 layers of brown paper to prevent  burning. Decorate the surface in a pattern with whole blanched almonds if desired.

Cook in oven for 1 1/2 hours at 160 deg. or until a skewer comes out clean.

When still hot, pour 1 tablespoon of rum over surface of cake.

It is preferable to keep the cake for a week before cutting for the flavours to really develop. I need to make two cakes to ensure that at least one cake doesn't get cut and eaten!

Ma Ma’s Christmas cake

Firstly Prepare Dried fruits and nuts

Ingredients:

 1 kg mixed fruit + 1 doz. dates + 100g cherries or use 3 pkts Mixed fruit

3 oz almonds

1 lb. raisins 

Prepare the fruit and nuts the day before and warm the following ingredients together in a small saucepan until nicely blended.

1 tablespoon Rum, or brandy or sherry              

½ teasp each of vanilla essence, and almond essence                 

1 level dessertspoon golden syrup                                                      

1 dessertspoon each of lemon juice, orange juice, and coffee essence

1 level dessertspoon  dark jam  

 Pour this warm mixture over the prepared fruit and nuts - Cover and leave overnight.

Cake batter ingredients:

225 grams/8 oz butter

158 grams/8 oz light brown sugar                                                             

5 eggs                                                            

31 grams/2 ozs S.R. flour                                             

1 level teaspoon salt

225 grams/9 oz  plain flour                                             

¼ teasp each cinnamon, nutmeg, and mixed spice      

                         

Method:

Day of cooking:

Method: Cream butter and sugar until light and soft. Test each egg separately in a cup and beat them into the butter, cream one at a time, and add a little of your measured flour between the last 2^nd or 3^rd egg to prevent any risk of curdling.

Have ready the flours sifted together with salt and spices. Add these and blend smoothly and well. Last of all add the soaked fruits and mix evenly and thoroughly let it stand in the bowl for 10 minutes before placing in the prepared tins.

Place your wooden spoon upright in the centre of the mixture. It should not move if correct consistency.

Line your tin with alfoil, and 2 layers of brown paper or Glad Bake. Set oven at 180 deg. , and after 1 hour decrease to 150 deg. for approx.. 3 hrs.
OR ( Alternative oven temperatures that my cousin Rae suggests for cooking Christmas Cakes, are 200 deg. for 10 minutes, 150 deg. for 1 hour, and 110 deg. for 3 hrs.)

“A helpful hint for the baking of your Christmas Cake. After 1 hour of baking a rich fruitcake place on the bottom shelf of your oven, a baking dish, 3 parts filled with cold water. This prevents the bottom of your cakes burning and also the steam keeps the cake moist.”