Christmas pudding

I can’t remember a Christmas Day meal when there hasn’t been a Christmas pudding served.  As a child I would always feel the pudding was the anti-climax of the whole day, as it was my least favorite of the Christmas fare, not being a big fan of anything that contained dried fruit.  The only reason I partook in a serving of the pudding was the hope of winning the hidden gold coin.  My mother would always put a gold sovereign in the pudding.  Over the years I came to know that this task was always done in the kitchen, followed by the warm brandy being poured over and then carried to the table.  The concentration my mother exerted over this task was not the fear of dropping the said pudding but to keep a vigilant eye on where the sovereign was embedded.  Only at the table did she then set fire to the pudding, being careful not to move it until she had started to cut up the portions.   It has taken many years to realise the whole thing was fixed and my chances of ever winning the much sought after coin were nil.  My mother like a magician had full control of where the coin was and who would win it.  Trusted family members and my father were high on the list.  Needless to say, after the meal, the coin would be taken away to be washed, and no doubt placed back in its usual place until the following year.

I am still not a big fan of Christmas pudding.  My tastes have changed and matured over the years and I have perfected my own recipe, without suet which makes the pudding much lighter.  I serve this with a big helping of clotted cream.  I might not run to a gold coin.  Instead I buy silver sixpences and put one each for everyone, wrapping each one is silver foil for hygiene and pushing them into the pudding just before serving, and each year there is a fresh batch of coins.

Pudding mixture ready to be put into the basins

Christmas pudding

Ingredients

50 gm/2 oz blanched almonds

50 gm/2 oz walnuts

50 gm/2 oz brazil nuts

75 gm/3 oz carrots

75 gm/3 oz pitted no soak prunes

125 gm/4 oz butter

1 lemon

125 gm/4oz soft dark brown sugar

2 eggs beaten

350 gm/12 oz mixture of seedless raisins, currants and sultanas (you don’t need to put 125 gm/4 oz of each in you can put more of one fruit as long as the total weight is 350 gm.

25 gm/ 1 oz chopped glace cherries

50 gm/ 2 oz fresh brown breadcrumbs

125 gm/ 4 oz wholemeal plain flour

50 gm/ 2 oz white plain flour

15ml/ 1 level tablespoon mixed ground spice

200 ml/ 7 floz Guinness

30 ml/ 2 tbs brandy

30 ml/ 2 level tbs black treacle (leave a tablespoon in a cup of boiling water before measuring out, the treacle will slip off the spoon).

Method

1. Roughly chop all the nuts, either in a food processor or by hand.  Coarsely grate the carrots and cut the prunes into small pieces, this is much easier to do if you use scissors.
2. Beat the butter and lemon rind until soft then gradually beat in the sugar followed by the beaten eggs.  Mix in all the remaining ingredients and stir well.  At this point our family tradition is that each person comes and gives the pudding a stir and makes a wish.  When the stirring is complete cover and leave in a cool place overnight – NOT the fridge.
3. The following day grease a 2 ½ – 2 ¾ pint (1.4-1.6 litre) heatproof pudding basin this is to make it easier for the pudding to come out after cooking.  Beat the pudding mixture again and spoon it into the basin.  To cover, cut a piece of grease proof paper and a piece of foil, place these on top of each other and fold a central pleat down the centre, now place this over the top of the pudding and tie securely. After years of struggling with moving bits of string I like to use a strong elastic band.
4. Steam the pudding for about 6 hours or stand the basin on top of an upturned plate in a large saucepan filled with enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the basin – cover and boil for about 4 hours, checking that the water has not boiled dry and if so top up with boiling water from the kettle. When done cool the pudding completely and re-cover the basin with fresh greaseproof paper and foil securing with a fresh elastic band and refrigerate for up to 2 months.  Some say that left in a cool place the pudding will last from one year to the next.  Although its not essential (but it adds to the whole Christmas traditional theme) I cover the cooked pudding when cooled with a square of muslin tied with a handle so its easy on Christmas day to put into the steamer and lift out but this is optional.
5. On the big day steam the pudding for about 3 hours or boil for about 2 hrs then turn out onto a warm serving plate.   Warm about 60 ml/ 4 tbs brandy in a small saucepan and pour over the pudding and set alight.  Depending on the year I sometimes dispense with the flaming brandy and replace it with sparklers or an indoor fountain firework.  These last a little bit longer.  The pudding can be served with either brandy butter, brandy cream or my choice of clotted cream.

