A Feast of Blackberries - The Great British Blackberry Recipe Round Up

A huge thank you to all the lovely cooks, bakers and bloggers who joined The Great British Blackberry Recipe Round Up.  There are so many delicious recipes and they are really varied, everything from Spiced Blackberry Pulled Pork to Blackberry Lollipops and of course cakes, desserts and preserves.  Don't take my word for it, here they all are below:


1. Blackberry Frozen Yogurt and Granola Breakfast Pops - Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary
2. Blackberry and Clotted Cream Ripple - Sudden Lunch
3. Blackberry and Apple Swirl Buns - Mint Custard
4. Blackberry Gin - Mint Custard


5. Blackberry Pear Crisp - A Palatable Pastime
6.Wild Blackberry Jam - I'd much rather bake than
7. Bramble Blackwells - Foodie Quine
8. Spiced Blackberry Jam - Farmersgirl Kitchen


9. Peach and Blackberry Galette with Lavender and Thyme Honey - A Girl and her Home
10. Blackberry and Oat Muffins - Rough Measures
11. Blackberry and Lemon Bake - Food Jam


12. Blackforest Chocolate Brownies - Sew White
13. Summer Burst Berry Cake - Belleau Kitchen
14. Simple Seasonal Blackberry Cake - Lancashire Food


15. Autumnal Blackberry and Lavender Cobbler - Lancashire Food
16. Blackberries and Rose Geranium Crumble - Lancashire Food
17. Bramble and Vanilla Cordial - Farmersgirl Kitchen
18. Baked Nectarines and Blackberry Surprise - The Peachicks Bakery


19. Summer Fruit Traybake - Sew White
20. Blackberry and Hazelnut Polenta Cake - Mainly Baking
21. Blackberry Lollipops - The Hedgecombers


22. Apple and Blackberry Chia Seed Preserve - Nutricious Deliciousness
23. Blackberry and Apple Pie - Chez Maximka
24. Spiced Blackberry Pulled Pork - De Tout Coeur Limousin


25. Double Blackberry Chocolate Gallette - Tin and Thyme
26. Blackberry, Garlic and Bay - De Tout Coeur Limousin
27. Blackberry and Apple Geranium Swirl -Lancashire Food
28. Self-Saucing Blackberry and Apple Pudding - Tales from the Kitchen Shed


29. Blackberry and Apple Cupcakes - Tin and Thyme
30. Blackberry, Lemon and White Chocolate Scones - Baking Queen 74
31.Blackberry and White Chocolate Cheesecake Cups - The Veg Space
32. Blackberry and Hazelnut Flapjacks - Chardonnay and Samphire


33. Blackberry and Apple Cake - Eco-Gites of Lenault
34. Blackberry Fairy Cake Buns (Muffins) - Lavender and Lovage
35. Blackberry, Elderberry and Damson Jelly - JibberJabber UK
I hope this inspires you to make some of these recipes, do let me know if you do.

Labels: Blackberry, Bramble, brownies, cake, cupcakes, dessert, flapjacks, gallette, ice cream, jam, Muffins, Pie, Pulled Pork, Scones, The Great British Blackberry Recipe Round-Up, vinegar

posted by Janice @ 19:26 15 Comments

Chocolate Caramel Malteser Cake

Chocolate cake is the usual request for celebration cakes in our house and I've made quite a few different kinds of chocolate cakes over the years.  I'm easily bored, so always like to use or create a new recipe and I found my inspiration at Lavender and Lovage, where my friend, Karen had posted a Salted Caramel and Chocolate Fudge Birthday Cake, many thanks to Karen for allowing me to post her recipe here with my minor variations.

Salted Caramel is very on trend and we love it, but as this cake had to be eaten by family with ages ranging from 2 years old to 90+ years old, I needed to keep the flavours a little more traditional, so I took out the salt but kept the caramel.

Maltesers make a really effective and simple decoration and they certainly went down well with everyone.

