Fabulous Christmas Cake- So Simple

 This delicious super simple fruit cake has been floating around for a good long while. I remember making it years ago & not being that impressed with it but when a friend shared it recently as a Christmas cake I decided to have another go. And oh my word- it's delicious!

The first one I made we took with us to Apiti on our 44th wedding anniversary.

The second one was an "Oh my goodness we just have to make another one for Christmas" impulse. Since there are no eggs, butter or added sugar this really is a clever treat.

Since I make very few cakes in a year I decided I should fossick through the old (non working) fridge out the back where we store our "dry goods", to see what dried fruits might need using up. 

It's this simple: just put together a kilo of various dried fruits, or use a packet of fruit cake mix, up to you.

Our mix this year included golden raisins, jumbo mixed raisins, Otago dried apricots, crystallized ginger, a few prunes, dried pineapple, peel & red & green cherries plus 1/2 cup of almond slithers or slices.  

Put all the fruit in to a large bowl.

To soak the fruit either make a tea with two fruity tea bags or

Simmer 1/2 cup of dried hawthorn berries & 1/2 cup of rose hips together in 1 litre of water for 20 minutes. 

Strain and pour over the fruit so that's it's just about covered in the liquid.

Add 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground cardamom & a dsp of either mixed spice or garam marsala.

Next add a pinch of salt, a dsp vanilla essence and the zest and juice of an orange & leave to sit overnight to infuse and absorb the liquid.

Add 1/2 cup of slithered almonds or chopped walnuts, or both!

Now add 1 cup of ground almonds, 1/2 cup of flour and 2 tsps of baking powder.

Mix altogether and spoon in to a tin of your choice- make it fat or thin or make several small cakes.

Line the tin with baking paper and bake the cake in a moderate oven for around an hour.

It's that simple.

Really it's just like the old boiled sultana cakes that Granny used to make back in the day.

I haven't decorated ours. It's fine just as it is, but of course you could if you'd like to.

We liked the second one best with the ginger & the mostly ground almonds.

Thanks to Cath's Kitchen for the recipe.

Gingerbread Oaty Bake

 What a great little recipe I found on Pinterest-  Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal With Walnut Streusel

You can find the original here.

In a bowl or jug add:

1 medium very ripe banana- mashed

2 1/2 cups of rolled oats

OR as I did:

1 cup rolled oats, 1 cup ground almonds & 1/2 cup of coconut either fine or thread

2 cups of milk

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 dsp molasses

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large dsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

Mix all together.

Sit for half an hour.

Add 1/2 tsp baking powder, stir & pour in to a slice tin lined with baking paper.

Topping mix together:

1/2 cup of walnut pieces

1/2 cup of chopped prunes (optional)

1/4- 1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup coconut

1 tbsp of flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil

Mix together the sprinkle over the top of the oat mixture & press down lightly.

Bake for around 40 minutes in a moderate oven.

Catherine

Banana Peanut Butter Oaty Biscuits

 These biscuits are crazy weird but they work.

Better still they are delicious.

Ingredients:

1 very ripe large banana

1 rounded cupful of rolled oats

3 rounded tbsps of peanut butter

1 rounded tbsp of chia seeds

1 dsp honey & 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup of good chocolate chips

Optional extra addition- 1/3 cup of finely ground acorn flour or hemp hearts, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds or whatever you like. 

Smoosh all the ingredients together in a bowl and leave to stand for 20 minutes.

Scoop out large tablespoonsful of the mix, shape then & flatten on to baking paper on a baking tray

Cook for 20 minutes at 160 degrees.

That's it!

Ah, now the acorn part. It just so happens that it's the time when you might come across acorns through June. The best ones to use are from evergreen oaks. Either the Holly Oak or Quercus Ilex. 

All you need to do then is to bake the acorns in a moderate oven for 15- 20 minutes and while they are still warm give them a soft tap with a little hammer, remove the shells and then grind them in a spice grinder. Give them a sieve to remove any larger bits that haven't ground finely enough.

They taste like toffee caramel- delicious!

So they are a great addition to these particular biscuits. 

You can read more about using evergreen oak acorns here.

Catherine

Feijoa Oatmeal Cake

 When we lived in Taranaki some 35 or so years ago I often made this delicious cake.

