Tag: baking

  • Typewriter Cake

    Typewriter Cake

    Every year I think he can’t possibly top himself, and then he does! This, of course, is the Typewriter Cake from the Women’s Weekly Birthday Cake Book. He experimented with two new recipes for this one: Golden Vanilla Cake and Ermine Icing. It’s STUNNING.

    And I think we can all agree: plus 100 Husband Points for the deployment of the Pride and Prejudice quote! 🩷

    How it started:

    The beginning

    Carving:

    Carving

    The end result:

    Me typing on a cake

    Kitchen’s a wreck though. 😂 Still worth it!

    Rodd in our messy kitchen

  • Pressure Cooker Lamb and Barley Stew with homemade bread

    Pressure Cooker Lamb and Barley Stew with homemade bread

    Not really a summer dish, but very tasty! Rodd’s best loaf of bread yet…

  • Bachelor’s Pudding – CWA 1965 Cookbook

    Bachelor’s Pudding – CWA 1965 Cookbook

    It’s time for another recipe from 1965! Continuing our vintage cooking experiment, this time I chose the recipe from January 31 – Bachelor’s Pudding – and happily, I think it was a big success! Here’s the recipe:

    Bachelor's Pudding recipe

    There’s quite a lot crammed into only six lines…

    1 egg, the weight of an egg in butter, sugar and flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, a little grated lemon rind, 1 tablespoon jam, short pastry. Line a shallow dish with the pastry, spread the jam on the bottom, beat butter and sugar to a cream, add egg, lemon rind, flour and baking powder. Pour this over the jam, bake for half an hour. Dust with sugar. Serve with custard.

    First up, what even is “bachelor’s pudding”? Of course, “pudding” is used here in the British sense, meaning simply “dessert.” If you search for “bachelor’s pudding” online, you’ll find lots of old recipes that have currants and breadcrumbs in them… and this recipe has neither. I liked this explanation the best: “Nobody knows for sure how Bachelor’s Pudding got its name but it is suggested that the frugal ingredients lend themselves to single men on minimal means.”

    Ingredients for Bachelor's Pudding

    I wasn’t sure whether a CWA wife in 1965 would be making her own short pastry or not. The recipe just seems to assume that you have some. I decided to keep things simple and go with a sheet of frozen shortcrust. I also went with a carton of custard. For the jam, I went with good ol’ Cottee’s apricot, which I figured would have been easily available at the time.

    Creaming the sugar and butter

    I started by cracking my egg and weighing it, and it ended up around 55g. So I put that much butter and sugar in my mixing bowl and creamed them together.

    Batter mixture

    Then I added the egg, lemon rind, flour, and baking powder. It came together into a creamy batter.

    Dough and jam

    Rodd and I debated on what an appropriate “shallow dish” would be and decided to go with a simple small metal pie plate. I buttered it (not in the recipe but I figured it couldn’t hurt) and then lined it with my thawed sheet of shortcrust, sealing the cracks as best I could. Then I spooned in some apricot jam (probably a little more than the recipe called for) and spread it around.

    Covered in batter

    The batter certainly wasn’t pourable, so instead I spooned it on and then smoothed out as best I could. I’m glad I didn’t go with a bigger dish, as it didn’t even come close to filling it.

    The recipe doesn’t give any guidance as to baking temperature, so I figured I’d go with 180C / 350F and just keep an eye on it.

    Baked pudding

    It actually worked really well! The batter puffed up a bit and the pastry shrank, so I think the proportions actually worked. By 30 minutes it was nice and golden so I pulled it out to cool.

    Sprinkled with powdered sugar

    I sprinkled it with some sifted powdered sugar and then cut it into pieces. It came out cleanly, and the bottom wasn’t too soggy despite the lack of blind baking. You can clearly see the jam layer. I was quite impressed!

    Bachelor's Pudding with custard

    And here it is, served with custard for afternoon tea! It was quite tasty – sweet but not overly so. I think I could’ve gone with more lemon zest as it got lost a bit.

    We debated on how you’d modernise this. Obviously you could make your own pastry and custard, which would certainly zhush it up. I think you could also experiment with the jam layer and try a few different things in there. (Kaya pudding?!) But overall this one was pretty good as is, even with the shortcuts I took and the vagueness of the recipe. Big thumbs up! 👍

  • Cherry Financier

    Cherry Financier

    The Snook had several egg whites left over from our tiramisu last week, and he was determined not to make a meringue with them. Instead today he baked a large financier, a French cake using almond flour and brown butter, and covered it with fresh cherries. Yum. ❤️

    Cherry Financier

  • Photo Post

    Him: “Which cake do you want for your birthday this year?”
    Me: “THE WITCH!” 🧙

    Truly one of his best ever. 😍

    Him: “Which cake do you want for your birthday this year?” Me: “THE WITCH!” 🧙 Truly one of his best ever. 😍

  • Photo Post

    Easter HCB choc chip bread pudding, made by the Snook!

    Easter HCB choc chip bread pudding, made by the Snook!

    Easter HCB choc chip bread pudding, made by the Snook!

  • Photo Post

    It was the birthday pork pie of my dreams. ❤️ (In terms of foods from classic children’s literature that entranced Little Kristy, cold meat pie trumps Turkish Delight by, like, a million points.)

    It was the birthday pork pie of my dreams. ❤️ (In terms of foods from classic children’s literature that entranced Little Kristy, cold meat pie trumps Turkish Delight by, like, a million points.)

    It was the birthday pork pie of my dreams. ❤️ (In terms of foods from classic children’s literature that entranced Little Kristy, cold meat pie trumps Turkish Delight by, like, a million points.)

    It was the birthday pork pie of my dreams. ❤️ (In terms of foods from classic children’s literature that entranced Little Kristy, cold meat pie trumps Turkish Delight by, like, a million points.)

  • Photo Post

    The zucchini bread Rodd baked last night, and my face when I remembered it this morning. ❤️😲

    The zucchini bread Rodd baked last night, and my face when I remembered it this morning. ❤️😲

    The zucchini bread Rodd baked last night, and my face when I remembered it this morning. ❤️😲

  • Photo Post

    The Snook made me a beautiful homemade birthday dinner – pan pizza and a pomegranate cake. He’s the best. ❤️🍕🍰

    The Snook made me a beautiful homemade birthday dinner - pan pizza and a pomegranate cake. He’s the best. ❤️🍕🍰

    The Snook made me a beautiful homemade birthday dinner - pan pizza and a pomegranate cake. He’s the best. ❤️🍕🍰

    The Snook made me a beautiful homemade birthday dinner - pan pizza and a pomegranate cake. He’s the best. ❤️🍕🍰

    The Snook made me a beautiful homemade birthday dinner - pan pizza and a pomegranate cake. He’s the best. ❤️🍕🍰

    The Snook made me a beautiful homemade birthday dinner - pan pizza and a pomegranate cake. He’s the best. ❤️🍕🍰

  • Photo Post

    Mr. Snook has the day off, so he made homemade English-style gingerbread! It’s SO GOOD. ❤️

    Mr. Snook has the day off, so he made homemade English-style gingerbread! It’s SO GOOD. ❤️