Chocolate Caramel Malteser Cake
140g crème fraiche
125g  butter
200g soft light brown sugar
2 drops vanilla extract
4 free-range eggs
170g plain flour
50g cocoa powder (not hot chocolate)
1 teaspoon baking powder

Labels: cake, caramel, chocolate, Lavender and Lovage, Maltesers

posted by Janice @ 13:02 34 Comments

Sensational Strawberry Pavlova and 'How Baking Works' Review

I've been making pavlova for many years and didn't think I had much to learn about making this meringue based dessert. WRONG!  You see I've been reading How Baking Works (and what to do when it doesn't) by James Morton.  I'm sure you remember James Morton from the Great British Bake Off, this young medical student (now qualified) has taken his medical scientific mind and applied it to the science of baking.


So what is in the book?  It starts by telling us 'How This Works', James promises no flowery language everything simple and direct.  The book is designed to explain to you how to make the basics of baking, with some recipe suggestions but with the intention that, once mastered, you will go on to make your own variations.

Forebake is an excellent primer for baking well.  A list of ingredients with full explanation of their contribution to the bake and how best to use them.  There is also a list of essential equipment which won't scare you off as it really is pretty basic.

The Basics takes you through techniques and staples, reducing the fear factor of Creme Patissiere, Creme Anglaise,  Creme Brulee, Frangipane and Caramel, including how to save crystallised caramel.  Melting chocolate is demystified and chocolate ganache couldn't be easier.  Three different types of buttercream to fill those lovely cakes, marizpan, crumble topping and even jam and curd making.  Each one described carefully and simply with step by step instructions.

So now we are really ready to start baking each chapter starts with some basic instructions and lots of reasons why you need to do certain things, I do like to know why, don't you?
The detailed notes on the variations will help you make changes to your recipes without risking disaster.  If things still go wrong, James is ready with a list of troubleshooting tips.

This is the pattern for CAKE, SPONGE, BROWNIE, MUFFINS, TORTE, BISCUIT, SHORT, SWEET, CHOUX PUFF, MERINGUE and  MACARON. Following the whys and wherefores are the recipes.

And here are some of the recipes that took my fancy: Celeriac Cake with Strawberries and Cream, Wee Sponges with Passion Fruit Curd and Italian Meringue, Macadamia and Raspberry Blondies, Yoghurt Muffins, Squidgy Gingerbread Muffins, Torta Caprese, Chocolate Orange Cookies, Iced Rings, Mushroom and Thyme Tart with Poached Egg, Cherry Bakewell , Frangipane Fruit Tart, Choux Divorces, Eccles Cakes, Kiwi Pavlova (I made it with strawberry instead!) Mango, Raspberry and Pistachio Roulade and Caramel Macarons.

Who is it for? When I first started to read this book, I thought it was a book for baking geeks, who look at baking as a science rather than an art and who need to know every little detail before they start to bake. Well it would suit that type of baker, but to be honest, I think everyone who bakes would benefit from reading How Baking Works and I do mean READ.  It was only when I sat down to read the book that it all came together for me and I could see what James was trying to achieve.

Pros: One of the things I really liked about this book was just how clearly you could hear James' voice.  Perhaps that was easier because I watch GBBO avidly, however the style is informal, the language is quite clearly James' own.

Cons: There are less recipes than you usually get in a cook book this size, but as explained at the beginning that's because the real purpose is to teach you to understand how each type of bake works.

The Verdict:  This book should be on the shelf of every wannabe baker and also of those of us who have been baking successfully for years but didn't know quite why we were successful!  I will certainly branch out a little more using the knowledge I've gained from reading How Baking Works.






James Morton's Kiwi Pavlova 
and Janice's Strawberry Lemon Curd variation
makes one sizeable spectacle

4 medium egg whites
200g caster sugar
1 pint double cream
caster sugar and vanilla extract, to taste
6 kiwi fruits

1. First, preheat your oven to 120C/100C fan/Gas 1/2.
2. Into a large clean bowl (not plastic or silicone), place the egg whites.  They should be free of any trace of yolk - if there is any remaining, use a soon to coop it out and use a torch or the light on your phone to make sure there is none left.
3. Using an electric whisk or stand mixer on the highest speak available, whisk the whites until light, fluffy and stiff.  When they're not getting any bigger, start adding the caster sugar, a teaspoon at a time, still whisking on the highest speed.  When it's all incorporated, keep whisking for a bit longer before setting aside.
4. Use a wee touch of the meringue to stick a sheet of baking paper to a baking tray.  Then, scoop your meringue into one massive circular blob.  Try to make it thinner in the middle and thicker towards the edges.  A thicker crust is required because so much of the centre will become soggy when laden with cream.
5. Bake your meringue for approximately 2 hours - I like a bit of beige (even brown) on my Pavlova. Leave it to cool on the tray.


