Discovering old gems choc cherry cake

Now and again I write things down then promptly lose them. Or I don’t add titles on so have no idea what I’m looking at in my own shorthand. I made this recipe about 15 years ago and we loved it. Then lost it. Earlier today I found it. 

Chocolate and cherry cake, with a chocolate ganache style topping. I have to add this isn’t a die hard baking recipe it’s a more throw things together style of cooking. Not my usual style but somethings are good enough to let my standards slide a little. 

I started with a rummage in my cupboards and realised that I did have everything I actually needed. The stars aligned for me today! 

1 tin of cherry pie filling

1 pack of chocolate sponge mix ( but confused why I had this but hey ho)

And 2 eggs

Decant into a mixing bowl and attack it with a wooden spoon until mixed with no dry mix left showing 

I lined a large round tin with parchment/baking paper and added the mix. Baked for 35 minutes in a moderate oven until a toothpick came out of the centre clean. 

The topping was made from 1 cup of sugar. 5 tablespoons of butter, 1/3 cup of milk. These are heated in a pan and stirred until all melted then taken off the heat and 200g of choc chips or chopped chocolate are added and stirred in until glossy and well combined. Pour over cake while it’s still warm. 

You could of course wait for it to cool thoroughly and add store bought frosting or leave it plain. 

Meanwhile mine is cooling and we will try it later tonight to see this is a good as we remember when I scribbled the recipe down from a friend telling it to me years ago. 

Making and baking

The past few months has felt like there weren't enough hours in the day, then I had a brainwave moment of clarity. To much time with a screen and the Internet on around me.  My laptop and phone are usually around me so it was way to easy to just pick one up and start looking up one thing, then check emails, play a quick game, check pinterest etc etc... It is just so easy to fall down the rabbit hole that is the Internet and lose whole chunks of the day. Started to also think what could be done with the time instead.  What did I use to do? And what makes me happiest? Simple answer is being crafty/baking/cooking/sewing/reading/out exploring. Whatever my mood decides really.  Easy solution was limit the Internet activity to an hour a day. And in the time I am saving I can do the things that make me happy.

I baked a loaf of cheese and herb bread for the boys to go with tea tonight and I think they are having the leftover part for toast in the morning for breakfast.  I love to bake bread, it really is something that calms my soul and makes me smile.  These days however I don't eat much bread at all but, it will get eaten and will leave me happy and those that eat it. Here's the before baking shot.

Now the after baking shot is not as picture perfect as it could be. Mainly because I didn't think quickly enough to take a photo before getting someone else to start slicing it. Believe me though all good things were said though.  There was a discussion about it would be better with no herbs next time and just a cheese bread. We shall see how the mood goes though.  This is just a basic white bread mix with 90g of grated strong cheddar cheese, 30 g of grated Parmesan or similar, 2 tsp of powdered mustard and the liquid is luke warm milk. Just add either 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs of choice or 1.5 teaspoons of dried herbs if you want the herbs to.

Also cooked Jamie Oliver's pork and mash gratin I think it's called. The picture looks great right? I figured out the mash here is probably just covering the pan.

Mine looks somewhat a burnt mess compared to the book. Made me laugh.  Tasted a lot better than it looked though and I have been told it's a definite make it again meal.

And this evenings entertainment? I am usually the last to go to bed in this house.  It's not that I go late, it's a case of everyone else goes rather early to bed these days.  This is where I end up trawling the Internet and playing silly games etc. So this is where I decided  could definitely cut down on Internet time and start using the time to make all the things I have plans for. 

I got out one of the many patterns I have lined up to make and found the fabric to go with it and started cutting out and started sewing this tonight. 

