APPLE CAKE

Good Morning to you,

Memory.... the dictionary tells us that memory "is the process of retaining thoughts and sensations".  So our memories are there, waiting patiently, for us, to access them.  

..... and today, I have certainly accessed mine. Have you ever listened  to a piece of music, then experienced an unexpected memory,  something you have not thought about in an age. You remember where you were, who you were with and the feeling overwhelms you. 

Today, I experienced a double whammy as the memories came flooding back when I listened to the music, which I have chosen today, and also when I baked today's cake.

Before I tell you about the memories, first let me tell you about the cake which we will be baking today, 

this fabulous Apple Cake..... doesn't it look good.  It is slightly different from the usual apple cake as it has a lovely crumbly topping and also you will find juicy, fat, sultanas, just waiting to tantalise your taste buds.

So if you are ready, we'll get on. I am popping on my apron and the music I have chosen to listen to today is,

Tracy Chapman.  The first time I heard Tracy's music was on the radio and the record which was playing was "Fast Car".  I loved the sound of her voice and I loved this song the moment I heard it.  Do you know, when I first bought this LP , I played it so often, that I could sing every single word.

In 1988, after living abroad for many years, our lives, as a family, took a totally different direction, when we returned to England to live.  We had to settle back into a totally different way of  life, to the one we had been used to.  It was not easy, but we  took every challenge in our stride. It was also 1988 when I first heard "Fast Car" so the music and our life change are inextricably linked. When I listen to Fast Car, I am transported straight back to 1988. I remember how I felt, the difficulties which we faced, but which we overcame, and I look back with a sense of pride, when I think about how we all coped, as a family.... we were all amazing.

Fast Car is playing as I am putting on my apron, so it is time for me to leave my memories behind for a moment and gather together the ingredients to make this Apple Cake.

INGREDIENTS FOR CRUMBLY TOPPING

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F

Butter and line the base of an 18 cm spring form tin

with parchment paper.

75g of self raising flour

40g of salted butter

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

40g of granulated sugar

METHOD FOR CRUMBLY TOPPING

Sift together the flour and the cinnamon

rub in the butter

until

the mixture resemble breadcrumbs.

add the sugar 

and mix together, then set aside.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CAKE BASE

50g salted butter

75g of granulated sugar

1 large egg

115g of self raising flour

2 medium sized cooking apples

50g sultanas

METHOD FOR THE CAKE BASE

Beat together the butter

and

the sugar until light and fluffy

add the egg and

beat into the mixture

sift the flour and add to the cake mixture,

beat for 2 minutes until thoroughly incorporated.
You are probably thinking, that normally, you would cut the flour
into the mixture, but not on this occasion, trust me,
it works fine.

Place the cake mixture into the buttered and lined cake tin

Peel, core and quarter the apples

Working quickly, as you do not want the apples to oxidise.

Finely slice the apples and arrange on top of the cake mixture.

Sprinkle over the sultanas

Spoon  over the crumbly topping

Bake in a 180C oven for about 1 hour
until the cake is baked and the topping is golden brown.

I find this apple cake only takes 45 minutes

to bake in my oven, so check after 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool 

in the baking tin for about 15 minutes.

Remove from the tin and allow to cool

Well, that is as long as a certain someone allows it to cool!

Here you can see the layer of cake, apple, sultanas

and crumbly topping.

and here is the missing slice, well actually, this was the second slice, which that certain someone, cut and was beginning

to pour caramel sauce onto the plate.

I managed to rescue it for a few seconds and decorated the
 Apple cake with blueberries,
before the cake was demolished by that certain someone,
who I know, you know, is George.

Just as a thought, I have made this cake before with blueberries instead of sultanas, as Danielle is not a lover of sultanas and it works beautifully.  I added the blueberries on the top of the cake as a little decoration.

Now, to tell you about my memory of this Apple Cake.  Believe it or not, it was the same year as my Tracy Chapman experience, 1988. We were settling into our new house,  and I had just started a new job.  I had experienced a very hectic day, you know, one of those days which you wish would end, but which seems to go on and on.  I had a meeting in the evening, so I would be arriving home quite late.  I was really tired, and even though I had eaten, it really was not enough, I was still hungry.  I knew what the problem was, my body telling me to stop and rest, as I was tired.  I arrived at the meeting, to see the Chair of Governors had brought in this Apple cake. The cake was large enough for everyone to have a slice. When I received mine, it was like nectar, it was delicious, it gave me just enough boost to keep me going through the meeting and the person who baked the cake (who shall remain nameless as she is shy) became a lifelong friend.  Now I know, years later, that the cake gave me a bit of a sugar rush, to see me through those couple of hours, but I console myself with the fact that the cake was fabulous and that it contained dried sultanas and apple which is good for you...... I am not thinking about the butter!

Every woman at that meeting asked for the recipe and I have to tell you, even a couple of men asked for it.  The recipe is written on a sheet of notepaper which is a little scrappy now, so I really must make the effort and write this recipe into a book, along with all those other scrappy pieces of paper which contain recipes which I have collected from friends over the years..... the trouble is, I think about it, but never seem to get around to it.

