United Cakedom: May 2015

Bramley Apple Sausage Rolls with Apple & Pear Chutney

These sausage rolls are basically cheating when it comes to homemade baking. I mean I didn’t make the chutney or the puff pastry. Heck I could have even made my own sausage meat, but I didn’t.

I bought all three of these ingredients and I put them together to make a delicious and easy picnic snack! Which is the theme of this month’s Pastry Challenge, the very one I co-host with Jen from Jen’s Food.

Sausage rolls are like a blank canvas; they are just waiting for you to add flavor and pizzazz! They are also perfect for picnics because they can be eaten cold or at room temperature.

As I said above these sausage rolls are like cheating, but when you eat them and they are better then any store bought sausage roll, that guilt will quickly fade.

Bramley Apple Sausage Rolls with Apple & Pear Chutney

½ Bramley Apple, chopped small

knob of butter

500g sausage meat

500g puff pastry

4-6 heaped tablespoons of Apple & Pear chutney

1 egg, beaten

Melt the butter with the chopped apple and heat until the apple is soft. Leave to cool while you roll out the pastry to approximately 32x20cm. Then cut in half-length wise so you have two long thin pastry strips. Spread 2-3 tablespoons of chutney on each one, leaving a border along the edges. Then mix the sausage meat with the cooled apples before dividing as evenly as possible into two portions. Make each one to look like a long sausage and place on top of apple chutney, then fold the pastry over the sausage meat and press down to seal. Use a fork if it’s not sticking. Cut the sausage rolls into whatever size suits you before glazing with the beaten egg. Be sure to cut a few slices in the top of each pastry. Then enjoy!

notes: made for The Pastry Challenge hosted by Jen at Jen’s Food and myself!

Coconut Roll Biscuits or Kókusztekercs három színben

Since 1956 Eurovision has been a source of entertainment to all of Europe and apparently Australia? As an American ExPat I never really got into Eurovision, in fact if it hadn't been the theme for Treat Petite (blogger challenge) this month it probably would have passed me by again this year.

I thought it was a great theme for the challenge and it had me researching a couple of the countries I find interesting. The research now has me following an amazing Icelandic food blog, which is completely unrelated to the rest of this post! In the end I went with the best sort source one could find, I asked someone.

More specifically I asked my neighbor and friend Niki who happens to be Hungarian. Last Friday she came over and helped me make these super fun no bake Coconut Rolls. The base is made from digestive biscuits, sugar, cocoa powder, butter, almond extract, and apricot jam.

This combination is also used to make a truffle like treat. Instead of rolling out the dough, like you do in the instructions, they are rolled into balls before being coated in coconut. Also rum is used in place of the extract. Sometimes it’s even wrapped around a cherry to make it even more special.

However these rolls are the most popular with children and I can see why. The fun colors of the buttercream filling are very eye catching! You can use whatever colors you want really. These are pretty versatile treat!

Niki has made these so many times she was just pouring things in and adding a little more of this or that. I did take notes so here is how we made these delicious coconut rolls. Trust me when I say you won’t be able to resist them.

Coconut Rolls:

900g digestive biscuits

250g golden caster sugar

60g cocoa powder

1 bag desiccated coconut

250g unsalted butter, very soft

1-2 teaspoons almond extract to taste

½ jar of apricot jam

milk, as needed

buttercream (recipe follows)

Blitz all of the digestive biscuits in a food processor until they are tiny crumbs. Mix in the sugar, cocoa powder, and about ½ of the bag of coconut. Add the butter, extract, and jam – mix using your hands until you get a soft sticky like dough. Add either more jam or milk if it’s too dry. It is easier to add more jam or milk if the mixture is dry then to add more biscuit crumbs if the mixture is too wet, so be careful.

Once the mixture is completely combined it will be a bit sticky, but you should be able to handle. Divide it into 3 portions as evenly as possible. Take 1/3 of the dough and place it on a big sheet of cling film – enough to fold over the mixture and gently roll it out to a rectangle shape approximately 20x31cm or 8 ½ x12 inches. Spread one color/portion of the buttercream over the dough leaving a small boarder around the edges.

On one of the shorter ends gently start to the dough up by tucking the edge in. Keep it as tight as possible using the cling film to help it along. Once rolled leave to the side and repeat two more times with the remaining dough and other colors of buttercream. Then sprinkle the rest of the coconut out on the work surface and very gently roll each roll in the coconut. You may have to help it stick in places by gently pressing down.

Leave in the fridge for at least an hour before slicing. I was told I cut mine a little too thick, but not sure it matters much, as they won’t last long.

butter cream:

250g unsalted butter, soft

250g golden caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 different food color pastes

Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla together until combined and soft. Divide as evenly as possible into 3 separate bowls making each one a different color. Follow instructions above.

