Retro Recipe: Mars Bar Cake

Granny's Recipe Book

Well while we are down at Granny’s for the tattie holidays I thought I might do another retro –recipe (she’ll kill me for calling it that) from her wee hand-written cook book.  This time in celebration of Chocolate Week, another of my husband’s childhood favourites – Mars Bar Cake.

This was actually not my intended recipe for this week, but I’m including it for three reasons...

(i)     It was an easy one to make with Anna when she was bored last weekend. 

(ii)   I had intended to make Toffee Apple Millionaire Shortbread from last month’s Delicious Magazine  (I am planning to blog about recipes from my monthly subscription to force my hand at trying new things).  This didn’t happen.  I began making it on Wednesday night, the same night both my girls kept waking with bad dreams and every time I started making the caramel, one of them would wake up needing a cuddle and settling again, interrupting this process.  By midnight I gave up and went to bed myself. 

(iii) Simply because it is delicious.

It turns out that this holiday is not really a holiday for me, and without nursery and playgroup the girls are getting bored, particularly as the weather has been just awful!  We have, however, been cooking - not least this easy but tasty treat which, as you can see, my little Anna really enjoyed.

Chocolate Face!

Despite my need for rest, we have been having a good week and have even sold our flat (yippee).  My husband got back from Slovenia on Tuesday bringing with him vast quantities of continental chocolate – delicious and very apt given it is chocolate week!  It is fun to spend time with family and friends and we had an amazing day today with some lovely people including one of my best friends in the whole wide world at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Before our museum adventure, we went for Pizza - a great success with all the little ones eating their way through three courses!  The Museum has recently been refurbished and is a great place for children – they got to dig for dinosaurs and were very excited at all the amazing exhibits.  We will definitely be back to see all the things we didn’t get to – and it is all free!

Ingredients

2 Mars Bars

85g Margarine

85g Rice Krispies

1 (large) Tablespoon Golden Syrup

250g Chocolate to top (I used a mixture of one third dark chocolate and two thirds cooking chocolate.  You could easily increase this if you wanted an even more chocolaty topping – there was no quantity specified on the original recipe).

Method

(There was no instruction on Granny’s original recipe for the size of tin that should be used for this, so I used a Swiss Roll tin (28 x18cm)).

Grease the baking tin. Gently melt the margarine, Mars Bars and syrup in a large saucepan, add the Krispies and coat thoroughly in the Mars Bar mixture. 

Press the mixture into the tin and leave to cool. 

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over boiling water and spread over the Krispies.  Allow to cool and set properly before cutting into squares or bars.

Tosca Cake

I am salivating as I write this, in memory of this delicious cake that I first made for a family BBQ last weekend (and because I am starving and waiting for my Chinese food to be delivered)!

Anyway, it is the “Tattie” holidays in Aberdeen (so called as it is traditionally when everyone helps with the potato (tattie) harvest in this part of the world).  As I am still on maternity leave and my eldest is off nursery for two weeks, we thought we’d visit Granny and Pampa – some extra hands while my husband is off in Ljubljana interviewing for his current research project.  A fun-filled two weeks planned visiting family and friends a little further south in Scotland, in Lanarkshire.

I have always loved northern European cakes and when I spotted this recipe in my strange (but fabulous) little cookbook, a charity compilation put together by the International Women’s Club of Moscow, it invoked memories of ones eaten as a child.  I just had to make it.   It is really simple, light and absolutely delicious and great as a cake or desert – Mmm!

I believe this cake to be of Swedish origin but attributed to a lady called Mette Iversen of Denmark in the book – thank you Mette, whoever you may be - I will be making this again and again!

Ingredients

Cake

125g Caster Sugar

2 Large Eggs

100g Self Raising Flour

1 ½ Teaspoons Baking Powder

Pinch Salt

50g melted Butter or Margarine

Topping

100g Softened Butter

125g Lightly Toasted Almonds (I used sliced almonds)

100g Caster Sugar

2 Tablespoons Plain Flour

2 Tablespoons Milk or Cream

Method

Prepare a 20cm (8 inch) round cake tin (I used a deep sandwich tin) & preheat your oven to 160 ^oC (140^oC Fan).

In a roomy bowl beat the eggs until they are thick and pale and then gradually beat in the sugar until it falls in thick ribbons.

Fold in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in the melted butter (this should be quite cool). 

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 30 minutes.

