It's not to late for Christmas cake

Normally I would never bake a Christmas cake as there is always far to much to eat. I really like Christmas cake but it is rather heavy so I have tried to make a lighter version that does need feed with brandy for weeks. Pour yourself a brandy and enjoy Christmas this is easy no marzipan to make or Royal Icing I have decided to ice the cake with a rum and lime drizzle topped with cranberries. 

What makes this cake is a good sweet mince meat I used mine. 

Butter 200g at room temp cut into small cubes

Soft brown sugar 80g

Caster sugar 120g

Eggs large 2 

Self raising flour 200g

Ground ginger 1 tsp

Grated nutmeg 1/2 tsp

Good quality sweet mincemeat 200g 

Cream the butter and sugars together then add the eggs to make a smooth light batter.

Fold in the dry ingredients make sure not to over mix before folding in the sweet mince meat. 

Place into a prepared cake tin and bake at 150oc in fan oven until golden and cake begins to come away from the side of the tin. 

The icing is just the juice of a lime added to icing sugar and a wee drop of rum to make a thick but pourable icing I like the rustic finish as you can see. Almonds and cranberries scattered on top, next time I make this cake I think I will add another 50g of sweet mince meat. 

I hope you like this and have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS :) 

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas

It has been a few years since I made Christmas Mincemeat, in fact it was in Rowallane where mince pies where a huge hit. 

I used Delia Smith's Christmas book for the recipe then which is great but thought I would adjust it to make it in a slow cooker and to lighten up the flavours as well as cutting down on the shredded vegi suet used. 

The recipe is fairly straight forward combine all the ingredients into the slow cooker  and give them a really good mix then leave to infuse for 12 hrs in a cool kitchen.

450 g Bramley apples, cored and chopped into small pieces keep the skin on 

100g of firm pear as above

200g shredded vegi suet 

800 g of mixed fruit eg currants, raisins, cranberries, sultanas 

225 g finely chopped mixed candied peel 

350 g unrefined soft dark brown sugar

The grated zest and juice of 1 large orange

The grated zest and juice of 2 lemons

The grated zest and juice of 2 limes

60 g almond slivers 

3 teaspoons of mixed ground spice

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon 

1 teaspoon of ground ginger 

Grated nutmeg about 1/2 of one 

Give this a good mix then after 12 hours turn on the slow cooker on low and occasionally stir and cook for 3 hours. 

Turn the slow cooker of and stir every so often as it cools. The fat from the suet will coagulate and coat all of the fruit and apples binding them together, when it is completely cool it's time to add the alcohol.

Delia in her original recipe calls for 6 tablespoons of brandy, I only had a miniature of an almond liqueur which is 2 tablespoons and a 1/4 bottle of whiskey so added the other 4 remaining tablespoons of whiskey + 1 for health.

Store in sterilised dry jam jars or a Kilmer jar. This should keep for a few years in a cool dark cupboard. 

So mince pies soon and a recipe for Christmas Chelsea buns as well as oh I forgot about a Christmas cake recipe. 

Taming the beast into bread

The beast- your sourdough starter, this is the name chefs give to this wonder living yeast. Most famously Antony Bourdain description of feeding the beast has made it into the world of Urban slang.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Feed%20the%20bitch

The beast should be at its most active when baking almost escaping from its home bubbling away and smelling like the mash room of a brewery.

So how do you turn this creature into a wonderful sourdough loaf?

Before you start make sure you have a clear area to knead and patients to wait for a long but worth while method of making this ancient bread.

I have a special bowl for kneading and mixing sourdough made by @ mattthepotter in Rowallane gardens Saintfield.


Weigh out

Strong white bread flour 300g
Sourdough starter            250g
1/2 teaspoon of Malden salt
Mix together with dough scraper while adding water at 18oc to make a wet but light and silky dough.
Knead until the dough is elastic and passes the window pain effect.

 

Leave to rise until doubled in size this can take up to 8 hours

After this it's time to gently shape your bread

I came across this in an old baking book and found it quite apt.
Quote old Scottish verse
Be gentle When you touch bread. Let it not lie Uncared for - unwanted. So often Bread is taken for granted. There is so much beauty In bread - Beauty of sun and soil Beauty of patient toil. Winds and rain Have caressed it. Christ so often blessed it. Be gentle When you touch bread.

I have split the dough into two which weigh 250grams, one I returned to the bowl and placed in the fridge to use in 24 hours to make cracker bread. The other I gently shaped as below.

This was then left to prove for 1 1/2 hours with a closh over the top so the dough does not dry out. 

Before baking in a hot oven of 200oc I scored the bread and sprayed with a mist of water to help crust form. After 10 minutes the oven temp is reduced to 180oc and bread is baked for a further 30 mins or until it is golden crisp and has a hollow tap. 

 

This bread is best eaten the day of baking which is not a problem as it's a small loaf.