Fit for a Queen

We were inspired to make this by the Fortnum and Mason Platinum Pudding competition, in recognition of Queen Elizabeth's 70 year reign and the Jubilee celebrations planned throughout 2022.

Taking the quintessentially English Queen of Puddings, and, in recognition of Her Majesty's German roots, marrying it with the classic flavours of a Black Forest gateau, we have created what we think is a pudding fit for a Queen.

60g butter

50g sugar

100ml double (heavy) cream

400ml full fat milk

50g dark chocolate

125g fresh breadcrumbs

2 eggs, separated

50g sugar

3 tblsp good cherry jam.

Heat the oven to 180ºC

Place the cream, milk and chocolate in a saucepan. As befits a recipe for a queen, I used a pan fit for a palace kitchen 

Heat gently, stirring regularly until the chocolate has melted.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until well blended and then stir in the breadcrumbs. It is well worth saving up bags of breadcrumbs in the freezer, rather than sacrificing a fresh loaf.

Stir in the chocolate milk and then beat in the egg yolks.

Pour the mixture into a greased 1lb loaf tin.

And yes, I used our "Sunday best" tin, but our standard iron tin would work just as well.

Leave to stand while the oven heats up to 180ºC

Then slip the tin into the oven and cook for 40 minutes, until the custardy filling is just set.

Remove the tin from the oven and set aside to cool.  Turn the oven down to 120ºC

While the custard cools, add 1 tablespoon of the remaining sugar to the egg whites and whisk until they form stiff peaks, then add the remainder of the sugar and contiune beating until they take on the lustre of a princess's pearl necklace.

Once the chocoalte custard base is cool, spread the top carefully with the jam and then top with the meringue.

  

Put the tin back in the oven for around 25 minutes, until a light golden brown.

Serve warm, rather than piping hot!

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2022 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Shrove Tuesday treats

A day for indulgence before the abstinence of Lent or simply an excuse to eat more than your fair share of pancakes!

And much as we love topping a classic crepe with lemon and sugar, we like to ring the changes too.

Here we have some fluffy American style pancakes, cooked on a griddle plate and served with blueberries and yogurt to make us feel virtuous and maple syrup to undo the "good work". 😇  These are great for breakfast, ideally on a lazy weekend, but can also be enjoyed cold throughout the day, perhaps with a sliced banana or a smear of apricot jam?

The chestnut crepes are a delicious dessert; impressive but so simple to make.

For the American style pancakes:

Makes about 16 pancakes

120g self raising flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

50g melted butter

120ml buttermilk or milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

25g sugar

For the topping:

200g blueberries

20ml water

Sugar to taste

Start by simmering the blueberries with the water and enough sugar to suit your palate.  Cook until soft, with a slightly syrupy consistency.  Set aside.

Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.

Combine the eggs, buttermilk (or milk), melted butter and vanilla extract and pur into the centre of the flour.

Whisk together to form a smooth, thick batter.

Place a lightly greased griddle plate or a frying pan over a medium heat - do not have the heat too high or you will burn the outside of the pancakes, leaving the insides raw and runny.

Drop one tablespoon of batter at a time onto the hot pan, until you have filled all the available space.  When bubbles rise to the surface and the underside is golden, carefully flip each pancake over and cook the other side.

REmove each cooked pancake to a cooling rack and keep covered with a clean tea towel until you have used up all the batter.

Stack the pancakes as high as you dare on a serving plate - we particularly like this one from Sytch Farm Studios  and crown with a waterfall of blueberry compote.  Serve with ice cream, whipped cream or Greek yogurt and a generous drizzle of maple syrup.

Chestnut pancakes

To fill four pancakes - make your own favourite recipe or pick up a pack of ready made crepes, we won't tell!

Mix together

100g chestnut purée

2 dessertspoons icing sugar

2 teaspoons cocoa

1 dessertspoon double cream

Add a dash of brandy if you are feeling fancy.

Divide the mixture evenly between the four pancakes and roll them up.

Tuck them neatly into a 2lb loaf tin or equivalent and cover with foil.

Heat in a moderate oven for 15 - 20 minutes.

Serve hot, either as they are or drizzled with melted dark chocolate.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2021 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

New shape, new recipe - loaf tin cake

You may have noticed that we have changed the shape of our 1lb (½kg) and 2lb (1kg) loaf tins.
This is response to a number of requests from people who love the characteristics and performance of the tins, but who wanted the shape to be more like a sandwich loaf.
So we obliged.  In every respect, other than the squarer shape, these are just the same as the old ones.  So, the same made to last appeal, natural non stick properties, heavy black iron material for great cooking characteristics and wonderful crusts; just as useful, equally beautiful.

And to prove the point, here is a recipe cooked in the new 1lb loaf tin

120g butter
50g sugar
50g lime marmalade*
2 eggs
50g dried cranberries
120g self raising flour.

80g icing sugar
Juice of half a lemon

* I used home made lime marmalade, which is what you would describe as "soft set".  If you use a well known brand such as Roses, which has a much firmer set, then I would advise adding the juice of a lime or a couple of tablespoons of milk to the mix to loosen it a little.

Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC and lightly grease your loaf tin.  This would also work in our cake tin, but you may need to reduce the cooking time. 

Cream the butter, sugar and marmalade together until well blended and light in colour.  Beat in the eggs.

Fold in the flour and the cranberries and spoon the mixture into the greased loaf tin.

Bake for 30 minutes and check that it passes the skewer test.  If the top is browning too quickly, cover lightly with foil or a used butter wrapper.

Leave in the tin for around 10 minutes and then turn out on to a cooling rack.

Put the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually add the lemon juice until you have a thick icing.  Drizzle artistically over the top of the cake. 

Pop the kettle on and make a cup of tea, to be enjoyed with a thick slice of cake.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Autumnal cooking - a Bonfire night classic

Sticky ginger cake

 A nostalgic favourite, updated.

Misty mornings, dark, chilly evenings, the turning of leaves from green to red, gold, copper and bronze and  and Bonfire Night.

All Hallow's day, 1st November,  marks what we think of as the start of autumn, banishes the bad spirits of Hallowe'en, anticipates the spectacle of Bonfire Night and is, commercial nightmare such as Black Friday notwithstanding, probably the start of many folks' countdown to Christmas.

It also signals a change in our cooking, more soups and stews, spiked with spices, rather than the vibrant verdancy of summer herbs and salads; warming the body and the soul.

These squashes grew from seeds, carelessly tossed in to the compost heap and will be used for a number of dishes over the coming weeks.

But today is all about a variation on a family favourite, a wistful reminder of the Bonfire parties of our youth.  

What do you remember  - I can recall potatoes baked in the embers of the fire, fat sausages, home made toffee and sticky Parkin.  Mulled wine and spiced, warmed apple juice were always on hand when our children were small, although the hot chocolate we had as kids ourselves is just as welcome.

This recipe is a sticky ginger loaf, dotted with ginger tea soaked raisins and is as tasty standing round the fire, as it is served up as dessert with poached pears and ginger Chantilly cream.

Tonight I plan to serve it with Andrew Dargue's marzipan custard. 

Soak 100g sultanas in 150ml ginger tea for half an hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 165ºC

Grease a 2lb loaf tin 

120g butter

120g black treacle

180g soft brown sugar

2 eggs

240g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tblsp ground ginger

2 tsp mixed spice

125ml hot ginger tea - I used an infusion of Saco ginger flakes, gifted to me at Ginger and Spice Fest

Place the butter, sugar and treacle in a pan, I used our copper milk pan, and warm gently until the butter has melted and all three ingredients have melded together.

Tip the dry ingredients in to a large mixing bowl and stir well to distribute the spices and bicarboanate of soda.

Strain the raisins and add to the bowl.  Beat the eggs lightly and add those along with the melted butter mix.  Stir well, then beat in the hot tea.

Puir into the prepared loaf tin and pop into the oven.

Cook for around 40 minutes, until it passes the skewer test.

Allow to cool for 15 minutes in the tin.

then carefully turn out onto a cooling tray.

Serve around the bonfire in thick slices, perhaps accompanied with a classic Whisky Mac

Or serve as a delicious dessert, with poached pears and a Chantilly cream made with some syrup from a jar of stem ginger.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2019 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Banana banter

A bunch  of browning bananas sulkily staring at me from the fruit bowl, recriminating, challenging - you should have eaten us, what are you going to do with us, bet you won't let us go to waste?

You didn't know bananas could talk, did you, but listen carefully and the riper they get, the more incessant their chatter.
But I am in no mood to be lectured by a bunch of fruit, or, to be more precise, a hand of herbs, especially as I cannot get my head round the fact that a banana is a herb.
Two of them are unceremoniously dumped in a jug, drowned with cold milk and quickly turned into milkshake.
Thus leaves another four, their brown freckles joining up before my eyes and shouting now, "eat us, eat us or you will have to throw us on the compost." I am confronted in my imagination with a vision of Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall waving an accusatory index finger and sorrowfully shaking his head, whilst wearing a t-shirt psychedelically emblazoned with #waronwaste
Note to self, perhaps a few less coffees?

The immediate thought is banana bread, and I'll wager a considerable sum that that is the first thought of many of you.  Of course, they could have been added to ice cream, frittered, turned into a banana Tarte Tatin, banoffee pie, or if my Dad were visiting, I would slice and fry them and stick them into a bacon sarnie for him - don't knock it 'til you've tried it.  But banana bread is always top of the list and there are so many variations.  We love Nigella Lawson's banana breakfast bread, with cardamom and cocoa nibs from Simply Nigella and we are also fond of one with chopped chocolate and peanut butter mixed in, but it was time for something new.

This is heavy, sticky, gooey and none the worse for that.  It's the banana equivalent of a Soreen malt loaf and given that they make over a million loaves a week, according to their website  that can be no bad thing.
Stick one in your rucksack on that next winter walk.