(If you have a double oven put your grill on quite a high heat just prior to the 30 minute mark).

While the cake is baking, prepare the topping by simply adding all the ingredients to a pan, stirring constantly and heating until it just boils – do this just before the cake is ready to take out of the oven.

(If you have a single oven, put the grill on quite a high heat as soon as you remove the cake from the oven)

Remove the cake from the oven and carefully spread the topping over the cake. Put the cake under the grill until nicely brown.  It is important to cool the cake before removing from the tin – 2 hours!

(My brother took what was left home to include in his pack lunch – I think this one will keep well in a tin for a good few days!)

Recipe Swap: Hot Pink Slaw

We took a last minute decision to take our little ones off for the holiday weekend to rural Perthshire; together with my best friend, her husband and wee girl.  It was great to get away, the girls had a ball running around outside and splashing in puddles while I enjoyed the company of some of my favourite people, cooking and eating – lots.

One of the best parts of the whole weekend was Saturday night, when Becky cooked up steak and chips with meat from her parents’ farm – the best beef ever!   The low point, was finding out that the Rannoch Smoke House in the village near where were staying wasn’t open to the public – boo! 

My little Elsa & her best friend Isla

I also had to pop into work this week to help ahead of a training course; although I am not sure how much help I was given I had to take all three children with me.  A massive thanks has to go to Iona, who deals with all the admin while also manning the reception in my office.  She stoically entertained them with highlighter pens and the photocopier!

Well here it is – my second contribution to the Burwell General Store vintage recipe swap, which this month is entitled “Hot Slaw”.   Again I am apprehensive about posting my wee recipe alongside those of the other participants and their wealth of experience both blogging and cooking!

The original recipe in the book behind this project (All-Day Singin' and Dinner on the Ground) calls for a slaw with a hot dressing (as in temperature). My slaw is cold but with a warming dressing – perfect for autumn; fabulously pink and, I think, delicious!

The original swap recipe

In all honestly, I took this opportunity to use an ingredient I hadn’t used before – or really eaten (except in its pickled form) - but after being served an amazing beetroot accompaniment to smoked salmon at my friend Jill’s wedding in July, I was keen to try it. I am pleased with this one and it seemed to go down well at the family BBQ at my parents this evening too. I must also say that I am looking forward to making this next time we have a roast ham - as I think this will go wonderfully with the cold leftovers.

Hot Pink Slaw

Ingredients

500g Red Cabbage

500g Beetroot

1 Small Onion

60ml Olive Oil

60ml White Wine Vinegar

1tsp Dijon Mustard

1 Tablespoon Caster Sugar

½ Teaspoon Ground Cloves

½ Teaspoon Salt

Black Pepper

Method

Prepare the veggies; topping, tailing and peeling the beetroot; peeling the onion, removing the very centre of the cabbage.  Shred them all and mix together (praise be for the magimix).  (Remember to wear gloves when handling the beetroot as it stains your hands!)

For the dressing, mix together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, mustard, caster sugar and cloves.  Making sure they are well combined pour over the veggies and mix until thoroughly coated.  Sprinkle over the salt and add a good grinding of black pepper – mixing again. 

All done!

My lovely husband & girls playing outside our holiday house - beautiful!

Enjoy!

Plum & Ginger Loaf Cake

Well, yet again this week has somehow slipped away from me! Col has been in London all week so I’m feeling particularly shattered – having daddy away did not go down well with the girls. Anyway, I was inspired last Sunday by my friend Emma who completed her first half marathon.  I was slightly embarrassed to be sitting on the sidelines helping my girls munch their crackers, while other peoples’ children cheered on their mums.   With my baby boy now three months old, it is time to get fit – it is the only way as I like food far too much to diet!

Nonetheless, my recipe for this week is for a cake...

I am very pleased with this one as it was a bit of an experiment.  With a glut of plums in the house I wanted to use them up and this cake recipe is definitely a tasty way to do this; and I think will be one of my seasonal favourites.  It is a lovely golden coloured cake and has a lovely warm autumnal taste – I hope you enjoy it.

Plum & Ginger Loaf Cake

Ingredients

6oz/175g Butter or Margarine

6oz/175g Self Raising Flour

6oz/175g Caster Sugar

3 Eggs

8oz/200g Plums (stoned and roughly chopped)

40g (around 3 balls) Stem Ginger in Syrup (grated) & 2 Tablespoons of the syrup from the jar

1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

Pinch of Salt

Juice & Zest of half a lemon

Method

Preheat the oven to 170 ^oC (150 ^oC fan) and grease and line a loaf tin (900g-1kg).