I have made this pattern before. I also have a confession, after it was made I realised I had put the skirt on backwards, resulting in the pockets being at the back not the front.  Lining up the notches apparently can work back to front to.  Luckily the fabric works in a way no one has yet noticed. It is such and easy to wear dress that I keep wearing it.  With a cardigan on no one will ever know. Plus it gives me a small giggle and a smile when I wear it. I would take the skirt off and turn it round but I had already created the channel for the elastic and finished that off and overlocked it all.

Tilly and the Buttons Bettine dress is a simple and easy dress to make and goes fairly fast to make

I'm using this elephant design viscose. Got as far as I could sewing without having to use the overlocker. As it was almost midnight and the overlocker is a lot noisier than my sewing machine I decided to not wake the boys and possibly the neighbours with it. Hopefully I can get this finished tomorrow after I get home and before I pick up my granddaughters from school

All in all a fairly productive day for once. The Internet is a brilliant resource yes but it is also a big time waster. She says while blogging and using the Internet!! I am going to set myself the challenge of keeping my laptop upstairs during the day and only using it in the evening quickly for blogging and looking up resources I need for only 30 minds in the evening.  Going to aim for a month and see how I get on. Hopefully I won't be found shaking with withdrawal and falling back into bad habits.

For tonight

take care

Jules x

Baking Ploughmans Tart

Anyone else been watching Nadiya's British Food Adventures on BBC2? I watched the first couple and bought the book that goes with the series. Last night I was up while the rest of the house was asleep and was watching the third in the series.  Nadiya made a 'Ploughmans Cheese and Pickle Tart' I knew last night today was going to be a baking day for this alone. I don't like pickle, there is no way I am eating that much cheese and pastry but the man in my life loves all these things so it just had to be done.

I am so kicking myself I didn't take a photo of the first disaster, and I was lucky it was the only disaster, where I lined the tart tin with pastry and chilled it, dropped in on my foot, then put it in the oven without blind baking it with baking paper and my baking beans.  By the time I realised, it had literally melted down sides of tin and was a mess. So whipped up some more short crust pastry and started again.  My only defence was my daughter was visiting and I wasn't paying enough attention to the instructions, to busy chatting. Apparently you can always tell when I am chatting according to the Mr. as my eyes will be open! And yet I still bake for him, I wonder why some days.

The basis of this Tart is pretty simple and only a few ingredients that we usually have on hand.

 Good strong cheddar, 

small chunk sandwich pickle, we used Branston Pickle

Milk

Eggs

shortcrust pastry

and paprika for jazzing up your store bought pastry, I

I made my own pastry though

Once I read instructions properly and blind baked my pastry, I realised I had some serious side cracks in 2 places. I artfully spread out the layer of pickle and 'cemented' the cracks with a little of the pickle.  It worked so well and I only had minimal seepage and no soggy bottom.

Lots of good strong cheese went on top. I found a really lovely Wookey Hole strong cheddar and used that. 

I beat the eggs and added the milk up and mixed together.  Carefully poured over and carefully placed in the oven.  Nothing complicated and even I was impressed it was going well.

It came out of the oven with a very slight wobble. and looked and smelt amazing.

I think the hardest bit for me was waiting for it to reach just warm temperature before I sliced it open to see if the layers worked OK and to make someone eat some to get a verdict. It went down really well with even talk of eating the remainder for breakfast tomorrow. 

I'm impressed I still have the baking knack and am looking forward to trying more recipes out of this book.  Anyone else watching the series and planning on trying any of the recipes? 

Take care

Jules 

Monday baking

Been a while since I have put my KitchenAid Ruby to work so we started on Panettone today.  Takes ages in proving being it is an enriched dough but here was the first mix. had to be beaten until it looked almost stringy as it was beating.

This was after first rise then knock down. Already looking good but anemic.  We had new lights put into the kitschen a few years ago.  Although it is easier to photograph in the kitchen at night everything now either looks to dark or washed out/ So you will have to imagine the buttery yellow colour this looked like at this stage

Divided into 3 molds/cases and ready for the second rise/proving.  At this point I was pretty concerned I should of used just 2 cases.  But then remembered my last ones and how they almost overtook their cases.  Left it all to the cooking gods and got on with other things.

