Lemon Scented Blueberry Swiss Roll

There is no doubt in my mind that blueberries and lemons go together like . . . well, peas and carrots!!

I grew up in rural Nova Scotia, a very small province in Canada with a distinctly maritime climate . . . and ditches and fields just chock full of wild blueberries in late summer and early autumn. Wild blueberries were always something I had taken very much for granted when I was a child, and even as an adult . . .



Flicker
until I couldn't get them anymore. That is when we seem to miss things the most . . . when they are seemingly out of our reach.

It is my dream to visit home again one summer . . . when the corn is ripe for the picking and eating . . . and when the wild blueberries once again are deep purple and growing profusely in the brush along the bye ways and highways of my beautiful home province.



We do have cultivated berries here, and they are quite tasty . . . but nothing ever comes quite up to that beautiful taste of the wild berry, all that fruity flavour concentrated into a small juicy berry no larger than the tip of my baby finger . . . ahh . . . bliss.



We do get wild blueberry preserves over here though, and they are quite tasty in a pinch! I love them on my toast in the morning and spread onto fluffy buttermilk pancakes . . . all warm and stodgy good, with melted butter gilding and soaking into their lace like crisp edges.



Sometimes for a treat on a Sunday afternoon, I make us a lovely jelly roll, or Swiss roll as it is called over here in the UK . . . and I spread it through the middle with sweet and tasty wild blueberry preserves . . .



I like to eat it with my fingers, and while I eat . . . I dream of August days when the air is dry and hot . . . and filled with the sounds of humming insects . . .



of ice cream buckets filled to over flowing with wild blueberries . . . the smell of wild brush in the heat of the sun . . . fingers and teeth stained blue from our exertions . . . aching backs after hours spent hunched over in this glorious labour of love . . . and . . . well . . .

of home . . .



*Lemon Scented Blueberry Swiss Roll*
Makes one 12 inch roll
Printable Recipe

This swiss roll has to be one of the easiest and quickest cakes in the world! You can have the cake mixed together, baked and cooling on the countertop in less than 15 minutes!

For the cake:
3 large free range eggs
5 ounces caster sugar
2 TBS milk
the finely grated zest of one un-waxed lemon
5 ounces plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
a handful of slivered almonds
caster sugar for rolling
1/2 pint of blueberry preserves



Pre-heat the oven to 230*C/450*F. Line a swiss roll pan (8 by 12 inches) with greaseproof paper and set aside.

Break the eggs into a bowl and add the sugar. Beat together with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the milk and the lemon zest. Whisk together the flour and baking powder. Fold this into the egg mixture, making sure all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the slivered almonds on top.

Bake for about 5 minutes in the centre of the oven. Cake is done when lightly browned and when it springs back when lightly touched.

Have a sheet of grease proof paper ready on which you have sprinkled more caster sugar. Remove the cake from the oven and turn out immediately onto the sugar coated paper. Carefully peel off the greaseproof from the baked cake. Roll up the cake in the caster sugar covered paper, from one long side towards the other, tucking in the first long side tightly. Set aside and allow to cool completely before proceeding.

Once the cake is cooled, unroll and spread with the blueberry preserves. Reroll. Cut into 1/2 inch thick slices to serve.

hmmm . . . the thought just occurs to me that this would be lovely in a lemon trifle . . . stay tuned!!

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Icing

I think ginger has to be one of my favourite spices. There is nothing I like more than digging into a warm slab of tasty gingerbread . . . a sweet gingerbread cookie. My Gran made the best Molasses Cookies on the planet, filled with . . . you guessed it . . . ginger! Wow, were those ever good with an ice cold glass of milk.




My mom still makes them whenever we go home to visit and it's a real treat. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I bake them myself . . . the taste of mine never quite lives up to the memory of the taste of my Gran's or my Mom's! Funny how that goes!