Cream together the butter and sugar and add the eggs one at a time adding a tablespoon of flour with each egg. 

Fold in the remaining flour together with the salt and the ground ginger.

Mix in the plums, lemon juice, lemon zest and grate in the ginger.

Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 50 minute (although check regularly from 40 minutes).

When you remove the cake from the oven and while still in the tin, drizzle 2 Tablespoons of the ginger syrup from the jar over the top of the cake and leave to cool. 

I have been eating this as a cake; however, I think it may also be rather good with some custard and served as a pudding.

And that’s it for this week.  I am off on a wee holiday with my husband, children and my best friend, her husband and wee girl too.   Hoping for some food adventures and happy days!  Oh and I must tell you that it will be my second shot at the vintage recipe swap next week so watch this space...

Hot Smoked Salmon Pasta & Lemon and Poppy Seed Bread

I must apologise for not blogging last week.  I was back at work for a week for a large exhibition and conference, a week sandwiched between both my daughters’ birthdays and one with little sleep thanks to my baby boy.  I must admit to thoroughly enjoying my time back at work, and despite missing my wee ones, sleep deprivation and being a logistical nightmare, it confirmed what I already knew, that I need a balance in my life that includes my job.

It was a week filled with press briefings, book launches, conference lectures and a surprise visit to our stand by one of the people I helped organise evacuation from Libya for earlier this year (who brought my two rather lovely scarves from said unstable North African state).  It was nice to be part of the buzz and to see a lot of hard work coming to fruition. 

With the birthdays topping and tailing the week, I had a lot of cake making to do ahead of the joint birthday party and spent every evening of the conference week making cupcakes (in various shades of pink) a giant butterfly cake and mini muffins.

Given my failure to post last week, this week, I will give you two recipes that I think complement each other nicely...

The first can hardly even be considered a recipe and is something I first made while on holiday on the west coast of Scotland after a visit to a smokehouse in the back garden of a fisherman in the village of Shieldaig.  I make it frequently as it is something even my fussy little ladies will eat; it takes minutes and is totally delicious.  Served with a herby green salad and some of my Lemon and Poppy Seed bread, it’s near on perfect – Yum!

I am very lucky to have a weekly visit from a “fishman” in a van who comes straight from Abroath (just down the coast) to sell his delicious fish, so don’t have to rely on pre-packed or long-distance fish and for this I am eternally grateful.

Hot Smoked Salmon Pasta

Ingredients (for two hungry people)

200g Hot Smoked Salmon

250g Pasta

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Juice of Half a Lemon

Method

Simply cook your pasta as per the packet instructions and flake the salmon through it adding the olive oil, lemon juice and a good amount of black pepper. That’s it - told you it was easy.

Lemon & Poppy Seed Bread

This recipe is adapted and converted from a recipe I found in a charity cookbook produced by The International Women’s Club of Moscow, produced, I think, in the early 1990s.  I can’t remember where I got this book but can only assume, given its origin, it must have been through work. While the original recipe is for a sweet loaf and includes fruit, I first made my version of this lemon scented bread to have on the table with the Hot Smoked Salmon Pasta recipe above but I since discovered it is also very nice for smoked salmon sandwiches and even the humble tuna sandwich.  It is also very good for sweet French toast once it loses its freshness and for toast for breakfast with some Nutella.   You can also simply omit the lemon for a delicious white loaf.

Ingredients (for two loaves)

200ml milk

2 Teaspoons Salt

4 Tablespoons Sugar

25g Margarine

1 Cup (250ml) Water

750g Strong White Flour

1 Sachet Instant Yeast (7g)

Grated Zest of a Lemon

Poppy Seeds to Top

Method

In a pan scald the milk, remove from the heat and then stir in the margarine, salt, sugar and the water.

In a large bowl, sieve in half the flour and mix the yeast in with a fork or your fingers.

Add the liquid to the flour and mix until smooth and elastic. 

Sieve in the remaining flour to make a soft dough – it is easiest to do this with your hand with a rotational motion.  If it is too sticky, add a little more flour.

Turn the dough out onto a flat, flour-dusted surface and sprinkle the lemon zest on the top.  Kneed the dough, incorporating the zest, until smooth and elastic.

Return the dough to its bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave for around 10 minutes.