If there is any pudding left over, we tend to put a generous amount of butter into a frying pan and fry slices of the left over pudding until they are warmed through.  Again served with some clotted cream.

Basins

Ready to steam

Flourless Chocolate CakeTorte

Birthday Cake

Birthday cake

Years ago I saw a picture in a magazine of a fabulous cake – it was a tall white iced tower shaped cake wrapped in ribbon.  The article was about furniture but it was the cake that stood out.  So much so I tore the picture out and put it away in my ‘cuttings basket’.

A couple of months ago I received an invitation to a posh birthday party and my immediate thought was ‘what could I take as a present’ as this person didn’t really collect anything, had no real desire for anything materialistic and had enough money to buy whatever he desired.  Yet I had known him a long time and wanted to give him something meaningful.

I thought about this for a few days when the idea of a birthday cake came to mind.  I thought of different shapes and themes but nothing inspired me.  I thought about making a croquembouch but decided that it would have to be made at the last minute and to transport it would be a nightmare, not only logistics wise but stress-level wise.  Then I remembered the picture of the cake that I had seen so many years ago.

There was only a cutting from a magazine as a guide – I had no instructions and no idea how the cake had been made.  I knew I needed my cake to have height and I wanted to be able to make it weeks before the day.  Fruitcake was the perfect choice.  I made four in total, which were placed on top of each other.  I secured the bottom three cakes with plastic cake ties.  I made the cakes all the same size as I wanted a gradual curve – I didn’t want a step effect.  After securing the three cakes together then with a bread knife I slowly cut the shape, saving the excess to make the small top part of the cake.

The cake was covered in warm apricot jam and then covered in white marzipan.  The marzipan was left to dry for a day and then covered with the first of five layers of royal icing.  With the first layer I used a palette knife, which gave an unwanted vertical ripple effect.  On the second layer I gave this rippling effect some thought and after trial and error cut strips of greaseproof paper with I folded into a band.  I put the band around the bottom of the cake and dragged the icing upwards this created a smoother surface.  I could have put a second layer on the cake after eight hours but decided to wait 24 hours.

I had forgotten that royal icing doesn’t dry instantly and I had to wait not just 24 hours but sometimes 48 hours and longer.  This was very apparent when I tried to do the run outs.  The last time I had used royal icing was for my own wedding cake and that was a case of trial and error.

This cake was certainly a labour of love but I did enjoy making it.  I would love to make it again knowing what I know now.  I hope that the cake that was delivered to the party had the same effect an the original picture all those years ago did for me?

Fruit cake recipe

Royal icing

2 egg whites

1 lb/450g icing sugar sifted

half teaspoon lemon juice

2 drops glycerine (optional)

Put 2 egg whites in a clean bowl and add small amounts of the sifted icing sugar.  Beat either with a fork or an electric mixer, keep adding icing sugar until it is all used up.  Making sure the icing is now smooth and slightly stiff.  If it is too stiff add a little more lemon juice.  If the icing seems not as stiff as you would like add more icing sugar.

You can cut the amount down to 1 egg white and 1/2 lb/225gm icing sugar.  The glycerine is to stop the icing from harding too much.  If you are making runouts or decorating don’t add the glycerine.

Royal icing does not keep well.  After you have mixed it cover the bowl with a damp cloth.

Royal icing run-outs

Flower run-out

I drew on a piece of paper the shape I wanted and then covered with greaseproof paper.  This acts like tracing paper.  I was then able to pipe with the royal icing onto the greaseproof paper the shapes I wanted.  These were left to dry and then when completely dry I slowly peeled the paper away.