When my children were growing up I used to create a huge gingerbread cookie fantasy for them every year. Sometimes it would be a house, with clear coloured candy glass windows, and a roof tiled with delicious sweets. One year I did a church, complete with stained glass candy windows. Another year it was a gingerbread Christmas Tree, with silver dragee garlands, gummy bear ornaments and other fancies all over it. In recent years I made a Ginger Cookie Wreath centre piece for my Christmas Table, which you can find HERE on my Oak Cottage Blog. It was so much fun, and looked so nice sitting on the middle of my Christmas Table.



I am sure you have the idea now . . . I just love gingerbread, in any way, shape or form.




Like these tasty cupcakes. Now these dear friends . . . are totally moreish. I think it's the lemon glaze . . . that is, well . . . the icing on the cake! (Of course the preserved ginger in syrup on the top doesn't hurt either!!)



*Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Icing*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

Ohhh . . . soft, sticky and moist and chock full of lovely ginger flavour, these cupcakes are real husband *pleasers* . . . and, come to think of it, wife *pleasers* too!


60g butter (generous 4 TBS)
50g soft light brown sugar (4 TBS)
2 TBS golden syrup
2 TBS dark treacle
(If you can't get the golden and dark treacles,
do use 4 TBS mild molasses instead)
1 tsp ground ginger
80 ml whole milk (5 1/2 TBS)
1 large free range egg, beaten
2 pieces of preserved stem ginger in syrup,
drained well and chopped finely
140g self raising flour (1 cup)

For the Topping:
the juice of one lemon
(bring the lemon to room temperature and roll it on the counter
a few times under the palm of your hand before squeezing)
200g icing sugar, sifted (generous 1 1/2 cups)
1 piece of stem ginger in syrup, drained and chopped
1 TBS chopped candied ginger


Pre-heat the oven to 170*C/325*F. Line a muffin tin with paper cakes and then set aside.

Place the treacles (or molasses) butter, sugar and ground ginger into a largish saucepan. Place over medium low heat and heat gently until the butter has melted and all have blended well together. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a bit.

Beat together the milk and the egg. Stir this into the warm mixture along with the stem ginger. Sift the flour over top and fold it in until well combined. Spoon into the muffin cases, dividing it equally amongst them all.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until they spring back when lightly touched, or when a skewer inserted into the centre of one comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl, removing all the pips. Gradually stir in the sifted icing sugar, stirring until smooth and thick, yet still spoonable. Spoon this icing over the cakes. Combine the chopped stem ginger and candied ginger and then sprinkle a bit over the top of each one. Let set before serving.

As you can plainly see . . . these went down a real treat!

A Basic Christmas Cake

Christmas just wouldn't be complete without a tasty fruit cake to dig into on Christmas day and throughout the holidays. Love it, or hate it . . . Christmas Fruit Cake is a strong tradition here in the UK. Even back home in Canada, we always had fruit cake at Christmas, both a dark one and a light one, as well as my mother's War Cake, which was a type of boiled raisin cake, which we absolutely loved. They weren't as elaborately decorated over there as they are over here though, but you could buy iced ones if you wanted them. My mother never iced hers, and in truth . . . we never missed it.



The Christmas Cake as we know it here in the UK today comes from two customs which became one around 1870 in Victorian England. Originally there was a porridge, the origins of which go back to the beginnings of Christianity. Then there was a fine cake made with the finest milled wheatflour, this was baked only in the Great Houses, as not many people had ovens back in the 14th century.



You don't have to make your own of course. The shop shelves are filled to the brim with a variety of beautifully decorated Christmas Cakes at this time of year, in a great many sizes and shapes. I, myself, however . . . get a certain satisfaction from baking and decorating my own. I am not sure if it is cheaper or not, but it certainly is delicious and, in the doing so, I like to think I am helping to usher in the Christmas Season in our home. I usually bake my cake around the middle of November, and then I will wait until about a week or so before Christmas to decorate it, having given myself a few weeks to plan and get in all the things I will need to fancy it up with.



Fruit cake is one of the things that my Todd looks forward to most at Christmas . . . even more than the turkey, and it is a much loved holiday tradition that I look forward to baking every year. Not only is a show stoppingly beautifully decorated Christmas cake fun to make, but it beats a the flavour of a shop bought one every time . . . seriously! I'll continue with this in a few weeks time when I decorate my cake. Make sure to come back then and see how I make out!



*A Basic Christmas Cake*
Makes one 9 inch round deep cake
Printable Recipe

I have been making this same Christmas cake for years. It always turns out beautifully moist and is filled to the brim with lots of lovely fruit. This needs to be started the night before so make sure you plan ahead. I always like to make my cake a 5 to 6 weeks before Christmas so that it has time to ripen.

450g currants (3 cups)
175g raisins (generous 1 cup)
175g sultanas (generous 1 cup)
50g glace cherries, rinsed dried and cut in half (1/4 cup)
50g whole candied citrus peel, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
3 ounces of cherry brandy
225g flour (1 1/2 cups plus 2 1/2 TBS)
pinch salt
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
225g butter, softened
225g soft light brown sugar (18 TB)
4 large eggs
50g chopped almonds (1/4 cup)
2 TBS black treacle
the grated zest of both one orange and one lemon


The night before you want to bake your cake, put all the weighed out dried fruit into a large bowl, along with the chopped peel, giving it a good mix. Stir in the cherry brandy. Cover the bowl and allow it to steep overnight, giving it a stir every now and then before you go to bed.

The next morning, pre-heat the oven to 140*C/275*F. Take a 9 inch round deep baking tin and grease it well. LIne it with a double thickness of baking parchment and butter it again. Set aside.

Sift the flour into a bowl along with the spices. Beat the butter and the sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Gently fold in the flour mixture. Once it has all been incorporated, fold in the dark treacle and the steeped fruits, along with any brandy that may be in the bowl (it is doubtful that there will be any) the peel, the chopped nuts and the grated peels. Spread this mixture into the prepared pan. Set the pan on a large baking tray. Take a double thickness of newspaper and wrap it around the cake tin, tying it on with a piece of string. Top with a piece of parchment paper that you have cut a 1 inch hole in the centre of. Place the oven tray with the cake tin on it onto the lowest shelf in your oven. Bake for 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 hours, until it springs back when lightly touched in the centre and is baked through. Try to resist peeking until at least half an hour before the cake is done.



When done, remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes, then remove the newspaper and dump it onto a wire rack and remove the baking parchment. Let cool completely before wrapping it in a large piece of muslin that has been soaked in more brandy. Place into an airtight tin and store until you want to decorate it.

Upside Down Apricot and Pistachio Cake

Having only discovered apricots late in life, I confess . . . I am carrying on a love affair with them. Happily it's a love affair that I share with my husband . . . for he loves them too.

Call it a Culinary Menage a Trois . . .



I discovered this tasty little cake the other day in one of my newer cookbooks, Feed Me Now, by Bill Granger. I just love Bill's books and recipes. They're really down to earth and delicious. Not an ounce of pretention in the lot.

Imagine brown sugar and vanilla glazed apricots, sprinkled with some chopped pistachio nuts and topped with a cinnamony sour cream cake batter . . . and then baked until golden . . .



Turn it out onto a plate and let the syrupy sweet juices flow . . . top it with some creme fraiche and gobble it up while it's still warm.



No . . . it is not pretty. It will not be winning any beauty contests for sure . . .
But whilst it is lacking in attractiveness . . . it more than makes up for that lack in taste.

He called it a tart . . . it looks and tastes like cake to me. I added the pistachios . . . well . . . coz I happen to like nuts as much as I like apricots and, I had some that needed using up.



if you like apricots, you're going to really love this one.

We did . . . in the Rayner household, it got two sets of two thumbs up!!




*Upside Down Apricot and Pistachio Cake*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

Deliciously glazed apricots mixed with the crunch of pistachios and topped with a wonderfully spicey and rich sour cream cake. Make sure you turn this out of the pan as soon as you remove it from the oven so that it doesn't stick. You'll want to serve this with lashings of creme fraiche or whipped cream.