Thank you Niki for spending the afternoon with me and sharing this treat from your home country! And good luck to Hungary in the Eurovision finals!

notes: this is my entry for the Treat Petite Blogger Challenge hosted by Cakeyboi and The Baking Explorer there is still time to get your entry in!

Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte aka Black Forest Cake

This past Saturday I celebrated surviving another year. The last thing you want to be responsible for on your birthday is providing your own cake. However, if you don’t then you might end up with some horrible store bought cake with icky fondant, to me that would be worse then no cake at all.

I didn't get a chance to make a cake on Saturday because we were out for a day in Bath. Did a bit of exploring and stuff. Then back for a BBQ with close friends of the family, all in all a good day! There was a grand plan to make myself a cake on the Friday, but like most things I plan it didn't go accordingly. As I had all the ingredients I went a head and made it yesterday.

There was a little bit of trouble with it. The cake is super soft and delicious, but because it’s so soft when I was layering the cake up, the cake I choose for the middle layer split on me. It was definitely an eek moment. It just meant the next layer made it really squish out the side. After a bit of time in the fridge it’s all right, but it would also work as a trifle. Just layer it up in a bowl!

To be honest I don’t think I have ever had a Black Forest Cake. It’s a classic or retro cake that has stood the test of time. It even appears in more then one of Ursula Todd’s re-lives in Life After Life. This is the second cake I was talking about in the previous post where I shared the Sherry Cake.

The Sherry Cake represents Ursula's life at home and time of peace. Where this cake represents war and the somewhat darker sides of her life. Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte/Black Forest Cake is not only a favorite of our heroine but noted as a favorite of the Fuhrer himself. It is a well known fact that Hitler had a big sweet tooth

Life After Life questions if you had the opportunity to change things, would you? If you could have a second chance? If I could go back and make this cake again I would know to be more careful with the layers. However, I believe that no matter what choices we make some things cannot be changed - some things stay the same.

Black Forest Cake

185g unsalted butter

150g dark chocolate

125ml milk

175g self-rising flour

225g golden caster sugar

150g light brown sugar

1 tbsp cocoa powder

3 eggs

75ml buttermilk

6-8 tablespoons morello cherry conserve

ganache (recipe follows)

whipped cream (recipe follows)

fresh cherries to decorate

Heat the oven to 150C and grease/line three 7in/18cm cake tins.

Melt the butter, chocolate, and milk over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool, while you mix the flour, both sugars, and cocoa powder together. Add the eggs to the dry mixture one at a time. Then when the chocolate mixture has cooled stir in the buttermilk before adding to the flour/egg mixture. Gently stir until combined. Pour into the prepared tin(s) dividing between the tins as evenly as possible. Bake for 45-50 minutes using the skewer test to make sure they are cooked through. When the cakes are out of the oven and cooling make the ganache and whipped cream.

Lay the first layer of the cake on a plate/board/stand and spread 3-4 tablespoons of the cherry conserve over the top, then pour ½ of the cooled ganache over it. Pipe 1/3 of the whipped cream in circles on top, leaving a little room around the edge. Repeat with the next layer. Finish the top with the whipped cream and fresh cherries.

ganache

200ml double cream

25ml kirsch

1 tbsp honey

100g dark chocolate, broken up

Simmer the cream, kirsch, and honey together before adding in the dark chocolate. Whisk until shiny.

whipped cream frosting

500ml double cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

25g golden caster sugar

Whip the cream, vanilla, and sugar together until it holds a soft peak.

notes: Recipe loosely adapted from Jaime’s Comfort Food - Sherry Cake & more on Life After Life by Kate Atkinson - Other retro cake: Pineapple upside down cake. Recommendations for World War 1 & 2 fictional novels. Follow Teddy Todd's (Ursula's brother) story in Kate Atkinson's new novel A God in Ruins. All opinions are my own and I purchased Life After Life for my Kindle App.

Bookies into Foodies Week

Missie over on A Flurry of Ponderings has turned all her bookie friends into foodies for one week. For me it was a bit of the opposite! Although my love of books has never been a secret on here!

It started on Monday so go check out these amazing posts!

Monday/May 11- Historical Treats with Jess from Curiouser and Curiouser

Wednesday/May 13- Dinner from Nowhere But Home with Lisa from Reading, Writing, and Random Musings

Thursday/May 14 - Butterbeer with AJ from Covert/Extrovert (blog removed)

Friday/May 15th - is my day! Check out my review of The Curse Workers Series by Holly Black and a recipe for some amazing Cherry Crumble Cheesecake Bars!

Don't forget to check out tomorrow's post from Jess at Writing Pearls (Saturday/May 16th) and of course Missie's at A Flurry of Ponderings on Sunday/May 17th!

Update:
Jess at Writing Perals- Asparagus Tart
Missie at A Flurry of Ponderings - Rock Cakes and Treacle Fudge

Sherry Cake: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Life After Life had been on my reading list for ages. I downloaded it on to my kindle app last summer when it was on sale for only 99p, but have only recently gotten around to reading it.