Back then there was no internet so we just thought of it as "our" cake that we'd shared amongst friends, but as I look up oatmeal cake now I realise that it's a tried & true old fashioned fave from way back further.

Our recipe has been stored in a handwritten cookbook all these years & I have just made it again for Rob's birthday. I don't think I'd change anything.

I have always preferred baking that was more "wholesome food" than a sweet treat, so in making a comparison with online recipes I had already halved the sugar content & it is more than sweet enough.

To make use of the feijoas of the season & to add interest & moistness to the cake I began adding the fruit to the mix. I'm sure apple would be good too.

Nice & simple:

In to a large bowl add:

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup of soft brown sugar

1 cup of boiling water

1/2 cup or around 100 grams butter

 a pinch of salt, 1 tsp vanilla essence

Stir together & leave to do it's thing for 20 minutes or so

Add 2 eggs- mix

1 cup of flour & 1 rounded tsp baking powder

1 cup dried fruit & 1 cup chopped feijoas

Mix & pour in to a lined or greased cake tin.

Mine was around about a 20 cm tin

Bake in a moderate oven for 50 minutes to an hour.

Do the old skewer test to make sure it's cooked in the middle.

While the cake is cooling make the topping. Such a tasty treat that makes all the difference to this cake.

Put 100 grams butter, 2 tbsps cream & 1/2 cup brown sugar in to a pot & cook stirring until it is golden & caramelized.

Add 1 1/2 cups of coconut. Fine coconut is good or a mix of fine & shredded. 

Stir & allow to cool. While it is still workable spread over the cake.

Some passionfruit pulp is a nice tangy edition to the topping if you have it.

Summary ingredients for the cake:

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup of soft brown sugar

1 cup of boiling water

1/2 cup or around 100 grams butter

Pinch of salt, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger

2 eggs

1 cup of flour & 1 rounded tsp baking powder

1 cup dried fruit

1 cup chopped feijoas or apple

Topping: 

100 grams butter

1/2 cup soft brown sugar

2 tbsps cream

1 1/2 cups coconut

Catherine X

Chickpea Blondies

 Yes, chickpeas and chocolate is a thing!

These "blondies" are quick and easy to make and can be vegan too, if you like.

Turn on the oven to 180 degrees

In to a food processor put:

2 cans chickpeas or white beans, drained and dried off with a clean tea towels or paper towels.

2/3 cup of maple syrup (rice syrup or honey).

2/3 cup of smooth peanut butter (or almond butter).

2/3 cup of spelt flour or a mix of flour and ground almonds.

2 tsps baking powder and a large pinch of salt.

1 dsp of vanilla

Blend all together until smooth.

Remove the blade and stir in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips- good quality dark chocolate is best.

Spoon in to a small tin lined with baking paper. Sprinkle over a few more chocolate drops and press in to the mix gently

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and cooked.

Cool well before removing or cutting.

Apple, Raisin and Oatmeal Biscuits

 I don't bake a lot of biscuits but these apple, raisin and oatmeal biscuits are great.

See alternative recipe below made with sweet persimmon.

The recipe makes loads of good sized biscuits. They keep surprisingly well considering they have apple in them, they are really satisfying and best of all they are perfect for picnics.

In a large bowl mix

3 cups of rolled oats & 1 cup of flour- I prefer white or wholemeal spelt flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 

1/2 tsp of cinnamon.

In another bowl cream 170 grams of butter (cut up & soften) with 3/4 cup brown sugar or jaggery.

Add an egg, a tsp of vanilla extract and 1/3 of a cup of milk.

Mix the dry and wet ingredients together along with a large grated apple and 1 1/2 cups of raisins or sultanas. 

Bake in a preheated oven at around 160 degrees C on baking paper for 15- 20 minutes until golden.

I used generous tablespoonfuls of mixture. They don't spread particularly so you can bake them quite close together.

Cool on a wire rack.

June 2024 and we are still loving these biscuits. Right now we're in the middle of persimmon season. To be honest, I prefer sweet persimmons just as they are but lots of people have been telling me about using them in other ways so, when we decided to head off for an adventure on Monday- King's birthday, I decided to have a go with persimmon not just apple & they are fabulous biscuits indeed.

