The Weekend Cake - Lemon Sponge with Marmalade Filling

Lemon Sponge with Marmalade Filling

The weekend is the perfect time to make a cake.  Someone might drop in.  You might invite someone over for tea.  You might, as we did, invite someone over for dessert after a meal out.  Having had a disappointing result when I tried a new recipe for a friend's birthday recently (the cake was too solid), I decided to revert to my tried and tested lemon sponge.  It's easy to make and almost never goes wrong.







There are two 'secrets' to a good sponge. Mary Berry would be horrified, but I always use soft margarine for cakes. It makes them lighter.  The other is to add a bit of liquid (one or two tablespoons) at the end (after the flour) to 'lighten' the mixture. Mary Berry might approve. It is important to  use butter for the icing.  You will be able to taste the difference. I used home made marmalade in the filling, but store bought is just as good in this recipe.
As this is the first weekend of spring, lemon cake seems entirely appropriate. It has just the right taste for welcoming spring.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

8 ounces of soft margarine (Stork or Flora). These are the original ones, not the low cholesterol ones. They usually say 'Suitable for baking' on them.

8 ounces of sugar.

4 medium or large eggs. (I usually only have large eggs on hand.)

1 generous teaspoon of good quality Vanilla essence.

8 ounces of Self Raising flour, sifted.

A small pinch of salt.

Juice and rind of one lemon.

A little warm water from the kettle.

Beat the margarine until fluffy.

Add the sugar and cream the ingredients well, scraping the sides of the bowl to ensure they are mixed well.

Add eggs, one at a time and beat well after each one.

Add the vanilla essence and the grated lemon rind. Don't worry if it curdles.

Sift the flour and salt and add to the wet ingredients, folding in gently.

Stir in the lemon juice and, if the mixture is too heavy, add a little warm water from the kettle.

Put the mixture into greased, lined 8" round cake tins and bake at 180C, 350F for 20 minutes.

The top of the cake should be springy when the cake is done.  Do not over bake it.

Leave 10 minutes then remove from the tins and cool the cake on racks.

For the icing:

2 ounces softened butter.  (I use lightly salted because I like the taste.)

8 ounces icing sugar, sifted.

Juice and rind of one lemon.

A little water, if needed.

Cream the butter and sugar, then add the lemon juice and rind.  If the mixture needs thinning, add a little more lemon juice or a little water.

Assembling the Cake:

When the cake is cool, put the bottom layer on a plate and spread a little of the icing on it. This is to prevent the marmalade making the cake wet.

Spoon some marmalade on and spread it gently over the icing.

Place the other layer on top and spread the rest of the icing on it. 

A piece of cake on one of my late Mother-inlaw's lovely dragon plates.

Happy Spring.

Celeriac and Celery Soup

Celeriac and Celery Soup topped with chopped parsley.

Celeriac is in season now.  Whenever I see it perched on the electricity box at the market stall in St Marks Square in Wimbledon (Really!), I know I should not miss the opportunity to cook with it.  Celeriac has a softer, more delicate flavour than celery. It makes beautiful mash when mixed with potatoes and it makes a lovely soup, with or without the addition of celery.









Today, it was warm and sunny in the kitchen and I just couldn't resist staying in there and cooking something.

The ingredients.

With the additions of a potato to thicken the soup a little.

 Ingredients
2 small onions.
1/2 a celeriac, peeled and diced.
4 or 5 stalks of celery.
1 small potato.
Celery leaves. ( I save these whenever I can to add flavour to dishes like this.)
1 bay leaf.
Pepper (and salt if needed)
1 teaspoon celery salt or even better, celery seeds
Water to cover
A stock cube (optional)

Method
In a large pan, heat oil gently and add chopped onions.
Sweat them for 5 minutes, but do not allow them to brown.
Add celeriac, chopped celery and potato.
Put in just enough water to cover the vegetables.
Add bay leaf and seasoning.
If you want to use one, add your stock cube now.
Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes or so, until the potato and celeriac and soft.
Remove the bay leaf.
Remove from heat and use a hand blender or a potato masher to puree the vegetables.
If you like a chunkier soup, reserve some of the celery and put it back in the pan after you have blended the rest.
Serve garnished with a little chopped parsley or chives.

