Christmas (Christian Winter Festive Event) Cake

 

Hello there!  Well, it's October 23rd and my first Christmas cake of the year is in the oven (with two days to spare by my target!).  Hurrah! Obviously I am calling this a Christmas Cake as I celebrate Christmas, but it's also a damn good general heavy fruit cake experience - no matter what your religious inclinations are.  

For the last couple of years I have used Mary Berry's Christmas Cake recipe and I love it - I can't see me changing it any time soon.  You can find it here on Mary's own website and it is lovely and straight forward.  For the first time this year I am making two cakes, one round and one square so today's weighing out ventures were more complex than normal as I wanted to weigh them out at the same time.  To handle this I decided to get a bit geeky and obsessed....

 I had planned everything in advance, of course and has done a Tesco Groceries order just for the occasion which arrived at 0925 this morning so everything I already had was out on the counter before that came.  

I decided to weigh out the ingredients into boxes, two boxes for each cake.  Box number one is all of the fruit, the peel and the brandy.  Doesn't it look lovely! The only tweak I make to Mary's recipe here is that I add some hot water with the brandy to open up the fruit a bit more and I added the peel here too.  

Box (or in this case bowl) number two is everything else, with the exception of the eggs which I added slowly as I had written that down last year... I have no idea why, sadly.  

If you are an obsessive lump remover I would also advise adding the almonds afterwards as I was getting a bit worried about the lumps... idiot!

Adding the eggs slowly worked a treat and it doesn't take lone to come together.

Now that all of the 'cake' ingredients are in together it's time to add the fruit box.  I did not look like this was all going to fit in my mixer at once, but it did - just!  If your mixer has a lid I stronly advise using that!

Once it's all nicely combined it's ready to go in the tin! 

After last years tears over lining the tin (seriously) I have been playing with some new ideas for making this easier and I think I have cracked it...

Tin lining kit:

• pen
• scissors
• grease proof paper
• string
• spray butter or oil
• cake tin

Making the lining is the easy bit!  Draw round the bottom of the tin and cut out the shape about 1cm in from the line from doubled ove grease proof so you have two shapes.  Spray the inside of the tin with oil or butter and smooth one shape in to the bottom of the tin, the spray more and add the second layer.  See how it sticks and sits smoothly?  This is amazing!!  For the outsides, cut a long bit of paper big enough to go around the tin and then a wee bit extra, fold in in half so it's still long, but not as deep.  Spray it inside a bit to stick the two sides together.  Do this again for the outside protective layer.  Now that you have two 'cuffs' spray one a bit and stick it to the inside of the tin, spraying and sticking as you go around.  Do similar on the outside of the tin and tie with some string.  Easy. No jumping spirals of paper, no tears and no needing my husband to rescue me!

Time to plonk the mixture in the tin now, and smooth it over.  You don't need to be gentle with this mix as there is very little air in it anyway.   Once it's smooth round the edges make a wee recess in the centre, maybe about as deep as from the tip of your pinkie to the first knuckle. This is a genius trip for making the top raise evenly.  If you put it in the oven flat topped the centre will rise more and give you a mountain cake - this prevents that.  And that't it really... fling it in the over as Mary tell us to and then tidy up (boo) and do something amusing for the next five hours...

So there we are, cake!  It's in the oven and it smells glorious!  And even better cake two is all measured out, the cake tin is ready, the mixer is clean and ready to go again and I get to lick more treacle from the spoon later on tonight. Whoo!

What's your Christmas cake tradition, do you have a favourite tin, recipe or any magic tricks?  If so please do share them in the comments or send me a photo on Instagram of your cake in action, I'm karenhtodd over there, come say hi!

Thanks for reading... decorating will be happening in December, meanwhile I'll feeding it with brandy!

Happy Birthday, Husband

This is another post I wrote at the start of the year and never published.   Well, I have now!  Happy Belated Birthday Babe.

Sunday: As previously mentioned in my February Specials ramble it is Brian's birthday this week and to that end I have been planning the making of his birthday cake.  I love making cakes and any excuse to make a treat for someone I love is good with me!  

When asked for ideas on what kind of cake he wanted the soon to be Birthday Boy was not slow at all in requesting carrot cake... so that is what he is getting!  I have already planned far enough in advance to have emailed Clementine and asked for extra carrots in this weeks produce box and the rest of the shopping will be done tomorrow and then Tuesday will be the day of the big bake.  Wednesday is Birthday!

Monday:  The produce box has arrived!  And not only does it contain the carrots as requested but a chilli for Brian too as the ladies in the shop know that he loves them.  Thanks!