Next Sunday I will be using the Preserved Lemons which we  made about six weeks ago to make a tagine..... as yet I have not decided which meat I will use.  So check that your preserved lemons are ready and I will see you later in the week.

This week I will be joining,

Karen from Sew Many Ways

and
Keren at Fabulous Food Recipes
and
Chandra from The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen
and
Anyonita from Anyonita Nibbles

VEGETABLE SOUP

Good Morning to you,

I love carrots.

I love sweet potato

I love ordinary potatoes

I love, love, love, parsnips

So it will come as no surprise, when I tell you, that I just love vegetable soup. I have checked my vegetable rack and yes, I have all the right vegetables, ready and waiting,  to be turned into,

vegetable soup..... with the added bonus of some large cheesy croutons to dunk into the soup.

Some days, I find that I do not eat as many vegetables as I should, you know how some days are, you plan to make a meal, but something happens, which upsets those plans.  So on days when I feel I need to increase my intake of vegetables, I make this vegetable soup. 

So I am popping on my apron, and I just know, you are going to love the music I am listening to today.

The Mamas and The Papas.  You cannot fail to think of sunny days when you listen to "California Dreamin" and who doesn't love "It's Getting Better".  If I feel a little low, I play this cd and my spirits are immediately lifted.  This is fabulous music from my teenage years, which I still enjoy today. 

Living in Cyprus, as a teenager, the summers were very hot, so during those long, hot summer months, we would enjoy hours of fun, swimming and sunbathing at the beach. At the time, my best friend was Maria, and she owned a transistor radio, which we all thought was fabulous, and each time we went to the beach, Maria would bring along her transistor. We would carefully lay out our beach towels, so that no sand was able to get onto the towel, then carefully place ourselves on the towel, again trying to stop any sand from getting on the towel, and when we finally lay down, we would close our eyes and listen to the music. You could always guarantee that The Mamas and The Papas would be played, along with The Byrd's and The Lovin' Spoonful.

Now that The Mamas and The Papas are singing, it is putting me in a really light hearted mood... and oh yes, I am singing along..... can't you hear me. 

So without further ado, it is time to get on with the vegetable soup.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium sized onion

3 large carrots

5 medium sized potatoes

I used a mixture of new potatoes and old potatoes

2 medium sized sweet potatoes

2 large parsnips

(large, because I love them)

1 250g tin of plum tomatoes

PLUS

1 teaspoon salt 

1/2 a tablespoon of chilli flakes 

1 litre of homemade stock or 
Marigold Swiss Vegetable bouillon stock

METHOD

Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan

and

finely chop the onion 

add to the pan. 

Saute over a low heat until the onions are translucent

While the onions are sauteing 

Peel the sweet potato

and

carrots

then cut into chunks.

When the onions are translucent,

add  the carrot and sweet potato to the pan, and

turn to coat with olive oil

Peel and chop the parsnips into chunks

and add the the pan, 

again mix to coat with olive oil

Peel and chop the potatoes and

add them to the pan.

Again  toss to coat with olive oil
(you might find that you need to add

 a 3rd tablespoon of  olive oil)

Add the tomatoes,

do not worry about chopping them, as

the cooking process will break them down

Add half a tablespoon of chilli flakes

(less if you prefer a milder flavour)

Add a teaspoon of sea salt

Using 2 tablespoonfuls of  Marigold Swiss Vegetable
bouillon powder

(or homemade stock if you have some at the ready)

Mix the Marigold Bouillon with a litre of hot water

and stir to make sure the powder has dissolved.

Add to the pan and stir.

Place a lid on the pan and bring to a simmer.

Check the soup after half an hour and if you feel you 

need a little more liquid, then add a little more.

Simmer for 45 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. 

Remember to taste for seasoning,

please be careful as the soup will be hot,

and you will have a richly flavoured vegetable soup,

which costs very little to make.

Now you have a couple of alternatives, you can serve the vegetable soup and leave the vegetables as they are, which is how George likes his soup, or you can,

blitz the soup so that it is nice and smooth, which is how I prefer my vegetable soup.  

You could also blitz half of the soup, then add it back to the vegetable soup in the pan and stir. This makes for a thicker soup, and you still have chunky vegetables to enjoy.

I tend to serve this soup with garlic and cheese croutons. You can make your own large garlic and cheese croutons as I have, or you can make the smaller garlic and oregano croutons, as we made here.

You can make this vegetable soup using your favourite vegetables and believe me when I say, it is a much cheaper and a much healthier way to enjoy soup.

Whatever vegetables you decide to use..... ENJOY.

So take care and I will see you later in the week.

This week I will be joining,

Yvonne at StoneGable

and

Karen at Sew Many Ways

APPLE AND BLACKBERRY PIE

Good Morning to you,

Although the weather is colder, the wonderful thing about Autumn, is the big, fat, juicy blackberries which appear amongst our hedgerows. I love blackberry picking, but as yet I have not been able to locate any blackberry bushes.