Cut the dough in two pieces with an oiled knife and shape into your desired shape – I tend to use a double-decker pleat or a simple round.

Place on a lined baking tray, remembering that the dough will more than double in size.   Cover with a tea towel and place in a warm place for an hour to an hour and a half.  (With half an hour to go, preheat your oven to 190 ^oC  (170 ^oC fan)).

Mix a beaten egg with a teaspoon of water and paste the top of the loaves before baking in the oven for around 35 minutes. 


My little ladies helping to make bread - very messy!



Recipe Swap: Rabbit with Shallots, Whiskied Prunes and Leekie Chappit Tatties

Run Rabbit Run...

I am so excited to be part of a recipe swap, especially one that is based on recipes from a vintage cook book (I love old cook books!).  I am joining this project several months in, but it all began when Christianna at www.burwellgeneralstore.com (all the way over in sunny California) discovered a book, All-Day Singin' and Dinner on the Ground, in a second hand shop. It has since accumulated a group of bloggers who each month recreate a recipe from the book – tweaking it to their liking.

It has been good cooking with a new ingredient.  Rabbit, despite being readily available here in Scotland, is not something I have cooked with before. With trepidation I ordered my wild rabbit from my butcher. I took my eldest daughter (nearly 4) with me to collect it from the butcher whereupon I said “I’m here to collect my rabbit”, she chirped “yippee we’re getting a fluffy little rabbit, and I’ve always wanted a rabbit mummy!” Despite that awkward moment and the fact that I had to remove shot gun pellets from my bunny, I have thoroughly enjoyed my first foray into recipe swapping and I hope you like my take on this recipe.

There are some fabulously talented cooks involved.  Please check out their blogs here, Lindsay, Chef Dennis, Mari, Boulder Locavore, Joy, Monique, Shari, Priya, Jennifer, The Cake Duchess, Pola, Mary, Jamie, Crissy and Lauren, Sabrina Modelle, Nicolle, Jacqueline, Linda, Jaclyn, Alli, Rachel Saunders, Lana, Emily, Alex, Shumaila and Barb. 

I must admit to being more than a little nervous submitting my recipe to this group of established and entertaining food writers but here goes...

The title of the recipe given in the book is Wild Rabbit with Vegetables.  I have given this a Scottish twist as the only Scottish participant (so far); I thought this might be fun.

I did some research into Scottish recipes for rabbit and many of those I came across involved prunes.  Prunes, one may think, are an unusual ingredient for cooks in the windswept wilds of ancient Scotland and more usual in California. However, they are a key ingredient in a famous traditional recipe - that of Cock-a-Leekie (chicken and leek soup).   I took this as my inspiration and hope you enjoy it.

Rabbit with Shallots, Whiskied Prunes and Leekie Chappit Tatties

Ingredients

1 Rabbit (jointed)

200ml full fat milk

Juice of half a lemon

100g Diced Pancetta or Smoked Bacon

1 Bay Leaf

1 Sprig of Thyme

250g Shallots

2 Teaspoons Honey

450ml Chicken Stock

12 Prunes

4 Tablespoons Whisky

50g Butter

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

For the potatoes (Leekie Chappit Tatties)

1kg Potatoes (Maris Piper or other fluffy variety)

50g Butter

3 Tablespoons of Cream

1 Teaspoon Olive Oil

1 Large Leek

Method

Overnight, soak the prunes in the 3 tablespoons of the whisky, reserving the remaining tablespoon. (I used a speyside whisky, which tends to have more subtle flavours than the the Islay malts).

Remove as much of the silvery sinew from the rabbit as possible prior to cooking – this requires a sharp knife and some patience, this will prevent the meat from shrinking too much.

Measure out the milk into a jug, add the lemon juice and mix, pour into a sealable plastic bag and add the rabbit pieces, seal and place in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours.

Preheat your oven to 140 ^oC.

Remove the rabbit from the bag and wipe off the marinade. Dust the meat in seasoned flour.

In an oven proof pot (with lid), heat the butter and olive oil and brown the rabbit then remove with a slotted spoon. 

Add the pancetta to the pan with the shallots and cook for several minutes until the pancetta is browning.  Add the Rabbit.

Add 2 tablespoons of flour and stir it in well before adding the stock, bay leaf, honey, thyme, the liquid from the prunes and the remaining tablespoon of whisky.  Season. Bring to simmering point and cook gently on the hob for about 15 minutes before putting on the lid and transferring to the oven.

