Lemon, Lime & Poppy Seed Drizzle Cake

As many of you know, I enjoy making – as well as eating – cakes; the regular Friday cake-baking session for our guests is never a chore. A couple of weekends ago I found myself offering to make two large ‘traybakes’ for the Flaxdale Open Garden and as I am always on the look out for new recipes decided to try one of Mary Berry’s Poppy Seed cake recipes.

It turned out OK but looked very speckly and I did wonder whether the crowds at Flaxdale might be a bit apprehensive – it even just occured to me that some of the older visitors might have wondered for a horrible moment about weevils. Remember them? Anyway, nobody mentioned weevils and in fact I was rather surprised but very delighted that everybody seemed to simply love it (thanks, Mary Berry!); lots asked for the recipe.

So by genuine popular demand I reproduce the recipe, which I adapted slightly to incorporate what I did/didn’t have in the larder. I made a large amount in a large Aga Baking tray. Halve it if you want a normal tray bake tin size (sorry to be so scientific). Apparently it is an Australian recipe, and I have just checked up with Sara (in Sydney) who confirms that you certainly so see it around (also ‘Lamingtons’).

Lemon, Lime & Poppy Seed Drizzle Cake
450g SR flour
450g sugar
6 eggs
350g soft margarine
3 level tsp baking powder
Grated rind 2 lemons & 2 limes
12 tbs milk
80g poppy seeds

Crunchy Topping
350g Demerara or granulated sugar
Juice of the 2 lemons & 2 limes

Line your baking tin with foil or whatever you normally use. Grease well.
Put all the cake ingredients into a mixer or bowl and beat well until the mixture is completely smooth. Pour the cake mixture into the tin.
Bake in an electric oven at 180’ or in an Aga (top oven, lowest runners with the cold plain sheet in the second set of runners) for about 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and coming away slightly at the sides.
Remove the cake from the oven. Mix the lemon/lime juice into the topping sugar and pour it all over the top of the still hot cake. When it is almost cold take the cake out of the tin.

More Good Food News and Reviews

Percy my brother John

The first thing to tell you is that Val Kirkham, our next door neighbour and she of TopNosh fame, has sold TopNosh so that will still exist but is nothing now to do with her. However, she is still going to carry on cooking, under the name of catering4parwich. This is a non-profit enterprise based in our new village hall, ‘providing high quality locally sourced and prpeared food for hall user groups, village residents and visitors’.

So as far as we all are concerned, nothing has changed except the name and she now has no website so you have to contact Val for information on 01335 390 458.She is still very happy to make meals for our guests which she delivers herself to your door.

Now for the Peacock! We kept hearing glowing reports and at last I have been, taken by an extremely kind and generous friend who treated three of us to the most lovely lunch there last week. I could become a lady what lunches, very easily… Our friend was driving us (I said she was generous) so we her guests relaxed and had a glass of wine before lunch and another with it. The only thing I could feel the slightest smug about was having a coofee instead of a gorgeous looking pud, but then of course with the coffee came some delicious chocolates which were irresistible.

The Peacock has been bought back by Haddon Hall, who have refurbished it beautifully and it all feels very unfrighteningly elegant and charming. The staff were charming, the service excellent and the food quite delicious. To to set it all off the sun streamed through the glass doors into the dining room which looks over the garden; here we watched an ageless scene – a family happily and leisurely playing croquet while some little girls did handstands and cartwheels on the lawn. It all felt a million miles away from the technological frenzy that modern life all too easily can seem.

So another big plus for our recommended pubs and restaurant list! And, by the way, Percy the Peacock has nothing to do with the Peacock at Rowsley but I thought he’d approve of a little publicity. Percy just adopted my brother’s garden as his own many years ago and demands constant food and admiration; he struts about leering lovingly at his own reflection in every window.