The problem I had was that I thought after 24 hours they would be completely dry.  I was very wrong and after a pile of broken run outs I learnt to be a little more patient.  Three days or more seemed to work better.  In fact, the spare lot that I made to replace any breakages were not removed from their greaseproof paper until a week later and they all seemed to come away perfectly.

I then used special glue which I painted on with a paint brush and then sprinkled on red glitter dust.

Kourabiethes

Kourabiethes

As I had been looking at my great grandmother’s recipe book I decided to recreate one of her biscuit recipes.  I like the thought that a hundred years on I am re-creating her recipes, which no doubt she took from her mother, and so it continues.  I don’t think when she was writing the recipes down, she would ever imagine that her book would be read and treasured and her recipes cooked in an English kitchen.  What she wouldn’t know is how much I struggled with translating her writing and in places her lack of instruction!

Where there lacks guidance of oven temperatures or cooking times she does write about soaking the whole almonds over night in cold water, which then are skinned and chopped.  I have searched the Internet on why soaking almonds in cold water is beneficial but so far have been fruitless in an answer;  the only thing I could find is that almond skin can be more difficult to digest than the nut itself.

In the picture are her plates and so without too much imagination I can guess that those plates have seen kourabiethes many times in the past.  What we eat is so important to keep us alive and healthy but it has many facets, the saying food for the soul is a very true phrase.  These biscuits are for me food for my soul and a thin golden thread that links me into a past and a tradition.

Kourabiethes are a Greek biscuit, made at Christmas and Weddings.  The texture is very much like shortbread with the addition of brandy and almonds. These biscuits have been made for generations and there are so many variations of the recipe.

The biscuits are normally made in a small domed bun shape or a crescent shape.  I have read somewhere that is this is because during the Turkish occupation of Greece, the Turks insisted that the biscuits be cut in a crescent to represent their flag.  Is this true I just don’t know.

I have made some changes to the original recipe.  Firstly I didn’t soak the almonds in cold water overnight and I didn’t beat the butter and sugar for 2 hours.  What I did do is use the K beater on the Kenwood.  Is it any wonder these biscuits were saved for extra special occasions!

Kourabiethes

Ingredients

300 gms/ 10 oz unsalted butter at room temperature

110 gms/ 3oz Icing sugar

120 gms/ 4 oz almonds skinned and chopped.  For a better flavour either roast them in the oven or in a pan, I prefer the pan method, toss them in a dry frying pan until they start to take on some colour, remove and leave to cool.

25 gms/  2floz/56ml Brandy (this is optional, you can use vanilla extract or even orange juice)

600 gms/ 1 lb 5 oz  plain flour

½ tablespoon baking powder

Method

Put the softened butter into a bowl (if possible a Kenwood or similar) and add the icing sugar, beat for 20 minutes, the longer you beat the crisper the biscuit.

After 20 minutes the butter will have become very pale and creamy, add the flour and baking powder and mix slowly until a dough has been formed.  When touched it should not stick to your hand if it does continue to mix a little longer.

Taking a spoonful at a time, roll in your hands lightly into a ball and place onto a lined baking tray flattening them a little.  To make sure all the biscuits cook evenly  weigh each ball as you form the biscuits  (30gms per biscuit is fine – I made mine 35 gms).

Place in the middle of the oven Gas mark 3/160 for 20-30 minutes (in my oven I cooked the biscuits for 35 mins) until they just start to take on some colour.

When cooked remove the biscuits and cool.  To serve either put icing sugar in a bowl and toss biscuits in until completely covered or sprinkle icing sugar on with a sieve.  These biscuits keep really well in an airtight container but leave the icing until they are ready to serve.  Saying that all the biscuits I have had made for me and sent in the post have all been coated in icing and taste lovely – its up to you.

The rumour is that kept in an airtight container they can last up to three months, I have never managed to keep them more than two weeks, they get eaten.

