Parsnip Cake

Ingredients

 

175g butter, plus extra for greasing

250g demerara sugar

100ml maple syrup or golden syrup

3 large eggs

250g self raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp mixed spice

250g parsnips, peeled and grated

1 medium eating apple, peeled cored and grated

50g pecan or walnuts, roughly chopped

1 small orange, zest and juice of

icing sugar, to serve

 

For the filling:

250g tub mascarpone

3-4 tbspn maple syrup

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Method

 

Heat oven to 180c/160c fan/gas 4.

 

Grease and line 2x20cm sandwich tins.

 

Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a pan over gentle heat then cool slightly.

 

Whisk the eggs into this mixture then stir in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice followed by the grated parsnip, apple, nuts, orange zest and juice.

 

Divide between then tins,bake for 25-30 mins until the tops spring back when pressed lightly.

 

Cool the cakes slightly in the tins before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.

 

Just before serving mix together the mascarpone and maple syrup. Spread over one cake and sandwich with the other. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

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Apple cake with cinnamon topping
Cake

*        4oz butter

*        10oz SR flour with 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda.

*        7oz sugar

*        Few drops vanilla essence, optional

*        10oz chopped apple
Topping

*        4oz melted butter

*        4oz plain flour

*        4oz sugar

*        4 heaped teaspoons ground cinnamon (or more- you can't have too much)

Preheat the oven to 180oC or gas  4

To make the cake mixture, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, beat in the eggs (and vanilla essence), fold in the flour gently and finally the apples.

To make the topping just mix the ingredients - I usually melt the butter in the pan and then add the dry ingredients when it's cooled a touch and mix in the pan to save washing up!

Spread the topping over the raw cake mixture in a greased tin - I usually use a deep 7inch diameter tin.

Bake for approximately 1 hour.

Well, it's got apple in it, so it must be healthy.............

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Lemon and blackcurrant cheesecake

Makes 2 smallish or one very large cheesecake

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Base

Approx 28 digestive biscuits crushed

6oz butter

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Cheesecake layer

300ml whipping cream

397g tin condensed milk

300g tub full fat soft cheese eg philadelphia

Zest and juice 4 lemons

Approx 1 sachet gelatine to ensure a good set.

Blackcurrant topping

Approximately 1 pint sweetened blackcurrant puree (or similar)

(I don’t really measure but I use around 1-2 lb blackcurrant with 5-10oz sugar)

Approx 1 sachet of gelatine to set.

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Preparation

Prepare the fruit puree in advance so that it can cool. I boil up the blackcurrants with

the sugar so the sugar dissolves and fruit softens. Pass through a sieve to make a

smooth puree.

Melt the butter and coat the crushed digestives before tamping into a dish to make

the base (s). Leave to cool in the fridge.

Whip the cream in a separate bowl.

Mix the cream cheese to a smooth paste then mix in the condensed milk bit by bit

getting rid of any lumps then whisk to get as much air in as possible.

Gently whisk cheese mix together with whipped cream. Add lemon zest and then

juice bit by bit just until it has thickened- don’t overwhisk.

Carefully fold in prepared gelatine to be sure of a good set and then add to base and

cool in the fridge.

Once base is setting, mix the fruit puree with prepared gelatine and pour over top.

Leave to set in the fridge

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