Swiss roll has been requested as one is to be made in school tomorrow so we gave one a trial run.  No idea what is going into the one at school but we decided to go for the basic swiss roll with jam this evening/  He is ours rolled up and cooling.

After bath/shower times we were both still pottering in the kitchen and the Swiss roll needed finishing and filling while the panettone was cooking in the oven.

The boy did good, look at that swirl! Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood would be so proud of this boy. I think he is taking after me in the kitchen.  I am so proud.

And here are the panettone, I did cover them in foil and they aren't quite as dark as they look in this photo.  Tomorrow we will open one and see how it looks inside. 

Pretty much all that has gone on here today. I was at the gym this morning with my daughter and spent some time with her as well. So a wonderful day all in all 

Take care 

Jules xx

Welcoming Autumn

Really have loved our summer.  Didn't try to keep up with anything just enjoying the relaxed days and wonderful company. So now we are two thirds of the way through September.  School has restarted, routines are being reset and the weather is all over the show change wise.  

Instead of boring you with a long endless list of what we did over the summer, it would feel like the dreaded back to school essay sadly, I will just pick up from here and tell you what we are up to from now. 

Yesterday hit me with a touch of the blues I think, Not sure why but it had me getting up this morning determined to make a little more of today.  I cooked and baked today.  Nothing spectacular, Red lentil and bacon soup and sourdough loaf of bread.  I had almost lost my cooking mojo recently.  You always know I am on my way back when I bake bread :o) 

The soup was from the hairy bikers fast food dieters book.  Was pretty tasty and filling for such a easy quick and fairly cheap meal.  Definitely on the must cook again list. Only way I changed the recipe was by added a cob of corn kernels that I cut off the corn and added to to soup right at end off cooking.

Love this bread tin, Bit different to the usually square or oval tins. The dough wasn't enough to fill out the whole tin so I kind of squidged it more to one side of the tin and it came out great.

We have a couple of new additions to the household. Bobby and Eevee.

Adorable and fun, and of course absolutely bonkers.  They are starting to calm down a bit though and Ruby is finally being allowed to stroke them for a while before they wander off. I think this made her day as she gets so excited to see the kitties.

Finally I finished a hat I knitted a couple of years ago.  I rediscovered it and it needs a wash as had been in the bottom of the cupboard and then got slept on by cats. I just needed to sew beads or buttons on the owl cables to finish them off an just got around to it. What do you think?

Before bead eyes

and after.  The colour is nearer to no beads picture and a maroon wine colour.

Found the pattern here on Ravelry while I was looking for a quick easy but different hat at the time.  Hats don't tend to suit me but it was so cold the other year I thought my ears were going to snap off from being so cold.  Hopefully now it is finished I will be able to wear it again soon.  I overheat easily so I am not banking on it.  But it is so pretty I am really hoping I get to wear it again soon.

That's it for now, Hope you are all enjoying the start of Autumn.  

Take care 

Jules xxx

relaxing Saturday

This cough/cold thing is slowly going and I am no longer a feverish wreck, yay. Yesterday we decided to get out of the house and visit a country park with enough space to play cricket. On the way we visited a garden centre and went to see some tropical fish. Exciting stuff huh? The book section drew my attention and the bargains were to good to be not buy the ones that took my eye

So while the boys played Cricket I read and relaxed.  To be honest I did join in with the cricket for a while, got to be done. Also now have an even bigger list of things to cook and places to visit.

And a view of the Cricket game.  Yes we have no bails/bales (can't remember how this version is spelled sorry) They haven't been seen since a cheeky little toddler was waking round with them last week.  They will turn up and some random point no doubt

Today I am itching to start on my sewing project I have cut out.  First though a baking project with the youngest. Hopefully I will get a few photos in between the chaos