Chester Slice(Gur Cake)

I have never been a particularly sporty person.  As I child I would much rather be curled up reading a book than outside running around.  Today, I would much rather be curled up with a good book than outside running around. See?!  I have always loved swimming though.  Since I was a little girl, well littler girl I have loved splashing about in a pool.

Every Saturday morning my sister and I would go to our local swimming baths.  We both learned to swim there.  I still remember my lovely orange arm bands with the navy blue writing on them.  I would kick my little legs furiously in an effort to propell myself from one side of the pool to the other, completely knackered from my efforts once I had reached my destination. 

When we arrived the overpowering stench of chlorine would greet us at the door accompanied by the giddy screams of children already splashing about.  We would hand over our money at the hatch in return for a monster plastic crate to fill with our belongings.  Under the weight of enormous said crate we would stagger to the freezing cold changing rooms to don are no doubt fabulous swim suit, arm band, rubber hat ensmble.  Suitably attired we did the 4 minute mile back to the hatch on our tippy toes(seriously, this place used to be fu reezin), to hand over our now full and heavier crates in exchange for a blue rubber wrist band.  Now the only thing between us and the pool was the dreaded wall of ice cold water.  It didn't matter how small you tried to make yourself in an attempt to squeeze through the gaps, it ALWAYS drenched you.

Drenched and colder still there was nothing left but to plunge into the pool in an attempt to regain a smidgen of lost heat.  And there we would stay, a blissful hour submerged until the siren heralded the end of our fun and we two little prunes sploshed back to retrace our steps.  Cold, shrivelled and with dripping hair we would emerge from the echoey confines for the 5 minute walk home.  A little stop of at the shop on the way to spend the few pence we had been gifted before leaving home would yield a bar of chocolate for me and a chester slice for my sister.  Every week the same routine. 

With 10p she would become the proud owner of a thick, fragrant hunk of ebony cake, carefully ensconced within a brown paper bag, protected by a small square of plastic wrap.  I can't remember what she bought with her change because I was always fascinated by the cake.  I have never been a fan of dried fruit so wouldn't taste it but I remember how good it smelled.  Warm spices giving a little nod to winter and Christmas even on a warm summers day.  I remember it with a very thin layer of dark chocolate on top but she disagrees with me and says it was merely the dark contents within staining the outer pastry layer to give the illusion of such luxuries.

Fast forward 20 years or so and I recounted this story to my husband, and he maintains he did exactly the same thing with his sister.  I'm not sure if this is a coincidence or some sort of Irish childhood ritual, maybe you lovely people can shed some light on this one for me.  He also fondly remembers weekly trips to his local swimming pool and on the way home he would stop with his sister for a chester slice from Mannings bakery.  He agrees with me about the chocolate topping because he says it is the only reason he bought them.  Did you have chester slice cakes when you were little?  Did they have chocolate or is my memory playing tricks on me?  I'd love to know so leave me a little comment. Go on.

Chester Slice(Gur Cake)

Having done a little investimagating it would seem that a Chester Slice and Gur Cake are one and the same.  I think someone somewhere along the way must have renamed it in an attempt to make it sound more appealing.  You see a Gur Cake is essentially a poor mans cake, the scraps of bread in a bakery mixed up with some dried fruit and sandwiched between 2 sheets of pastry.  In our house going on Gur would mean to do without, the only luxury being a piece of Gur Cake.  If you were on Gur you really didn't have much going for you, either the  cupboards were bare or maybe you were out of favour with your loved one and wouldn't receive much in the line of sustinence or other *cough*.  I would love to know the meaning of the word Gur for others though, so again, please leave me a lovely little comment. 

This is my version of a Chester Slice or Gur Cake.  It is really open to being tinkered with as the recipe would change from day to day in the bakery depending on what scraps were available so please feel free to adapt the recipe to your own taste.

2 Sheets Ready Roll Short Crust Pastry
110g/4oz Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
1tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 a stale Madeira Cake, crumbled (I used half a 1lb madeira loaf)
2 generous handfuls of Mixed Dried Fruit
60g/2oz Granulated Sugar
6tbsp Treacle
1 Egg Beaten
2tbsp Milk
100g Plain Chocolate

1.  Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. 
2.  Line the bottom of a brownie pan with 1 sheet of pastry and trim the excess
3.  Sieve the flour, baking powder and ground ginger into a bowl.
4.  Add the cake crumbs, mixed fruit, sugar and treacle and mix.  It will be quite a stiff, dense mixture.