6. Whip the cream by hand in a cold bowl until just coagulated, adding sugar and vanilla to taste.  Peel and slice the kiwi fruits.
7. Scoop about the cream on top of the meringue disc and spread it around.  Add about a third of the kiwi fruits then cover completely with another layer of cream and top with the rest of the fruit.  Preferably in a big pile.  Keep in the fridge and serve over the course of the following day.

To make the strawberry variation use 1 punnet of strawberries, hull and half them. Mix 3 tbsp lemon curd into the whipped cream or use good quality Greek yogurt.  Put all the  cream or yogurt mixture onto the pavlova and place the strawberry halves on top in circles.  Dust with a little icing sugar.

I've always added cornflour and vinegar to my pavlova to create the marshmallowy texture inside the crisp shell, but this recipe did all that without any additives and was just fabulous and will be the ONLY way I will make pavlova in future.


As James would say of the pavlova of his childhood: " There would be an attempt to slice it, but then it would simply be scraped from it's tray and shovelled into a bowl, just as it should be"

How Baking Works by James Morton
Photography by Andy Sewell

Here are some other Pavlova variations you might like to try:
Mini Chocolate and Rhubarb Pavlovas - Tin and Thyme
Banana Pavlova with Chocolate Fudge Sauce - Farmersgirl Kitchen 
Chocolate Berry Pavlova - Farmersgirl Kitchen 
Strawberry and Creme Fraiche Pavlova -Lancashire Food
Diamond Jubilee Pavlova - Fab Food 4 All

I'm adding this to Dom's Simply Eggcellent Linky at Belleau Kitchen as there would be no pavlova without eggs!

Not forgetting Simple and in Season over at Ren Behan/Food for those wonderful seasonal strawberries.

And Bake of the Week, I'm not quite sure how Helen at Casa Costello manages to keep this weekly linky going, but she does and it's a source of lots of amazing bakes so please do visit.

Labels: cake, GBBO, Great British Bake Off, How Baking Works, James Morton, meringue, pavlova, review, Strawberry Pavlova

posted by Janice @ 09:35 25 Comments

Peach and Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

This cake was created as a result of a glut of rhubarb and those peaches you buy to ripen at home and then they all ripen at once and you have to use them quick before they get over-ripe! It's really moist and the perfect 'pudding cake' as it can be eaten as warm or cold as a dessert with cream, yogurt, custard or ice-cream.  It is also just as nice as a slice of cake with a cup of tea or coffee.

Peach and Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

Topping
4 peaches or nectarines
1 large  or two medium stalks of rhubarb, thinly sliced
125g butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
125g soft brown sugar

Cake
125g softened butter
125g soft brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
125g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder

For the topping

1. Melt the butter and mix with the soft brown sugar. Grease a 20cm round cake tin and spread the butter and sugar mixture in the base of the tin.
2. Skin the peaches by placing in a bowl and covering with boiling water, leave for 2 minutes, then lift them out and the skin should slip off easily.  Slice the peaches into even slices and place on the sugar mixture in a pleasing pattern.
3. Cover the peaches with the thinly sliced rhubarb.

For the cake

1. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and beat well with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes until well blended.
2. Spoon the mixture over the peaches and rhubarb and smooth the top.
3. Bake at 190C/170C fan for 25 minutes or test with a skewer, the cake is done when the skewer, when placed into the centre of the cake, comes out clean.
4. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then remove from the tin and either serve warm or cool on a cooling rack. 