The Importance of a Good Recipe Book

Generations of recipes

What ever sort of cook we are, do we ever realise the uniqueness of what we make?  As we grow up we take for granted the food that is put in front of us, never giving a thought that one day the person making it won’t be there.  We think we can remember how a particular recipe is made and having seen it being made a hundred times over, think that we will never forget.  I am sure I am not alone in saying I have forgotten.  I have hundreds of recipe books on my shelves but I can count on one hand the recipes I have actually followed to the letter.  I make small changes, omit ingredients I don’t like and add some I do like.  Hence making the recipe my own.

If I had to flee and could only take what I could carry, what would I take? Photos, the worn teddy beside my bed, which is now mainly made up of patches (the best bits have been loved away), my Icons and last but not least I would take my family recipe books.

Through those recipe books I can still connect with the writer.  My great grandmother’s recipe book is a very simple, black, worn and tatty soft boarded book.  The pages reveal her recipes in her steady flowing handwriting, not always the easiest to follow as she had a tendency to write part of the recipe in a shorthand form.  Amongst them are buried her little tips learnt over the years. Further into the book in beautiful dark curly upright inked writing are the recipes of my uncle;  his are strange recipes.  There is one for a grape cake heavily laden with alcohol. None of his recipes entice me to try them.  I do remember meeting him as a child and liking him.  Now, looking back, his handwriting doesn’t quite match the person I knew but he and my great grandmother must have been close to share such a personal book.

The second book is my grandmother’s, the writing is beautifully neat and stylised.   I recognise her writing immediately and I feel I can connect to her, there is something about someone’s handwriting that invokes an emotion.  This book is completely different, the pages are clean, the book neat and tidy.  I know that it was never used as a working recipe book because my grandmother could not cook, not even an egg.  These recipes apparently came from her friends and family.

The only thing she could prepare was a raw egg dish, taught to her by her Arab cook.  I too was shown how to make this when my grandmother came to stay with us and my mother had disappeared off for the day.  This would agitate my grandmother as she was very strict about eating at the proper time, but not being able to cook was a slight handicap.   A fresh egg would be separated, putting the yolk into a cup added to this a heaped teaspoon of sugar. Then she would tell me to stir until the sugar granules melted making the egg mixture a pale creamy paste, at this point I could then eat the contents of the cup and even though I don’t relish the thought of it now I do remember it tasted very nice.

The final book is my recipe book.  I agonised over what sort of book should hold my culinary knowledge!   It couldn’t just be any old book. and its not.   The book came from Venice, leather bound with hand made paper boards.  Needless to say, totally unpractical as a working recipe book, and that’s why it’s not packed with my recipes.   Instead it is crammed full of paper scraps with notes and recipes on, waiting to be copied into the book, because of course a biro just wouldn’t do I insist on using a fountain pen.

I now realise that it doesn’t really matter what sort of book recipe’s are kept in nor what they are written with.  It is the recipes themselves that are important and that they actually written down.  It’s the working notes and the little drawings, even the stains that gives true pleasure to the reader.

Brandy Snaps

Ginger Brandy Snaps

I had made a sausage casserole from some Old Spot pork sausages last night and thought I had enough for tonight’s meal.  When I lifted the lid, I realised that there were only two sausages left.  A slight dilemma – what to do?  First option was to cook plenty of extra vegetables, second option was to make a pudding – but what to make?  I wanted an easy evening so something quick but impressive!  I came up with Brandy Snaps filled with sweetened cream and brandy.  The snaps are really quick and easy to make and I had some double cream in the fridge, which I had bought in for another recipe, but desperate measures and all that.

Brandy Snaps

Ingredients

4 oz/110g butter

4 oz/110g sugar

4 oz/110g plain flour

4 oz/110g golden syrup

1/4 oz/7g ground ginger (you can reduce this)

juice of half a lemon

double cream

icing sugar (optional)

brandy/vanilla extract (optional)

Turn oven on to Gas mark 4/180C/350F

Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a pan.  Add the sifted flour (do sift the flour otherwise even if the smallest lump is put into the mixture it will not make a smooth batter and you will be beating it with little effect – trust me, I have been there) and ginger, stir well.  Then add the lemon juice.

