Author: Notnick

High Dumpsie Dearie Jam

Here’s a good old recipe. Seems to be a Warwickshire creation. Love the name. This recipe from a pull-out from the June 1972 Jams & Jellies supplement in Woman Magazine – (Wooden Spoon Club Kitchen Craft Library)

The jam is a windfall jam – cooking apples, pears, plums – so the everyday jam?

1 lb cooking apples
1 lb pears
1 lb plums
1/2 pint water
Sugar 3/4lb per pint of stewed fruit
Grated lemon rind (1 lemon)
1 oz root ginger

Cut the plums in half and remove the stones. Peel & core the apples and pears, cut into slices.

Cook the fruits in water until tender. add the sugar and lemon rind and peeled bruised ginger. Stir on a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved, then boil quickly. Boil to the setting point. Skim and remove the ginger. Bottle.

Crab-apple Jelly

6lb crab apples
3 pints water
Sugar (1lb per pint of liquid strained)

Wash the apples, cut away bruised & bad bits. Cut into quarters (with their cores and skin still on) Simmer for 60-90 minutes – until the fruit is pulped.
Strain the pulp through a jelly bag. For every pint of liquor gained, add 1 lb of sugar.

Boil to the jam setting point, and jar up as you would jam.

You can add root ginger to the apple if you want a bit of extra flavour.

Cornflour Cake

One of my Auntie Gwen’s recipes. Like me, she liked to type up her recipes. She kept them in a green folder in the kitchen. I’ve not tried this cake, but it seems to have been worth saving from Gwen’s point of view.

4 oz butter
5 oz caster sugar
2 eggs
2 oz plain flour
2 oz Cornflour
1/4 tsp baking powder
Flavouring (Assume she means vanilla essence, or almond/orange/coffee?)
1 tbl milk

tin size – 5 1/2″ x 3 ” (Loaf?)

Cream together the butter & sugar, add the egg yolks one at a time and beat well. Stir in the flours, and baking powder gradually, and add the milk & flavouring. Whisk the egg whites to stiff, and fold into the mixture.

fill the lined tin, which should be prepared by greasing and sprinkling with a mix of 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp flour.

Cook at 175°c. Allow to partially cool in the tin before turning out.

Chocolate Roulade

serves 6-8

6oz plain chocolate
5 eggs
6.5 oz caster sugar
1/4pt double or whipping cream
1/4tsp vanilla essence
Icing sugar for dusting

oil and line a 13″x 9″ swiss roll tin. oil and flour wax paper or teflon sheet.

Break up chocolate and melt in a bain marie. Separate the eggs. Add the yolks to 6oz sugar (hold back 1/2oz) and whisk till light and thickened. Add 2 tbl of hot water into the chocolate and beat into the egg yolk mixture.

in another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold whites and chocolate together – carefully, don’t over mix and flatten the mix!

Tip the mix onto the lined tin, and gently drag out to flat, filling the edges. Cook for 15 mins at 180°c (less for fan). remove from the oven, but leave in the tin. cover with waxed paper and a damp t-towel on top – stops a crust forming. Leave it overnight, or at least 5 hrs.

Whip the cream with vanilla essence and a spoon of icing sugar if preferred.

Sprinkle a clean fresh waxed sheet with the remaining sugar. Put the cake on the sugared paper and gently peel the first paper from the bottom (now top) of the roulade. Spread with the whipped cream and roll up, using the sugared paper to help hold it together.

Chill & serve.

Round Cake

This is one of Mary’s old recipes – found in a bag of clippings and free cookbooks. This one looks well used – the sheet of A4 has seem some action. I’ve not made this cake – bu couldn’t throw the page away without writing it up first.

Prepare a 7″ round cake tin.

7oz butter
8oz Caster sugar
5 eggs
10 oz plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp grated nutmeg
3/4 tsp mixed spice
3/4 tsp cinnamon
16oz currents
8 oz Sultanas
6 oz Raisins
4 oz glacé cherries
4 oz mixed peel
4 oz chopped almonds
1 lemon rind grated
4 tbl sherry

Mix it all, and pop it into the lined tin.

