Gevulde speculaas - Dutch almond-filled biscuit cake

This is a recipe using Speculaas again and it’s very special. Known as Gevulde Speculaas (Dutch Almond-filled Spice Cake).

This speciality from Holland is reputed to be a St. Nicholas’ (Sinterclaas’) favourite, handed out by Zwarte Piet to children who deserve a treat.

Top and bottom                                      

300g SR flour                                          

175g dark muscovado sugar.                   

115g butter                                              

1 egg yolk
2 tbs milk

Pinch salt                                                 

2 tbs speculaas spice*                               

Middle (marzipan)
150g ground almonds
150g golden caster sugar
2 tbs Amaretto liqueur

1 egg white 

Topping 
12 blanched almonds                                                

Prepare the top/bottom mixture as you would shortcrust pastry/cookie-dough mix*. Wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for a few hours (even better, overnight).

The marzipan is even more straightforward, mix until smooth, wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 325f, gas 3. Butter and bottom line a 9” springform tin. Roll 2/3 pastry mix to line bottom & sides of the tin. (It will crack, so roll onto cling film, flop into tin and patch and repair). Then roll out marzipan (again on cling film) and ‘plop’ on top of base. Next roll is 3rd layer on cling film and seal the top. Arrange the reserved almonds on top and glaze (brush with egg/milk, pastry style).

Pop in the oven for 35 minutes and if it’s lovely and toasty brown it’s done. If not, turn and leave in the oven for a few more minutes. Leave for at least 10 minutes before cutting into 12 portions.

Gevulte speculaas is delicious served warm with double cream. Once cooled, a few seconds in the microwave/minutes in a cool oven before serving will do no harm.

Chef Rælf's Elfish Mince Pies recipe

Chef Rælf would like to thank Good Fairy Delia for the inspiration for the flakey pastry recipe used in his Elfish Mince Pies. 

Makes 4 - I used a 4 hole Yorkshire tin.

Flakey Pastry ingredients are: 150g plain flour, 100g coarsely grated slightly salted butter (pop butter in freezer for 45 mins. before grating), 20g icing sugar and the zest of half a lemon. Method: Using a metal spatula, first mix the ‘dry’ ingredients, then add  a mix of the juice of 1/2 lemon and @ 45ml of chilled water a tbs at a time (don’t use your hands, continue to use the spatula using a stirring and cutting action until it comes together). Cling wrap and chill for at least 30 mins before rolling out @ 3mm thick. Cut four 12cm circles and the ears, noses and beards.  

The ‘crumble’ topping is made as follows: Mix the pastry offcuts with plain flour to a combined weight of 75g. Wizz this together with 20g butter to achieve fine breadcrumbs. Decant into a bowl and add 20g slivered almonds and 30g demerara sugar, then 'crumble' together by hand. 

Set oven the 200ºC (gas 6). Blind bake the base circles (not nose, ears and beard) for 15 mins.

Allow to cool and little, then fill each pie with @ 2 tbs mincemeat (see my boozy mincemeat recipe), top with crumble mix, add the flakey pastry ears, nose & beard, plus the eyes (halved glacé cherries), brush added pastry with milk and bake for 15-20 mins.

Randolph's Easy Christmas Cake recipe

Ælf's Boozy Mincemeat recipe - hot off the press

Lightly spiced rice, apricot and almond salad recipe, perfect for a BBQ

This is really tasty rice dish first tried by me in the 70's! Inevitably, given the time interval, I've misplaced the original recipe - and the two intervening wives - but I think this version is just as tasty as the original. (Clare, in case you get to read this, of course, you are the tastiest of them all!)

Nowadays, I prepare the dish using the BBQ... in those long moments one has to wait for the charcoal to turn from black & smokey, to red, to grey - ready for the main dish.

You'll need a saucepan and frying pan that you are prepared to either 'sacrifice' for BBQ use only or scour thoroughly after use, as both will become smoke tarnished.

I've included the recipe on my food blog following a specific request from Krista.

Ingredients (for 2/3 as a side dish) 

120g Basmati rice
1 tbs mild olive oil
1 white onion, chopped (@90g)
80g ready to eat dried apricots, sliced in 2mm strips
40g toasted flaked almonds
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp curry powder (e.g. madras)
1 tsp garam masala
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon (more to taste)
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper

Method

Using the saucepan, pour at least 3/4 litre freshly boiled water over rice, add a good pinch of salt and place over recently lighted BBQ coals (they're probably flaming at this point). When the rice starts boiling, stir once (!) and move to a position where the rice continues to boil for 8 minutes (9 max, otherwise the rice will stick together). Drain immediately and leave to cool in strainer.

Next place frying pan (or wok/paella dish) on BBQ and, once hot, pour in the oil and add the diced onions. Fry and turn until opaque (3/4 mins.) then add the sliced dried apricots, most of the flaked almonds and the cumin seeds. Continue frying for a few minutes before adding the turmeric, curry powder and salt. Combine thoroughly and remove from heat.

You're now in the final stage. Combine the drained rice, garam masala, remaining flaked almonds, freshly ground pepper, lemon zest and juice with the onion mix. 'Toss' lightly (so as not to damage the rice).

Voila - ready to serve with, for example, BBQ'd lamb and a greek salad; grilled fish (sardines/mackerel go especially well); or pork Char Sui... Yum or to continue in the Raymond Blanc idiom 'Superbe!"