5.  Spread this evenly over the pastry sheet in the pan.

6.  Lay the second pastry sheet over the top and trim the excess.
7.  Brush with the beaten egg mixed with the milk. 
8.  Mark out squares with a sharp knife and place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

9.  Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. 
10.Once cool cut into the marked squares.
11.Melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.
12.Dip the top of each square into the melted chocolate to coat evenly and allow to set.

Christmas Cake 2010

I know, I know we haven't even gotten Halloween out of the way and here I am bringing up the 'C' word.  I have good reason to, I haven't gone mental, honest.  I wanted to try to post some of my Christmas recipes nice and early to give you plenty of time to plan and because Christmas Cakes and Puddings tend to need some time to mature.  With that in mind now is the perfect time to make these very important elements of any traditional Christmas celebration.  It also means that when you are knee deep in wrapping paper and tinsel you can allow yourself a smug little smile at the intelligent decision to make them weeks in advance saving you from added blood, sweat and tears being shed.

For the last few years I have used the recipe that my mam followed for many, many years.  This year I decided to tinker with ir a little. (God, when she hears this she'll be haunting me tonight!)  Don't get me wrong, it is a delicious cake and has been eaten with gusto by many for as long as I can remember.  I just thought with such a huge variety of ingredients on offer it would be nice to try something a little different with it. 

The main change I made was to soak the fruit overnight in tea and brandy, much like you would do with the fruit for a tea brack.  Usually the fruit just gets chucked in in all of it's dry, shrivelled glory; so soaking will fill the cake with plump, boozey fruit.  I then added a few new ingredients to add more texture and flavour.

I was curious to find out how it tasted so brought one that I made last week to my dads on Wednesday night.  It was his birthday you see and when I enquired as to what cake he would like he requested a fruit cake.  I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone, get a little feedback on the updated recipe and also bring a smile to my dad's face with a super duper fruit cake.  It was declared to be 'lovely'.  It is a moist cake, choc full of fruit with some crunch from the chopped nuts dispersed throughout.  The brandy and spice flavours brought a little Christmas magic with every bite.  I would say that is mission accomplished. 

The recipe below will yield 2 x 8" round cakes.  I'm not sure if the original recipe my mam used was for 2 cakes or if she adapted through the years herself, she always made a cake for our house and one for my aunty, along with 2 Puddings and 2 German Pound Cakes.  I think all Christmas recipes should yield 2 cakes, how nice is it to wrap one up to gift to a friend or loved one.  I know my dad loves to see me coming with my brown paper parcels in winter time.  I'm not sure his 'birthday' cake will stretch out to Christmas so I am sure I will be making him up another one soon, I wonder who will be the lucky recipient of the 2nd one?

LMUTB Christmas Cake
(makes 2 x 8" round cakes)

200ml/7floz Warm Tea
200ml/7floz Brandy
375g/13.2oz Currants
375g/13.2oz Raisins
375g/13.2oz Sultanas
250g/9oz Dried Apricots, chopped to rough 1cm pieces
100g/3.5oz Dried Cranberries
425g/15oz Plain Flour*
75g/2.65oz Ground Almonds*
1.5 level tsp's Mixed Spice*
0.5 level tsp Ground Nutmeg*
150g/5oz Glacé Cherries
150g/5oz Mixed Peel
115g/4oz Crystallised/Stem Ginger
Grated Rind of 2 Lemons
Grated Rind of 1 Orange
150g/5oz Almonds, blanched and chopped
50g/1.76oz Walnuts, roughly chopped
115g/4oz Hazelnuts, roughly chopped
350g/12oz Margarine, at room temperature
350g/12oz Brown Sugar
2tbsp Honey
2tbsp Black Treacle
7 Large Eggs, at room temperature

* Sieve these ingredients together

Optional:

Additional brandy to 'feed' the cake.

If you like you can 'feed' the cake every 3 - 4 weeks with 3floz of brandy to ensure a moist (and boozey) cake at Christmas.  Simply pierce the cake a few times with a skewer, pour over the brandy and allow it to absorb before wrapping the cake back up.

I will ice this cake closer to Christmas so be sure to check back in to see the finished article.

1.  Place the raisins, currants, sultanas, apricots and cranberries in a large bowl.  Pour over the warm tea and brandy and stir to coat all of the fruit in the liquid.  Leave to sit in the bowl for at least one hour but preferrably overnight.  Cover with a tea towel and stir occasionally to ensure all of the fruit has a chance to soak up some of the liquid.

