A cake by any other name.....

William Shakespeare once wrote:  "What's in a name? that which we call a rose  By any other name would smell as sweet"

In other words, it doesn't matter what something is called, it's what it is (and how it tastes) that's important...and so I apply that to this little cake.

This is a SPICED BUTTERMILK PRUNE CAKE that I found on Taste.com.au some time ago and have made it a lot, because, well, because I like prunes. I mean, they're just dried plums aren't they?

I've never known why people have an aversion to prunes....they're just the sugary equivalent of sun dried tomatoes, and I don't think I've ever seen anyone turn up their noses at them.

So anyway, here's the recipe, which I have "tweaked" to suit me and my tastes.

1 cup pitted prunes, chopped finely
1 cup buttermilk
125grams softened butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
2 cups self raising flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
large dollop plain yogurt

Crumble Topping
1/3 cup plain flour
1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
50 grams butter, chopped.

• Combine prunes with half a cup of buttermilk in a bowl and let sit for about about 2 hours
• Make crumble topping: combine the flour, sugar and butter in a food processor and pulse until it resembles bread crumbs
• Preheat Oven to 180 C. Line the base and sides of a loaf pan with baking paper
• Cream the butter and sugar until pale and creamy then add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each one
• Sift the flour and spices over the butter mix and fold it in with a large metal spoon, along with the prunes and the remaining half cup of buttermilk.
• Spoon it into the prepared cake pan, sprinkle the crumble mix over the top and place it in the oven for around 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean
• Let it sit in the tin for about 10 minutes to let it settle, then put it onto a wire rack to cool

I had a little bit of mix left over so I made a couple of cupcakes....That's it...enjoy it with cream or a cuppa or whatever you like...it really is lovely.



Shanks in the Slow Cooker

Some time ago I was fortunate to see a recipe over at Proud Italian Cook, that looked absolutely delicious! It was neck bones with spaghetti , which doesn't sound too good...but let me tell you. It was!

So I made it with lamb necks and it was just as good as I'd hoped. This week though, I had some shanks in the freezer, so decided to use those instead....and it was again, delicious.

Usually I just throw everything into the slow cooker and turn it on. Not this time.

This time I roasted the shanks for about 45 minutes, just to get them browned and caramelized... then I browned some onions in a pan and added a can of diced tomatoes, a few sliced mushrooms, some garlic, a good dollop of tomato paste, a teaspoon of sugar and some pepper and salt and let it bubble away for a few minutes while the shanks roasted.

Then it all went into the slow cooker for about 4 hours on high.

I served it with crusty bread and spaghetti.

There were no leftovers.

Upside Down Apple Cake

MONT's heading off to the country to work this coming week...so I thought I'd bake him a cake to take.

This is a variation on the cherry and raspberry cake I made recently.

The cake batter recipe is basically the same, but instead of raspberries and cherries, I peeled and sliced 2 apples and layered the slices on the bottom of a sugared, lined baking tin. I then peeled and diced another granny smith and folded that into the cake mix.

This is what it looked like when I turned it out of the tin....

...and this is the final result...

Luscious!

Recipe

--------

125 grams butter, softened
2/3 cup caster sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup self raising flour
1/4 cup almond meal
large dollop of yogurt
3 granny smith apples

2 tbls brown sugar

cream, custard or ice cream to serve

Preheat oven to 180*c. Grease a 20cm, round cake pan and line it with baking paper
Cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each one
Sprinkle the brown sugar onto the bottom of the lined cake tin and peel and slice two apples and place the slices in the bottom on top of the sugar

Add the flour and almond meal to the cake mixture and fold through, then add a large dollop of yogurt and fold it through. Peel and dice the third granny smith apple and fold it through the cake mix then spoon it over the apples and bake for 35 to 40 minutes....
....or until a skewer inserted into the middle, comes out clean

You need to let this sit in the tin for about 5 minutes to let it settle before turning out onto a wire rack or plate. You also need to insert a spatula or knife down the sides of the cake to help ease it away from the sides of the tin, otherwise you'll end up with a broken mess when turning it out onto the plate.

Upside Down Cherry and Raspberry Pudding

This is a recipe I found on Taste.com when I was looking for something easy to make and easy to carry to a dinner party we were going to recently.

I tweaked it a little though...adding some raspberries and yogurt to the mix.

It's a cake but also a pudding and delicious served with cream, custard or ice-cream...also scrumptious cold with a coffee in the afternoon.