Put 6 heaped teaspoons onto a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and put into the oven.  Set the timer for 10 minutes but check after about 7 minutes.  You will see that the discs have spread out and are bubbly – these will burn quickly so as soon as the edges start to turn a dark caramel take them out and leave to cool for a couple of minutes. Repeat the process with the remaining mixture.

Don’t panic if you open the oven door and find they have all merged into one, when they are cooling take a sharp knife and divide them up.

When they are cool enough to handle carefully peel them away from the paper and start to roll them over the handle of a wooden spoon or as I do over a mini rolling-pin.  It all depends on how tight you want your roll to be.  Once rolled leave them to cool.  If by the time you get to the last two they are too stiff to roll pop them back in the oven for 30 seconds and they will soften up.

Beat the double cream with some icing sugar to taste and either a tablespoon of brandy or a little vanilla or neither the choice is yours.  Fill an icing bag with the cream and pipe each side of the snaps.  Serve.

These keep really well in an airtight container (without cream) once they are cool.

Coffee & Walnut Cake

Coffee & Walnut Cake

Coffee & Walnut Cake

(taken with permission from the Cookery School book isbn 978-0-718-15806-4)

Ingredients

“For the coffee cake

300g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease the cake tins

300g caster sugar

5 eggs

300g self-raising flour sifted

1 level teaspoon baking powder

4 tablespoons strong black coffee cold

a splash of whole milk if needed

For the walnut praline

120g caster sugar

150g walnut halves

vegetable oil, to oil the baking tray

For the coffee icing

200g unsalted butter softened

400g icing sugar

3-4 tablespoons strong black coffee, cold

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160/Gas 4

Grease 2 x 22cm round Victoria sandwich cake tins with butter

Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and whisk with an electric beater until the mixture becomes pale in colour.  Beat in the eggs one at a time.

Fold in the sifted flour and baking powder.  Next stir in the cooled coffee and mix well.  If the mixture is too thick add a splash of milk.

Divide the cake mixture between the 2 greased cake tins, pouring it in and using a spatula to level the mixture in the tins.  Place the cake tins in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.

To test if the cakes are ready, stick a skewer into the centre of each one and if the skewer comes out clean, they are cooked.  Take the cakes out of the oven and turn them out on to a cooling rack.

To make the walnut praline, place the sugar and 1 teaspoon of cold water in a small non-stick frying pan over a high heat without stirring until the sugar turns a light caramel colour.  Add the walnut halves, stir well to make sure they are all coated in the caramel and pour on to an oiled baking tray or silicone mat.  Using an oiled spoon, set 8 or the caramel-coated walnut halves aside on a plate.

Once the caramel has cooled and set – about 15 minutes – place the caramel coated walnut from the baking tray into a small food processor and blitz to the texture of rough crumbs.

To make the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar together until pale and fluffy.  This should take around 5 minutes.  Once the mixture has reached this stage beat in the coffee.

Spread one third of the icing on the bottom layer of the cooled coffee cake and sprinkle generously with the praline mix.  Place the second cooled cake on top.  Spread the top cake layer with a thick coating of the coffee icing, using most of the remaining icing.

Put the final remaining icing into a piping bag with a star nozzle on and pipe 8 rosettes around the edge of the cake.  Top each rosette with a reserved caramel-coated walnut half and sprinkle the middle of the cake with the remaining praline.

To serve, place the iced cake on a cake stand and cut into 8 pieces.”

This recipe has been taken from the Cookery School book which has been published in conjunction with the Channel 4 series of the same name.  Richard Corrigan has written all the recipes and the book is rather a hefty tome.  There are plenty of recipes to suit all levels of cooking and each has a clear picture of what to expect the finished dish to look like. Some of the recipes have a step by step picture sequence of techniques such as making a dressing or  how to prepare a crab.  There is also a recipe for classic roast chicken with parsnips, carrots and savoury bread pudding which takes me back to the first roast dinner I ever cooked.  Back then I relied on Leith’s Cookery Course 1 (a tatty paperback that had no pictures).  I had no idea what the dish was supposed to look like.  Given the choice I would opt for as many pictures as possible.