It will require to cook for 2 hours but after 90 minutes add the prunes.

Everyone has their own way of making mashed potatoes, but here is mine for Leekie Chappit Tatties...

Peel and boil your potatoes in salted water until soft.  Drain and return them to the hot pan but not directly on the heat.  Mash well and add the half the butter, and one tablespoon of the cream.  Mash together and add the remaining cream as necessary and season.  With a wooden spoon beat the mash until smooth and delicious.

Wash and finely slice your leek and soften for around 10 minutes in the remaining butter and olive oil.  Mix most of the leek through the potatoes, reserving a little to scatter on the top of the finished dish.

Serve the rabbit on a bed of the tatties.

(This would also be good with chicken instead of rabbit).

Serves 4

Strawberry Party Cakes

I’m feeling for my colleagues this week who are busy dealing with the fallout from the conflict in Libya.  I must admit to be itching to know what is going on at work, who is deployed where and what clients we are working with. It is always an interesting job; it is at its most interesting during times of crisis, but also, obviously at its most stressful. Despite the worry about leaving my baby boy (and the logistics of breast feeding and the potential Dolly Parton outcome), I am looking forward to the Offshore Europe Conference I’m going back to work for (temporarily) in a couple of weeks time.   (If any of you are interested in what is going on in Libya right now, my colleagues are producing a free report on Libya which you can access here - Weekly Libya Report)

Back on the mum front, I’ve had a different kind of stress with my eldest daughter starting pre-school nursery.  On the whole that has gone very well and she seems to love it.  I have had a rather nice week which started last Sunday when I spent the afternoon with my bestest bud, her wee girl and my brood making cakes and cheese straws.  I am also happy to report my first venture out alone with all three of my little darlings to the Duthie Park.  I managed fine and it was nice to prove to myself that despite the general chaos, things are good and fun and I can do it!  I have also had a successful week developing recipes which I’ll share in the coming weeks. So, all in all a happy Clairey!

Last week I gave you a recipe using lovely summer peaches and this week’s recipe includes scrummy strawberries by way of my ...

Strawberry Party Cakes

As promised, here is the recipe for these summer beauties! These are smaller than the now rather large cup cakes that I too am guilty of making (they look so pretty), and more akin to the fairy cakes I remember as a child.  (I call them party cakes to avoid having to cut the tops off and make the little fairies – lazy I know).  I think they are a much better size for my little ones and the fruity toping makes me feel less guilty about their cake consumption too!

I can take no credit for the sponge recipe which is from a book by Rose Prince called Kitchenella.  It is a fabulous recipe and can be made not only into these little party cakes, but also into a splendid sandwich sponge and also a loaf cake.

Back to the wee party cakes, for which this recipe makes approximately 36 - so great for catering for parties or playdates.  They can also be frozen before being decorated.

My twist is the strawberry topping which we love and hope you do too.

Ingredients

280g Softened Unsalted Butter

280g Caster Sugar

5 Eggs

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence

280g Self-raising Flour

2 Tablespoons Ground Almonds

250g Icing Sugar

Around 15 Strawberries

Small carton Whipping/Double Cream

Small Bar of White Chocolate

Method

Heat your oven to 180 ^oC  (160 ^oC fan) and place the fairy cake cases into bun trays (you may have to do this in batches, like I do, due to the number of cakes this recipe makes).

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time together with a teaspoon of the flour.  Add the vanilla essence, and then fold in the remaining flour and the ground almonds.

Spoon the mixture evenly between the paper cases and bake for 10 minutes.

To make the icing, blitz five or six of the strawberries with a hand blender and push the puree through a sieve to remove any of the larger seeds. 

Sieve the icing sugar into a separate bowl and add the strawberry puree until you get the right consistency – thicker than a glace ice, but not too thick.

Once the cakes have cooled you can ice them and grate over a little of the white chocolate.  You can leave them like that (I always leave about half like this as my eldest will not eat an actual strawberry) or for an extra special little cake, I do this...

Whip the cream, adding a little icing sugar to sweeten it and chop the remaining strawberries into quarters.

Once the icing is set, put a dollop of the cream on the top of each cake and top with a bit of strawberry.  (Do this on the day you are eating them as obviously, they won’t keep well like this)

(I have often used this sponge recipe for a sandwich cake and would highly recommend it for this purpose too).

 My girls and their big cousin Finlay

one of my gorgeous girls