The Arkadian Kitchen

Toffee Cream Tart

Sat, 25 Oct 2003 14:34:50 GMT

Ingredients:
4 oz (100g) margerine
2 1/2 oz (70g) caster sugar
2 oz (60g) plain flour
5 oz (165g) golden syrup
10 fl. oz (256 ml) milk
Cooked flan case

Method:
Melt margerine and sugar in a double saucepan or in glass bowl over boiling water. Whisk in flour and milk; stir until thickened. Remove from heat and beat in the syrup. Leave to cool, then spoon into flan case and spread out smoothly with the back of a spoon. Chill until set.

Cheese Bakewell

Sat, 25 Oct 2003 14:27:57 GMT

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb (750g) grated cheese
6 eggs
8 oz (250g) breadcrumbs
4 oz (100g) margerine
4 oz (100g) plain flour
28 fl. oz (800ml) milk
Cooked flan case

Method:
Place milk and eggs in bowl; beat until smooth. Stir in cheese, seasoning, flour and breadcrumbs. Melt margerine and beat into mixture. Stir until smooth; pour into flan case.

Bake at 190°C (375&def;F /Gas mark 5) for 30-40 minutes.

Egg and Cheese Flan

Sat, 25 Oct 2003 14:21:59 GMT

Ingredients:
8 eggs, size medium
10 fl. oz (1/2 pint or 285ml) milk
10 oz (300g) grated cheese
Cooked flan case

Method:
Whisk eggs and milk together. Mix in cheese; pour into flan case. Bake at 200°C (400°F /Gas mark 6) for 40-45 minutes on the top shelf of the oven until the flan has "set" and is firm to the touch.

Shortcrust Pastry Flan Case

Sat, 25 Oct 2003 14:16:06 GMT

Ingredients:
8 oz (200g) plain flour
4 oz (100g) margerine
3 tablespoons water

Method:
Rub fat into flour, add water then knead to a smooth dough. Roll out pastry to a quarter of an inch (approx. 1 cm) and use to line a flan dish. Place a circle of baking paper over the bottom of the uncooked flan case and weight down with uncooked rice, lentils or baking beads. Bake at 200°C (400°F / Gas mark 6) for 15-20 mins until cooked.

All-In-One Chocolate Cake

Sat, 25 Oct 2003 14:06:12 GMT

Ingredients:
8 oz (200g) caster sugar
8 oz (200g) margerine
8 oz (200g) self-raising flour
4 oz (100g) cocoa powder
4 eggs, size medium
4 tablespoonfuls milk

Method:
Put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir well until all ingredients are mixed well together into a smooth chocolate batter. Pour into a greased and lined 9" cake tin or two greased 9" sandwich tins. Bake at 200°C (400°F /Gas mark 6) until risen and firm yet springy to the touch (about 60 minutes for a single cake, or 35-40 mins for sandwich).

You can make it richer by adding a tablespoon of black treacle.
Chocolate Orange Cake: Omit the milk and add 4 tablespoons of good marmalade, preferably shredless, for a chocolate orange cake.

Jam Sponge Pudding for One

Sun, 07 Sep 2003 19:51:57 GMT

This is a very simple microwave recipe; the pudding can be cooked in a tea cup. Ideal for a quick pudding on short notice - or satisfying that cake-lust at 3am!

Ingrediants:

50g (2 oz) self raising flour
25g (1 oz) soft margerine or butter
25g (1 oz) caster sugar
1 medium-sized egg, beaten
few drops vanilla essence
30ml (2 tbsp) jam or lemon curd
10ml (2 tsp) water
few drops lemon juice

Method:
Beat together the flour, margerine, sugar, egg, vanilla essence and milk until smooth. Put the mixture into a small, lightly-greased bowl or teacup and smooth the top. Cover loosely and cook on High for 2.5mins (850wts) - 3 mins (650wts). Remove cover immediately and allow the pudding to stand for 2-3 mins before turning out.

Meanwhile, cook the remaining ingrediants in a small bowl or jug on High for 1 min. Stir sauce well, then pour over pudding. Serve and eat immediately.

Vanilla Wedding Cake (The Cake)

Tue, 15 Jul 2003 20:11:25 GMT

For the cake:

450g butter
450g caster sugar
9 eggs (size medium)
450g self-raising flour
1 tsp vanilla essence

You will also require three round cake tins:

1 x 6" diameter
1 x 7" diameter
1 x 9" diameter

For the decoration:

Marzipan (I used 3 packs of ready-rolled marzipan which comes in large round sheets)
Either: 3 packs ready-rolled Royal icing, or
3 packs ready-to-roll Royal icing, or
- 1kg icing sugar
- 6 egg whites
- 3 x 5ml sp glycerin
Sugar flowers
Blue food colouring
Red food colouring
Silver balls

You will also require two small atomiser/pump spray bottles (obtainable from chemists such as Boots or superdrug)

Method:
Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth, light and fluffy. Beat the eggs until a smooth liquid; then gradually add to the butter and sugar, stirring well after each addition until the mixture is of an even consistency. Beat in the vanilla extract. Sift the flour and fold in gently to the mix. You may find it easier to make up the mix in three bowls.

Grease and line the three cake tins, and divide the mixture between each. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C (fan oven 160°C, gas mark 4) for 40-50 mins or until risen, firm to touch and golden brown in colour. Check with a knitting needle, skewer or narrow knife blade that the mixture has baked right the way through.

Tip: To help ensure a flat surface to the cake when risen, smooth a hollow in the centre of the cake mix in each tin before baking.

Leave the cakes to cool in the tins before turning out onto wire racks.

Decorating the cakes:
Roll out marzipan into a circle about 3-4mm thick, or use ready-rolled marzipan. Brush apricot jam or glaze onto the surface of each cake to be covered, then lay the disk over the cake, smoothing down the sides and trimming off excess with a sharp knife. Uneven or "peaked" cake surfaces can be built up with marzipan at this stage. Use a rolling pin to ensure sides and top are even and smooth.

Make up Royal icing if using icing sugar, egg whites and glycerin. Divide into three amounts. Roll out to circle 3-4mm and lay over cake. Smooth down sides, trimming off excess with sharp knife dipped in hot water; smooth out any bumps with a palette knife dipped in hot water. Allow icing to "set" overnight.

Stand each iced cake on baking paper, and cover the table surface with newspaper. Put red food colouring in one spray bottle, and blue food colouring in the other. Starting with the red, gently mist colour over the surface of each iced cake, allowing one colour to dry before spraying on the next. When all three cakes are dry to touch, carefully decorate with sugar flowers and silver balls as appropriate.

Completed Cake