Tuesday:  So, it is cake making day.  I have assembled my ingredients, broken an egg in error and it's time to get cracking.  The recipe I am using is a Hairy Bikers one as I love them and this has been described as a lighter than your average carrot cake, which sounds good to me.  It also comes with the suggestion of orange cream cheese frosting which sounds delicious!  

The recipe:  

200g/7oz self-raising flour
75g/3oz sultanas
75g/3oz pecans, broken into rough pieces
1 large orange zest only
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ whole nutmeg, finely grated (I estimated this to be about half a tea spoon full as I had grated nutmeg, not whole)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch fine sea salt
3 free-range eggs
175ml/6fl oz sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
175g/6oz soft light brown sugar
200g/7oz carrots, grated
100g/3½oz icing sugar
100g/3½oz unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp fresh orange juice
200g/7oz full-fat cream cheese

And the method:

Preheat the oven to 160C/320F/Gas 4.  Grease two seven inch round tins and leave them to the side.   Combine the flour, sultanas, pecans, half of the orange zest, cinnamon, grated nutmeg, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a large bowl .  in the mixer (if you have one) cbat the eggs until smooth and add the sunflower oil and sugar and whisk until well combined.  To this mixture add the flour mix slowly and let to combine.  Then add the carrots.   

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tins and smooth the surfaces. Bake in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes, until the cake is well risen and feels springy to the touch. 

Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool in the tin for five minutes. Remove the cake from the tin and set aside to cool on a wire rack.

For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a large bowl and add the butter and orange juice. Beat together with a large wooden spoon until light and creamy. Add the cream cheese and the rest of the orange zest and beat until smooth. Cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or until firm enough to spread.

Spread the icing over the cake and sprinkle with extra pecans (I skipped this bit as I had other plans). And you're done!

Remember I said I had other plans instea dof the pecans?  Well, instead of pecans I added  a dog, a fire pit, a chickem, a sword, an axe and a Viking.  As you do...

So, Happy Birthday Brian.  Happy cake.

Veggie Pasta (with meat balls)

I wrote this in March, I don't know why I didn't publish it then but here it is now.  

This is another easy last minute dinner that can be partially prepared in advance so that all you need to do when you want to eat is cook some pasta, meatballs and add them to the heated sauce. 

Cooking pasta is easy, so I won't go into that, but just keep in mind that a human adult portion of pasta is 75g and it's so easy to go over that unless you are careful. Since we are aiming for healthier eating portion control is very important! 

The veggie sauce is so simple to make, and it keeps well if you want to make a few days at once or prepare well in advance. This is another 'what's in you fridge, babe?' recipe. The basic method is this:

Slice two onions, smash up and chop two cloves of garlic and add these to a hot, oiled pan till they are clear, then add any veggies that you like. I favour any combination of celery, tomatoes, mushrooms, sweet corn, leeks or courgette. Add your veggies and cook them down, then add a tin of chopped tomatoes (have another one to hand if you're making it in advance) and let this bubble away till it looks pleasing, I then season it with dried mixed herbs, salt and pepper. Brian also favours some chilli flakes, so if he's been good I oblige him. The reason for the second tin of tomatoes is that when you hear this through again it might become quite dry, so you may need to add the second tin to make it edible. 

So that's pasta and sauce down. Now meatballs. There are two ways to do this and I'm going to give them their own posts in the name of completeness, but my two favourite recipes are for beef meatballs and for pork fridge balls (that sounds a little rude, sorry), but this can be easily missed out completely to keep the dish vegetarian, or served with the meatballs on the side so that you or your guests can pick and choose what they want to eat.  When I was a student and my house mate and I hosted numerous pasta dinners, serving many different pasta 'add ons', two different sauces and two different protein sources so that every one got to choose their own meal. Easy.  

So here we are, put the sauces pasta in the bowls or on the plates, add the meatballs and then season, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve with bread, salad or more pasta.  Could it be any easier?

Oh me oh my, look what the cat dragged in...

Well, hello there!  It's been a long time and I shan't bore you with what I (haven;t) been up to but I am back!  I just wanted to pop on tonight and tell you I'm back, to share some new things that are coming your way and then explain a wee bit about why I'm back.

First up... coming soon:

And my parting shot, five reasons I'm back:

• I need something to aim for each day.  Being unemployed is getting me down and I need some structure in my life.
• My typing has gone to shit lately, that needs to change!
• I have words to say and things to share, I miss writing.
• I have garden news to share, which will hopefully add a whole new area to Not Just Fuel.
• I've been going to a photography night class and food photography is one of the topics, may a well use what I learn!