2.  The next day preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas Mark 2; and grease 2 x 8" round baking tins with melted margarine and line with greaseproof paper (instructions below).
3.  Sieve the flour, mixed spice and nutmeg into a large bowl.  Add the cherries, mixed peel and crystallised ginger and toss to coat in the flour (this will prevent them from sinking as the cake bakes).
4.  Sieve in the ground almonds and add the chopped nuts.
5.  Add the soaked fruit, margarine, honey, treacle, eggs and grated zest.
6.  Stir with a wooden spoon until all of the ingredients are combined. (For the second year running I did this while my husband was out, not a good idea as my poor little arms aren't up to the task and I needed a few little rest breaks.  If you happen to have a strong man lying about the place rope him in for this step!)

7.  Divide the mixture evenly between the 2 prepared tins and place into the preheated oven for 3 hours.  As all ovens vary you may need longer than 3 hours, if this is the case return to the oven and check at regular intervals.  Also, I would advise that you check the cake after 2 hours and if you find that the top is brownng too much place a round of greaseproof paper, with a small hole cut in the centre, on top. It is ready when a clean skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

8.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin overnight.

9.  Remove from the tin and discard the greaseproof paper.  Wrap in a double layer or greaseproof paper and a double layer of tin foil to store.

To Line the Baking Tins:

1.  Cut a piece of grease proof paper large enough to wrap around the circumference of the tin.
2.  Cut in half lengthways.

3.  Fold up approximately 1" along the bottom edge.

4.  Snip up as far as the fold at intervals of approximately 1.5cm.

5.  Now place inside the greased baking tin.  The 'fringed'end will make it easier to position it neatly.  (if you think it is too tall feel free to trim and inch or two off the top)

6.  Cut a circle of grease proof paper to cover the bottom of the greased baking tin.  You can see a little trick for that here.

7.  Cut a second piece of grease proof paper long enough to wrap around the circumference of the baking tin.  Fold it in half lengthways and wrap it around the outside of the tin.  Secure it in place with a piece of twine.  This will help to prevent the outside of the cake from browning too much.

Odlums Quick Range

The very lovely people in Odlums sent me a parcel recently jam packed with products from their 'Quick' range.  The range is made up of bread, scone, cookie, brownie and muffin mixes and are ideal for anybody with limited time or lacking in confidence when it comes to baking.  I have actually used some of these mixes many times before and usually have one knocking about in the press for surprise dinner guests or on those days when I am just too lazy to measure out all of the ingredients myself but fancy something freshly baked.

There is practically no effort required to make any of these, I would say from start to finish it took me no longer than 3 minutes to mix them up and get them into the oven.  I know some might say that this is cheating, I disagree, I like to think of it as delegating.  Why have a dog and bark yourself?  If the very lovely people in Odlums would like to measure out the dry ingredients on our behalf to save us time and energy then who are we to spoil their fun?  I am all for the short cuts if it gets you into the kitchen and baking.  I don't always have the time to go through all of the stages myself but that doesn't mean I want to forego the luxury of freshly baked bread or cakes on a week day. 

So far I have made the Multi Grain Bread Mix, still hot from the oven this was perfect with a steaming bowl of homemade seafood chowder. 

The White Scone Mix provided a nice quick fix for me last week when I used the scones to accompany my homemade blackberry jam as part of the latest Irish Foodies cookalong.  

Last night I mixed up the Tomato and Herb Bread Mix to accompany my butternut squash soup, this made for some scrummy comfort food as the evenings have turned slightly chillier! 

Now, a little health warning for all of you.  Do not, I repeat DO NOT make the same mistake as me and bake the Chocolate Brownie Mix while you are alone in the house.  I had to pretend to my husband that I had given half of them to the neighbours, I hadn't, not unless the neighbours now live in my tummy.  They were completely moreish with a deliciously chewy crust and a soft, moist centre. 

So if like me you don't always have enough hours in the day or you feel that baking is a little bit scary, you might want to try out Odlum's Quick range.  They are great when time is short and would also be an ideal stepping stone to help build your confidence in the kitchen.  Another great way to use them is when baking with children.  My sister uses them all of the time to bake with her 3 year old daughter as they are quick and easy and they only leave her one bowl to wash up.  Pssst, if you are making them for guests don't tell them Odlum's made them, take all of the credit yourself, they'll never know, trust me!

Odlum's Quick range is available from Tesco, Dunnes, Super Valu, Superquinn, Centra, Spar, Londis and most small town stores.  The average retail price is €1.29-€1.59 for breads and scones, and up to €2.99 for brownies and cookies.

