Tuesday, 13 January 2009

Seville Orange Marmalade



SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE 1 (Quick and easy -using Pressure Cooker to soften fruit )

2 lbs Seville Oranges
4 lb Granulated Sugar
2 pints water
2 Lemons

Wash oranges. Squeeze juice and collect pips in muslin bag and tie up. Put water, orange peel, orange juice and pips into pressure cooker and cook on high for 10 mins.( Peel should be very soft )Cool. Squeeze bag of pips to extract maximum pectin . Remove peel, cut up and return to pan.Add juice of lemons and sugar. Boil rapidly until a set is reached(15-20 mins )
Leave to stand a few mins and put in jars.Yield about 6 lbs.

SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE 2


1½lbs Seville Oranges
4 pints water
juice 1 lemon
Sugar

Wash the oranges and cut into halves. Squeeze out juice. Collect pips in a muslin bag. Cut the peel into shreds and put into bowl with bag of pips,orange juice,lemon juice and water.Leave overnight
Transfer to pan and cook gently until peel is soft-about 1½ hours.Remove bag of pips.
Add 1lb of sugar to each pint of liquid and bring to the boil .Boil rapidly until a set is reached -15 -20 mins. Leave to cool a few mins then pot. Yield about 6 lbs
ENJOY !

A FEW NOTES

The second recipe is from Seville. I think perhaps the Barber used it when he wasn't cutting hair or singing .

If no muslin bag is available a J. cloth is a good substitute


A pressure cooker reduces softening time considerably. Peel must be soft before sugar is added because it won't soften after.

For a darker marmalade substitute 1 ounce of treacle for 1 ounce of the sugar .


If a lot of scum forms on the surface of the marmalade as it boils a small piece of butter helps disperse it.


To test for set.Put a spoonful of marmalade on a cold plate.If the surface wrinkles when pushed with the finger it is ready.10 to 15 minutes cooking is usually enough.If it's boiled too much it won't set


I used to have a sugar boiling thermometer but two years ago I happily plunged it into boiling marmalade and to my amazement it came out minus the glass bowl and mercury so I had to throw the lot away I haven't bothered with one since.


When cooked leave the marmalade in the pan until a skin forms -- about 15 minutes then pot in warm jars-- this stops the peel from floating to the top.

Fellow Marmalade Makers have I forgotten anything or have you any more tips?

If all this sounds a bit of a hassle wait until the supermarket has marmalade on offer (this usually coincides with your labelling of your very last jar) and get stocked up .
GOOD LUCK !!

Thursday, 16 October 2008

Chocolate Cake



Chocolate Cake


6 ozs. plain flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa powder,1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 5 ozs. caster sugar, 2 tablespoons black treacle, 2 eggs, beaten, 5 fluid ozs. sunflower oil, 5 fluid ozs. milk .Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and sugar into a large bowl. Add treacle, eggs ,oil and milk. Beat well , for at least two minutes, until smooth..Divide mixture between two 7" greased and baselined sandwich tins. Bake at 325°F . 160° C. or Gas 3 for 30- 35 minutes or until well risen .Fill and decorate as required ( I used chocolate and vanilla butter cream with melted chocolate topping)
SHARE AND ENJOY !

Sunday, 5 October 2008

Pikelets



Make a batter with :- 5 fl.ozs water, 5fl.ozs milk, 1tbs oil , 8 oz (bread or plain) flour, 1 tsp salt ,1tsp sugar, 1½ tsp dried yeast.I use the dough programme on a breadmaker (Total time 1½ hrs. consisting of- 5 mins mix -5 mins rest- 5 mins mix again- 1¼ hrs rise) but it could equally be mixed in a processor or by hand and put to rise in a warm place.When risen and bubbly mix ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda with 4 tbs water and add to batter. Leave another 30mins Batter ready and pikelets ready for flip
Put spoonsful of batter on hot griddle or in large frying pan . When bubbles rise and pop flip over and cook other side ( No shortage of helpers at this stage-although they seem to melt away at the clearing up stage )Makes about 10 and they freeze well.

Friday, 3 October 2008

Isabella's Sponge Gingerbread

ISABELLA’S SPONGE GINGERBREAD
8 ozs sugar
12 ozs plain flour
9 ozs corn oil
9 ozs water
2 eggs
4 ozs treacle
5 ozs syrup
1 tsp bi-carb
2 tsp ginger
Preheat oven to 150 ยบ, Gas Mark 2.Grease and line baking tin.
Cream sugar and eggs. Beat in oil with syrup and treacle
Sift flour and add a tablespoonful at a time.
Dissolve bi-carb in water. Add ginger. Add
liquid to mixture and pour into tin.
Bake for about an hour.