120g butter
120g brown sugar
2 eggs
4 ripe bananas
60g dates
150g rye flour
20g pumpkin seeds
1tsp mixed spice or cinnamon
handful of chopped nuts
1 dessertspoon runny honey

Pre heat the oven to 170ºC
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add 2 of the bananas and mix until smooth.... If you are mixing by hand, mash the bananas first.
Thoroughly beat in the eggs, but don't worry too much if the mixture looks curdled at this stage.
Carefully fold in the flour, spice, seeds and dates.
Spoon the mixture in to a greased 2lb loaf tin.
Slice the remaining bananas lengthways and arrange on top of the cake. Sprinkle over the chopped nuts, I used almonds for this one, but hazelnuts, pistachios, pecans, walnuts or Brazil nuts would be just as good.
Drizzle the honey over the top and put the tin in the oven.

Bake for 50 minutes.  Check that it is cooked through by poking it with a skewer and if the skewer comes out clean, the cake is cooked.  If there is mixture clinging to the skewer, return it to the oven for another 10 minutes and check again.

Leave to cool in the tin, then run a palette knife around each side of the cake, invert the tin and turn out the cake.
Store in the fridge otherwise the bananas will go off quicker than you can admonish them, but remove from the fridge 30 minutes before serving for maximum enjoyment.  In this case, revenge on the talking bananas is best served at room temperature.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2017 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Toffee apple and date cake

Our loaf tins, as many people, including the lovely Nigella Lawson, already know, are good for all sorts of yummy things other than home made bread.
This is a scrumptious toffee apple cake, which tastes even better with some home made custard or a dollop of cream.

1oz butter
2oz brown sugar
Splash of brandy (optional)
2 apples - no need to peel
8 dates, pitted and chopped
1oz chopped pecans

Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the sugar and the brandy. Heat gently until sugar dissolves.
Core the apples and cut into chunky slices. Stir into the toffee sauce, with the dates.

Cook for 5 minutes and transfer to a 2lb loaf tin.
Sprinkle over the chopped pecans.

Preheat the oven to 175ºC

2 oz butter
2 oz sugar
2 oz golden syrup

2 eggs

2 oz SR flour
2 oz ground rice
1tsp mixed spice

Beat the butter until it is soft, add the sugar and syrup and beat until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and beat thoroughly.
Fold in the flour, ground rice and mixed spice.

Spread over the apples.
Place in the oven and bake for around 20 minutes.
Leave to cool for 15 minutes.
Turn out onto a serving plate and serve sliced with whipped cream or custard.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Piper's farm terrine

Since we decided to take the path of madness  independence and local manufacturing, we have been constantly surprised by the change in approach and the sheer generosity and warm heartedness of people urging us to succeed and lending their support.
In turn, we have done whatever we can to collaborate and support others who share our outlook and aims.

Much of the support has come from food producers, who share our concern for the environment and the provenance and treatment of what we put in our stomachs.

Recently the talented Abby from Piper's Farm, purveyors of the most ridiculously good meat, posted some photos on Instagram of her pork terrine recipe, which she had cooked in our cookware.
With her kind permission, we reproduce her recipe and stunning photos below.
So for all of you who have not yet come across their website and amazing meat, check this out and then go and visit their website.

This would make a superb addition to a Christmas buffet table or Boxing day picnic

You will need: 

100g Pigs Liver

200g Smoked Streaky Bacon

500g Pork Mince

450g Diced Pork

A handful of roughly chopped hazelnuts

75g Madeira

1 Tsp ground Nutmeg

Coarse Sea Salt

Crushed Black Pepper

A handful of Juniper Berries

A handful of Sage

A few springs of Thyme

A few sprigs of Rosemary

A couple of Bay leaves
Firstly take a sturdy oven proof dish. I love using my @nethertonfoundry loaf tin.

Line your chosen dish with cling film and neatly stretch your streaky bacon across the tin in smart lines. 
Pre-heat your oven to 180C and place a tray of water in the bottom. Pop your lined loaf tin to one side...
Roughly chop your hazelnuts, herbs and juniper berries, setting a few a side to decorate the top later. 
Add these to a good sized mixing bowl...... you can spot one of our casseroles in use here 
Pour in the chunks of pork, liver and mince. Then add your nutmeg, salt and pepper to the mixing bowl.

Pour in your booze. You may want to take a swig yourself, just to check its good enough...

Now the best bit, get your hands in the bowl and give all the ingredients a really good mix. 

Make sure you have evenly dispersed the nuts and liver.
Once you are happy with the consistency pour all of the meat into your loaf tin. Press down until it is full and snug. Decorate the top of the terrine with the herbs you left to the side earlier. Then wrap the over hanging bacon across the top and finally seal with the cling film.

 Place your terrine into the hot water bath in the oven and cook for one hour.
After 1 hour remove from the oven. Once cooked leave to cool in the dish over night. Turn out your terrine onto a pretty plate or rustic wooden board.

Slice and serve with a blob of delicious chutney and rustic crunchy bread. 

You can find more of my super simple recipes over on our blog pipersfarm.com/blog

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk