Wholemeal Soda Bread

This must be the quickest soda bread I’ve ever made, in fact, I’ve never made bread as good as this so fast. Literally mix the dry ingredients, stir in the wet.  No kneading as such and no proving at all.

Pop the soda bread in the oven, 45/50 minutes later enjoy a fresh wholemeal soda bread loaf – how simple is that!

Thank you Felicity Cloake for sharing this recipe.

Recipe link

All photography credit: copywrite ©2015 Sara J Orme

Permission must be requested to reproduce any photography from Cooks and Captures ©Sara J Orme 2015

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Florentines

Chewy or crisp, with or without a chocolate bottom; milk chocolate, dark chocolate or white chocolate? We all have a preference for these sweet little bites. Rich with their dried fruits, jewel like cherries and slivers of almond caramelised into a moreish petit four.

This weekend I had the perfect excuse to bake, not that I ever need an excuse. I was asked by family friends to make sweet nibbles for a joint 21st birthday celebration.

Florentines, simple to make and fuss free to serve for an occasion, no reheating, no forks or plates necessary. Simply plate up and leave everyone to enjoy, there lies a little problem, restricting yourself to just one, impossible.

Makes 45
Prep 10 mins
Bake 12/13 mins
Gas 3, fan 160°
Silicone Mini muffin baking tray

Ingredients

Ingredients

100g butter
100g caster sugar
50ml whipping cream
2 tbsp glucose syrup
35g plain flour
100g almond slivers
100g currants
85g sultanas
50g glacé cherries

Method

Cream butter and sugar
Beat in cream and glucose
Mix fruits and almonds together, stir into mix until evenly distributed
Put a small tsp of mixture into baking tray
Bake at the top of the oven
Leave to cool slightly before removing, place on a wire rack to cool completely
Repeat until all the mixture is used up

caramelising

cooling

Notes

The mixture will self level whilst caramelising
The Florentines are cooked when the mixture has caramelised and the almonds have turned golden brown
The bubbling mixture will die down as the Florentines cool
When cold, coat the base of florentines with your choice of chocolate

Recipe adapted from Great British Chefs – Frances Atkins

All photography credit: copywriter ©2015 Sara J Orme
Permission must be requested to reproduce any photography from Cooks and Captures ©2015 Sara J Orme
Contact: sarajorme@cooksandcaptures.co.uk

Apple and Cinnamon Cakes

Yay…. the holidays have finally arrived, clocks an hour forward, plenty of sunshine and lighter evenings to enjoy.

My lovely daughter, home from London for a well deserved break, makes a change for me not to be at hers. First on our list of home indulgences is to bake, both lovers of anything cinnamon we decided on apple & cinnamon cakes.

They’re full of flavour, a light sponge, the apple adds a texture as well as moisture & is complemented by the hint of almond from the Amaretto, also a favourite of ours..

As friends with restricted diets were coming over our cakes had to be dairy & gluten free. This recipe works very well whether you chose to use dairy & gluten free ingredients or not, you can also leave out the Amaretto to make alcohol free, just add 10 ml more milk.

Makes 9, easily doubled
Gas Mark 5, fan 180º
9 – 12 hole muffin tin and cases
10/15 mins prep, 20 mins bake

Ingredients
50g dairy free marg/ butter
100g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs beaten
100g self raising flour/ gluten free
1 tsp baking powder/ gluten free
1/4 tsp cinnamon
20ml almond milk/ semi skimmed milk
10ml Amaretto
100g cubed desert apple
2 Amaretti biscuits, blitzed to powder ( do not use for dairy and gluten free option)

Method
Cream butter & sugar
Gradually beat in egg, adding a sprinkling of flour
Fold in flour, baking powder & cinnamon
Stir milk & Amaretto
Add apple & mix thoroughly

Put 2 heaped tsp’s into paper case
Bake centre to top of oven 20mins

When cool, sprinkle with Amaretti powder or icing sugar for dairy and gluten free.

Notes for dairy & gluten free: if your mixture looks grainy, don’t panic it will cook even & be fine.

I used the following brands;
Pure Soya Margarine
Doves Farm Gluten Free Plain Flour
Dr Oetker Baking Powder
Alpro Almond unsweetened milk

Recipe adapted from Tessa Kiros, Falling Cloudberries

All photography credit: copywrite ©2015 Sara J Orme

Chocolate Peppermint Slice

When a celebration is in order, as it was here this weekend, a cake I just have to bake – well, it’d be rude not to & it goes without saying that the fizz was already on ice!!

image: 55.0 mm /60 sec; f/5.6; ISO 200

Cake
86g self raising flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
65g caster sugar
30g butter
1 beaten egg
80ml water
Peppermint Cream
280g icing sugar
2 tbsp veg oil
2 tbsp milk, approx
peppermint essence, to taste
Chocolate Topping
125g dark chocolate, chopped
90g butter
Prep
Heat oven for 10mins Gas 4 or 180
Swiss roll tin, 25cm x 30cm – line with greaseproof paper
Cake
Sift flour, cocoa & bicarb
Add sugar & butter
Beat elecric mixer for 2 mins – 5 mins (ish) by hand
Beat egg into mixture
Spread mixture evenly into prepped tin
Bake in center of oven 18 to 20 mins
Cool in the pan
Peppermint
Sift icing sugar into a heatproof bowl
Add oil
Gradually add milk to make a stiff paste
Add essence a drop at a time till required taste
Stir over a pan of hot water till spreadable
Chocolate Topping
Melt butter & chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water
Assemble
Spread peppermint over cake, fridge till set
Spread chocolate over mint, fridge till set
Cut into slices
Decorate
Get creative, chocolate buttercream swirl, siftted icing sugar stencil, fruit……….

• Recipe adapted from Australian Women’s Weekly, Cakes & Slices Cookbook
• Photo Credit: copywrite ©Sara J Orme