Irish Foodies October Cookalong: Autumn Fruit - Blackberry Jam & Apple & Blackberry Tart

The latest Irish Foodies cookalong theme was Autumn fruit.  It didn't take me long to decide that I wanted to use blackberries as my main ingredient, so all that I needed to do was to find some nice juicy specimens ripe for the picking.  I was on blackberry watch every day as I power walked around the village but they refused to turn form red to black.  I think they knew I was waching.  If I'm not mistaken I saw them painting eachother up with a scarlet lipstick one morning in an effort to dupe me. 

Fear not, last Sunday my hushand and I drove to Newbridge House & Demesne and went in search of some viable candidates.  We were a little disappointed to find the same story here.  Lots of red berries and only a handful of ripe beauties.  The hubs got stuck in and was determined to harvest enough for the pot of blackberry jam I had promised him.  He fearlessly climbed in among the brambles and other than the odd swear word when the thorny branches got the better of him he plucked away until he had filled his little bag.

The next day I sailed into unchartered waters and set about making my very 1st jam.  I was under the impression it was a long and complicated process.  I was very, very wrong.  It took just a few minutes and the help of my trusty sugar thermometer, and then Bob's your uncle I had a lovely jar of jam.  Simlpes!  Having researched some recipes online I decided to live life on the wild side and just chuck a few things into the pot and hope for the best.  The result was a really delicious jam.  I will definitely be making my own in future and snubbing supermarket offerings.

Here is my recipe, I hope you enjoy it.

Blackberry Jam

2 cups (measuring cup size) of Blackberries, washed
2 cups (measuring cup size) of Sugar
2tbsp Lemon Juice
2 small Apples, washed, peeled and diced.

1.  Place the blackberries in a large bowl and crush roughly or blitz in a food processor.

2.  Transfer the blackberries to a saucepan and add the remaining ingredients. 
3.  Set over a medium heat and stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. 

4.  Allow to simmer until the temperature on the sugar thermometer reaches 'jam'.
5.  While still hot pour into the hot sterilised jar, place a wax circle on top and seal the jar. 
6.  Store in a cool, dark place and refrigerate once opened.

The apples in the recipe provide natural pectin to help set the jam.

I had a few blackberrys left over so thought the hubs would appreciate a nice apple and blackberry tart.  I decided to try out a new recipe and had a Catherine Leyden one to hand so gave that a bash.  I was very glad I did.  It was such a simple recipe and I had the pastry whipped up in minutes.  It uses a technique I have seen before but had quite forgotten but makes such complete sense.  Grate the cold butter!  I can't believe I banished this from my memory.  This is genius.  Grating the butter leaves long strands of cold 'fat' that can be easily distributed throughout the flour, and because they butter is so fine there is no need to over work the mixture to incorporate it.  I will most definitely be doing this again to take the stress out of pastry making.  The tart was a huge success, and the pastry just perfect, exactly the texture my mams used to be.  Enjoy!

Apple & Blackberry Tart

225g/8oz Plain Flour
125g/4oz Butter, make sure it is cold and not room temperature
150ml/ 0.25 Pint Cold Water (approximately)
4 Large Cooking Apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
100g/3.5oz Blackberries
Sugar to sweeten apples

1.   Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
2.   Sieve the flour into a bowl.
3.   Grate the cold butter into the flour. (You may need a little flour on your fingers to do this)

4.   Using a knife, mix the grated butter into the flour.
5.   Slowly add the water and mix to a soft dough with the knife.

6.   Turn onto a floured board and knead lightly.  (If you feel your pastry has become warm from kneading place it into the freezer, wrapped in cling film, for 10 minutes)

7.   Roll out half of the pastry to the size of an oven proof plate.

9.   Arrange the apples on the pastry, leaving a 1cm edge.  Sprinkle each layer with sugar.

10. Scatter the blackberries on top of the apple.

11. Roll the remaining pastry out to a size sufficient to cover the apples. 
12. Dampen the edge of teh base pastry with cold water to seal.
13. Press the top pastry over the apples to make the tart.  Seal the edges by using the back of a knife to form a crust.  Press around the edge with the tines of a fork.

14. Pierce the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape and bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.

itsa Cookbook, Domini Kemp (Gill & Macmillan)

My post fell through the letterbox with a heavy thud again the other day.  To my delight the very lovely people at Gill & Macmillan had sent me another little gem prior to release.  Safely nestled within the envelope was a copy of Domini Kemp's beautiful itsa Cookbook.  That was my day well and truly brought to an abrupt halt!

