Midnight Feast Worthy Cherry Cake

 

When I was around 6 or 7 years old, I discovered Enid Blyton Books.  I was totally enthralled with her stories.  At first it was the fairy stories but then I graduated into the adventure books and the books about boarding schools.

 

The children in the adventure books didn't seem to have much supervision and they travelled all around the countryside, solving mysteries and getting in and out of scrapes.  I longed for adventure.

 

The children in the boarding schools also had adventures, and tuck boxes and  midnight feasts. All of her books were filled with lot of deliciously exotic sounding foods . . .  huge coconut macaroons,  billowing meringues, meat paste sandwiches, sausage rolls, cherry cakes and ginger beer . . .

 

Oh how I longed to go to Boarding School and have a tuck box filled with treats from home . . .  to gather together with the other girls and enjoy mutual midnight feasts of a gargantuan proportions.  How my heart yearned to take off into the wild blue yonder across the fields with a couple of meat paste sandwiches tied up in a handkerchief along with a slice of cherry cake and a bottle of ginger beer . . .

 

My friend Tina went to Boarding School in South Africa.  She had a tuck box and it was filled with treats from home.  Her mother would make her own sweets and cakes and once a week, they were allowed to go into their tuck box and enjoy one of the treats inside.  Her homemade goodies were much in demand and she often was able to trade with others for their "exotic-to-her" store manufactured treats.

 

They also had midnight feasts in their dormitory.  Each girl would steal some bit of food away from their lunch or supper, hiding the goodies in the pockets of their uniform to be shared out and enjoyed later at night after the matron had gone to bed.  They would pretend to be asleep and then in the middle of night they would gather together and tell stories and share their provisions together . . .  which had taken on the magical properties of anything which has been purloined  . . .

 

She said that they even would sneak out of the dorm sometimes, putting some of the smaller girls out the windows (because they fit), getting them to unlock the door and then they would all wander about having midnight adventures in the dark . . .  pillows made to look like bodies under the covers back in the dorm. 

 

OH it does sound so very exciting to me,  and more than a bit dangerous . . . even now as a 64 year old woman.  My heart still longs for adventures and midnight feasts although to be sure those days are long gone for me, and I don't think my digestion could take eating anything after 7 o-clock at night.

 

I have learnt since moving over here that there is nothing exotic or even tasty about meat paste sandwiches  . . .  or fish paste for that matter (ugh) . . .  but there is something incredibly moreishly exotic about sausage rolls,  eccles cakes, macaroons, ginger beer and  . . . cherry cake.

 

Perfect for midnight feasts and indoor picnics . . .  this cherry cake is well worthy of sharing.  Cut into thick slices . . .  buttery and moist . . . .

 

And studded with plenty of glace cherries  . . .  and topped with a sweet drizzle glaze icing and toasted flaked almonds . . . 

 

Most of the cherries end up evenly distributed, but some do manage to sink to the bottom, no matter how hard you try to make it so that they don't.  Its inevitable, but if anything . . .  this only adds to the allure of the cake . . .

 

You nibble the cake all around their sticky sweetness . . .  saving those sunken cherries and bottom bits of cake for a very nice last mouthful  . . .  

Ahhh  . . . there really is nothing so satisfying as a very nice mouthful.

 

If you only bake one cake this weekend . . .  let it be this . . .  incredibly delicious, moreishly decadent, cherry stogged full buttery cake!

  

Excellent washed down with flasks of hot tea, cold milk and spicy ginger beer, and perhaps accompanied with an adventure or two or three!