You'll need:
-------------
1 680gr jar pitted cherries
1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries
125 grams butter, softened
2/3 cup caster sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup self raising flour
1/4 cup almond meal
large dollop of yogurt
cream, custard or ice cream to serve

Preheat oven to 180*c. Grease a 20cm, round cake pan and line it with baking paper.

Cream together the butter and sugar.

Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each one.

Drain the cherries

Place them and the raspberries in the bottom of the cake tin


Add the flour and almond meal to the cake mixture and fold through, then add a large dollop of yogurt and fold it through.


Carefully spoon the cake mix over the berries and bake for 35 to 40 minutes....

....or until a skewer inserted into the middle, comes out clean.

Now, a word of warning. You need to let this sit in the tin for about 5 minutes to let it settle before turning out onto a wire rack or plate. You also need to insert a spatula or knife down the sides of the cake to help ease it away from the sides of the tin, otherwise you'll end up with a broken mess when turning it out onto the plate.

That's it...eat and enjoy!

Sausage Rolls

I had a bit of a brain wave this week, so I decided to make something for a weekend snack.

I don't know if our friends in the northern hemisphere are familiar with these little delicacies or not, but I really love home made sausage rolls because they're yummy!

In fact, they're really easy too ... but I guess it's just what you're used to.

Here's my version:

Preheat oven to 180-200 degrees. (hot)

Mix together in a large bowl:

500 grams good mince beef

500 grams sausage mince (from the supermarket)

1 carrot, grated

1 stick of celery, chopped finely

1 egg

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs or cornflake crumbs (that's what I had in the cupboard)

and pepper and salt.

Cut 4 sheets prepared puff pastry in half

Place a couple of spoon fulls of the meat mix along each piece of the pastry, brush a little milk along the edge of the pastry and roll it up. Then cut it into four and follow suit with the other pieces of pastry until all the meat mix is finished.

Brush a little milk on the top of each roll....and place in the oven and cook for approx 18 minutes or until golden

These are a great snack for a weekend lunch, or are even terrific to put into the lunch box for the kids.

Me? I love them as a mid morning savoury snack with a coffee.

Slow Cooking

So, it's Winter and it's cold, which means the Slow Cooker's been dusted off and put to work.

I've made a few things so far this Winter, but forgot to take any photos or post about it...anyway, this one is a Country Chicken Casserole.

Now, the general rule is to brown the chicken and the onions to kick things off, then put them into the cooker and let it rip.

Not me. Even though the dish turns out a little pale, I figure that the slow cooker's there to do a job, so why should I have to brown things in oil. I just throw everything in and hope for the best. Things must turn out OK though because MONT always comes back for seconds.

OK

For this casserole:

10 chicken drumsticks,

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot chopped

1 stick of celery sliced.

... and whatever other veggies you have in the fridge... mushrooms, beans, peas etc...

Now, some recipes call for a can of celery or cream of mushroom soup, or even a can of chopped tomatoes to give you a nice sauce. Frankly I think you should just do whatever suits you. If you like tomato based dishes, then add a can of tomatoes. If you like a creamy based casserole, then add a can of cream of mushroom soup, or whatever you like.

Me?

Well into half a cup of water I added a Massel veggie stock cube, a slurp of white wine, a teaspoon of gravox, pepper and salt and a teaspoon of mixed herbs, then I poured it over the chicken and veggies, put the lid on, turned it to "high" and left it alone for four hours.

I then removed the chicken and stirred in a large dollop of cream, returned the chicken, and let it simmer for another half an hour.

Done

Eat.

Yes, it is a little pale, but it sure tasted good!

Sunday Breakfast - French Toast

Through the week when I'm at work, I usually have a snack pack of stewed apricots and some plain yoghurt for breakfast. But on weekends, it's a whole different ball game.

On Sunday's when MONT's away, I always make myself some French Toast with a good gutsy sour dough bread and crispy bacon.

This is my version of French Toast

Beat a couple of eggs with a little milk.

Place your slice of bread in the egg and let it soak it all up.

Heat some olive oil with a little dob of butter in a pan and fry the bread until it's golden.

Top with whatever you like. I know bacon drizzled with Maple Syrup is a favourite in some parts of the world but that's a combination I really can't stomach. I prefer plain crispy bacon on one piece of my toast and some honey on the other to finish off with a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Now that's my idea of scrumptious!