Chuy’s Oat and Raisin Cookies

I did warn that publishing the Fake Bakewell recipe had started something… It probably isn’t surprising because so many of our guests love good food, and many love cooking, and for many the opportunity to cook meals or bake treats in a well-equipped kitchen with no other pressure on the time is a real, relaxing treat. (OK, it may not be for everybody, but we are no longer surprised at the number of guests for whom this has been one of many highlights of their stay in both Tom’s and Douglas’s Barns).

The day after the Bakewell tart post, the lovely Chuy, staying in Tom’s Barn, brought us a plate of very delicious biscuits she had made. One nibble of a cookie rapidly turned into a three cookie binge and I just had to ask if she would share the recipe. I shall certainly add it now to my  Friday changeover day repertoire, and possibly others will soon like to make the cookies themselves as well, so here it is. John set up photographing it – note the artistic structure (but as yet no washing up liquid, the biscuits being far to good to waste).

Oat and Raisin Cookies

Preheat the over to 170’C (325’F) Gas 3.      4 baking trays lined with greaseproof paper or baking parchment.

• 270g unsalted butter
• 160g caster sugar
• 160g soft dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 380g plain white flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1tsp bicarb
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 110g rolled oats
• 220 g raisins or possibly chopped dates

Beat the butter and sugars thoroughly and cream until light and fluffy (either in a mixer or using a hand held electric whisk).

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing them well in (if necessary scraping the mixture down from the sides of the bowl). Turn the speed of the mixer down to low and stir in the vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, salt, bicarb and cinnamon; then add the oats and mix well. Add this  to the butter mixture and beat well. Add the raisins and stir in with a wooden spoon until they are evenly distributed.

Place in equal sized dollops of the biscuit mixture, spaced well apart, onto the four baking trays. (The recipe says it makes 20 but they are enormous so I would suggest making perhaps 40 instead. Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes (probably less if you’ve made the cookies smaller so do keep checking in case they start burning) or until golden brown brown and firm.

Take them out of the over and leave to cool slightly on the trays before turning them out onto wire trays to cool completely.

Steak and Kidney Pudding Cooked in the Slow Cooker

Don’t worry, our Tom’s Barn blog has not suddenly transformed itself into a Cookery Corner but last night’s recipe has started something…

However, before I embark on any more, including already one from a guest (and hopefully in time perhaps some/many more!) allow me  to write out the recipe for the Steak and Kidney Pudding recipe I rather tantalisingly only alluded to but didn’t include in a post I wrote in March 2010 having successfully made one while we were staying in Tom’s Barn.

We couldn’t understand why there had been so many hits onto this page until I discovered there had been a lot of web chat about S&KPs and whether one could or not make them in a slow cooker and whether one had to cook the meet beforehand. Had I been more switched on I could have come to the rescue: yes, you most definitely can make a (most delicious) steak and kidney pudding  in a slow cooker, and no, you don’t have to cook the meat first…

The recipe below is taken from a wonderful book by Dianne Page “Slow Cooking Properly Explained” published by Right Way (an imprint of Constable and Robinson). I think I bought it from Amazon.

Steak and Kidney Pudding Recipe:

• 175g (6oz) self-raising flour
• 85g (3oz) shredded suet
• Pinch salt
• 450g (1lb) lean stewing steak, cut into cubes
• 225 (8oz) ox or lamb kidney, cut into cubes
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• Freshly milled black pepper

Method:

Preheat the slow cooker on HIGH. Grease a 1litre (1 3/4pt  pudding bowl (greasing is important otherwise it won’t turn out, as I discovered!)

Mix together the flour, suet and seasoning with enough water to make a soft dough. Reserve 1/3 for the lid and roll out the remainder on a lightly floured surface. Use this to line the pudding basin.

Mix together the steak, kidney, onion, salt and pepper and pack carefully into the pastry-lined pudding basin. Add 2 tbsp water. The pudding should not quite fill the bowl to allow room for the crust to rise

Roll out the remaining pastry to make the lid. Moisten the edges of the pastry with water and press the lid into position. Cover with *greased greaseproof paper or foil.