Yield: cuts into 8 slices

Author: Marie Rayner

Cherry Cake

A delicious slice of nostalgia.

ingredients:

For the cake:

• 225g self raising flour (1 1/2 cups + 2 TBS)
• 100g ground almonds (1 1/4 cups)
• the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
• 275g glace cherries, preferably undyed or a mix (scant 3 cups)
• 225g butter, softened (1 cup)
• 225g granulated sugar (1 cup plus 2 TBS)
• 3 laarge free-range eggs
• a few drops of almond extract
• 2 TBS milk

For the glaze and decoration:

• 65g icing sugar, sifted (1/2 cup)
• milk to thin
• a handful of toasted flaked almonds

instructions:

How to cook Cherry Cake

1. Preheat oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4.  Lighty butter a 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf tin.  Line with baking paper. Set aside.
2. Rinse the glace cherries in hot water to remove all of the syrup and sugar.  Dry well and then cut in half.  Set aside.
3. Sift the flour into a bowl. Whisk in the lemon zest and almonds.  Stir in the halved cherries.
4. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one at at time.  Stir in the almond extract.  Fold in the flour mixture and milk, making sure the cherries are well dispersed.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin.  Smooth the top.  Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes. Check at about 45 minutes and if you think it is getting too dark, cover loosely with a double sheet of aluminium foil.  It is done when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. (Today mine took about 15 minutes extra.) Leave cake in the tin to cool completely.
6. Tip out onto a wire rack. Whisk together the icing sugar, a few drops of almond extract and just enough milk to give you a thick drizzle.  Flick over the cake and scatter with toasted almonds.  Cut into thick slices to serve.

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Have you ever noticed how important food figures into a good book or story?  When I think of my favourites there was always some kind of food involved.  Perhaps thats because children enjoy food and adventure hand in hand, and so long as they are active,  they don't have to worry too much about the calories.  Ahh to be a child again . . . what were some of your favourite stories/books when you were a child?

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City Chicken

 

I was sitting here yesterday morning doing Christmas Cards and I was trying to think of what my first Christmas memories were of myself and my sister.  I am three years older than my sister, and I wasn't exactly very happy when my mom brought her home from the hospital.  I wanted my mom to take the baby back, probably because I was used to being on my own and the baby was taking up far too much of my mothers attention.

 

For a week the only glimpses of my mother had been through a hospital window when my father had taken me to the hospital to see her and then to have her come home only to be accompanied by this small squealing attention getter was not exactly what I had been hoping for.

 

It was only when my mother explained that if the baby went she would also have to go as the baby needed someone to take care of it that I relented and decided the baby could stay.  Little did I know then that my mother had brought home to me the best and most beloved friend that I could have ever had or wanted.

 

My life has been enriched and richly blessed through the years by this marvellous woman that I am lucky enough to be able to call sister  . . . Cindy . . .

 

I love her so very much.  It was she who taught me how to crochet.  In fact she taught both my mother and myself. I am not sure where she learnt how, but she came home and taught us. We spent several hours together one afternoon learning together. It is a skill  thatI have always been grateful for.

 

Through the years we have shared many loves and experiences with each other.  We both love to craft and to create things with our hands.  Some of my happiest memories are of those we spent together manning craft tables filled with our wares at craft sales . . .  the best part of which was getting to spend a whole day with each other without any children or husbands nipping at our heels.

 

We both love bird watching and nature. We have often compared notes through the years of different birds we have seen and have sat and watched them together . . . .

 

I have fond memories of us having discovered an old discarded orchard filled with apples and blackberries and wild raspberries and picking large containers of them so we could make jam.

 

Everything my sister does is done with great skill and expertise and she is good at all that she does. I have always considered her to be the great baker in our family with cakes that rise and pastry that is as light as a cloud, whereas I was more of a savoury cook.

 

But one thing was certain, we both loved to create, cook and bake delicious meals and foods for our families to enjoy.  At a time when smaller families were most common, we both had what was considered somewhat larger, me having five children and she four . . .  even my brother had four.  I think we all just have hearts for family and home.

 

One thing my sister and I have done a lot of through the years is sharing recipes.  Some of my favourites come from her, like her Portuguese Gumdrop Cake, her Zucchini Casserole, her Stove Top Mac and Cheese and this one . . . City Chicken, which isn't really chicken at all, but cubes of pork threaded onto wooden skewers, breaded, fried and baked until tender and juicy and incredibly delicious.