Chocolate Victoria Sponge Recipe (all-in-one)

This all-in-one chocolate sponge recipe is a doddle to make and delivers great results every time....

.... BUT...

.... To avoid burning out your handheld mixer, I recommend using either a stand mixer (e.g. Kenwood or KitchenAid) or a heavy-duty hand mixer (such as a Dualit) or be prepared to emulate Paul Hollywood's bread dough mixing skills - as it's his recipe that's the inspiration for my chocolate sponge!

First lightly butter 2 deep 20cm loose-bottomed cake tins and base line (be careful on sizing, as I first used standard `Victoria' sponge tins, and ended up with 'mushroom topped' sponges).

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºc/gas mark 4 and soften the butter (either to soft room temperature, or by microwaving for 60 seconds at the 'low'/defrost setting).

Ingredients (in order!!!)

sift together (twice, ideally):
200g plain flour
4 tsp baking powder
30g good quality cocoa
pinch of salt

Add:
230g golden caster sugar

Mix

Then add:
230g softened butter
4 eggs lightly beaten (medium/large - total weight around 230g)

Mix at a low speed until evenly combined (warning - it'll be heavy going!). Stop at the moment the mixture looks even coloured and use a metal spoon to ensure there's no dry ingredients sticking to the base of the bowl.

Divide the mixture between the 2 tins - the pre-greased base will help to keep the liners in place - and smooth, then bake for 25 minutes. At this point (as I have a Rayburn) I turn the sponges and give them a further 5 minutes. The sponges should be golden, slightly shrunken from the sides and feel firm to the touch.

Leave for 5 minutes, then transfer (on their bases) to cool on a wire rack.

Now to assemble!

For me, the essential sandwich layer is raspberry jam or fresh raspberries (@ 100g) with either:

Softened chocolate spread (Whole Earth lightly whipped chocolate or hazelnut spread are both worth a try - 30 seconds, low setting, in the microwave works for me)

or, more traditionally, 150ml whipped cream

Better still, make a chocolate ganache (melt 200g good quality chocolate - for me Green & Black's every time, half milk/half plain in 200g single cream, over a bain-marie. Then allow to cool for a while) and use half to sandwich the sponge and half to coat the top.

End result - GONE IN MINUTES. At least, it is in my household!

UPDATE:

Since publishing, I've discovered Opies Black Cherries with kirsch. AND Wilkin & Sons - Tiptree -Cherry Fruit Spread (sweetened with grape juice concentrate, rather than sugar). Substitute these ingredients for raspberry jam/fresh raspberries in the 'sandwich' and the results are SUBLIME!

Raspberry, lemon and yogurt cake recipe

This light, fluffy and very moreish raspberry and yogurt cake has its origins in Yeo Valley's tea rooms. Their whole milk natural yogurt is, of course, my first choice for this recipe (when I find it on offer, I also use their butter).

Try this cake while it is still warm, with a dollop of clotted cream and you'll love it - guaranteed!!

I've left their original recipe pretty much untouched, other than adding a few extra raspberries to the drizzle and reducing the amount of sugar used for the cake's 'frosting'.

You'll need a 2 lb loaf tin and, ideally, a suitably sized pre-formed non-stick liner (otherwise use non-stick baking parchment).

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC or gas mark 4.

Ingredients:

115g softened unsalted butter
225g golden caster sugar
2 large free range eggs

250g plain flour
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
grated rind of one lemon (juice reserved for 'frosting')
25g ground almonds

100g whole milk natural yogurt (Yeo Valley's if you can find it)

250g raspberries (200g to add to the cake mixture, plus 50g for the frosting)

50g granulated sugar (plus the reserved lemon juice and raspberries)

Cream together the softened butter and caster sugar - as this is a relatively low fat to sugar ratio, 'putting some welly' into this early stage will really pay dividends (a hand held electric beater is ideal for this). Then beat in the first egg - again, beat the egg in thoroughly to achieve a really pale, light mixture.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, then stir in the ground almonds and lemon zest. Add a heaped tablespoon of this flour mix to the batter along with the second egg and beat until thoroughly combined.

Now tip in the remaining flour mix and add the yogurt. Combine using a light folding action.

Spread around one third of this mix into the bottom of the prepared cake tin, and dot 75g of the raspberries on top, add another third of the mix, smooth this evenly and scatter over another 75g of raspberries (I use the raspberries to level the mixture). Finally add the remaining cake mix and the remaining 50g of raspberries, pressing them lightly into the surface.

Pop into the oven and bake for 45 minutes, by which time it should have risen to near the top of the loaf tin and have a well browned surface. Turn the cake through 180º and continue baking for a further 25 minutes. To stop it over-browning, at this stage, cover with either baking parchment or foil  (or place a cold baking sheet on a shelf above the cake). After a total cooking time of around 70 minutes, check that it is baked - it should feel firm when the surface is lightly pressed; if not, return to the oven for a further 5/10 minutes (without the protective foil).

Leave to cool for 5 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the glaze/frosting: in a small pan, gently heat the reserved lemon juice, raspberries and 50g granulated sugar. Stir gently and once the sugar is disolved, crush the raspberries against the side of the pan. Strain this glaze over the cake and, after a further 5 minutes, remove from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Serve warm, with clotted cream as a dessert, or store in an airtight tin and enjoy a slice (with clotted cream if you have some left!) with an espresso or for afternoon tea.