La Différence

La Différence
A passion for food

Thursday 28 June 2012

Dundee Cake



Dundee Cake



The Keiller marmalade company developed the original recipe in the 1800's using a big dollop of their marmalade in the mixture. It's always been a favourite with our family for as long as I can remember. I prefer to use lemon zest & juice to give a real citrus hit.

I made Dundee cake for an afternoon tea hosted by Prince Philip in 2010 along with. dainty scones with strawberry jam & clotted cream, lemon curd Victoria sandwich & tiny finger sandwiches with egg & cress mayonnaise & tongue. We served Earl Gray & Orange Peeko tea to the guests.

The recipe:-

Grease & line an 8inch round baking tin
set oven to 170c 340f gas3 to 4
3 eggs
150g softened butter
150g soft brown sugar
225g plain flour sifted together with
1tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt
2tbsp ground almonds
zest of 2 lemons
a little milk if necessary
175g of both sultanas & currants
50g of both glace cherries & candied peel chopped
50g blanched almonds to decorate
Method:-
Cream together the butter, & sugar
Add the beaten egg little by little beating well
fold in all but 2tbsp of the flour & ground almonds, & lemon zest and gently fold together
Should have a soft dropping consistency, if not add a little milk
Mix the fruit together with the remaining flour to prevent it from sinking into the cake
Mix gently into the cake mix
Pour into your tin.
Add the almonds to the top of the cake carefully without pressing them in or they will sink
Bake for around  1½ -2 hours until a skewer comes out clean from the centre of the cake.
Leave to cool
I think this is best stored in an airtight tin for a few days to mature, it seems to be much moister this way



Preserved Lemons


Lemon Chicken Tagine


Moroccan Lamb Tagine

Preserved lemons. An essential ingredient for North African & Middle Eastern Cuisine. I also use them in Indian Curries.

I'm almost at the end of this jar. It will keep beautifully in the fridge for ages.

A large 2lb or so sterilised storage jar
I do this by washing in hot soapy water, rinse & place in an oven at 175c for about 10 mins
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12 lemons preferably unwaxed.
Cut 6 of them into quarters try not to cut all the way through to keep the lemon whole
Juice the other 6
(you will see from my picture that the lemons are actually cut right through into four pieces, this was only because they were huge, around double the average size)
3 or 4 bay leaves
a few black peppercorns
around 250g/8oz sea salt ( I used coarse but any will do)
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Open up the lemon & fill the centre with some salt and place it into the jar, adding the Bay & peppercorns as you go along, continue until they are all done.
Top up with the lemon juice & any remaining salt.
Seal the jar.
Give the jar a shake everyday for around a week so that the salt dissolves.
Store in a cool place out of the light.
They will be ready in a couple of months & will keep for around 12 months.
Once the jar is opened I always keep it in the fridge.
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Some recipes just call for the pulp, others the rind but I always use the whole lemon and a few teaspoons of the juice when I make Tagines or Curries.
It has such a unique flavour & is so aromatic that I hate to waste a drop of this precious preserve.


Friday 15 June 2012

Baked sesame coated Sea Trout with lemon,tarragon cous cous, asparagus & cherry tomatoes

Sesame baked sea-trout with lemon, tarragon cous cous, asparagus & cherry tomatoes


Cous cous is just the easiest thing to make. Just pour over hot stock and leave for 10 minutes, fork through & hey presto it's done. You can make this dish with salmon instead of sea trout and the addition of asparagus makes it something a little more special. This is such a wonderful dinner party dish that won't keep you away from your guests for most of the evening.

For 2 you will need
2 4/5oz sea trout fillets
a handful of sesame seeds
80 grams cous cous
juice & grated zest of 1 lemon
handful of chopped tarragon & parsley
small bunch of asparagus
12 or so cherry tomatoes halved
sprinkling of roasted sesame oil

season the trout and sprinkle over some sesame seeds
place with the tomatoes in a baking tray
set the oven to 200c/400f gas 6
pop the trout & tomatoes into the oven and bake for around 12-15 mins
Remove from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes before serving

While it's baking perpare the cous cous
trim the asparagus, chop the stems into small pieces keeping the tips whole.
Boil in a little salted water for no more than 5 mins and strain, keep warm & reserve the cooking water.
In a bowl place the cous cous, lemon juice & zest
Pour over 1 cup of the reserved asapargus water and sprinkle with a little sesame oil.
Cover & leave for around 10/15mins
Fork through & season.
Add the tomatoes & asparagus and fork through again.

Arrange prettily on a plate and serve garnished with a lemon wedge and a tarragon leaf.