Cook for 4 hrs – 1 hr at 150°c and turn down 10-15°c every hour. Top with paper to stop the cake drying out. Add a bowl or water to the bottom of the oven to keep it steamy and moist through cooking too.

Honey Banana Cake

Preheat the oven to 180°c and line 20cm round tin.

1/2 lemon
400g ripe bananas (weight in skins)
100g butter
100g caster sugar
2 large eggs
225g SR flour
pinch salt
50g desiccated coconut (hold back 12g for the top)
4tbl clear honey (3 in cake, 1 on top)

Grate the lemon rind and squeeze the juice. Peel the bananas and mash with the lemon juice.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the other ingredients and beat till smooth. Spoon into the tin and bake for 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack. Brush the top with 1 tbl honey and sprinkle with coconut.

Rosti – Potato Cakes

Makes about 16 rosti.

700g waxy potatoes, peeled
salt, pepper
4 tbl self-raising flour
2 eggs
3 tbl chopped chives
1 tbl melted butter
4 tbl veg oil

Grate the potatoes into a colander. Sprinkle with salt and mix. Stand in the sink and let them drain for 15 minutes. Squeeze them out to remove excess moisture. Beat together the flour, eggs, chives and butter. Stir in the potatoes and plenty of salt & pepper.

Dollop the big spoons of the mix into a frying pan, and fry for 5 mins or so, turning once.

Fat free chocolate cake

Fat free chocolate cake – its practically health-food.

50g cocoa
175ml hot water
200g plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
350g caster sugar
12 large egg whites (you can use the yolks for icecream making!)
1 tsp cream of tartar
raspberries and mint to decorate

for sauce:
225g raspberries
2 tbl clear honey

Preheat the oven to 180°c. Line a 23cm ring tin.

blend the cocoa and hot water. In another bowl mix 150g sugar, the flour and salt.

In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites a cream of tartar until stiff peaks. gradually whisk in the remaining sugar then fold in the flour mix.

Spoon into the prepped tin and spread level. Bake for 40 minutes until centre springs back when gently pressed. Allow to cool in the tin. Server with fruit and sauce.

Lemon Meringue Pie

One of my Dad’s favourites. Two ways to cook this – one way is low and slow, so that the meringue is crisp all the way through (mum did this!) or cook it hotter for about 20 minutes so that the meringue is brown on top, but soft sweet marshmallow inside. Both good, but crisp preferred by me.

225g shortcrust pastry

Lemon filling:
Juice and grated rind of 3 large lemons
4tbl cornflour
50g caster sugar
300ml water
3 egg yolks

Meringue:
3 egg whites
100g caster sugar
vanilla essence, if making a soft meringue

First, line a 23cm round flan dish with shortcrust pastry.

Mix the lemon rind and juice with the sugar, water and cornflour. heat in a nonstick pan until thickened. (taste and tweak the filling here). Cool slightly and beat in the egg yolks. Pour on to the pastry case. Should fill the case.

for the meringue -put the egg whites in a clean dry bowl and whisk till soft peaks. add the sugar and mix. add to the top of the pie.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 170°c till golden brown, if you like it soft.

Bake for 2 hrs at 150°c and leave to cool in the oven if you like it crisper.

Dundee Cake

Classic Granny cake. Not super rich, but be careful not to make too wet, or the fruit will sink! Preheat oven to 170°c and line a 7″(18cm) round tin

225g butter
225g caster sugar
1 tbl lemon rind, grated
3 eggs
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g sultanas
100g currents
100g raisins
100g mixed peel
1tbl fine-cut marmalade
75g ground almonds
1tbl sherry
75g whole blanched almonds for topping

Whip the butter & sugar then add eggs, 1 at a time to prevent curdling. Add the flour and baking powder and mix, then add ground almonds, lemon, marmalade, sherry and fruit.

Add to the lined tin, making a slight hollow in the middle so that it rises to the level whilst cooking. Decorate the top with the almonds. Bake for 2 hrs and 15 minutes. Cool in tin for 15 minutes.