It’s a bit of a mind fuck. Excuse my language, but it is. Everyone says you should never play the “what if” game. The “what if’s” can range from big to little choices we make every day.

For example: You walk the same way to work every day, but one day you choose to walk a different way. You later find out that there was a huge smash up on the road you cross at the time you should have been crossing it. Was it luck? Or did you already subconsciously know something?

Ursula Todd is our main character and we see her story played out as a lot of “what if’s.” There are several scenarios that we return over and over again and each time something is different sometimes it’s a little change and other times it’s life saving.

There is a lot of cake and other teatime treats mentioned in this book. There are two specific cakes that really stood out to me and this is the first and more simple of the two, but just as tasty. It’s a Sherry Cake, it’s served as a tea time treat by Mrs. Glover to Sylvia, Ursula’s mother, and her friends who visit from London to see the newest baby. Ursula and the dog are waiting in the garden in hopes to catch some crumbs.

The cake and the general drinking of sherry throughout the story really helped make you feel like you were in the past. It is these simple or minor things that take a story from being good to great.

It turns out Sherry Cake is pretty easy to make. It’s great when you find such an easy cake that gives such a big reward! It has a rich sherry flavor and it's super soft. It's just amazing! For a bit of nostalgia try it out yourself!

Sherry Cake

125g butter, room temperature

125g golden caster sugar

225g self-rising flour

2 eggs

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

200ml sweet sherry

icing sugar to dust

Heat the oven to 180C and line and grease a square or round 8 inch pan. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Then add half of the flour and mix until combined. Then add the bicarb, extract, sherry, and the rest of the flour until just combined. Pour into tin and bake for 35-45 minutes. Leave to cool completely before dusting with the icings sugar. Enjoy!

notes: Don't forget that this week is Bookies to Foodies over on A Flurry of Ponderings! Go have a look for more food stuff that has been inspired by other bloggers favorite books! A God in Ruins is a follow up to Life After Life that was recently published. It follows Ursula’s younger brother Teddy. Definitely will be reading that one! The recipe for the Sherry Cake was adjusted from this online source.

Treacle Tart & The Parasol Protectorate/Soulless

Over on A Flurry Of Ponderings my friend Missie is hosting a week-long event of Bookies into Foodies; which is a week of book bloggers making food things from their favorite books! I am guest posting over on her blog later this week, but I thought I would join in here on United Cakedom. Plus it fits right in with my Story Book Bakes posts. So, today I am sharing a British classic the Treacle Tart.

It’s not very often I re-read books, with so many different ones to read why go back to something you already know how it ends? However there are several books that have cracked spines and smudged pages due to the amount of times I have read them. Soulless, the first in The Parasol Protectorate series is one of those. As the first of the series it is the most loved. It’s what drew me in and made me want more.

Alexia Tarabotti, the leading lady, resides in England during the Victorian times. However, it’s not exactly like we remember it. Werewolves and Vampires are acknowledged as law-abiding members of society. They hold down respectable jobs in the military and police force as well as host the best balls and start fashion trends.

It is also acceptable to want to become one of the super natural. All you have to do is pay your dues by either being a claviger to the werewolves or a drone to the vampires. Then hope that you have excess soul to survive the transformation. Even if Alexia wanted to go down that route, she couldn't. See she was born with out a soul and that is where the fun begins!

In the first chapter of Soulless, on the second page Alexia sneaks away from a boring ball to take tea and it includes a plate of treacle tart. Only a rude vampire that doesn't know the first thing about proper etiquette squashes it.

It’s the first, but not the last time that this sticky classic treat is mentioned throughout the series’. The whole series offers a lot of fun and shenanigans, mystery and mayhem, and a lot of tea breaks.

Before you sit down to read the series (if you haven’t already) make this treacle tart, a cup of tea, and get stuck in!

Treacle Tart

8oz (226g) flour

4oz (113g) butter

1-3 tablespoons milk

4oz (113g) breadcrumbs

16oz (452g or 1 can) golden syrup

4 teaspoons lemon or Satsuma juice

Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6 and grease a 8 or 9 inch tart tin with butter and lightly dust with flour. Combine the flour and butter by rubbing together with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add a tablespoon of milk at a time until you can bring the dough together in a ball. Leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough and line the tart tin, using a fork prick holes in the bottom of the pastry. Mix the breadcrumbs, golden syrup, and juice together (I only had a satsuma in my fridge so used that!) and pour into the pastry lined tart tin. Bake in the heated oven for 30 minutes. Slice and enjoy with or without clotted cream.

notes: Check out A Flurry of Ponderings for a week of Bookies to Foodies fun! Thank you Jen for sending me your noted and tried recipe for Treacle Tart!