*I tore off enough to paper to allow me to fold a seam across the middle to give space for the pastry to rise, and sealed the paper down by tying string tightly round the rim.

*To avoid scalding yourself, fold a length of foil which you leave under the bowl with the ends loose at the top to lift the bowl in and out.

Using this lifting foil strap lower the bowl into the slow cooker. Pour in enough boiling water to come half way up the side of the basin.        Put the lid on, and cook on HIGH for 6-8 hours. Resist any temptation to peep!

Take the bowl out of the slow cooker, again using the foil lifting strap . Remove the greaseproof paper, and turn the S&KP out onto a warmed plate. Serve with some vegetables that you can cook at the last moment.

Tom’s & Douglas’s Barn Favourite Recipes

‘Cakes to Die For’ or ‘Heaven on a Plate’…

Neither of these descriptions are mine and modesty almost prevents me repeating them but we get so many complimentary remarks about the cakes that our guests seem to enjoy, and so many rather shy requests for the recipe, that we have decided I should start a kind of recipe corner.

Just how we’ll do it most effectively still remains to be worked out but just to get the ball rolling John and I felt we needed to start otherwise it might just remain a good idea bubbling away under the surface. Being keen on photography, John is going to try his hand at food photography, but as he has heard that to get the best effect the food needs to be cold and preferably smeared with washing up liquid for a nice appetizing sheen, maybe he won’t be very successful because we are far too greedy to spoil good food! But to start with, I am using one of the photos Jeremy Brough took for our website. (He certainly doesn’t use washing up liquid.)

So here goes… The recipe I was last asked for was for one of own family favourites, and what we call the ‘fake Bakewell’ (you will soon see why). I really am giving away secrets but having already happily shared it with so many of our guests I am quite happy to show it to some more.

I will give you the ‘recipe’ I use. It is just in my head and as you will see it is not very scientific. And you will notice that being older than some I still think and cook in pounds and ounces. If you think of the basic recipe as being for every egg 4 oz of everything else you can make the size you want. I always make this in a large Aga baking tray so I use the basic recipe times four. For normal family use one would probably do half, i.e. 2 eggs etc.

Recipe:

• 1lb butter ideally, for a better taste but soft margarine is fine
• I lb sugar
• *1/2lb ground rice
• *1/2lb ground almonds
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• Almond extract
• Flaked almonds
• Short crust pastry (either a bought block or made with 1lb flour)
• About half jar jam (preferably home made and sharpish like raspberry, blackcurrant or homemade plum)

Method:

Roll out the pastry and line the tin you are using. Ideally put it into the fridge but I can’t say I always do.

Melt the butter/marge and sugar in a saucepan on a lowish heat, stirring occasionally to ensure the sugar completely dissolves into the melted butter. Add the ground rice/almonds and leaving it on the heat, stir for a minute or two until it is all well mixed and smooth.  Take off the heat, and while it is cooling briefly spread the jam over the base of the pastry.

Then stir into the mixture the beaten eggs and a generous teaspoon and a bit (to size and taste) of almond extract.

Pour the mixture onto the pastry. Sprinkle generously with flaked almonds and pop it into the oven. In the Aga (2-door) I put it on the bottom grid of the top oven with the cold plain sheet over, for about 25-30 minutes+.  I can’t help with gas or electric temperatures but I would have thought whatever you’d normally use for something similar.

*It is perfectly delicious – and I rather think better – made with just ground rice and no ground almonds at all, but I often do half and half. I’ve never (yet) done it with all ground almonds.

Some Random Local Recommendations

We have some guests’ recommendations, and John and I have been doing a little sampling of local eateries, too.

