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Chitchat thread #24

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  • Snoop Puss
    replied
    Thanks, greenishfing. I'll give it a go. What size tin do you reckon?

    Thanks for the advice on the butter and flour. Sure as three and a half eggs are four, I would have done that.

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  • Florence Fennel
    replied
    Good Morning All That cake looks delicious! Dull here. Have a good day

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  • greenishfing
    replied
    Snoop, here is the rewritten recipe for one cake. The timings are very inaccurate. 2 to three hours at gas mark 1 to 2 (100°C) and then lower the oven right down (70°C) for another 2 to 3 hours. The one I made last night I cooked for 2 hours at gas 1½ish and then another 2 hours as low as the oven would go I tested it with a skewer and it seemed fine. The proof will be in the eating. My sister, who has an Aga and uses the same recipe, just puts it in the slow oven overnight.

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    I don't know how long ago I did the pricing on the original recipe but butter was much cheaper then. When it says 3½ eggs, I just put 4 in and I like glacé cherries so I reduce the dried fruit and increase the cherries. It is a very forgiving recipe. The only thing to be careful of is if you are rubbing in the butter and flour with a machine, don't let it do it for too long as because of the high butter content you will end up with dough. (Voice of experience).
    Last edited by greenishfing; 04-11-2024, 10:04 AM.

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  • greenishfing
    replied
    Good morning.

    Not a very nice morning weatherwise. Just grey. ..... a miserable colour. I was just thinking that life must have been so depressing in the days before electricity, as well as uncomfortable.

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    I shall be going out to buy mild crumbly cheese later and cutting my cake. I 'm just deciding how generous I might be with it. Maybe a quarter for my brother in law and a quarter for my husband's old friend. I'll be making another cake later this week for our hairdresser for a Christmas present. I need it for the 13th of this month when she'll be coming to cut our hair for the last time before Christmas. I'm so happy that I can buy tin liners these days as I absolutely hate having to cut greaseproof and line them myself, maybe because it was one of the jobs I always had to do for my mother as a child when she was baking. That and the continuous washing up.

    I haven't really thought about Christmas cards yet. I don't send many these days and most get hand delivered. I think Royal Mail's prices for cards and letters are outrageous.

    Off to make more coffee....

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  • Snoop Puss
    replied
    Morning all.

    Your recipe looks good, GF. Amazing how expensive brandy was in comparison with dried fruit back then. 5 tbsp of admittedly cheap brandy from a well-known German supermarket would cost me about 65 cents here, 40 oz of decent mixed dried fruit about 25 euros. Bet it's delicious with all that fruit. Can you explain the temperature and timings for me? I've never made a proper Christmas cake before, but a tried and well tested recipe is tempting. Thanks.

    Yet more rain in the night. And again a lot of it. Drizzle was forecast, and barely any of it. More storms later this week according to AEMET (our version of the Met Office), nothing at all according to two others.

    Mr Snoop has gone into the village today. I think he's going stir crazy, doing nothing but manage rainwater. Anyway, sunny at the moment. Phew!

    Work for me today and grateful I should be for it...

    Have a great day, everyone.

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  • Bren In Pots
    replied
    Morning

    Another dull and damp day here.
    I'm making a couple of birthday cards today while i still have everything out in my craft room, might even start on Christmas cards I don't send many these days just to family and close friends.

    enjoy your day

    Leave a comment:


  • Nicos
    replied
    Mornin n’alln’all

    Very misty here!…I can hardly see the fence just a few yards away.
    A few domestics for me and then get on with the sewing. Well, that’s the plan at least
    I may accidentally get distracted and plant out a few bulbs of course

    Enjoy your day peeps.

    Leave a comment:


  • lottie dolly
    replied
    Hahahahahaha cake,it has livened up our nostrils and palet,i have given the one i started on away to a deserving person ,i am very tempted to start on the other one and make a fresh start,as i comment was made,yes,about cherries,only one bit was found ,i have a another lovely afternoon,bang went sorting out the washing,at least i got my prioroties right,i know,cannot spell either,choir in the morning,and pedicure later on,the other day i had a go at getting a pic from my phone to the lappy,with the intentions of having another go at posting on here,but no,now my pics have gone from where they were,they are in another area,i need my son the help with this one ,

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  • Bren In Pots
    replied
    I can almost smell it from here GF.

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  • greenishfing
    replied
    The wonderful aroma of fruit cake cooking is now driving me mad. It promises so much.😋😋😋

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  • Florence Fennel
    replied
    My recipes are in a ring binder, wouldn't be without it, though I could do with organising it, it's a bit random

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  • Bren In Pots
    replied
    GF that could be a page from my recipe folder. I keep meaning to sort them out some are from the 70’s

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  • greenishfing
    replied
    I've spent ages searching for my Christmas cake recipe. I know I had a piece of paper with the recipe, for one cake, written out. It has disappeared. It should have been in my recipe file. I did find the ancient original recipe, for two cakes, which is more or less illegible.
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    Eventually I had a brainwave. Yes, at some point I had taken a photo of the newer version with my phone, probably to post online.
    It is now safely printed, laminated and filed. I rarely use my little laminator, but it is brilliant to protect recipes. I bought it very cheaply in a sale several years ago and it never gets lost as it is bright fuschia pink.
    Last edited by greenishfing; 03-11-2024, 01:36 PM.

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  • greenishfing
    replied
    Good morning all.

    So glad to hear that Hibou has improved, Nicos.

    It's overcast, chilly and depressing here.😒 Fortunately I don't have to go out today. I can close the curtains, turn the heating up, and hide if I want🫣. Summer seems an awful long time away.

    Mothawk, I 've just realised that I haven't seen any hedgehogs for a few weeks. In Summer I saw several of different sizes.

    All this talk of fruit cake is making me think about mixing and cooking one this afternoon. I'm pretty sure I've got everything I need. This time of year seems to be the only time my Kenwood mixer seems to earn it's worktop space nowadays but it's too heavy to move around unnecessarily. This means I'll need to buy some mild crumbly cheese when I go shopping, Cheshire, Wensleydale or Lancashire. I'm wondering if it's a Yorkshire thing to eat cheese with fruit cake or if it's universal? I never decorate fruit cakes as I cannot stand either almond paste/marzipan or royal icing and for me it's all about the cake. Over the years I've reduced the amount of dried fruit in mine by a couple of ounces and upped the glacé cherries to compensate. Some years we go through three in the run up to Christmas. I also make some for other people. If I make one today I'm sure the aroma will cheer me up.

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  • Nicos
    replied
    It’s funny about cakes isn’t it?
    My mom always won the WI cakes competitions as they were incredibly light Victoria sponges/ fairy cakes.
    I , on the other hand, much prefer a heavier cake be it sponge or fruit. I just love Wet Nellie too

    I’m thinking I’d really enjoy your cake lottie …mmmm….

    Leave a comment:

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