As to the the coffee & walnut cake recipe that I tried, I found it a little awkward to begin with, as I approached the recipe without my own ideas and habits, and followed it as per the instructions in the recipe.  My first stumbling block was that I didn’t have amongst my vast array of tins  two 22cm cake tins as needed in the recipe – was I lacking in the tin department?  A quick look on the Lakeland website told me I was not lacking – they didn’t stock them either.  So I veered slightly from the recipe at this point and used 20cm tins, this meant I was not so generous in putting all of the mixture into the tins, a small amount was sampled by me.  The other area of disappointment was the walunt praline, I was very generous in my scatterings but there was still an awful lot left over.  I think if I was baking this again I would either fold the praline into the butter icing or cut the quantities down.

I am pleased with the way the cake has turned out, it looks as good as the picture in the book – either that or I am wearing the wrong glasses!

Shipcord Smoked Cheese

Smoked Shipcord Cheese

When my father used to come to stay with us he would always ask hopefully if there was any old cheese knocking around that needed eating up?  He knew only too well that cheese never lasted long in my house. Good cheese is something I tend not to buy too often.  To me it has the same addictiveness as chocolate because once I sit down with a pile of crackers I cannot stop eating it.  My aunt knows only too well my weakness and as a final flourish to her meal she will push the cheese board in my direction.  I am safe if I resist totally otherwise I keep going until its either removed or I have the strength to push it away.  The latter being rather a rare occurrence.

On Saturday I decided I wanted to try a new cheese.   As I looked at all the different cheeses at the food hall my eye kept being drawn to the French soft cheeses that I love but I wanted to try something different, so to narrow the choice I went for a locally produced cheese – smoked Shipcord cheese made using local milk on Rodwell farm, Baylham in Ipswich.  It didn’t take long before I was itching to taste it.  I searched out some plain crackers and sat down to sample a small slice.  The cheese is made from unpasteurised milk and matured for between 3 months to a year.  I have read that the cheese is specially produced at a higher temperature to create a closer texture.  The cheese has a lovely crumbly texture and a light and delicate smoked taste with no cloying after taste which some supermarket cheeses leave in the mouth.  I am rather glad I pushed myself otherwise I might have never discovered this delicate cheese worthy of a brief appearance on my cheeseboard.

Hotel Chocolat

Easter Eggstravaganza Crate

Yesterday afternoon a box arrived from Hotel Chocolat containing a cellophane wrapped Easter Eggstravaganza Crate with 17 gold eggs and one large silver egg.  It looked fantastic – my expectations rose to meteoric heights.  What’s the saying ‘all fur coat and no knickers’?  Would it taste as good as it looked?

By the evening the crate of eggs had been sitting on the table and Tom asked casually ‘are we going to open it then?’ Part of me wanted to and part of me didn’t want to be disappointed.  I agreed that we could at least eat one of the golden hollow eggs, because they were bound to be disappointing.   I unwrapped their gold foil covering and bit into the chocolate, the taste was lovely, chocolatey and smooth.   Maybe we should have one more.  After three more each I put them away in the drawer.  I wanted to savour the pure luxury of this eggstravaganza.

Easter Eggstravaganza Crate

This morning before breakfast I opened the silver egg.  I couldn’t wait. I wanted to know if the silver egg would live up to its mini versions.   Inside were wrapped in white tissue 12 little eggs, never mind the breakfast cereal I couldn’t help myself I picked up and bit into the little egg and enthusiastically egged Tom on to try one too – we munched in silence both finishing at the same time and both waiting for the other one to suggest maybe one more.  The second one didn’t disappoint, the outer shell of the egg was thick but not so much that you risked chipping a tooth.   The filling inside was rich praline which had all my endorphins on hyper alert.  For our own safety I quickly put the crate back in the drawer – thinking that lunch time was really the earliest it could surface again.