Firstly, a joint one. Sam and Gary, who were here on their sixth visit very recently (they first came for their honeymoon, several years ago now) arranged for our next door neighbour, Val Kirkham, of TopNosh Catering to bring them a meal. Sam was warm in her praises, and wrote in the Visitors’ Book and in an email after they returned home, how much they had enjoyed it.

Val has done several parties for us, but we’d never had a private meal brought to the house, so we – never to be outdone – promptly decided to have a lazy night in with a friend from a nearby village and asked Val to bring us a casserole, new potatoes and salad. It was comforting, nourishing and delicious, and lasted us for another meal as well! So, there is one recommendation…

Guests in Douglas’s Barn last week went to the Druid; this pub has had slightly mixed reviews lately but keeps getting the Michelin ‘Bib Gourmand’ award. Anyway, these guests said they had an excellent meal, although they felt the menu was limited – no bad thing we reckon (as long as you like what’s there!). When a restaurant has dozens and dozen of choices on the menu, you know they can’t possibly be doing more than re-heating something probably mass-prepared many months previously.

Our great favourite (we like the Gate at Brassington too) The George at Alstonefield goes from strength to strength. We were lucky to get a table (already reserved for later) for a bowl of soup there on Saturday and only because we were very early and weren’t going to linger.

And finally, I don’t think we’ve mentioned this before, but we recently had a really lovely long and delicious Thai meal at the Basement Thai Restaurant in Ashbourne. It is tiny, more or less underground, and John and I didn’t even know it existed until we were taken there by friends a couple of weeks ago. They don’t appear to have a website, but the telephone no. is 01335 300 305. You can order a take away but not a home delivery even if you live in Ashbourne. The address is Middle Cale, St John’s Street, Ashbourne DE6 1GP

Good Food Recommendations and one good garage

We thought it high time to update our food recommendations (and some other recommendations, too – read on…).

Talking of good food, how lucky we are to have so many really good and attractive pubs and shops in the area who take a pride in food that is good by any standard. And talking of pubs, not surprisingly, the picture remains fairly predictable. Top of the league remains the George at Alstonefield. Practically all of our guests go there, some more than once even on a shortish holiday; all rave about the food and their experience generally, with comments like this appearing all the time.

‘The George at Alstonefield offered excellent food and service and welcomes dogs – highly recommended.’

What reports we have of the Gate are also pretty consistently good; ‘The Gate at Brassington has very lovely food, wish we had found it earlier,’ bewailed some recent guests in the Visitors’ Book. The Gate too now welcomes well-behaved dogs but we do always suggest that it is a good move to ring beforehand just to check that it will be acceptable at both the George and the Gate.

The Druid seemed to have gone off the radar somewhat, recently, but a happy guest in October recommends, ‘Tried the Druid Inn Birchover: the set menu is VERY good value for money’. You may remember that someone recently warned that one need to be a fan of black pudding to truly appreciate the Druid’s repertoire. This didn’t worry John or me, who love a good black pudding, but probably it isn’t everybody’s favourite fare.

Two new places were recommended recently, neither of which we have tried yet but it is always good to have new recommendations – The Hot Chilli takeaway in Ashbourne  –  good for a curry and the Charles Cotton Hotel in Hartington – good for great fish and chips.’

The White Peak Butchery at Tissington remains a great favourite with all our guests, who love the walk there over the hills although the poor couple who walked over two or three days ago found themselves ankle deep in mud at one stage. This is probably a track created by all our guests but it certainly had rained hard for a day or two…

Finally we end with a warm recommendation not for food at all, but for Preston’s garage in Ashbourne. Some guests arrived recently having lost their exhaust somewhere en route up from Devon. Preston’s were impressively quick and efficient ordering and fitting the appropriate parts; our appreciative guests were so grateful not to have to waste more of their holiday than necessary.

