Category: Recipe

Recipe

Millionaires shortbread

Nannie RaRa

The whole family adore millionaires shortbread. I only usually make it on special occasions as it takes a while to do, but it is so worth it.

The recipe I use is based on Caramel cakes in the book Cakes and Desserts published by Octopus in 1978. I have made this into a gluten-free recipe, but the only difference is the flour in the shortbread base. If you want to use ordinary flour just replace the gluten free with the same quantity of SR flour.

Ingredients

ingredients

Shortbread

  • 5 oz butter
  • 4 oz caster sugar
  • 10 oz gluten-free self-raising flour

Filling

  • 4 oz butter
  • 4 oz caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoons golden syrup
  • 1 large can condensed milk (397g)

Topping

  • 6 oz chocolate

Method

Grease a 12 x 9 inch swiss roll tin. Set the oven to 180 C.

To make the shortbread, cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl. Then work in the flour – I used a spoon to begin with, then my fingers, rubbing the ingredients together as though making a crumble.

preparing shortbread mix

Sprinkle the shortbread mix into the swiss roll tin, spreadly evenly and press down.

Put this into the oven for 15-20 minutes until the shortbread is golden. Take out and leave to cool.

For the filling, place all the ingredients into a saucepan. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved, stirring occasionally. Now turn up the heat, stir continuously while it comes to the boil and boil for five minutes. You might notice dark pieces floating where the sugar has caught on the pan. These are fine. The mixture will thicken and darken as it boils.

filling

Remove from the heat after five minutes and leave for a minute before spreading onto the cooled shortbread. Leave it to set.

filling in the tray

Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a pyrex bowl or jug. I use Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate as it is my favourite but any chocolate is fine, either milk or dark. Place the jug over a pan of hot water until the chocolate has melted.

melting chocolate

Spread the chocolate over the set filling. Mark it into portions, leave to cool and the chocolate to harden.

millionaires shortbread with chocolate topping

Using a knife cut the millionaires shortbread into portions – I usually cut it into 8 x 6 pieces – and remove carefully from the tin. This can be frozen.

millionaires shortbread slices

Enjoy!

Recipe

Cashew nut roast

Nannie RaRa

My daughter has reverted to being a vegetarian and has asked for a nut roast for Christmas dinner. I’ve been experimenting and this cashew nut roast seems promising.

Ingredients

Main roast

  • 150 g cashew nuts
  • small onion
  • 125 g chestnut mushrooms
  • bunch fresh thyme
  • 4 oz breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1 oz butter

Stuffing

  • 3 oz breadcrumbs
  • lemon
  • bunch fresh parsley
  • 1 egg

Method

Prepare the stuffing first. Make the breadcrumbs using fresh brown bread and place in a bowl.

I used white bread for both in this version, but in future I’ll use brown bread for the stuffing and white for the main roast to produce a contrast.

Chop the parsley finely – I prefer curly leafed parsley – and add to the breadcrumbs. Grate the rind from the lemon and add this, plus the juice to the breadcrumbs. Mix well then bind together using a beaten egg. Stand to one side.

Make the breadcrumbs for the main roast and place in a bowl. Crush the cashew nuts, either in a blender or use a rolling pin on a board. Mix the cashews with the breadcrumbs.

Chop both the onion and the mushrooms finely. In a cooking pan melt 1 oz butter. Add the the onion, mushrooms and the thyme leaves. Cook over a gentle heat for a couple of minutes.

Put the onion and mushroom mix into the breadcrumbs and nuts. Mix well and bind together with a beaten egg. It will be a bit crumbly, not completely solid.

Put a sheet of baking parchment into a loaf tin. Put half the main roast mix in the bottom of the tin. Spoon the stuffing on to this and then finally the last part of the main roast.

Cover with tinfoil and bake at 180 C for an hour, taking the tinfoil off for the last ten minutes to crisp the top.

Take out and either eat it hot with gravy or a sauce. It can also be eaten cold. I enjoyed a slice as it was – it would be good in a lunch box.

Enjoy!

Recipe

Cherry slice

Nannie RaRa

My grandson loves glace cherries so I made these cherry slices for him. He is coming to play tomorrow so I prepared these specially for him.

Ingredients

ingredients

  • 3 oz plain flour
  • 1 oz caster sugar
  • 2 oz butter
  • 3oz glace cherries

Topping

  • 2 oz butter
  • 2 oz caster sugar
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 2 oz ground almonds

Method

Set the oven to 170C fan, 190C or 375F

Line and grease the base of a shallow tin – approximately 12 x 4 inches or an 8 inch round tin.

Put the flour into a bowl, add the sugar and mix together. Rub in the butter until the mixture binds together.

mix base until binds together

Press into the tin in an even layer. Place the halved or quartered cherries evenly over the base.

add base and cherries to pan

Make the topping by creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

mix sugar and butter

Add the egg a little at a time, beating really well.

beat in egg

Fold in the ground almonds.

add ground almonds

Spread the mixture evenly over the cherries.

spread over base

Place in the oven for about 35 minutes until the cake is set and golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

bake until golden

Cut into pieces when cold. This can either be eaten as a cake or with thick cream or ice cream as a dessert.

eat as cake or dessert

Enjoy!

Adapted from Good Housekeeping Easy-stages Cook Book 1972

Recipe

Summer Mess

Nannie RaRa

This is a very simple summer dessert, a take on Eton Mess using summer fruits which are plentiful now. It also works if you only have a few fruits. I have made a version of this using damson puree instead of grated lemon.

Ingredients

Ingredients
  • 300 ml double cream
  • 2 dessert spoonfuls icing sugar
  • grated rind of one lemon
  • meringue – you can make your own but I used ready-made ones from the supermarket
  • summer fruits – I picked raspberries and strawberries from the garden

Method

Add the icing sugar to the double cream.

add icing sugar

Grate the rind from a lemon and add to the cream. (An alternative is to add damson puree).

grate lemon rind

Whisk together until the cream thickens and forms soft peaks.

whisked cream

This can be used now or placed in the fridge for an hour or two until you need it.

Break the meringues into pieces.

Gently fold into the cream mix.

Put onto individual plates – this makes four servings.

Dot the fruit around. I used a mix of fresh raspberries and sliced strawberries.

summer mess

Enjoy!

You can now find all of Nannie RaRa’s recipes in one place: Recipes

Recipe

Melting moments

Nannie RaRa

This recipe for melting moments is at least thirty years old. My sister-in-law gave it to me when both our children were in primary school and always hungry when they came in.

Ingredients

ingredients
  • 3 oz caster sugar
  • 4 oz soft butter or margarine
  • 5 oz self-raising flour
  • 1/2 egg
  • approximately 2 oz porridge oats

Method

Switch on oven to 180 C. Grease a flat baking tray – a swiss roll tin is perfect.

blend sugar and butter

Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and light. Add the egg and beat well.

add flour

Mix in the flour, making sure the flour is well blended into the mixture.

roll in oats

Using your hands take golf size pieces of the dough and form them into balls. This quantity makes between 10 and 12 melting moments – this time I made 11.

Coat the balls in rolled oats.

Place on the baking tray and flatten slightly.

put on baking tray

Lightly press half a cherry into the centre. I forgot to do this and added the cherries when the melting moments came out of the oven. The cherries didn’t stick so well 😉

Cook in the oven at 180 C for about 15-20 minutes until the melting moments are turning golden.

Cool on a wire rack.

cool on wire rack

Enjoy!