Citrus and syrup soaked sponge

 A festive treat, aglow with citrus.  This is a light sponge, with oil and yogurt,rather than butter, gluten free and dripping with boozy, zesty orange syrup.

60g Greek yogurt
60ml rapeseed or sunflower oil
2 eggs, separated and whites whisked to stiff peaks

2 oranges, zest grated and juice, errr juiced!

120g sugar

60g ground almonds

60g rice flour

2 tblsp sugar

2 tblsp rum/Cointreau, liqueur of choice (optional)

Heat the oven to 180ºC

Grease a 9" savarin ring or an 8½" cake tin

Put the oil, yogurt, egg yolks, orange zest and 120g sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk together.

Fold in the flour and almonds, followed by the whisked egg whites.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until golden and firm to the touch.

While the cake is baking, put the sugar into a saucepan and warm gently until golden brown. Carefully add the orange juice and keep stirring until the sugar has dissolved into the juice to form a thick syrup. Remove from the heat and add the booze.

Pour the syrup over the warm sponge and allow it to cool in the tin.

Carefully turn it out and serve with creme fraiche, clotted cream or ricotta, stirred through with candied peel.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Orange and thyme syrup cake

Zesty and zingy, this is moist, syrup drenched, gluten free cake to be eaten as an indulgent pudding.

2 eggs
120g butter, melted 
120g + 30g sugar
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
Small sprig of fresh thyme
60g polenta
60g ground almonds
A slug of orange booze (optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC
Line the base of a cake tin with greaseproof papaer or baking parchment.  This is a fragile, friable cake and this will help to turn it out.

Whisk the eggs until light and fluffy.  Stir in the melted butter, 120g of sugar and the orange zest.
I used some orange scented sugar to boost the citrus hit.  Next time you peel an orange, place the peel straight into a jar of sugar and store in the cupboard.  The peel will slowly release its oil into the sugar, making it perfect for baking, sweetening poached rhubarb and perking up a meringue.
Fold in the polenta and ground almonds and spoon into the cake tin.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until firm to the touch and golden brown.

While the cake is baking, mix the orange juice with the remaining sugar and, if using, the booze.  I had a bottle of Seville orange and clove vodka to hand, which was just perfect, but Cointreau would be a good substitute.

Remove the cake from the oven and drench in the syrup - the sugar will form a crunchy crust on the cake.

Serve with something creamy, like Greek yogurt, double cream or Mascarpone.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2019 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Apricot and cardamom buns

Hygge is everywhere: the Danish concept of cosiness.  Whilst I love the thought of it, I have been trying to avoid jumping on any fashionable bandwagons.  I have yet to attempt to make the cinnamon buns that fill the pages of every magazine at the moment, although I will admit to a scented candle or two - but there again, these have long been a feature in our house.

However, these fragrant, tasty buns, which are ideal for a relaxed Sunday breakfast on a wintry morning seem to fit the bill.  The aroma of them baking fills the kitchen with the most appetising of smells.

But, hands up, I admit I did not make these wearing beige cashmere and fluffy slippers and I don't expect you to do so either.  Just let me know if you try them and what you think of them.
You will see that one of the ingredients is orange infused sugar - this is one of my #wastenot tips.
If you are only going to use the juice of an orange, or simply eat it, grate the zest first and add it to a jar of sugar.  The sugar will absorb the orange oil and take on a beautiful flavour.  This has a myriad uses and you can even blitz it in a food processor to make flavoured icing sugar, ideal for glazing or sprinkling on these buns.
And whilst we are on the subject of #wastenot, always grate the zest from your lemons, even when you only need the juice.  The zest can be stored in the freezer until needed.

10oz bread flour

12 fl oz milk
Juice of 1 lemon 

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried yeast

2 dessertspoon orange infused sugar (or plain sugar and the grated zest 1 orange)

6 green cardamom pods

2 oz soft butter

4 oz dried apricots

Egg white

Sugar

Heat the milk to blood temperature in a saucepan and add the lemon juice.
Remove from the heat.

Split open the cardamom pods and take out the seeds.  Grind to a powder with a pestle and mortar.
Chop the apricots.

Put all the ingredients, except the egg white and extra sugar into a food mixer or food processor (with dough blade fitted) and mix thoroughly for around 30 seconds.
Alternatively, place all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat well with a wooden spoon.
Ensure the dough is covered, use cling film or a damp cloth and leave to rise for at least 2 hours. (You can leave it overnight and bake them in the morning if you are more organised in the morning than I am.)

Place a griddle plate in the oven and pre-heat to 200ºC

Shape the dough into 8 equal sized rolls and place on the hot griddle plate.
Paint the tops with egg white or milk and sprinkle with sugar.  You can omit this stage and glaze them with a thin drizzle of orange icing whilst still warm if you prefer.

Bake for around 15 - 20 minutes until they sound hollow when tapped on the base.

Serve warm with butter and plenty of coffee.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Not exactly a Jaffa cake

Like millions of other people, I take time out from domestic chores to watch Great British Bake Off, although whether it will be the same when it leaves the BBC remains to be seen.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the contestants' efforts to create Jaffa cakes and revelled in a reverie of having 1½ hours to myself to do nothing other than bake and then have someone else come along and clear up after me. Well, one can dream................
It was only when I wandered back in to the kitchen that I realised that it was a school  night and there was no cake to put in OH and kids' lunchboxes for the next day.