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Saturday 9 June 2012

Chorley Cakes

Chorley Cakes

I'm in the process of collecting recipes of cakes & bakes that are peculiar to a particular region either in the UK or abroad. I've had some wonderful recipes shared with me on my Facebook page and I'm always looking out for more if you'd like to share yours with me.

This is one of the cakes from my local area in the North-West on England . It's one of those recipes that I'm sure derived from having a bit of left over pastry to use up and almost always having a few currants & candied peel to throw in. When I was a child growing up in Dorset it was always Jam tarts that we made with left-over pastry, usually rolled out & played with so many times that the pastry turned grey and really tough, but hey, we still ate them.   I suppose that Chorley Cakes are a little more grown up in taste and are very similar in flavour to Welsh Cakes that are cooked on an iron griddle and not baked.

They're very simple, very delicious and a lovely tea-time treat with a nice cuppa. Hope you enjoy them   

recipe:-
For the pastry
4oz/115g unsalted butter
8oz/225g plain flour
cold water to bind.

For the filling
Zest of 1 lemon plus the juice of half a lemon
6oz/170g currants
2oz/55g mixed candied peel
1tbsp soft brown sugar
1oz/30g butter
¼ tsp of  freshly grated nutmeg
¼tsp mixed spice

Method
Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs
Add a little cold water, just enough to bind.
Bring together into a disc
Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 mins

Meanwhile melt the butter in the pan, add the currants, lemon juice & zest, sugar and spices, just heat through for a minute or two, add the candied peel and leave to cool.
   

Roll out the pastry until it's around 5mm thick. Using a saucer cut into rings.



pile the fruit up equally in the centre of each disc.

damp the edges and bring together as shown & seal

turn each cake over and gently roll over the rolling pin so that the fruit show through. Prick over with a fork.



Place on a greased baking tray and bake at around 200c for around 20/25 minutes or until lightly golden in colour and cooked through

They are delicious served warm and I have it on good authority that the folk from Chorley like to spread some butter on theirs.

Friday 1 June 2012

Fresh Berry Sour Cream Cake

My take on Francesca's lovely cake
Thank you so much Francesca Lobban for this gorgeous & ever so easy recipe. The sponge uses the all in one method and it turns out beautifully moist with the addition of sour cream and fresh berries. As always I have to put my own take on it, I'm not a great fan of anything too sweet so I dropped the cream cheese icing and placed a white chocolate coating instead. Below you will see both alternatives.


Blueberry and raspberry sour cream cake with cheesecake frosting

 Ingredients
 • 175g soft butter
 • 175g golden caster sugar
 • 3 large eggs
 • 225g self-raising flour
 • 1 tsp baking powder
 • 2 tsp vanilla extract
 • 142ml carton soured cream
 • 375g of blueberries, raspberries etc. ( I added strawberries & Cherries cos I'm greedy)
 • 200g tub Philadelphia cheese
 • 100g icing sugar (I used a lot more!)
 • 1 tsp vanilla extract

on my take I fill the cake with a little whipped cream & I used a large bar of white chocolate, melted with 3 tbsp of double cream to top and lots of fresh berries & cherries to finish.

 Method

 1. Preheat the oven to fan 160C/ conventional 180C /gas 4 and butter and line the base of a loose-based 22cm round cake tin with non-stick baking paper or reusable Bake-o-glide.

 2. Put the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and vanilla in a bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon for 2-3 minutes, or with a hand electric beater for 1-2 minutes, until lighter in colour and well mixed. Beat in 4 tbsp soured cream, then stir in half of the berries with a large spoon.

 3. Tip the mixture into the tin and spread it level. Bake for 50/60 minutes until it is risen, feels firm to the touch and springs back when lightly pressed. Cool for 10 minutes, then take out of the tin and peel off the paper or lining. Leave to finish cooling on a wire rack.

 4. To make the frosting, beat the soft cheese and vanilla with
 the icing sugar and the remaining soured cream in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Spread over the top of the cooled cake (don't be impatient as the frosting will melt if the cake is too warm) and scatter with the remaining berries.

5. Dor's alternative topping,  Fill the cake with a little whipped cream  then I melted a large bar of white chocolate with 3 tbsp cream. As it starts to thicken slightly again on cooling, pour over the cake and spread, top with lots of berries. I sprinkled over some dehydrated strawberry flakes for taste and effect.

 The cake will keep in the fridge for a couple of days. Bring it to room temperature for about an hour before serving.

 The first time I made this I used a 22cm cake tin like the recipe says but I didn’t have one of those here (because I am in America at the moment) so I used two 8 inch sandwich tins, sharing the mix between the two and baking for about 35 minutes instead.