Grandma Bea’s Cranberries

One of my favourite dishes for the holidays was my Grandma Bea’s cranberry dish. Not quite a cranberry sauce, but not actually a side dish either – it fits somewhere in between.  I have no idea where she got this recipe and a quick search on Google provides various cranberry salad recipes, but none of them are quite like the one my grandma made.

Like clock work you could depend on grandma to make specific dishes for holiday gatherings and they included: copper pennies, pea salad, and cranberries. I would always load up my plate with the ruby red cranberries pushing the turkey into second place.  When the meal was over and all of the leftovers were piled into the fridge, I always made sure I knew where they were hidden so I could be first to tuck in when the fullness had subsided – usually around 8.00-9.00 at night.

Now that I’m in a place where I want to start my own holiday traditions, I want to make sure my grandma’s memory lives on through this dish.  This year her cranberries will take pride of place alongside the goose I’m roasting and I know it will help make my Christmas special.

Ingredients:

300g bag of cranberries, chopped fine

150g bag of pecan halves, chopped

227g can of crushed pineapple, well drained

1 packet of lemon jelly/o*

1 packet of orange jelly/o*

200g sugar

400g cream cheese at room temp

1. Chop the cranberries with a sharp knife or blast in a food processor taking care not to blend into a puree. The cranberries need to be somewhat chunky but not so chunky as to have whole or half pieces. Once chopped place in a bowl, cover with sugar and let them macerate for 30 minutes.
   
2. Drain the crushed pineapple until almost dry and add to the cranberry mixture. Make sure there is very pineapple juice left because it will prevent the jelly/o from setting.
3. Chop the pecans into small pieces or blitz in a food processor taking care not to blend until the pecans are crumbs – you want to be able to have some bite. Set aside.
   
4. Prepare both packets of jelly/o as per the package instructions using only half of the water and combine with the cranberry and pineapple mixture. Mix in the pecans and pour half of the mixture into a square dish and refrigerate until set. Set aside the remaining mixture in a warmish area to prevent it from setting up.
   
   
   
   
5. Place the cream cheese into a bowl and mix well until it is a spreadable consistency. You could add some icing/powdered sugar to sweeten the cream cheese if you prefer.
6. Remove the set cranberry jelly/o from the fridge and spread the cream cheese evenly on top.
7. Pour the remaining cranberry jelly/ mixture over the cream cheese and refrigerate until set.

You should have a glistening white layer of cream cheese sandwiched between two layers of deep scarlet jelly/o. Make the dish the day before serving to allow the flavours really amalgamate – make sure to make enough for leftovers!

My Favourite Cornbread

Cornbread is one of those staple dishes in the South and you tend to find yourself in one of two camps: Team Sugar or Team No Sugar. I fall into the Team No Sugar category and I can’t imagine a sweet cornbread ever going well with Texas chili. My view is that if you want sweet cornbread you can add some honey-butter to it, otherwise keep it plain.

Cornbread always reminds me of being at my Grandma Tippi’s house and how she would make this almost every single time I would come over to visit. My granddaddy would get so excited when grandma announced it was nearly ready and he’d hurry to the butcher block so he could get his piece fresh from the oven. He’d crumble a slice into a glass and pour over cold milk and tuck in with great appreciation.

I introduced P to cornbread and although skeptical at first he is a true convert and he’ll even ask me to make it from time to time. It’s such a comforting food and one that I really enjoy making.

Ingredients:

230g corn flour/meal (please don’t use corn starch)

285g whole milk or buttermilk

100g plain flour

1tsp salt

1tsp baking powder

100g melted butter

2 large eggs

2tbs butter for the skillet

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/450F and place the skillet inside.
2. Place the corn flour and milk in a bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.
   
3. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl.
4. Add the eggs and melted butter to the corn flour mixture and mix well.
5. Add the flour until just combined.
6. Add the 2tbs of butter to the hot skillet and let melt.
7. Add the cornbread mixture to the skillet and bake for 25 -30 minutes until golden.
   
   
    

You don’t have to soak the corn flour with the milk, but I find it makes the final bake softer. Of course, that could just be my imagination.

For those of you unused to cornbread you’ll find it’s more cake like than bread like, but it’s definitely not cake. Enjoy with chili con carne or add to cornbread dressing.

Not So Scary Macarons

Macarons are definitely a luxurious treat and buying them could set you back £20 for 12 which seems quite extravagant for such a quick eat. Making them yourself is much easier than you think; much of the difficult hype is poppycock, plus you can make them for a fraction of the cost. If you're able to gently fold dry ingredients into wet and have some basic piping skills you should have little trouble making them yourself. It just takes practice.

I first made them a few months ago when I took a macaron making course on a rainy Saturday afternoon in London. The instructor was a very jolly woman who was mad about them and showed us how easy they were to make. I think there were around 12 people on the course with a full range of baking experience and we all managed to turn out great to decent macarons. Best of all, she made sure we came home with at least a dozen macarons each.