These Easter Eggstravaganza crates cost £40 and I would say that they are worth every single penny.  For me the 17 hollow gold eggs are great for sharing, but the mini eggs with their caramel, praline and vanilla fillings can be a purely selfish indulgent luxury .  I shall be saving the outer shell for an afternoon in front of the telly.

The silver egg has to be the second best Easter egg I have ever received – the best egg was hand made by my husband when he was at University.  He secretly obtained an egg mould and managed to put inside a small box containing a pair of earrings, then he carefully covered it in silver foil.  This of the man who couldn’t even boil an egg, let alone make a chocolate one – that egg was priceless and the feat has never been repeated again, but if he fancied coming close to it he could order me one of these!!  No pressure.

Pancakes

Pancakes with banana and butterscotch sauce

In this house pancakes only seem to be made once a year on Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day.  They are so easy to make and very filling, I don’t know why I don’t make them more often.   There is usually no need to mark it on the calendar as the  supermarkets make sure you don’t forget by filling shelves with plastic lemons, flour and boxes of pancake mixtures.  I can’t really understand why people pay for these when the batter is so easy to make.

Saying all that, it’s lovely to see it’s a tradition that is still going.  I am not a big fan of fasting and yet that is exactly what the Shrove Tuesday pancake stands for.  Shrove Tuesday is the last day before Lent begins.  Meat, dairy and eggs were restricted and so the housewife would use any left over eggs, milk and sugar to make pancakes.

I don’t know who came up with the idea of tossing the pancake but it does add the entertainment value to what is a rather straight forward and dull dish.  I would always beg my mother to toss the pancake but she would always retort she had just washed the kitchen floor and she wasn’t cleaning it again – I couldn’t really argue with that.   Now with my own house I have no fears about dropping the pancake I have a very eager dog who counts it part of his job description and lives to mop up any spillage in the kitchen.  Luckily for him we supplement this with dog food otherwise he would have starved many years ago.

Pancake Batter

Ingredients

100g/4 oz plain flour

1 egg

300 ml/1/2 pint milk

pinch of salt

Put the flour and pinch of salt into a bowl and make a well in the centre, crack the egg into the centre and using a wooden spoon start to beat – gradually bringing in the flour.  Add a little milk to ease the mixture.   Do not add all of the milk as it will be nearly impossible to stir out all the lumps.  Add the milk a little at a time until its all used up.

Now pour this mixture into a measuring jug and put a plate on top and leave to sit for 30mins plus.  The mixture needs to rest.

Take a frying pan and wipe with melted butter or put a drop of sunflower oil on the bottom and then wipe off with a piece of kitchen paper.

Stir the mixture after it has stood and pour a little of the pancake mixture into the pan turning the pan so that the mixture spreads over the bottom of the pan.  The aim is to give the bottom of the pan a light coating.  Very soon the pancake will start to form large bubbles of air under the batter and the edge of the pancake will darken and come away from the pan.  At this point lift the pancake a little and see if the underside is golden brown, if it is you can either stand back and toss the pancake over or use the less exciting spatula  method.  Cook for a minute or two and when the underside has spots of brown, turn out onto a plate.

Traditionally lemon juice is squeezed over with a sprinkling of caster sugar and then the pancake is rolled and eaten.

This year I have pushed the boat out and made a butterscotch sauce with some sliced bananas as a filling.

Butterscotch Sauce

Ingredients

60 gms/2 oz butter

60 gms/2 oz golden syrup

6O gms/2 0z dark brown sugar

75 ml / 2 floz double cream

Put the butter, syrup and sugar into a pan and gently heat.   Stir, and when it has all dissolved  leave on the heat until it starts to bubble acting like molten lava.   At this point add the cream and stir.   Within seconds it will calm down and become a beautiful silky sauce.   May be served warm or cold.

To make up

1 Banana

Chop banana on to pancake and add butterscotch sauce, fold and sprinkle with caster sugar and serve.