As it is the season for peaches, here are a few more ideas for cooking, baking and preserving them :

Peach Coffee Cake - Little Sunny Kitchen
Cinnamon Peach and Ice Cream Waffles - Made With Pink
Peach and White Chocolate Cake - Tin and Thyme
Peach, Marzipan and Amaretto Crumble - Casa Costello
Peach and Apricot Jam - Fab Food 4 All
Peach and Ginger Compote - Natural Kitchen Adventures
Peach Upside Down Cake - Jen's Food

I'm adding this Peach and Rhubarb Upside Down Cake to the Midsummer Madness themed Love Cake Linky run at JibberJabber UK

This will also be my contribtuion to Bake of the Week over at Casa Costello

Labels: baking, cake, glut, Peach, rhubarb, Upside-Down Cake

posted by Janice @ 19:54 27 Comments

Celebrate Mothers Day with Afternoon Tea

It's Mothers Day or Mothering Sunday on 15th March, that's next Sunday!  It's a great opportunity to treat your Mum, but when you are a busy Mum too, it's sometimes nice to let someone else spoil you both.


The good news is that you can treat your mother and/or mother-in-law and yourself to an afternoon tea with these lovely treats from Marks and Spencer.

Daffodil Madeira Cake, all butter sponge filled with buttercream and raspberry jam with soft icing and royal icing flowers - £12.00
*The Daffodil Madeira Cake is soft and moist with a nice layer of buttercream and jam, the icing is very sweet.  The daffodil decoration is delightful and very effective, overall it is a good cake.

A selection of Sweet Treats, milk chocolate coated honeycomb, white chocolate covered strawberries and milk chocolate discs - £9.00
*It is nice to have a slightly different take on a box of chocolates.  I enjoyed the honeycomb covered in chocolate and the white chocolate strawberries have a bit of a zing to them, you can definitely taste the fruit.  The milk chocolate discs are smooth and shiny and the chocolate has a good taste.

All Butter Lemon Shortbread Thins, scrummy lemon shortbread baked in the Scottish Highlands - £3.00
*The shortbread thins have a nice snap to them , the flavour of lemon does not overwhelm the delicate buttery taste.

Mini  Scottish Shortbread Tea Cup, all butter Scottish Shortbread mini rounds in a beautifully decorated cup and saucer - £12.00
* This pretty cup is a good size for tea or coffee and the buttery mini shortbreads are ideal for a little nibble to go along with it.

Simply add a pot of tea, some pretty linen and china and a bunch of flowers and you have everything you need for a relaxed afternoon tea.

Thanks to Marks and Spencer for providing me with these sweet treats for Mothers Day, I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own. 

Labels: cake, honeycomb, Marks and Spencer, Mother's Day, shortbread, tea

posted by Janice @ 05:30 16 Comments

From Mississipi to Vietnam in the Recipe Clippings Round Up

Hooray!  Another batch of recipes, been clipped, cooked or baked, blogged and shared for Recipe Clippings. Many thanks to all who joined me for the February Challenge.


1. Rachel Cotterill - Mississippi Mud Pie 
2. Baking in Pyjamas - Jaffa Cake Tea Bread
3. Onions and Paper - Pastitsio


4. Cloud of Cookmorphosis - Bun Mam: Vietnamese Fermented Fish Vermicelli Soup
5. Lancashire Food - Almond Sponge Topped Apple Pots
6. Chocolate Log Blog - Lemon Coconut Cakes with Freekah Flour


If you would like to find out more about Recipe Clippings please visit the page and come back and join in when the March Recipe Clippings Challenge is posted.

Labels: Almond, Apple, cake, coconut, Freekah, Jaffa Cakes, lemon, Mississippi Mud Pie, Pastitsio, Recipe Clippings, Vietnamese

posted by Janice @ 19:00 1 Comments

Pear Upside-down Cake from Hummingbird Bakery: Life is Sweet

Life is Sweet is the fourth book by Tarek Malouf, founder of The Hummingbird Bakery.  The Hummingbird Bakery was instrumental in popularising the sort of high quality bakes, loved by Americans, first  to London through the bakeries and then to the rest of the UK, through the books.  I already have a baking book from The Hummingbird Bakery, Cake Days,  but I am particularly pleased with this one, let me tell you a little about it.