To prove how easy they are to make, I made a batch last night to bring in for work. I halved the recipe and managed to make two-dozen and they’ve been well received in the office. 

Ingredients:

250g ground almonds

400g icing sugar

225ml egg whites

100g sugar

Flavouring of choice

Food colouring

Flavoured buttercream, ganache, or jam

 Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F.
2. Line two baking sheets with non-stick liners and set aside.
3. Sift the icing sugar and ground almonds together in a bowl and set aside.
4. Whip the eggs to soft peaks and then add the sugar 1tbs at a time.  Add your food colouring and flavor and whip until fully incorporated until the egg whites are glossy.
   
5. Holding the mixing bowl pour a third of the almond mixture into the egg whites and fold in gently. I use a big scoop around technique that works well for me, but use whichever way works for you.
   
6. Pour the second third of the almond mixture and mix together thoroughly. Continue with the third as above.
7. If you want to add in pieces of freeze-dried fruit you can gently fold them in as well.
   
8. Gently pour half of the dough into a piping bag and tie off at the top and snip the bottom in a straight line – you could use a round tip for this as well.
9. Spread a small amount of dough onto the underside of the four corners of the liners to ensure they don’t pull up and ruin the piped macarons.
10. Begin piping small rounds in even rows on the liners taking care not to pipe them too close. As you can see I've piped these too close but I was able to separate them once they were cooked.
    
11. Once finished lightly smack the cooking sheet on the counter to get rid of any excess air bubbles.
12. Let the macarons dry for up to 30 minutes, or more if it’s a particularly humid day.
13. Place the macarons into the preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes turning the sheet halfway through.
14. Take out of the oven and completely cool before matching up pairs and filling with buttercream or ganache.

You can present them in a simple white box tied with a ribbon and really impress your friends or you can keep them all to yourself.

I’ve found using a non-stick mat/liner works better than greaseproof paper. I’ve made several batches using greaseproof with disastrous results and from now on it will only ever be the non-stick liner.

Abhi’s Leaving Cake: Delicious Magazine’s Apple Caramel Cake

It’s with a bit of sadness that I made this cake because it’s for a leaving present for one of my work colleagues. Abhi has helped me in my social endeavors from getting my blog up and running to sorting out my Twitter account.  I definitely owe her a debt of gratitude or cake of gratitude in this instance.

I spied this cake on the front cover of Delicious Magazine and thought it looked really tasty. It’s perfect for this time of year when apples are at their best and the darker days make you want something comforting. I’ve made a slight tweak of my own by adding a touch of allspice and ginger to make it a touch more festive since it’s almost Christmas.

Ingredients:

For the layers

340g caster sugar

365g softened butter

5 large eggs

385g plain flour

2tsp baking powder

1tsp ground allspice

2tsp ground ginger

applesauce

For the applesauce

4 cox apples – or any variety that cooks down

50g caster sugar

100ml water

For the apple filling

4 eating apples – or any variety that will hold their shape

50g caster sugar

70g unsalted butter

For the caramel

75g unsalted butter

50g soft brown sugar

70g caster sugar

50g golden syrup

230ml double cream

1 tub Greek yogurt for garnish

Instructions:

For the applesauce

1. Peel and core the apples and cut into small pieces.
2. Add the pieces of apple to a medium pan over a medium heat and add the sugar and the water.
3. Cook the apples until soft enough to press into a puree adding water as needed.
4. Once cooked set aside to cool.

For the layers

1. Preheat the oven to 170F.
2. Butter and line three 20cm cake tins – I’ve used two 10inch round tins.
3. Using a mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.
5. Add the cooled applesauce to the butter and egg mixture.
6. Add in half of the flour along with the baking powder, ginger and allspice and continue mixing. Add in the rest of the flour and mix until just combined. If there are any bits of unmixed flour fold this in gently using a spatula by hand.
7. Divide the batter between the cake tins and even out with a spatula.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and the edges are pulling away from the tin.
9. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

For the apple filling

1. Peel, core and slice the apples lengthways
2. Heat the butter in a large pan over a medium/high heat and add the apples and sugar.
3. Cook the apples, taking care not to break them up, until they have caramelised.
4. Remove from heat and let cool. 

For the caramel

1. Add all of the ingredients into a small pan and cook over a medium/high heat.
2. Stir the mixture until everything combines and then cook for a further 7 minutes bringing the caramel to a boil.
3. Remove from heat and let cool.

To assemble the cake

1. Dab a small amount of the caramel onto the cake plate or board to prevent the cake from sliding.
2. Place one layer onto the caramel and top with a couple of spoonfuls of Greek yogurt.
3. Place half of the apple filling on top of the yogurt and spoon on the caramel sauce.  Repeat if making three layers.
4. Place the top layer on top of the filling and top with the apple filling and drizzle the remaining caramel over the cake letting it ooze down the sides.
5. Let the cake rest for at least an hour before serving for easier cutting.

You can make the applesauce, apple filling and caramel the day before if you are short of time. Also, you could replace the Greek yogurt with sweetened Mascarpone cheese and use salted caramel instead.