The Liberty Quilt - Still working on it...

All the fabric cut into narrower strips.

I've promised myself that I will finish this quilt by Easter.  I was working on it last January, starting with great enthusiasm and descending into  great disappointment. However I arranged the stripes they did not seem right.  The darks stood out too much and the lights seemed insipid.  There did not seem to be an arrangement that would accommodate them.








 Deciding I would never be happy with, I left it for awhile until I could find a solution.

The original construction, which was not working.

Inspired by a quilt I saw on a blog (I can't find the source so I can't show it.), I decided to do something that will look a little like a modern log cabin. I  cut all the strips lengthways to make narrower bands (2' to 4" wide) and stitched them together again, ensuring that they were nicely mixed.

Cutting each strip into narrower bands.

The strips re-stitched.

I then cut them into squares.  I think the 12" squares are too large, so i am in the process of cutting them into 6" squares. All very time consuming, but I hope it will be worth all the effort in the end. 

I cut the strips into squares.

The next step will be using the Kona cotton cream (seen in background) to complete them.  I should end up with squares made of two triangles, one patterned and one plain.  The patterned triangle with be the bottom corner and the plain triangle will be the top. Watch this space.

Carbonnade a la Flamande

 It is more wet than cold in London at the moment, but it is winter and winter is the time for warming casseroles.  This one is special because of three ingredients.  One is beer.  The beef is cooked in beer, not wine or stock.  The second is bread spread with mustard.  This thickens the casserole and adds flavour.  The last is prunes.  They add a lovely sweetness to the beef.







Ingredients:
2 lb of stewing or braising steak cut in 1 " cubes.
2 medium onions.
1 clove garlic.
springs of fresh thyme and parsley
2 bay leaves.
salt and pepper to taste.
1 slice bread.
1 teaspoon grainy mustard.
1 handful prunes.
1 bottle beer plus water and (optional) stock cube.

Brown the meat in oil, a little at a time, then transfer to an oven proof casserole dish.

Meat browning.

Soften onions and garlic in the pan where the meat was browned to keep all the flavours.

Add herbs and seasoning.

Spread grainy mustard on a slice of bread and push it down into the casserole. This will melt down to thicken the juices and add flavour as it cooks.

Add the onions and the prunes.

Pour in the beer and water to cover the other ingredients and bring to simmering point.

Crumple up a piece of greaseproof paper and wet it under the tap. Then place it on top of the casserole before putting on the lid. Keep the lid firmly on while it is cooking. This will help to keep the juices in. 

Put the casserole in the oven for 2 1/2 hours on low heat. (150 C 300 F) Remove lid and paper, stir and serve with potatoes or tagliatelli and vegetables. I know.  It's not pretty here, but it looks lovely on a plate. In the excitement of serving and eating it, I just forgot to take the final photo.

Make Do and Mend - Rescuing two jackets with shoulder pads

 

The red jacket with the addition of shoulder pads.

I have just rescued two much-loved, nearly identical jackets which have never fitted quite right. Neither were cheap and I hesitated to get rid of them. They are lovely colours, warm, made of boiled wool and easy to pack for one of our winter trips.  They dress up a pair of black trousers and look great with a necklace or a scarf.
However, they sagged a bit on the shoulders and were a bit too big across the bust. I thought about altering them, but that would have meant removing the collars and then sewing them on again. Not my idea of a fun afternoon.
Finally, I realised that shoulder pads might just do the trick - and they did! It was worth trying as they cost about £3.00 a pair and were very quick to sew in place. Even if they hadn't worked, I would not have lost much time or money. I could always use the shoulder pads for something else.








Shoulder pads were used a lot in the 80s and 90s, but the look today is softer, more feminine. Most garments don't have them any more.  Using small shoulder pads just gives a bit of definition. They immediately sharpened up the shoulders and raised the bust line so both jackets now fit perfectly.