Life is Sweet is organised into 10  chapters

Cakes, simple and more complex includes Gooey Butter Cake, 7Up Pound Cake, Molasses Pecan Crumb Cake, Chocolate Bundt Cake, Tunnel of Fudge Cake and Upside Down Pear Cake

Cupcakes both familiar and unusual including Banana Foster Cupcakes, Tomato Soup Cupcakes, Toasted Marshmallow Cupcakes, Honey Cornbread Cupcakes and Mint Julep Cupcakes.

Layer Cakes includes an indulgent Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake, Gingerbread Icebox Cake, Alabama Little Layer Cake, Red Velvet Crepe Cake and Appalachian Stack Cake.

Pies is full of very American Pies including, Lemon Chiffon Pie, Deep-fried Apple Pies, Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie, Vinegar Pie and New Orleans Prune Pie.

Cookies and Candies provides bite sized treats such as Soft Molasses Cookies, Black Pepper Cookies (on my list), Vanilla filled Chocolate Cookies, Lemon Drops, Turtle Cookies and Creamy Pecan Pralines.

Traybakes are one of my favourite bakes, how about Coconut Dream Bars, Red Velvet Brownies, Blackberry Limeade Bars and Texas Tassie Bars.

Pancakes are so easy to make and these lovely flavours are very tempting Black Bottom Pancakes, Pumpkin Pancakes, Cinnamon Pancake Cake and Sally Lunn French Toast.

Top your pies and pancakes with some lovely Ice Cream, Grasshopper Ice Cream, Earl Grey Tea and Chocolate Ice Cream, Fresh Peach Ice Cream and Lemon Custard Ice Cream.

Puddings to delight your sweet tooth include Praline Bread Pudding with Pecan Caramel Sauce, Brownie Pudding and White Chocolate Bread Pudding.

The final chapter features Bread and Savouries, Skillet Cornbread, Crawfish Pie, Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Loaf and Graham Crackers.

The book finishes up with some Baking Essentials about Ingredients, Equipment, Methods and Techniques.

Who is it for?
Pretty much anyone who likes baking and is looking for some different ideas to try.  It's not aimed at beginner bakers, but if you follow the instructions there is no reason why a novice could not achieve good results.

Pros
A wide range of different bakes, each on a little out of the ordinary.  Good photographs which let you see what you are aiming for.
Cons
I can't really think of any cons with this book, it is full of such good things.

The Verdict
I really was beginning to think I had enough baking books, that they were just full of the same sort of recipes, but this one really does have some exciting bakes in it, ones that I really want to bake.  So I give a hearty thumbs up to Life is Sweet and would urge you to go out and buy it.



I decided to make the Pear Upside Down Cake, the cake is a soft gingerbread with works so well with the caramelised pears, it works well as a cake and as a dessert.

Upside-Down Pear Cake
Makes one 23 x 32 cm (9 x 13 in) cake, to slice as desired

For the caramelised pears
6 large, ripe pears, peeled, cored ad quartered lengthways
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
40g (1 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
80g (3 oz) caster sugar
130ml (4 1/2 fl oz) Kentucky bourbon or whisky

For Cake
195g (7oz) plain flour
1 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
160g (5 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
75g (2 1/2 oz) dark muscovado sugar
4 large eggs
170g (6 oz) pure cane molasses, such as Meridian
3 tbsp boiling water
1 q/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1. Preheat the oven to 175C (350C), Gas mark 4. Line the tin with non-stick baking parchment.
2. To make the caramelised pears, mix the pears with the lemon juice.  In a large frying pan, melt the butter and sprinkle with half the caster sugar. Put the pear quarters into the pan.  Cook for about 5 minutes until brown on one side.  Turn and cook for a further 5 minutes until the other side is brown.  With a slotted spoon, carefully remove the pear quarters and set aside to cool slightly.
3. Add the bourbon and the rest of the caster sugar to the pan and cook and stir frequently for about 5 minutes until the mixture becomes syrupy.  Pour this syrup into the baking tin and tip the tin to spread evenly over the bottom of the tin.
4. Start to arrange the pears from one corner so that they cover the bottom of the tin and are facing the same direction. Set aside.
5. To make the cake, sift together the flour, spices and salt in a bowl.
6. Using a freestanding electric mixer with paddle attachment or hand-held electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together for around 5 minutes on a medium-high speed until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time on a lower speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.  Only beat until just Incorporated.  Add the molasses and beat for a few moments longer to mix.
7. In a small bowl, add the boiling water to the bicarbonate of soda and set aside.  Add half the flour mixture to the creamed mixture on low speed.  then add the water and bicarbonate of soda and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until well Incorporated  It will look like the mixture has split, but that i correct.
8. Scrape the mixture into the tin on top of the arranged pears and bake for 25 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 165C (325F) Gas mark 3 and bake for 10-15 minutes longer.  The top should bounce bake when lightly touched.  Cool in the tin for 1 hour, then run a knife around the edges of the cake. Place a tray over the top of the tin and carefully(but quickly) turn upside down.