100g of butter, divided
12 apricots, halved and pitted
25g raw pistachio nuts, coarsley chopped
90g soft light brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
125g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
115g caster sugar
130ml of sour cream



Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Place a 24cm diameter round baking tin on top of a low flame and add 25g of the butter. Melt and then stir in the sugar and vanilla. Cook and stir until the sugar melts. Turn off the burner. Place the apricots, cut side down on top of this mixture. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar into a bowl. Rub in the remaining 75g of butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sour cream. Dollop this mixture over the apricots and spread it out with dampened fingers to cover.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately invert onto a large plate. Cut into slices and serve warm with some creme fraiche spooned on top or whipped cream.

Blueberry Apricot Crumble Traybake

I'm not sure how many of you know this or not, but I am a Latter Day Saint, or Mormon as we are commonly known throughout most of the world. One of the things that I love most in my cooking life, is being able to have the missionaries over for tea. After having raised five children, and now with just Todd and I living here on our own, my table is far too empty most of the time. There is nothing that makes me happier than having the opportunity to see some young and smiling faces sitting around it, especially when they are hungry.

Young people . . . far away from home and family . . . just ripe for spoiling in a way only a mom can spoil them. It's one of my absolute favourite things of all to do!!



We have two young sister missionaries here right now, and tonight was my first chance to cook a meal for them. One is from Brommieland (near Birmingham) and the other from Idaho. They are such sweet young ladies.

Boys, you can feed until they are full to exploding, and they will come back for more. Young women . . . they can be a somewhat different kettle of fish. I wasn't sure how much they would eat, or if they would prefer a light meal over something heavy . . .



My solution . . . a nice big pot of corn chowder, the perfect meal on a cold and rain swept day . . . served with some cheese and oat drop scones, and then for dessert this tasty crumble traybake.

They loved it, warm from the oven and served up with lashings of pouring cream.



They took the leftovers home with them.

They're my kind of girls!



*Blueberry Apricot Crumble Traybake*
Serves 12 (HA!)
Printable Recipe

This scrumptious cake is deliciously moist with a hidden surprise of creamy yoghurt hiding beneath the tasty fruit and crumble topping. I bet you can't eat just one piece!

1 420g tin of apricots, drained well
8 ounces softened butter
8 ounces golden caster sugar
8 ounces self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs, beaten
2 TBS milk
150g pot of lemon yogurt
8 ounces blueberries
For the Crumble:
1 ounce softened butter
3 heaped dessertspoons self raising flour
3 heaped dessert spoons demerara sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/375*F. Butter a 9 by 12 inch tray bake pan. Line with baking paper and butter again. Set aside.

Make the crumble by rubbing all the crumble ingredients together until crumbly. Set aside.

Weigh the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, eggs and milk into a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Spoon into the prepared tin, leveling the top. Bake for 25 minutes, or until almost set. Remove from the oven and immediately spoon the yogurt over top. Scatter the fruit over top of the yogurt and then top with the crumble. Return to the oven and bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes until done and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven. Serve warm and cut into squares, with some pouring cream, or cold as a tea time or picnic treat.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

I always have a bowl of lemons on my kitchen counter here at Oak Cottage. They come in handy for so very many things. It seems I am always cooking something that requires a bit of lemon zest of a squeeze of lemon juice . . .

I think they are my most often used fresh ingredient . . . next to potatoes, that is . . .



When I have the sniffles, there is nothing better than to have a lovely cup of hot lemon tea, boiling water infused with the juice and rind of a lemon and a bit of bruised ginger. I don't know if you could exactly call it a cure all . . .

but it sure helps the soul to feel better, if nothing else. Tea and comfort in a steaming cup. It's great for whatever ails you . . .



Another thing you will always find lurking away on the shelves of my larder, are jars of lemon and orange curd.

Most often I like to make my own, as it really is quite easy, and oh-so-very delicious . . . but . . . then again, sometimes you need some right away and you just don't have the time or the energy to make any from scratch.

It is at times like these that jar of lemon curd comes in very . . . very . . . handy.





Days like today. . . . when I wanted something distinctly lemony, and yet, at the same time, moreishly moist and cakey.

Tangy and sweet all at the same time. Something that I could sink my teeth into and say to my soul . . . mmmm . . . this is satisfying, delicious and very . . . very . . . very good.

