Mince Pies and Brandy Cream

Mince Pies & Brandy Cream

Oven 180C Fan

I only use Robertson’s mincemeat (you’ll need 2 jars) or the kids walk around with long faces - which is just not Christmassy. Put 2 tsp of whisky in each jar and stir. This gives a good kick and makes them succulent.

16oz plain fine flour

10oz unsalted butter

1 level tsp salt

A drop vanilla (optional)

2oz icing sugar

Mix in food processor until ‘crumbs’

Add:

2 egg yolks and quarter to half a glass of cold water while whizzing until forms a playdough ball. Do not over mix or handle. Mixture should be quite moist.

Turn half onto floured board and avoid touching too much (use fingertips). Roll out in one direction, rotating patty, using plenty of flour. You should make about 30. If you make less, the pastry could have been rolled thinner. Use a good tsp of mincemeat, it should be just under the rim of the base of the pie, too much and it will overflow and make them sticky and hard to get out, too little and they will be dry and thin.

I use a bigger cutter for the base, and smaller cutter for the lid. Wet the rim of the lid to glue the top to the base, press down gently. Use an egg cup to squash down. Make a little cut in the top. Bake about 15 minutes until pale golden. Serve warm. They heat up well and keep for a good couple of weeks in a airtight box.

Serve with:

Brandy Cream

Double cream, whipped gently, so just thickened

Courvoisier Brandy, just a splash (it’s really worth it)

Icing Sugar (sieved), a desert spoonful to taste

Amanda

Nantgwynfaen Organic Farm

Mince Pie Frangipane Tart

Oven 180C fan

Thank you to Rowena, and Mary Berry and You Mag, and bakewell tarts in general. This recipe is half mince pie, and half bakewell tart, It is very seasonal and very delicious.

Put 2 tbsp brandy/whisky into a jar of Robertson’s mincemeat and stir, leave to one side.

For the pastry bottom:

8oz plain fine flour

5oz unsalted butter

half level tsp salt

A drop vanilla (optional)

1oz icing sugar

Mix in food processor until ‘crumbs’

Add 1 egg yolk and quarter of a glass of cold water, while whizzing, until it forms a playdough ball. Do not over mix or handle. Mixture should be quite moist. Turn out onto a floured board and avoid touching too much (use fingertips). Roll out in one direction, rotating patty, using plenty of flour Line a quiche dish with the pastry. Bake blind for 15 minutes, remove greaseproof paper and bake until golden, about 5 minutes. Take out the oven to cool.

Meanwhile, make the frangipane in the unwashed pastry bowl:

4oz butter

4oz caster sugar

Mix until smooth and creamy, add:

2 eggs

It might look curdly, mix well, don’t worry. Add:

4oz ground almonds

1 level tbsp plain flour

½ tsp almond essence

Mix these in quickly, don’t over beat.

Put most of the jar of mincemeat into the pastry case. Smooth on the frangipane, sprinkle over a few flaked almonds, and bake for about half and hour – watch it carefully. Take it out the oven and glaze with warmed apricot jam in lemon juice - if you are feeling really fun.

You can make mini tarts too, don’t par-bake the pastry, cook for 15-17 mins.

Amanda

Nantgwyfaen Organic Farm

Manda’s Mulled Wine

48 Glasses

When you decide to invite 80 people to your house a couple of days before Christmas and you have lots of turkeys to sell and you have 17 guests for Christmas itself and you have decided to have a 60 minute makeover on your daughters room that day, you really need a good mulled wine to settle your nerves, make the house smell inviting and not be too strong so that you loose the plot and peak too early..…. Mary Berry’s inspired recipe was tweaked here to include more fresh orange juice, which I think is the secret weapon:

8 bottles of red wine (plonk)

5 large lemons juice (400ml) and zest (use the potato peeler before juicing)

4 oranges juice (300ml) and zest

64 cloves

6x6 inch cinnamon sticks snapped in half

1.5 pints of freshly squeezed orange juice (10 oranges)

6.5 pints of water

600g sugar

1 orange cut up for serving garnish (optional)

Warm, don’t boil for 1-2 hrs. Strain it.

Goes well with mince pies and party dresses, but might stain when worn at the same time.

Amanda

Nantgwynfaen Organic Farm

Millionaire's Shortbread

For the Royal Wedding we all dressed up and had a party. A big garden party and the theme was 'Royal'. Well it wasn't just the bunting and the throne, everyone brought such yummy things, and not just cucumber sandwiches. Julie brought these very appropriate treats. As there were 81 people there, and I'm terribly selfish and greedy (and they were a bit warm) I put them in the fridge and 'forgot' about them. Well, the next day having retrieved the glasses out of the flower beds I discovered a paper bag in the fridge with a lovely yellow heart on it, and oh wow, oh boy.... it is too good not to share, so thank you to Helen who's recipe this is, and thank you to Julie for bringing them, and emailing this to me:

"The tray I use is about 24cm x 33cm and I line it with baking paper.

