UK Handmade Winter Edition

http://ukhandmade.co.uk/magazine

This magazine is edited by my lovely friend Bebe Bradley and has some wonderfully creative contributors. If you take a peek at page 42 you will see my retro finger piece buffet recipes which were great fun to put together.

Sticky Toffee Apple Crumble

I made this as a bonfire night pudding but have decided that I will need to make it more than just once a year because it's super delicious. the caramel oozed over the top of the crumble making it even more toffified. It would be a sin not to serve this with custard.

Ingredients

For the toffee apples

• 100ml/3½fl oz water
• 225g/8oz granulated sugar
• 30ml/1fl oz golden syrup
• 30g/1oz unsalted butter
• 450g/1lb cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced into wedges
• 450g/1lb eating apples, peeled, cored and sliced into wedges

For the crumble

• 150g/5oz plain flour
• 150g/5oz unsalted butter
• 150g/5oz demerara sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. For the toffee apples, place the water and sugar into a saucepan and slowly bring up to the boil. Reduce the heat once the sugar has melted, add the syrup and butter and then bring up to the boil again, stirring constantly.
3. Turn down the heat, add the apples and cook, stirring gently, until just soft. Place into an ovenproof dish.
4. For the crumble, rub the flour, butter and sugar together in a bowl with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Spoon the crumble evenly over the toffee apple mixture and place in the oven to bake for 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden-brown.

Bonfire Night Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes using Jo Wheatley's recipe from her 'A passion for baking' book. I used yellow and orange butter icing together in a piping bag to get the flame effect. I cut our the flames from yellow fondant icing and piped around it in red and finished off the effect using orange matchmakers.

Whiz, bang cake pops

Cake pops make a fabulous children's party gift, favour or centre piece. These cake pops have red cake centres for an added wow factor.

I made these cake pops from a Victoria sponge recipe that I coloured red (add the colouring after you have added the eggs and before you add the flour).

Once baked and completely cool crumble the cake in your fingers or using a food processor until the cake resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in a half quantity of butter cream to cake until the mixture comes together and you can easily roll it into firm balls.

Take a tablespoon size scoop (30g) and form it into a ball and place them onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. refrigerate the balls for 3-4 hours. Meanwhile melt some candy melts, this should pour off of the spoon easily, if not then loosen with some vegetable oil. Remove the balls from the fridge and dip the end of the stick in the candy melt and stick into the cake balls.

Dip the cake pops into the candy melt until completely covered, tap off the excess and place the stick into either some polystyrene or some regalice to dry.

Decorate immediately with sprinkles, smarties and icing.

Keep refrigerated once covered and they will keep for a week.

Scones

This is a WI recipe that my Mum (the Queen of scones) gave me many years ago, I have been making yummy scones ever since. The key to a great scone is not to over work the dough and to make them on the day you eat them.

12oz Self raising flour
pinch of salt
2oz caster sugar
One handful of sultanas (optional)
2fl oz oil (sunflower, vegetable or corn)
6fl oz milk
1 egg

1. Pre heat the oven to gas mark 7
2. Place the flour, salt, sugar and sultanas if using in a bowl.
3. Carefully measure the oil in a measuring jug, measure the milk on top of the oil and then add the egg and  beat with a fork.
4. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and bring together very lightly using a knife.
5. The mixture should be quite sticky so turn out onto a floured surface and gently roll to about 1inch or 3cm thick.
6. Using a round cutter dipped in flour to prevent it sticking to the dough (I use a 2 inch cutter but it is up to you what size you prefer), cut out your scones and place on a non stick baking tray. You can glaze the scones with egg wash, milk wash or if you prefer them rustic just leave them as they are.
7. Bake in the oven for approximately 10 minutes, keeping an eye on them remove when risen and golden brown.
8. Serve with home made strawberry jam, clotted cream and a pot of tea.

Celebration Cakes

My Friend's little boy Jo is obsessed with lego, I counted 9 new sets that he had for his birthday this week which should keep both him and his Mum busy for a while! We were all invited to his superhero adventure party which was lots of fun and very noisy, Jo loved his cake and added a few of his super hero friends for good measure.

I just baked 2 x 20cm square sponge cakes and cut them both in half and then one of the halves in half again. I sandwiched the cakes with butter icing and raspberry jam and covered them in regal ice, I used a 4cm round cutter for the circles. I measured and marked out the board and then used rolled out regal ice for the lego effect. my 6 year old son Robby cut out all of the circles. I would recommend making this cake as it is simple but effective.

I made this wedding cake for my lovely friends Nick and Fay, their reception was held at the Beach House on Mudeford spit amongst all of the beach huts.

The cakes were a mix of chocolate and vanilla sponge and I used soft brown sugar stuck on using a layer of butter cream and some softened raspberry seedless jam to get the sand effect.

This was last years school raffle prize, a round cake with a rolled sugar paste wrapped and draped to make it look like Santa's sack.

This 40th birthday cake for my husbands cousin was a replica (kind of) of his Porsche. I used a basic car tin with vanilla sponge and then carved it to make it look like this!

Bannana Bread

This is what I always must do with over ripe bananna's.

• 285g/10oz plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 110g/4oz unsalted butter
• 225g/8oz caster sugar
• 2 free-range eggs
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 85ml/3fl oz buttermilk (or normal milk mixed with 1½ tsp lemon juice or vinegar)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well. Fold in the flour mixture.
5. Grease a 20cm x 12.5cm/8in x 5in loaf tin and pour the cake mixture into the tin.
6. Transfer to the oven and bake for about an hour, or until well-risen and golden-brown.
7. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving
8. Serve sliced and spread with butter

This is a picture of Tatyana's banana bread that she made using this recipe. Tatyana is only 8  and she has made a splendid job, I think it's better than mine!