The resulting cake is rich and treacley but not too dense, the pears  add a lovely texture to the cake and are not too sweet.  A really delightful bake and I was thrilled with comments that my version looks just like the one in the book.

The Hummingbird Bakery - Life is Sweet
100 original recipes for happy home baking
Published by 4th Estate,  Harper Collins
RRP £20


I have one copy of Life is Sweet to giveaway, you can enter by following the instructions on the Rafflecopter Widget below (UK only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Labels: cake, Cook book review, Gingerbread, giveaway, Harper Collins, Hummingbird Bakery, Life is Sweet, Pears, win

posted by Janice @ 07:18 115 Comments

Join me for Celery Soup and a Spring Four Course Dinner

I've been shopping at Aldi again, picking up some great deals on spring produce and making them into an amazing four course dinner for you.

The Soup Course
Let's start with some delicious Celery Soup, I found this lovely recipe for dairy-free Cream of Celery Soup on Pinterest, it comes from the very talented Erren's Kitchen and uses potato as a thickener.

The Fish Course
A very simple four ingredient Smoked Mackerel Pate  is whizzed up quickly in the food processor and is very moreish.  I've served it with large slices of toast but it would be ideal on cocktail oatcakes or thin slices of french bread at a more refined dinner party.


The Main Course (Entree)
Pot Roasted Scotch Beef with Roast Potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and Spring Greens. The beef was cooked in the Slow Cooker doused with a bottle of dark beer and enough stock to cover three-quarters of the meat, then cooked on low for 8-10 hours.  Once cooked, I reduced the cooking liquor by half , by boiling it on the stove to make an intense and delicious gravy.



Dessert
Okay, so pears are hardly 'spring' produce but I couldn't resist these pears, they looked so good and when I peeled and quartered them to make the Pear Upside Down Cake, they were indeed perfect and perfectly ripe. I'll be posting the recipe for the cake very soon, it comes from the latest book Hummingbird Bakery - Life is Sweet which I'll also be reviewing.

Aldi Shopping List
Celery - 65p
Maris Piper Potatoes - 2.5kg  - £1.89
Smoked Mackerel Fillets - £1.59
Silverside Scotch Beef Joint - £8.10
Spring Greens - 59p
'Specially Selected' Yorkshire Puddings - 99p
'Best in Season' Pears - £1.29

Many thanks to Aldi for providing me with vouchers to purchase the ingredients for these recipes. I was not paid and all opinions are my own.

Labels: Aldi, cake, celery, Pears, Produce, Scotch Beef, Smoked Mackerel Pate, Soup, Spring Greens, Srping, Yorkshire Pudding

posted by Janice @ 18:27 16 Comments

Cake, Snacks and Slow Cooker Liners on my Kitchen Table

It's always exciting when a parcel arrives and, as a food blogger, I receive quite a few packages full of delights.  This month I have three very different products to share with you.


I've had cakes through the post in the past which tasted manufactured rather than homemade.  I was interested to see whether the cakes from Sendmecakes would live up to their description as homemade.  The slim box dropped through the letterbox and when I opened it, I couldn't believe how many slices of cake were packed in there.  Each slice is individually wrapped in cellophane and tied only with a piece of raffia which opens easily when you pull at the bow.