Base
4oz butter
4oz caster sugar
6oz plain flour

Cream together butter + sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in flour. Press into lined tray (always seems like it won’t be quite enough but it needs to be thin) Bake at 180º C for about 15 mins or until golden.

Caramel
4oz butter
4oz caster sugar
1 small tin condensed milk
4 tablespoon golden syrup

Melt all the ingredients together in saucepan (after carefully licking out the condensed milk tin / mind your tongue!). Boil for about 10 minutes stirring constantly (it can burn really easily – you might find that you get slightly darker flecks of mixture – these seem to disappear when the caramel has set). After it has boiled for 10 mins beat vigorously for a few minutes off the heat. Pour on to shortbread base, spread around and cool.

Chocolate
150g dark chocolate

Melt in bowl over pan of slightly boiling water. Pour over cooled caramel and leave to set. I usually put it in the fridge for a while.


Lots of love,

Julie x

PS I can’t believe there were 81 people at your party – that was so many!"

Dinosaur Cake

Ben was 3 on Saturday, and Cathy made a very good cake. It was a genius dinosaur, green with blue M&M spots with white Maltesers for claws and teeth, and all made from a little round cake which I noticed only used half the butter and eggs of a regular cake.... handy for low fat treats, and handy when the hens are on strike and handy for when one forgets to put butter on the shopping list...

So, she forgot her recipe book (my fault as I wanted the recipe), and now she might need it for Joe's cake next Saturday, and the book is too big to scan and I won't lose this recipe if I blog it, so here goes.

A Rich Chocolate Cake from DK

Set the oven to 180C. Line a 22cm round tin with non stick baking parchment.

Lemon juice, 1 tbsp

Milk, 250ml

Stir lemon juice into the milk.

Butter, 4oz

Sugar, 4.5oz

Eggs, 2

Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time.

Flour, plain, 8oz

Cocoa powder, 2oz

Bicarbonate of Soda, 1 tsp

Sift the dry ingredients together. Beat in half the dry ingredients and half the milk. Add the rest of the milk and then the rest of the flour, mix until smooth. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake it for one hour. Then tip the cake out of the tin and leave it on a wire rack to cool.

Butter Icing

Butter, 4oz

Icing Sugar, 8oz

Colouring, if you like that sort of thing

Chocolate Icing

Butter, 2oz

Icing Sugar, 3.5oz

Cocoa Powder, 2 tbsp

Did a birthday party of 14, with some left over for coffee on Sunday and a few pieces to take to school!

Bread and Butter Pudding

Saturday 25th September 2010

Well the hygiene inspector is coming on Monday, and the kitchen has had a much needed sort out. The bread tin was full of bits and bobs of stale bread, so it was meant to be, bread and butter pudding for tea.

Butter to grease a small roasting tin/glass dish, generously.

Bread, 6 slices white, crusts removed, cut in triangle quarters, well buttered.

sultanas, large handful

nutmeg, optional

Arrange the buttered bread in layers with sultanas (and nutmeg if using) sandwiched between them. Pour over the whisked egg custard mixture:

milk, whole preferably, 150ml

cream, (can substitute milk if feeling guilty), 150ml

egg yolks, x3

egg, whole x1

sugar, x3 tbsp

vanilla, extract, x1 generous tsp

Squash bread into the custard and leave to stand at least half an hour (or in 10 minutes...). Sprinkle with a couple of teaspoons of sugar. Place in a pre-heated oven at 150C. Standing the dish in a roasting tin half filled with boiling water. Cook for about 20-30 minutes. The custard should be a bit thicker and slightly runny - and the top crisp.

Amanda

Nantgwynfaen

Courgette Pickles

2nd September 2010

The kids have gone to school and now is the time to address the current courgette situation!

Courgette Pickles

courgettes, 1.4kg, trim, slice thinly

onions, 450g, trim slice thinly

sea salt, 225g

water, 2.5L

Place courgettes and onions in a non-metallic bowl. Dissolve salt in

water and pour solutions over the vegetables. Weight down with

plate, to keep them submerged. Leave to stand for 24 hours.

Rinse under cold running water, drain and dry on kitchen paper.

Place in empty preserving pan.

white wine vinegar, 450ml

sugar, 225g

mustard seeds, 2tsp

celery seeds, 1tsp

allspice, whole, 1tsp

Mix these remaining ingredients (not courgettes and onion) in

a saucepan. Stir over a low heat, with a wooden spoon until the

sugar has dissolved. Pour over courgettes & onions.

Leave to stand 1 hour.

Put the pan on the heat and boil for 3 minutes, remove from heat.

Transfer the vegetables to warmed sterilized jars to within 2.5cm

of the tops. Pour in the vinegar to cover by 1.25cm.

Seal the jars, label.

Keep in a cool dark place, leave 2 weeks before eating.

Fills about 2x 750ml jars.

Great on burgers and in cheese sandwiches.