 

It was a recipe she got from her late MIL and it was one of her then husband's favourite meals . . .  she shared it with me and it became one of ours.  These kinds of recipes are my favourite kind of recipes  . . .

  

Recipes that are handed down and shared and that become a part and a parcel of the fabric of your family.  So whilst this tasty dish has nothing to do with Christmas or Christmas memories, or even chicken  . . . .  it has plenty to do with family and the love that most family's have for and share with each other. 

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

City Chicken

This is an old, old recipe I got from my sister back in the 1970's. It was a favourite of her in laws. It isn't chicken at all but beautifully tender pieces of pork.

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds of pork tenderloin, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 free range eggs, beaten lightly in a shallow bowl
• 180g seasoned dry bread crumbs (1 1/2 cups) in another shallow bowl
• oil for frying
• 6 to 8 wooden skewers, about 5 to 6 inches in length, pointed on one end
• 120ml chicken stock (1/2 cup)

instructions:

How to cook City Chicken

1. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Have ready a shallow casserole dish large enough to hold all of your skewers in one layer.
2. Trim and season the pork cubes with salt and pepper. Thread the pork onto the skewers, leaving a portion of the skewer bare at the end for holding.
3. Roll the pork skewers into the beaten egg and then roll them into the bread crumbs to coat completely. Set them on a plate as you go along.
4. Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet. Working in batches as required (over-crowding the pan will cause the oil to cool), brown the pork skewers on all sides. Transfer the skewers to the casserole dish when browned. Make sure there is some space between each one. Pour the chicken stock in between the skewers. Cover tightly with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 10 minutes to help crisp the breading.
5. Serve hot with mashed potatoes, gravy and a vegetable on the side.

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I love simple meals like this.  Just the meat, some gravy, piles of fluffy mash and some peas and carrots on the side.  The only thing missing was my sister. Oh but I wouldn't have given to be able to sit down and enjoy this with her.  Maybe one day  . . . 

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White Batter Rolls

  

My mother made beautiful bread and rolls.  She used to make them weekly before she started working full time, but only ever very infrequently after that.  You knew you were in for a real treat when you got home from school, and just outside of our house  . . .  and  the air was filled with the smell of baking bread. Oh boy, but my heart did skip a beat with joy!  

 

I am not so great at making bread. My ex husband used to make all of our bread. With five children we went through a lot of bread and so he took it upon himself when he was home to make it all.  He made big beautiful big fluffy loaves.  He would dance our kitchen table  across the floor when he was kneading it, flour would be everywhere . . .  a huge mess for me to clean up, but I never minded because his bread was flawless.  He would bake six loaves at a time. One loaf used to disappear almost as soon as it came out of the oven.  Everyone had to have a piece . . .  hot and spread with cold butter.  My favourite bit was always the middle fluff from where the sides of the double loaf would be stuck together . . .

 

I found this little Fleischmann's Yeast Leaflet the other day when I was going through an recipe box of mine.  I can't tell you how old it is, but I reckon it is pretty old.  Its Canadian for one thing, the design screams 1960's to me, and all of the measurements are in cups not grams, so it predates Canada going metric with all of its measurements.

 

I never did cotton on to metric you know  . . .  I still always think in cups and ounces, quarts and miles  . . . you can't teach an old dog new tricks in some respects.  And yet in many ways I am quite modern.  I guess I am what they call a bit of an enigma!

 

Anyways, this White Batter Rolls recipe comes from that little leaflet. There are a couple more recipes in the leaflet, for Waffles, Pan Rolls and Cinnamon Bun Loaf, plus an offer of a full sized book, "When You Bake with Yeast" for only 25cents. 

 

Those were the days when you could trust putting a coin in an envelope along with your return address, and you knew  that what you were sending for would eventually come. Nobody would steal your coin.

 

I am sitting here now wondering why I didn't send for the full book.  Probably because when this came out 25 cents was a full week's allowance for me and I didn't have money for a stamp on top of that.