The cakes have no fondant icing, no butercream and no 'fake food' ingredients.  They stay moist for days (recommended to be kept in a cool place and eaten within 5 days of dispatch) and each one contains fruit or veg, herbs and spices and only natural extracts.

There is a full list of Varieties and Ingredients, my box contained the following:

Apricot Bakewell Sandwich - probably my favourite slice, so moist and tasty
Lemon and Stawberry Jam Sandwich - a traditional Victoria Sandwich with a real home made taste.
Kent Apple Cake - there were a couple of slices of this cake as it's one of the signature bakes.  It's a lovely homely cake.
Treacle Toffee Drizzle - that's the slice pictured above (half a slice on the plate), sweet crunchy toffee topping, soft sweet cake.
Original Brownie - dense brownie with a true chocolate taste
Apricot Slice - oaty, apricot traybake
Super Seed Flapjack - probably my least favourite, just too many seeds but oh so good for you.

I cannot recommend these cakes highly enough.  You could certainly pass them off as your own, they taste home made.  A box of these cake slices would be an ideal gift for Mothers Day, a birthday, New Home or Get Well Soon.

The Ultimate Bake Box costs £22.00 including UK postage 
A Gluten Free Slice Box costs £22.00 including UK postage
100% Cake Box costs £20.00 including UK postage
Kent Bramley Apple Cake costs £17.00 including UK postage

Rating 10/10

Slow Cooker Liners

Slow Cooker Liners are something I had read about in US Slow Cooker cookbooks and online recipe sites, but I had never seen them in the UK.  I actually spotted these on Twitter and have been sent a sample pack of 4 liners for review.

I've been asked what the point is of Slow Cooker Liners and I can see where people are coming from with this, it's really not so difficult to clean your slow cooker as most models have removable crocks or non-stick metal pots.  There are, however some instances when I would welcome not cleaning out the pot after making a particularly messy or sticky recipe which requires soaking and scrubbing.  In addition, the liners claim to keep your Slow Cooker like new, reduce wear and tear and lock in flavour.

I would also recommend them for making Double Dinners, where you cook two separate dishes at the same time/  I couldn't get the liners at the time, so used roasting bags. 

I made Dhruv Baker's 'Yellow Curry' from his book Spice.  It's loaded with turmeric which is notorious for staining everything.  The liner worked perfectly, they are BPA free food grade plastic so the dinner had no plastic taste and the CrockPot only needed a little bit of a wipe round.

I wouldn't use the liners every time but it would certainly be worth having a pack in the cupboard for particular dishes, double dinners and when you just can't face the washing up!

Slow Cooker Liners - £1.39 pack of 4
Rating 7/10


Snack Attack!

SUNBITES UNVEILS EXCITING NEW ADDITIONS TO SNACK RANGE
Sunbites, the extraordinarily tasty multigrain snack from Walkers, announces the arrival of three new products set to tantalise our taste buds. The new scrumptious additions include Crispy Crackers, Pitta Bakes and Crackers & Dip.

Labels: cake, crisps, Reviews, SendmeCakes, slow cooker, Slow Cooker Liners, snacks, Sunbites, Walkers

posted by Janice @ 20:01 13 Comments

Mary's Tea Time Cake for Recipe Clippings

We have finally eaten all the Christmas biscuits and the cake tin was looking rather bare, so I had a flip through one of my recipe clipping folders and came across Mary's teatime cake, a recipe from the very talented and delightful Mary Berry and published in BBC Good Food magazine.

I've made this cake before and even blogged about it, but in case you missed it the last time I thought I'd give you another chance to enjoy the recipe.  I have found it to be a remarkably good recipe, works if you soak the dried fruit overnight, but also works if you soak it for a couple of hours as I did.  Mary suggests Earl Grey tea for soaking, but you can use any tea you like. You can also use any combination of dried fruit you like, I had a lot of dates, so half of my loaf is dates, the rest a mix of raisins, currants and mixed dried fruit.

Mary's Tea Time Cake

 I'm linking up to Bake of the Week at Casa Costello

Labels: Bake of the Week, cake, fruit cake, Fruit Tea loaf, Mary Berry, Recipe Clippings

posted by Janice @ 19:19 27 Comments