Domini Kemp was born in the Bahama's and in 1983 she moved to Ireland.  Before setting up the itsa food company with her sister Peaches, Domini trained as a chef at Leith's in London.  Today Domini and Peaches run four bagel shops, the cafe in IMMA, the restaurants in Brown Thomas Dulin & Cork, Feast catering and the gastro-neighbourhood restaurant itsa4 located in Sandymount, Dublin.   As if all of that is not enough Domini is also a food writer with a weekly column in the Irish Times Magazine.

As you can imagine Domini is a very busy bee indeed.  I'm tired just reading about all that she does!  With this in mind she wanted to compile a cookbook bursting with tasty and healthy food that can be prepared by everyone, even those with hectic schedules and little time on their hands.  In the books introduction she says, "...every day, I cook at home, where time, nutrition, satisfaction and taste are all key factors.  I love to take a recipe, tear it apart, try to make it simpler and tastier and eliminate anything that isn't utterly critical.  The aim of this book is to get you to cook rather than stare at a long list of ingredients and say, 'Nah, I think I'll order a take-away instead'."  I think it is safe to say that she has achieved all that she set out to with this book!

I have to be honest with you, when I first flicked through the book I must have been a little tired as I set it aside without too much excitement.  I revisited it a few days later and all of that changed.  Not only does this book contain a recipe for my favourite soup ever, Vegetable Lentil Soup, served in itsa bagel shops.  It is packed full of delicious, healthy no fuss recipes.

The book is broken down into clearly defined chapters, The Holy Grail of Basics; Brekkie, Brunch and Elevenses; No-Fuss Dinners; Bit on the Side; Show Off; and Sweet Stuff.  This makes it nice and simple to quickly locate a recipe to suit your needs.  The book is peppered throughout with Domini's tips and notes accompanying most recipes, this personal touch is all to often absent from cookbooks in my opinion.  My favourite thing about the book has got to be the beautiful photographs.  What can I say, I'm a sucker & I really do eat with my eyes.  My tummy grumbled as I lustfully gazed at page after page of crunchy salad, tender meat and mouth watering dessert.  It has been given pride of place on my over burdened book shelf and is already a little dog eared from me thumbing through it planning occasions to try out some dishes.  I have made 3 batches of the Vegetable Lentil Soup and think I will happily live on that for the winter months to come and I cannot wait to try out the flourless chocolate cake. 

itsa Cookbook by Domini Kemp is available to purchase from October 8th, 2010, priced €19.99/£17.99.  If you would like to purchase it online go to  http://www.gillmacmillan.ie/food--drink/food--drink/itsa-cookbook and avail of a 20% discount.

No Churn Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

If I were to put my house up for sale the estate agent would no doubt market my kitchen as compact, or bijoux.  That's small to me and you folks.  I could probably swing a kitten in it (note the use of the word probably, I have never attempted to), but think I would struggle with a full grown tabby.  It is a perfectly functional kitchen.  It is my favourite room in the house, filled to bursting with my very favourite things.  I spend so much time in there I like to have my favourite things around me so I can look at them each and every day.  It is full to capacity though. 

My teeny tiny baking supplies press is groaning under the weight of bags of flour and sugar and tubs of sprinkles and bottles of essence.  I always open the door with one hand blocking my face for fear of what missile will explode free from it's designated spot at the prospect of freedom from the squashed confines within.  With space being so limited I also have to show great restraint when it comes to my lust for new and sparkly kitchen machines and gadgets.  I have a food processor, a blender and a hand held electric whisk and for now I shall have to be content with my lot because there is no more room at the inn.  My longing for an ice cream maker will have to remain just that.  But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy home made ice cream.  Not since I discovered a no churn ice cream that only requires enough shelf and freezer space for a loaf tin.  Result.

Here is my version of Strawberry Ceesecake Ice Cream.  I have tried another flavour and will post more as I try them out.  I hope you enjoy this one.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

1 tin of Condensed Milk
600ml Double Cream
1tsp Vanilla Extract
8oz of Cream Cheese
300g of Strawberries, washed, hulled and quartered
2tbsp fresh Lemon Juice

1.  Place the strawberries in a food processor and blitz until you have a smooth puree.

2.  Place all of the ingredients(including the pureed strawberries) into a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until thick and quite stiff.

3.  Transfer the mixture into a loaf tin, cover with cling film and freeze until required.
4.  Allow to soften slightly before serving.