 

These White Batter Rolls sounded simple and very do-able.  Quick to make as well.   They were very easy to make I have to say and came out perfect.  Shortly after they came out of the oven, I rubbed the tops with some softened butter just like my mom used to do . . . old habits die hard.

 

There are times when you just crave a fresh bread roll.  Today was one of those days . . .

 

These are not huge.  They are just a small sized roll, but they are light and fluffy  and delicious!

  

And they went really nicely with our dinner.  What more could you want!

Yield: 12

Author: Marie Rayner

White Batter Rolls

Simple to make and oh so fluffy, light and delicious!

ingredients:

• 180ml of milk, scalded (3/4 cup)
• 3 TBS sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 TBS shortening
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 2 additional tsp. sugar
• 4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (2 packages, NOT instant yeast)
• 280g strong flour (2 cups)

instructions:

How to cook White Batter Rolls

1. Stir the 3 TBS sugar, salt and shortening into the scalded milk to melt the sugar and shortening. Stand aside to cool. Add the sugar and yeast to the lukewarm water. Leave to stand for 10 minutes, then stir well. Stir in the lukewarm milk mixture. Stir in the flour until well blended, about 2 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place until double in size, about 40 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Grease a 12 cup medium-sized muffin tin well. Fill 3/4 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

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I almost forgot to show you how nice and fluffy they were inside!  Here you go.   Spread with butter of course. Try not to lick the screen! 

Up Tomorrow: Frank-ly Chili (A real family pleaser!) 

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Down East Fish Cakes

 

You are probably wondering why I am showing you a fish recipe on a Monday.  Two reasons really.  First, as it is Canada Day back home I wanted to cook a typically Canadian dish, and not just Canadian, but a Maritime type of dish, and secondly  . . . it will take you a few days of preparation to get this dish put together, so I am giving you a heads up!

  

Down East Fish Cakes.  There isn't a Canadian Maritimer worth their salt that doesn't love or know how to cook these fish cakes.  They have been a Maritime staple for many years.  These delicious potato and fish cakes use a traditional down east kitchen staple, Salt Cod.  It hails back to the years when the fishing industry was really big in the Maritime Provinces. Humble people are the Maritimers, and in years before refrigeration they would salt their cod to use in the off season.  This was a great way to keep the cod. All they had to do was soak it to regenerate it and it was fit to eat. 

Funny Story:  It is said that during the Dust Bowl in the 1930's many Western Canadians risked starvation so the generous people of Eastern Canada sent  them trains filled with Barrels of Salt Cod, which they knew would not only survive the long journey to the West, but could be easily stored and kept.  Having no idea what it was, the Westerners used the slabs of salt cod to shingle their roofs. 

 

The Salt Cod I used today does not come from Newfoundland or Nova Scotia, but from Scotland, Shetland to be exact, and it is famous!  Mine came from The Fish Society, which is an online fish monger here in the UK. They offer a really vast variety of fish and seafood to choose from, from A to Z, smoked, dried, over 200 kinds.  They deliver across Western Europe but can also deliver further afield if you are looking for good fish to be delivered right to your door.  Frozen fresh it is as fresh as it is right from the ocean when thawed.  I just love their fish. 

I was really excited when I discovered that they had Salt Cod.  A little taste from home, Nova Scotia, which  means New Scotland. This was singing to my Nova Scotian heart. This Salt Air-Dried Cod is considered to be the single Malt of the fish world. This is the best Salt Cod that you can buy here in the UK. Sustainably fished from MSC accredited Shetland stocks, this is a handcrafted premium product! 

You do need to soak it in cold water before you can use it however.  I soaked mine for 48 hours, changing the water 3 times, which is what was recommended to me.  After that I simmered it in hot water for about 15 minutes, and then let it cool, whereupon I flaked it and used it in my recipe.

 

Some people cook their fish cakes right away, and you certainly could do that, but I like to mix them up one day and then shape them into a roll, wrap and chill, ready for me to cut into slices for frying the next day.