The only thing that could possibly make this better is to spread more lemon curd on slices of it and then . . .

enjoy to your lemon heart's content . . .



*Lemon Drizzle Cake*
Makes one loaf
Printable Recipe

I think this is one of the easiest and tastiest cakes in the world to make! You just bang everything into the food processor and blitz it for two minutes and then pour it into your pan. Half an hour later you have a delicious cake sitting on the counter to cool! Moist and lemony, this is a real winner!

5 ounces self raising flour
4 ounces softened butter
4 ounces white sugar
2 heaping dessertspoons of lemon curd
2 large eggs
the grated zest of one lemon
the juice of 1/2 lemon
TOPPING:
the juice of 1/2 lemon
2 TBS of sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 175*C/about 34o*F. Lightly butter a loaf tin and line it with parchment paper. Butter the paper and set it aside.

Put all the cake ingredients into the food processor and blitz for 2 minutes. Scrape the batter into your prepared loaf tin.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until well risen, nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Remove from the oven. Leave in the tin and place on a wire rack to cool. Mix the other 1/2 lemon juice and 2 TBS of sugar together, stirring to blend well. Drizzle over top of the still very warm cake, and let set for a few minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely. (I make sure that I leave a bit of overhang with the parchment paper when I put it into the pan so that I can use it like handles and just lift the cake out when done!)

Mmmm . . . this is so good dusted with some icing sugar and then sliced and spread with some more lemon curd for eating. Delicious!!

Spicy Ginger Traybake

I just love the flavour of ginger . . . all spicy and warm and oh-so-comforting. I know . . . I say that about a lot of things. I guess the truth is . . . I just love food!

I do have my favourite flavours though, and ginger happens to be one of them.



I love it dried and ground and baked into lovely cakes, cookies, and puddings.



I love it fresh and grated and added raw to salads, dressings and marinades.



I love it chopped and added to cooked dishes. A slice of it pounded and mixed with a piece of lemon and then steeped in some boiling water makes a marvelously healing tea when you are down with the sniffles . . . trust me.



I especially love it preserved . . . little round nuggets of ginger, preserved in a delicious syrup. It's delicious chopped and added to all sorts of baked goods. The syrup is fantastic when combined with butter and used to glaze carrots. I also love candied ginger, which is similar, but dry and coated in sugar. I just adore that plain and then dipped into dark chocolate . . . a once a year Christmas Treat just for me . . . okay, I'll share . . . I promise.



This fabulous cake uses it in two forms . . . both dried and ground, as well as preserved in syrup. This is easily one of our favourite cakes, and I hope it will become one of your favourites as well.



Don't you just love the autumn!!! That is when food like this comes into it's own. Ginger cake just suits autumn, no matter which way you cut it. (no pun intended)



*Spicy Ginger Traybake*
Makes 20 squares
Printable Recipe

We just love the warm and spicy flavours of this delicious cake. It is one of those one bowl, one step, wonderful cakes that tastes even better as the days go by. This is one of Todd's favourites! (He's just an old fashioned guy with old fashioned tastes!)

230g butter, softened (1 cup)
170g light muscovado sugar (13 1/2 TBS)
 200g dark treacle (9 TBS)
312g self raising flour (2 3/4 cup)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
4 large free range eggs
4 TBS milk
3 bulbs of preserved stem ginger, chopped finely

For the Icing:
130g icing sugar, sifted (1 cup)
3 TBS ginger syrup from the stem ginger jar
3 bulbs of preserved stem ginger, chopped coarsely
a bit of milk if necessary



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter a 12 by 9 inch traybake tin and line with parchment paper.

Weigh out all the cake ingredients and place into a large bowl. Beat together with an electric mixer until well blended. Spoon into the prepared baking sheet, smoothing the top over with a plastic spatula. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until risen, lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, and the top springs back when gently touched. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool in the pan for several minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the ginger syrup. Beat with the mixer, adding milk as necessary until the icing is smooth and has a good spreading consistency. Spread over the cake, covering the top completely. Sprinkle the chopped stem ginger over top. Allow the icing to set completely before cutting into squares.