Back view after adding shoulder pads.

The purple jacket before shoulder pads. You can see how it droops in the front.

                                     

A close-up of the front before shoulder pads.

                                            

The droopy back of the jacket.

Small set-in shoulder pads. (Cost about £3.00) It is important to buy the right type.  Raglan shoulder pads will not give the same look.

Inside the packet are two shoulder pads and two velcro strips.  You can sew in the strips and just clip the pads to them. I prefer to stitch the pads in.

Pin the pads just even with the top of the sleeve seam, centring them over the shoulder seam.

The shoulder pad pinned in place.

Fold the pad up and hand stitch with large stitches to the shoulder seam.

If you wish, pin the pointed ends to the sleeve seam and tack into place.

The purple jacket with shoulder pads.

Back view with shoulder pads. Much improved.

A Family Favourite, Spaghetti Bolognaise Cooked Long and Slow

This sauce is my take on bolognaise. There are hundreds of versions of bolognaise, but this is my interpretation of the one my mother and my sister made.  My measurements are a little variable, but you can judge for yourself how much seasoning you want to add. The sugar takes away the acidity of the tomatoes, so I would advise you to add it. This sauce is quick to put together, but it needs to be cooked for a long time to really bring out the flavours. I don't have a slow cooker, so I leave it simmering for about four hours.   If you can make this sauce one day and serve it the next, it will be even better. This has always been my family's favourite meal.

The ingredients

Plus this.

Browned meat with celery and onions put in to soften.

With the addition of peppers.

Then tomatoes, herbs and spices.

Simmering away.

Served with pasta, a salad and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Ragu (Serves 6)

Ingredients:
a good glug of olive oil (a generous Tablespoon)
1 1/2 to 2 lbs of lean minced beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 - 2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
celery leaves
1 pepper, green, red or yellow
2  14 ounce tins of tomatoes
1 - 2 teaspoons oregano
fresh basil (if you have it)
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 4 ounce tin tomato puree

Method:
Put the olive oil in a good, heavy pan.
Add the meat and brown it, stirring to break it up.
Turn down the heat and add the onion, garlic, celery sticks and pepper.
Cover and cook for 10 minutes to soften the vegetables.
Pour in the tomatoes.
Add salt and pepper (about 1 teaspoon of each), oregano, sugar, celery leave and basil.
Stir to mix and bring to simmering point again.
Turn down heat and add tomato puree.  Stir again.
Leave to simmer for at least two hours.  I cook mine for four hours until it is dark in colour.
You will need to stir it occasionally to keep the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Serve with spaghetti or tagliatelli and freshly grated Parmesan.
A fresh green salad adds a nice bit of crunch and garlic bread makes the meal go farther.

A Belated Happy New Year and Goodbye to All That

The little Christmas tree waiting to be planted out.

Happy New Year.  It's a fine, crisp day in London. It's supposed to be the gloomiest day of the year, but there is a lot to be happy about and I am always glad to clear away all remnants of Christmas and return to normal living. Much as I love Christmas, I love the plainness of the rooms when everything is tidied up.
Yesterday, I risked life and limb to go into the scary part of the loft to put away the Christmas decorations.  Three years ago, I put my foot through a slat in the floor and, apart from being very frightened, I bruised my leg very badly.  I really don't want to go  into the loft any more, but needs must. So, phew.  That's done.
Our little tree has travelled to France and is resting in a sheltered spot until it can be planted out.  We still have to decide where.
Apart from that, there are signs of spring everywhere and I am enjoying that.
The white heather is France and London are holding out bravely.  The next hard frost will kill them off, but I am enjoying them while I can.

The white heather.

The brave little plants in France.

More white heather.

A few green shoots, just as the Chancellor predicted for the economy.
These will be little yellow daffodils called Cheerfulness.  Very appropriate.

Yellow hyacinths getting ready to bloom on my kitchen table.