When Natasha and Danielle were little, we would all go blackberry picking and I remember they would eat more blackberries than they would  put into their baskets.  Their mouths would be stained by the rich blackberry juice and often as not, there would be juice, staining their clothes as well, but being a canny mother, I always made sure they were wearing clothes which were old, so they could enjoy the blackberry picking, and not worry if their clothes became stained.

As I said, I have not found a good blackberry hedge yet, so I was so pleased to find blackberries, which had been grown in Yorkshire, being sold at Morrisons, my local supermarket. I decided to pair them with some Bramley apples which had been grown in Kent, and this is what we are making today,

an Apple and Blackberry Pie.  The blackberries and apples have been cooked and they have released this wonderful juice.

So, if you are ready to cook, it's on with the apron and the music I am listening to today is,

Ladysmith Black Mambazo.  The first time I heard Ladysmith sing was when we bought the Paul Simon LP, Graceland, where he featured Ladysmith. After hearing them sing, both George and I were smitten.

We are both in the kitchen at the moment, so George has chosen today's music,  and as always there is a little story to tell.  When our girls lived at home, he was the only man in the house, even Chloe, our King Charles Spaniel was a girl, so in the house, there were four girls and one man. Added to that, when Natasha and Danielle's girlfriends came around as well, it was sometimes all too much for him... well you know how girls can chatter.  He would find his Ladysmith Black Mambazo LPs, put on his large earphones, (it was the days of the large earphones) place his chair in the sunshine and we would be told not to disturb him as he was "Going to Africa". He would then close his eyes and listen to the music for an hour or so. Really he was escaping us girls.  The only girl allowed to disturb him was Chloe, as invariably, he had no choice, as she would climb up on his lap and go to sleep.

I am now ready to bake, I have my ingredients ready.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE PASTRY

275g plain flour

100g cold unsalted butter

25g  of lard

1 level teaspoon of salt

5 tablespoons of iced water

use as much or as little as you need to combine the pastry.

These are the ingredients to make the pastry.  I have not taken any photographs as we have made pastry many times.  Once you have made the pastry,

cut the pastry so you have two thirds for the bottom of the pie and one third for the top.  Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

You will also need,

1 egg yolk to brush over the pastry before baking.

FILLING

8 medium sized Bramley Apples

300g blackberries

150g Demerara sugar
or if you prefer granulated sugar,

but keep back 25g to sprinkle on top of the pastry

2 tablespoons of cornflour

50g unsalted butter

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

METHOD

Pre-heat the oven to 180 F

1 x 10 inch, buttered, loose bottom cake tin

Juice the lemon

Peel core and chop the apples

and add the lemon juice.

As you peel and chop each apple,

toss them in the lemon juice so that they do not

discolour.

Add the Demerara sugar and mix 

(remember to hold back 25g of sugar)

Add the cornflour and mix

Lastly add the blackberries and mix carefully,

as you do not want the blackberries to break.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out.

Fit the pastry gently into the baking tin, don't force it

and allow  a little overhang.  As you can see on the
right hand side, I had to do a little patchwork.

Place the apple mixture inside
and dot with the 50g of unsalted butter.

 Roll out the pastry for the top of the pie and place it over

the apple and blackberry mixture.

Crimp the edges and brush the pastry with the egg

yolk to create a lovely golden brown pastry top.

Sprinkle with the remaining 25g of demerara sugar.
Using a knife, make two slits in the top of the pie
to allow any steam to escape.

Place the apple and blackberry pie on a baking sheet.

Bake in a pre-heated oven, for 30 minutes, until the pie crust

is golden, then reduce the oven temperature to 160 F and

cover the pie with tin foil and bake for a further 45 minutes

to 1 hour.

It takes the apples this long to bake as we used a lot of apples.

Remove the pie from the oven, but leave the pie on the 
baking sheet  and  allow to cool for

45 minutes, before you release the pie from

the cake tin. The pie will be warm, rather than piping hot,
and by eating the pie warm, you will be able to enjoy the flavours.

You will see in this photograph that some of the pastry has been

cut after baking. Sometimes I give the pastry a little trim with a

sharp knife, if the edges don't sit properly.  I just go around the

pastry using  a knife, it gives a cleaner look to the pie.

I thought I would show you the side of the pastry, as I did not

want you to worry if your pastry was not smooth. It will have a

few wrinkles, this is because it was placed into the cake tin  as one piece of pastry.

So using seasonal fruits we have created this lovely 
Autumnal pudding.

The sauce that is on the plate came from the pie. As the pie  rested, the juices came out of the bottom of the cake tin.  This did not spoil the pie as the base was thoroughly cooked.  I just added the juice to some Mascarpone cheese and mixed it together with icing sugar,  to eat with the Apple and Blackberry pie.

Alternatively, you could put the apples and blackberries into the base of a pie dish and use a third of the pastry to make a pie crust top.

Whichever way you decide to make this Apple and Blackberry Pie, I know you will enjoy it, served with cream, ice cream,  or that wonderful staple, custard.

So take care and I will see you later in the week.

This week I will be joining,

Karen from Sew Many Ways

and
Jamie from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom
and
Kathy from Creative Home Expressions
and
Anyonita from Anyonita Nibbles