Organic Lunch in a Yurt

You may have sensed by now that we are rather keen on cooking and good food  and probably err on the side of self-indulgence. We get a weekly organic veggie box from Riverford, which we really appreciate, although it must be admitted that at this time of year we also have a glut in the garden  – mainly at the moment of courgettes and beans not to mention plums and soon it will be apples and damsons…

Anyway, we discovered that the Riverford Field Kitchen was coming up to Riverford Stockley Farm in Cheshire to host a series of lunches and dinners in a yurt. We had heard very good reviews of the meals provided and hadn’t ever actually been in a yurt so decided to give it a try. Stockley Farm is perhaps an hour and a half’s drive, but a wonderfully scenic route on a good day ‘over the top’ past the Cat and the Fiddle which is meant to be the highest pub in England. And our experience proved well worth the journey.

The said yurt turned out to be a rather beautiful circular creation with an ash frame. Eighty people sat at ten tables fanning out from the centre where stood a large wood burning stove – which was very definitely not needed today. The main course was chunks of delicious grilled chicken on a white bean and tomato sauce (I am sure there was a more poetic name but I didn’t master that) and numerous plates of quite equally delicious fresh vegetables, potatoes and garlic, carrots with caraway seeds and everybody’s favourite on our table, thinly sliced green beans and Parmesan cheese. All this was prepared in an impressively small field kitchen and served by a very competent and friendly young team who really made one feel they were genuinely enjoying serving us.

The puddings were almost literally to die for: extremely rich chocolate brownies,  Eton Mess with blueberries and great chunks of meringue, and a plum clafoutis, light as a feather. The last was a new one to all on our table, but everyone made a mental note to try it out.  Seriously good coffee followed, then feeling very well-fed and somewhat sleepy we wended our way home. There was a lot of (all organic) wine and beer on sale, but because of the drive we steered clear of that.

Good local food

Only a day later than promised. A friend of ours dropped in unexpectedly and stayed overnight so that was the end of good intentions for yesterday.

Anyway, we went with some other friends recently to the Saracen’s Head at Shirley.  Now, Shirley is the other side of Ashbourne so it is not exactly in our immediate orbit but a 20-25 minute drive away; however it is well worth those extra minutes and miles if you’re after what should be a happy food experience.

The Saracen’s Head  calls itself a gastro-pub; it wasn’t cheap, but one wouldn’t have expected it to be. The decor was bright and clean, the service very pleasant,  we all enjoyed our respective meals very much and plan to return when waistband and purses allow.

In search of good food – latest reviews

Constantly in search of exciting new places where we can eat well ourselves and recommend with confidence to our guests, we have tried one or two new places recently with varying degrees of success but we will pass on our experiences for what they are worth.

Saving the best for tomorrow here goes today with the very definitely  ‘not best’… We met up with a few friends the other day to try lunch Le Mistral, a new bistro in Bakewell.  John and I had had a very atmospheric meal/evening at the one in Wirksworth- admittedly several years ago – and when the Bakewell restaurant opened a month or so ago we were sent very impressive brochures with a discount offer for our guests and ourselves. We had great hopes.

So far so good. Le Mistral looked bright and clean, the atmosphere attractive, staff were pleasant and our complimentary glass of house wine very acceptable. The let down was the food. It was pretty expensive (although we did get the promised discount taken off the bill afterwards) and quite frankly disappointing. Had it been delicious we probably we would probably have found the prices quite acceptable

Feeling nostalgic I had ordered  ‘Homemade prime beef, tarragon and garlic meatballs, in a tomato and herb sauce, on a bed of rice topped with parmesan shavings.’  My five nondescript and fairly tiny meatballs were an embarrassment –  I would have been ashamed to serve them for the most routine of children’s suppers; they cost £10.

We had a fun time. As I said, the atmosphere was pleasant, and we were with friends; however not one of us had actively enjoyed the food and none of us would bother to go back. What a wasted opportunity for a new restaurant trying to build up a reputation and what a shame for those of us who were hoping to have a great new venue to recommend to our friends and guests!