 

They are really easy to make.  You just mix equal amounts of reconstituted, cooked and flaked salt cod with mashed potatoes.  Don't add any milk or seasoning to the potatoes.  Just peel, mash and use.

 

Into this goes a beaten egg, and some seasoning . . . 

 

As a Maritimer I highly recommend Summer Savoury. Back home this is a staple of every kitchen larder.  You will find it added to lots of dishes.  Summer Savoury is the cousin of Winter Savoury, and adds incredible flavour to lots of dishes. Summer Savoury is very aromatic and has an appetizing-enhancing, expectorant, digestive-regulating and sudorific effect.

Taken internally, the herb is viewed as a good remedy for nausea, diarrhea, flatulence, bloating and other digestive disorders, and can also used to treat a sore throat, colic, asthma and irregular menstruation. Just sayin'

  

Its not a herb that I have ever seen in the UK, and even in Western Canada it can be difficult to find. I always bring bags of it back with me when I come back from visiting Canada and throw them in the freezer to keep them fresh. If you can't get it you can substitute a mixture of thyme and sage in its place.  My Maritime heart just loves it. 

 

Remembering that you are using salt cod, which has been cured by salting it, you will want to be judicious with adding salt.  I taste as I go along. You probably won't need much.  I also like to add a healthy pinch of ground black pepper.

 

Shape the mixture into a fat log, wrap in cling film and place into the refrigerator overnight to chill, ready to slice, dip in flour and fry the next day for supper!

 

If you can't abide the idea of using salt cod (it does kind of smell) then you can use fresh cod which you have simmered until done, cooled and flaked in its place. You will need more salt for seasoning in that case.  I highly recommend the Fish Society's Prime Cod Mishapes which are perfect for this use.

 

The preparation of these takes a long longer than it does to cook them. They cook in literally minutes.  Back home we would serve them with scrunchions.  Scrunchions are pieces of  salt pork which have been fried and rendered to crisp little bits.  We don't get salt pork over here.  (I know so much salt!  Those ancestors of mine were hardy folk!)

 

In true Maritime tradition, I served these with some baked beans, sliced ripe tomatoes and some of my fabulous Creamy Coleslaw.

  

This simple supper never fails to delight!

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Down East Fish Cakes

A maritime recipe hailing from the provinces of Eastern Canada. I like to serve them with baked beans, coleslaw and sliced tomatoes.

ingredients:

• 250g salt cod (1/2 pound, 8 ounces)
• 250g mashed potato (1/2 pound, 8 ounces)
• 1 small onion, peeled and grated on the fine edge of a hand grater
• 1 1/2 tsp summer savoury
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 medium free range egg yolks, beaten
• flour for dusting
• sunflower oil for frying

instructions:

How to cook Down East Fish Cakes

1. Soak your cod in cold to reconstitute it according to the package directions, draining and changing the water several times. It will pong, but don't worry, it tastes beautiful. 
2. Once your fish is ready to cook simmer it in boiling water to cover for about 20 minutes.  Drain it at the end of that time and set it aside to cool. (You can be cooking and mashing the potatoes while you wait.)
3. Flake the cod into a bowl with a fork, or your fingers. (I use my fingers as I find it easier.) Add the mashed potatoes, and the seasonings, herbs. Taste and adjust as needed.  Beat the egg yolks and then stir them in to combine well.  Shake into a fat log, wrap in cling flim and chill over night.
4. The next day when you are ready to cook them, have a shallow bowl of plain flour ready.  
5. Heat some oil, about 1/4 inch in a non-stick skillet until hot.  Slice the fish mixture into 1 inch thick patties and coat them in flour, shaking off any excess.  Place them in the hot fat, and cook until golden brown on both sides.  Serve hot.

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Fish from the Fish Society comes straight to your door, with an overnight delivery, and beautifully packaged.  Ready to throw right into your own freezer.  I highly recommend! 

Happy Canada Day to all my friends and family! 

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