Sadly the prospect of rustling up a batch of perfect Jaffa cakes was about as likely as Mary Berry turning up dressed as my kitchen fairy godmother, but the classic combination of cake, chocolate and orange was not to be ignored.

This recipe combines all three into a super simple cake, that any baker could make.

Pre heat the oven to 170ºC

Weigh out 2 eggs and then measure out the same weight of butter, orange marmalade and self raising flour.
I used homemade marmalade, but whatever you choose it needs a good strong Seville orange "bite" - Dundee marmalade would be ideal.
Roughly chop around 50g of dark chocolate - I used up the end of a bar I found in the cupboard.

Cream the butter and marmalade until well mixed and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs and then fold in the flour and the chocolate.

Put the mixture into a greased 10" prospector pan or 8½" cake tin and place in the centre of the oven.
Cook for approximately 20 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack.

We ate it unadorned, but I reckon a coating of orange glace icing or a simple drizzle of melted chocolate wouldn't go amiss.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Orange and thyme cake

This is, entirely incidentally, a gluten free recipe.  We are fortunate in our household in that we do not suffer from food allergies and intolerances. The worst it ever gets round here is a fussy teenager's attitude and we can only hope that that is no more than a "developmental phase", aking to toddler tantrums.
However, we do know the problems that restrictive diets can pose and the poor choice that is so often offered to sufferers.  So whilst we enjoy this cake simply because it tastes great, I can also recommend it heartily if you are catering for someone with coeliac or gluten intolerance.

Not only does this demonstrate that gluten free can be delicious and part of a mainstream diet, it also highlights the versatility of our frying pans.......... they can be used for so much more than a fried egg or a steak!  It's a cake, cooked in a pan, but I'm not sure that makes it a pancake!
We eat this cake as a dessert and it's great to carry it to the table in the pan.

150g butter

150g sugar

70g ground rice

50g ground almonds

30g polenta

Grated rind of 2 oranges 

3 eggs

Juice of 2 oranges

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 dessert spoons runny honey

Heat the oven to 170ºC
Lightly grease a 10" frying pan
Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and the orange zest and beat thoroughly.
Fold in the polenta, ground rice and ground almonds and spoon into the pan  - if you are using one of our oak handled pans, remember to unscrew the wooden handle covers before you put this in the oven
Place in the oven and bake for approx 25 minutes - the standard skewer test will let you know when it's cooked.

While the cake is cooking, put the  juice, thyme and honey in a saucepan - a milk pan is ideal.

Heat gently until the honey is dissolved into the juice

Turn off the heat and leave to one side to allow the thyme flavour to infuse into the juice.
Add a splash of Curacao or Cointreau if desired.

Take the cake out of the oven and whilst it is still warm, strain the orange syrup and pour it evenly over the cake.

Serve warm with clotted cream, Greek yogurt or ice cream.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Orange and brown sugar tart

A wibbly wobbly custardy tart, with citrus tones.................

Short crust pastry, made with 120g plain flour, 60g butter and enough cold water to bind it all together.

2 eggs
Grated rind of 2 oranges
Crushed seeds from 3 green cardamom pods
120g brown sugar
250g creme fraiche
100g caster sugar 
250ml water

Roll out the pastry and line an 8" flan dish.
Cook at 185ºC for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and cool while you make the filling.
Turn the oven down to 170ºC

Beat together the orange zest, eggs, brown sugar, cardamom seeds and creme fraiche.
Pour into the cooled pastry case and return to the oven for 30 minutes or until just set.
Cool.

Put the water and caster sugar in a saucepan and heat slowly until the sugar has dissolved.
Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until reduced by half.
Slice one of the oranges thinly and place in the sugar syrup.
Poach for 20 - 30 minutes until the orange is really soft.

Drain the orange slices carefully and arrange on top of the flan.

Serve - this would be delightful with a chilled glass of Brown Brothers Orange Muscat and Flora wine.




 © Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

Chocolate orange ice cream

"It's not Terry's, it's mine", said Dawn French, referring of course to the irresistible Terry's chocolate orange; a perfect piece of chocolate desirability, whose popularity spans all boundaries.

Chocolate and orange is, of course, a classic combination, so when we were given a bottle of chocolate red wine, it seemed like a good idea to chuck that into the mix as well.... But what to make?

The answer is chocolate orange ice cream and it is the simplest thing to make:

1lb Marmalade, homemade if you've got it

Large tub of double cream

Chocolate - take your pick, I used a 100g bar of milk chocolate, because that's what I had in the cupboard, but I reckon dark chocolate would be even better.

Optional extras - Chocolate red wine, Cointreau, Drambuie

Tip the marmalade into a mixing bowl and stir until it's soft and malleable - warm it slightly if needed.

Chop the chocolate into small chunks.

Whip the cream.

Fold all three ingredients together and stir in a splash of booze.

Pour into a plastic container and place in the freezer.

The great thing about this ice cream is that there is no need to churn it and stir it, just leave it to freeze.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015