Recipe – Nannie RaRa

Millionaires shortbread

4th Nov 2025 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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Enjoy!

Recipe

Cashew nut roast

9th Nov 2024 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

Time to make Christmas cake

3rd Nov 20193rd Nov 2019 Nannie RaRa

It’s time to make a traditional fruit Christmas cake. I have made one with the recipe I have used for years. It is based on the recipe for Christmas cake from the 1972 edition of Good Housekeeping’s Easy-Stages Cook Book.

Christmas Cake

Ingredients

2 lb 2 oz (1 kg) mixed fruit made up of currants, sultanas, raisins, candied peel
6 oz glacé cherries cut into quarters
10 oz plain flour
1/2 level teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
10 oz butter – spreadable is easier for mixing
10 oz soft brown sugar
6 eggs

Prepare either an 8 inch or a 9 inch cake tin. The 8 inch will give you a taller cake. Grease the bottom and sides of the tin. Line the tin with greaseproof paper and re-grease. Make a band of brown paper round the outside of the tin and a couple of inches above the height of the tin. Tie in place.

Set the oven to 150 C. This can be cooked in an oven with or without a fan. With a fan reduce the temperature to 140 C.

Put the flour and spices in a bowl and mix together. Add the mixed fruit and cherries, and mix up so that the fruit is not lumped together and is covered in the spiced flour. Leave to one side.

In a separate bowl cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is smooth. Add the eggs one at a time and beat into the mix.

starting to add the fruit and flour mix to the butter, sugar and eggs

Add the flour, spice and fruit, making sure they are well blended. The final mix should easily drop from the spoon when held above the bowl. If it is too stiff add a little milk.

Don’t forget to make a wish as you do the final mixing. Everyone who helped with the cake should make a wish.

Put the mix into the prepared cake tin, spreading it round evenly using a knife. Make a dip in the centre.

Put the cake into the bottom of the over for about 4 1/2 hours – mine took 4 hours this time. After two hours put a layer of either brown or greaseproof paper over the top to prevent the cake becoming over-browned. Check it is ready by inserting a fine skewer which should look quite clean as it is pulled out. If you are not sure leave it for an extra twenty minutes.

When cooked leave the cake to cool in the tin.

You can add brandy to the cake once it has cooled by pricking the cake all over and slowly pouring two or three tablespoons of brandy over the top. This can be done once the cake has cooled or after a couple of weeks. This can be repeated for a richer flavour.

To store the cake, wrap in greaseproof paper and then either place in an airtight tin or wrap in tinfoil.

The traditional almond paste and icing are added much nearer Christmas.

This year we had three generations making the cake – Nannie, Daughter and Grandson, so there were three Christmas wishes!

Recipe

Autumn cake with blackberries and apple

25th Sep 20193rd Nov 2019 Nannie RaRa

What could be nicer than walking in the countryside, picking seasonal fruits, going home and making them into something delicious to eat.

This is what I made using local blackberries and apples from my garden

Blackberry and Apple Cake

Ingredients

Eggs – two large or three medium
Butter – spreadable is easier for mixing
Soft brown sugar
Self-raising flour
Chopped apples
Blackberries

Cooking: 1 ¼ – 1 ½ hours 160C fan oven

6 or 7 inch cake tin, greased and lined with greaseproof paper

Method

Wash approximately 8 oz blackberries – preferably freshly picked – and leave them to drain.

Peel, and chop into small chunks, two medium apples. Put them into a bowl of cold water to prevent them browning.

Weigh, while still in their shells, two large or three medium eggs. This will be the weight you will need of both butter and soft brown sugar.

Put sugar and butter into mixing bowl and beat until smooth and creamy.

Add egg yolks and whites and again mix thoroughly until smooth.

Weigh the flour – it should be the equivalent of the weight of eggs plus a half. For example, if the eggs weighed 6 oz, weigh out 9 oz flour. (6 + 6/2 = 6 + 3 = 9)

Fold the flour into the mix.

Drain the chopped apples and add them and the blackberries to the cake mix. Stir until all are covered.

Put the complete mix into the lined cake tin and place into the heated oven. Bake for an hour to an hour and a half until a skewer comes out clean. If unsure leave for an extra ten minutes.

Take cake from oven, remove baking tin and leave to cool on wire rack.

Eat in slices as a cake or with cream and/or custard as a dessert. Enjoy!