I made a variation of the above

In to one bowl put:

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup of shredded coconut

1 cup of organic flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups raisins (or cranberries, apricots etc

1 tsp each cinnamon & ground ginger

1 tbsp chia seeds (add some sunflower seeds if you like too)

2 grated persimmons

calendula flowers- three or four flowers just the petals

In another bowl add:

170 gms butter- soften

3/4 cup brown sugar cream together

Add 1 egg 

1 dsp vanilla essence

Add the above dry stuff in to the bowl plus 1/3 cup milk 

Mix altogether.

Spoon out large spoonfuls of mixture- shape & flatten a bit.

Bake for 20 minutes at 160 degrees just the same.

Katie X

Strawberry Coconut Shortcake

When I lived i Wellington 42 years ago, I fell in love with this strawberry shortcake from a little organic cafe I found upstairs in Cuba street. I eventually figured out how to make it and all this time later I am still reinventing it. I don't generally do dessert, for pudding's sake, but I sometimes work it in to being part of a meal. This take on the classic strawberry shortcake is made with a base of wholemeal, coconut and almond flours, the topping a mix fresh strawberries, coconut & brown sugar. 

This is the most brilliant recipe because it can be made with almost any fruit. Apricot and coconut are delicious together too. A great way to use up fruit that might otherwise be wasted.

Base: cream 100 gms of softened butter with 1/3 cup of brown sugar

Add an egg and beat again

Fold in 2 cups (total) of an even mix of coconut flour, spelt flour and ground almonds

And a tsp of baking powder 

Press mix in to a greased baking paper lined tin

Pop in to the fridge while you're preparing the topping.

Topping: slice up a large punnet (which I guess is a kilo) of washed strawberries in to a large bowl

Add 1 cup of fine coconut & 1 cup of shredded coconut (or whatever you have on hand)

And 1/2 cup of brown sugar

Lastly a splash of rosewater.

Add a tbsp of cornflour & a tbsp of almond flour if the fruit seems quite moist. 

Mix together 

Spoon the strawberry coconut mix over the base and smooth out

Bake for 40 minutes in a moderate oven until firm

Keeps really well in the fridge 

In the last photo the shortcake is topped with coconut chia pudding made with coconut cream chia seeds, rosewater and honey, red and gold raspberries, white alpine strawberries and pansies from the garden.

So good!

The next version I made was apricot.

 With juicy fruit it's a good idea to turn down the heat and cook for another 5 or 10 minutes until the fruit topping has firmed well and set.

I am thinking that Black Boy peach would be amazing and also pineapple and passionfruit.

Katie X

Persian Love Biscuits

 I came across these Persian Love Cookies just here at heneedsfood the other day and just adored the beautiful presentation! I don't bake a lot of biscuits but these looked so delicious and seemed so simple I decided to make them to celebrate spring.

Very easy to make- I halved the recipe the first time around.

Mine have come out tasting like extra delicious biscotti.

Ingredients:

140 grams of ground almonds

110 grams of sifted icing sugar

1/3 c of dried rose petals (yes, they're fine in the biscuits- I cut mine up)

1 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg- I grate nutmeg from whole nuts

A teeny pinch of salt

1 tsp rose water 

1 egg white

Mix until it all comes together in a ball

Roll in to balls & then in finely sliced pistachio nuts

Press each ball fairly flat- around 1 cm thick on to baking paper on an oven tray

Bake at 170 c for around 20 minutes

Keep a close eye on them towards the end of cooking- they need to be golden not dark brown!

When cold, ice with this icing:

Make a small amount of strong hibiscus (sabridiffa) tea in a small cup- cool

Strain and stir in to 1/2 cup of icing sugar until the icing is pourable 

Add a splash of rose water

Such a simple way to make glorious rose pink icing without artificial colourings

Decorate the biscuits and the plate and the table, if you like, with edible flowers

I've used lilac, double violets, heartsease, double pink hawthorn, flowering cherry blooms, white soul strawberries, Mme Cecile Brunner roses, granny bonnets and scented geranium flowers.

Dust the whole thing with icing sugar when you're done for a magical feel.

Katie X