So there we are.  Not Just Fuel is a thing again and I am jolly happy about it.  Let's do this thing.  

P.S. Seasonal comfort food starts this week, with apple crumble, macaroni cheese and Christian Winter Festive Event (Christmas) Cake. Yes, it is that time of year already!

Top Five - Using Up Bananas

This is an idea that I 'obtained' from one of my school friends via Facebook lateley - on the notion of Facebook there is now a Not Just Fuel community page, want to come join in?  Please do!  

The idea that Katrina had was to share ideas on what to do with the things that we all end up with at the end of the week or that just pile up and your not quite sure what to do with before they go off.

We start with a good one... Bananas.

So there we are, five banana ideas! It just so happens that one of the ladies I watch on YouTube shared a face mask recipe featuring... bananas!  Give it a watch and try not to think 'that would be really nice with graola for breakfast' like I did... oops!

now, forgive me.  I wrote this yesterday and forgot to publish it, I just came back today to add Tati's video!

Sorry!

Menu Planning for Kids

Hello! I am in a planning mood today and I have stolen an idea from one of my friends Rachelle.  She is helping her brother get organised and part of this project is menu planning - he has two children and I was thinking about how to involve the kids in menu planning.  This is an adaptation of a method of exploring food that I have used with Rainbows, Brownies and Guides (girls form 5 years old to 14 years old) so I hope this is useful to you if you have kids or if you have kids coming to stay or visit you and they need feeding!  This is also a fun way to plan as an adult - especially if, like me you can't draw for toffee and your banana split looks like a diagram of sedimentary layers... Oops!

I used the sheet that Eliza made for us, (which you can download here in in four different colours) and drew in the spaces instead of writing... nice and easy!  I then annotated it so that you knew what I was trying to draw!  This is based on one of the sheets that one of my Brownies drew me before our last pack holiday - and yes, she did ask for kiwi fruits for lunch!  With older children they will be able to annotate it independently but younger kids will enjoy drawing in the shapes and then you can annotate it with them.

TOP TIP!  Never try and guess what a drawing is, always ask!  

Obviously kids don't worry about what is on special or what needs used up, but these spaces might be handy for asking kids to elaborate on their requests, what do they want on their spaghetti, for example? I might chance my luck and ask Eliza to design a special kids one if anyone thinks it would be handy!  Please do let me know!

So there we are, how to ask kids what they want to eat and to get them started on their journey interacting with food... makes me wish I had a kid to practice on, anyone got one I can borrow to add to my mini focus group?  

One last thing to note that this exercise can literally open a can of worms so if there are any restrictions on what you want from your kids then be sure to set them out at the start.  Ask them for their favourite fruit and veg that week, and maybe limit the number of 'treats' they can choose, or explain that you're having a guest for tea one night and they don't eat a particular food - challenge them!  It amazed me how much thought some 5 and 6 year old put into this exercise - don't underestimate them but equally try and guide them away from drawing pictures of all the sweets and biscuits that they love! 

Chicken Fajitas... in the Slow Cooker!

We love fajitas in this house and I think most people do.  They are an easy thing to make the conventional way, but when I find a new recipe for a thing I love I can't help but try it!  I saw this on Pinterest (I'm obsessed I know...) so yesterday afternoon I cracked open the slow cooker and filled it full of deliciousness.

This is so easy to do and has become my default meal because I always have what is needed in the cupboards!  It's great for days that I have to be out and about and I know I will be knackered when I get home (like the three medical appointments in one day Wednesdays that have happened in the last few weeks!) - I put this together before I go out and then when we come home it's ready to go!

You will need:

veggies - what ever you fancy! You've got to have onions, and other than that I recommend bell peppers, onions, mushrooms and chilli. 

A quarter cup of fajita seasoning, make your own or use a shop bought version.

A cup of water (a little less if you add mushrooms)

A chicken breast per person.  

And that's all.  Chop up the veg and put it in the slow cooker, then mix the water and seasoning together, pour this over the veggies and then put the chicken on top.  Putting it on top lets it steam more than cook in the water and it goes so wonderfully tender and shreddable.  Put it on high and leave it for three hours, if you need to leave it for longer feel free to put it on for the three hours and then turn it to low and leave it for as long as is needed.  After this time take two forks and shred the chicken, mix it all up and remove the excess water to serve.  Meanwhile you need salsa, cheese, cream cheese, salad to serve and wraps to wrap it all up in!  Easy!

I know it's not the most appetising photo, but it tastes so good!  I have served this up to my husband, my parents and then used the left overs on bagels for lunch! Delicious.