Flapjacks

This week I've made flapjacks.  These are great for when I'm really busy, which is going to be more often now as I start my next Open University module in a couple of weeks time.  They are so simple to put together - you just melt everything together in a saucepan then bake in the oven for 25 minutes.  The best bit is you can freeze them so I've made a large batch now and then for the week when I have an assignment to write these just need to de-frost and they are ready to go.  The recipe was given to me by a lady I used to work with, thanks Hilde. 

Victoria sponge

It is my birthday this week and as is tradition baked a cake to take into work with me.  

So often these cakes are chocolate monsters, so I decided mine should be a nice light Victoria Sponge filled with raspberry jam and butter icing.  This is one of the easiest cakes that I know how to make and always gives a good result.  If work don't like it, then I know someone who will.  

White bread

After the success of last weeks double cheese and chive bread, I thought I'd have a go at a simple white loaf, which is the same recipe just without the cheese and chives.  Once again it worked like a dream.  Dan Lepard really is a bread god.  I wonder what his cakes will be like?

Double cheese and chive loaf

I've tried making bread before and never really had a satisfactory out come.  But for Christmas I received Dan Lepard's Short and Sweet, the best of home baking, and thought I should have another go.  Dan says its all about the length of time you leave it to rise, not about the kneading, so I had a go at this double cheese and chive loaf and was very pleased at the results.  

The last couple of loafs I made were sticky right up to the end and were hard and didn't taste so good.  This time I had a loaf that had stopped being sticky after the first knead and is soft and full of air.  And not only that it was so easy to make.  I'm really looking forward to trying his other recipes.

Sausage rolls

I don't know why more people don't make their own sausage rolls. They are so easy to create. I made these in about an hour, including cooking. Just a simple pasty with flour and marg rubbed together and a little egg and water. Put it in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes or so, then roll it out and add a line of sausage meat. Don't forget to wet the pastry where you are going to roll it over so it'll stick, cut into appropriate sized bits and stick on a baking tray. Brush on some egg and cook for 30 minutes.  A much tastier treat than the tiny puffy things you can buy.

Chocolate covered marzipan balls

As promised this is what to do with spare marzipan.  Roll it into smallish balls.  Melt some dark chocolate and then roll the balls in the chocolate until covered.  Leave on a sheet of foil in the fridge to chill and there you have the perfect quick present for someone.

Christmas Cake

I don't really like Christmas cake.  It's normally too heavy and I don't like the way it is so often saturated in alcohol.  So instead I make my own version.  I have a recipe for a 'picnic fruit cake' which is full of fruit but light and perfect for taking on a picnic.  I have to admit to calling it 'panic cake' though, a name from when I first made it many years ago and miss read the name.

Normally I would make it in a traybake style, but who wants a square Christmas cake, so I made it round.  That's probably why the fruit sank, in the traybake it has no where to go.  A little apricot jam, some marzipan and some easy roll icing and the cake is done.  I'd like to decorate it some more, but couldn't get my icing to keep its shape.  

I'll show you what to do with left over marzipan later in the week.

Cookies

This weekend I needed something quick to make.  The perfect quick sweet treat are cookies.  They take about 5 minutes to put together then 12 minutes in the oven.  The recipe I use came out of one of my Mum's magazines years ago.  The beauty is the variety of things you can use, for instance dried fruit, cherry's, chocolate chips and in this case fudge.  I had hoped that the fudge would stay soft, but it went hard.  Still made for tasty cookies.
(The secret of a soft cookie is to put them in the tin while still slightly warm.)

Millionaire shortbread

This week I've made millionaire shortbread.  Different from normal shortbread as it has caramel topped by milk chocolate on top of the shortbread.  It is very rich and delicious.
I have attempted it several times in the past, with the most memorable being the one where the caramel set rock hard and had to be chipped out of the dish!  The last two times I've used the recipe from the tin of condensed milk and the caramel has been perfect.