Stuff to do with apples!

We have a LOT of cooking apples right now. So, here's some things to make with them:

Eve’s Pudding

1 ¼ lb. Apples
2 oz. Sugar
1/8 pint of water
3 oz. Butter/margarine
3 oz. Sugar
2 eggs
4 oz. Self-raising flour
1. Heat oven to 190°C
2. Peel core and slice apples. Put in a dish with water and sugar and bake for 10 minutes.
3. Cream butter, sugar and eggs and stir in flour.
4. Spread over hot apples and return to oven for 35 minutes.

And if you have any berries that need using up:

Granny’s seedless Blackberry and Apple Jam

2lb. blackberries
1lb. apples
½ pint water
Sugar

Method: Stew blackberries in water until tender. Strain into a sieve. Keep the liquid and discard the pulp. Peel and core the apples. Cut up and place in a large saucepan with the blackberry juice. Boil until the apples are tender and break up. Cool for a little while and measure amount.
Place clean jam jars into a moderate oven to warm. Add 1 lb. of sugar to every pint of blackberry and apple mixture. Stir over gentle heat until the sugar dissolves, then boil rapidly for 15 minutes. Leave to cool for a bit, then pour into warm jam jars before it sets.
Store in a cool dark place. Refrigerate each jar once opened.

Carrots and parsnips!

With the autumn definitely here, we're into root vegetables in a big way! If you get bored with cooking them in savoury dishes, try these:

Carrot Cake

250g plain flour
150g whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 egg whites
225g brown sugar
225g plain or vanilla yogurt
50ml rapeseed oil
350g grated carrots
225g drained canned crushed pineapple
150g raisins

Frosting
225g cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
500g icing sugar

To make the cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease a 13”x9” baking dish.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the plain flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Mix well.
3. In a large bowl, combine the eggs and egg whites. Using an electric mixer beat on medium speed until foamy. Add the brown sugar. Beat for 3 minutes. Add the yogurt and oil. Beat until creamy.
4. On low speed, beat the flour mixture into the egg mixture until combined. Fold in the carrots, pineapple, and raisins. Spoon into the prepared baking dish and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely.
5. To make the icing, combine the cream cheese, vanilla extract, and sugar until smooth. Spread on cooled cake.


Parsnip and Walnut Cake

Serves 8
125ml vegetable oil
125g light brown sugar
175g chopped nuts
350g grated parsnip
225g plain flour sieved
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 Eggs

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and grease and line a deep 20cm cake tin.
2. In a large bowl combine the oil and sugar to form a smooth mixture.
3. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the bowl and beat in each egg thoroughly.
4. Stir in grated parsnips and chopped walnuts and spoon the mixture into the prepared tin.
5. Place the cake tin in the centre of the oven for 70 mins. Allow to cool, serve and enjoy.
6. Alternately, you can ice with plain, lemon, or cream cheese icing.

Easy Oven bakes for kiddies!

Here are two easy dishes to make with children. You put them together cold. An adult can put them in the oven. An hour later - voila! Dinner is served!The pudding takes slightly less time cooking, so you can do them one after the other, and pudding should be ready just as you're finishing your first course. Clever - huh?

Phoebe’s Pasta Bake

Ingredients
200g dry pasta (shapes best – eg. Fusilli, penne, shells)
EITHER 500g creamy pasta sauce
OR 250g pasta sauce and 250g cream cheese or mascarpone
OR 2 small tins of condensed soup
100g grated cheese

Optionals:
Chopped peppers
Sliced mushrooms
1 x tin of sweet corn
1 x tin of tuna
1 x tin of beans/pulses
Diced tomatoes
Any cooked vegetables you need to use up!


Method:
1. You can pre-heat oven to 185°C/gas mark 6, or you can put this dish into a cold oven then turn it to the correct temperature.
2. Place dry pasta and all or any optional ingredients into a large oven-proof dish. Stir to mix.
3. Stir in pasta sauce/ pasta sauce and cream cheese or mascarpone/ 2 small tins of condensed soup which ever you are using.
4. Fill jar/tins/cartons from step 3 with water and add to pasta mix (essentially you need approx. 500g water). Stir to mix.
EITHER:
5. Sprinkle with cheese and bake in oven for 50 minutes.
OR (If your oven is a little temperamental!):
6. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and stir thoroughly. Sprinkle with cheese and return to oven for 20 minutes.
8. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Chocolate Fudge Pudding

Ingredients:
2 tbsp cocoa powder
110g/4 oz. self-raising flour
110g/4 oz. caster sugar
110g/4 oz. butter or margarine
2 eggs
½ tsp. Vanilla extract
1 tbsp chopped walnuts
1-2 tbsp milk
For the sauce:
110g/4 oz. light brown sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder.

Method:
1. Heat oven to 185°C (or use nice warm oven from pasta bake). Lightly grease a deep ovenproof dish.
2. Mix butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla.
4. Fold in flour, cocoa, walnuts and as much milk as you need to make a soft consistency.
5. Put in baking dish.
6. For the sauce; mix the sugar and cocoa with 275ml/10 fl oz. of hot but not boiling water.
7. Pour sauce over the pudding in the dish and bake for 40 mins.
8. The cake will rise and the sauce will form a pool underneath and around it.
This is particularly good with vanilla ice-cream.

The Baroness Cooks!

So many people are blogging their recipes, and tips, and hints; and I see a bandwagon passing, so I'm jumping on!

Here's Phoebe being creative!