Mix a pancake, stir a pancake, pop it in the pan

 I adore Shrove Tuesday. For me it symbolises the start of the next set of festivities. Mother’s Day, Easter and in turn Spring are hot on its heels and we get to eat one of my all time favourite foods. Pancakes!

The littlest Jelly Baby celebrated her first pancake eating Shrove Tuesday with her big brother and seven of their buddies. I covered the table in a huge sheet of brown paper and put out bowlfuls of crayons to keep the tiny guests entertained while I set to work tossing the pancakes.

Here’s my couldn’t be simpler pancake mixture recipe complete with a sassy twist on the traditional lemon and sugar topping.

Pancake Mixture (enough for a family of 5)

4 Eggs

250g Plain Flour

300ml Full Fat Milk

300ml Tap Water

Whisk the ingredients together until the mixture is lump free and set aside while you assemble your chosen toppings.

Melt a little butter in a frying pan until it is sizzling and ladle in enough mixture to thinly coat the pan.

Gently push the edges with a spatula to loosen and shake the pan to free the pancake.

At this point toss the pancake as high as you dare.

Cook the other side until nice and crispy.

Serve immediately to the child who is most worthy.

Topping

 Gently heat 3 tablespoons of golden syrup with the juice of half a lemon. When warmed through add a dollop of the warmed citrussy goo to your pancake.

If you are feeling a little advant garde add a tiny pinch of ground ginger to the mixture.

Chocolate spread and banana, fresh berries and squirty cream and strawberry jam will also be on offer at Wobbly Jelly towers tomorrow.

The warmed zesty syrup in awesome addition to a Yorkshire puddings, admittedly when served as a pudding and not when served with roast beef and gravy.

 

 

 

 

A Traditional Christmas Cake Recipe

With the Halloween decorations well and truly packed away and Bonfire Night all done and dusted for another year, it is time for The Wobbly Jelly to focus on Christmas. And first things first, the cake needs baking.

There are thousands of recipes for fruit cakes out there but this failsafe recipe has been baked for decades by my dear friend Charlotte’s Granny who will celebrate her 93rd birthday on Christmas Day. Since Charlotte shared the recipe with me 7 years ago, I have baked it every year as not only is it totally delicious but it’s super easy to throw together.

Ingredients

250g Plain Flour

Pinch of Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

2 Teaspoons Mixed Spice

1 Tablespoon Cocoa

454g Mixed Fruit

300g  Sultanas

200g Currants

200g Glace Cherries (I replace these with Dried Cherries and Cranberries)

200g (Soft) Butter

200g Soft Brown Sugar

4 Eggs beaten

Finely Grated Zest and the Juice of a Lemon

1 Tablespoon of Black Treacle

Brandy or Rum  (lots)

Brown Paper/Greaseproof paper/String and Old Cardboard

20 cm x 20cm Square Tin

Day One

Soak the dried fruit and lemon zest in the juice of the lemon and enough alcohol to completely cover the fruit, overnight.

Day Two

Prepare the tin. Grease and double line with greaseproof paper or parchment. Attach brown paper around the outside of the tin with string and find two pieces of cardboard which will be placed underneath and on top of the cake tin.

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.

Sieve the dry ingredients into a large bowl.

Beat the sugar, butter, eggs and treacle together and add to the dry ingredients.

Add the soaked fruit to the mixture and stir thoroughly.

Pour into the prepared tin and place a piece of card under and on top of the tin.

Cook at 150 degrees for 1 hour.

Turn the oven down to 140 degrees and cook for a further three hours or until a skewer comes out clean.

When out of the oven, give the cake tin a bang on the work surface and leave  to cool.

Once completely cool, wrap the cake in parchment paper, then in foil and store in an airtight container until you are ready to marzipan and ice the cake. To make the cake extra special feed it on a weekly basis with the leftover brandy or rum.

 

Happy Bonfire Night – A recipe for Parkin

Collecting firewood, scavenging for clothes to dress a guy, the lighting of sparklers, the smell of popped fireworks in the air, sizzling hot sausages in bread buns smothered in ketchup, sticky toffee apples, tooth pulling treacle toffee and scrumptious squares of Parkin mean only one thing. Bonfire Night. To celebrate, the Wobbly Jelly wanted to share a Parkin recipe which I first made in my home economics class way back in 1988. Fingers crossed Miss Brown won’t object to me sharing this recipe with you all.

Ingredients

125g Plain Flour

75g Rolled Oats

75g Soft Brown Sugar

2 Level Teaspoons of Ground Ginger

1 Level Teaspoon of Bircarbonate of Soda

100g Butter

2 Tablespoons of Black Treacle

2 Tablespoons of Golden Syrup

5floz Milk

1 egg

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees

Grease and line an 18 x 25cm rectangular tin

Place all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well together.

In a pan melt the butter, syrup and treacle together.

Meanwhile beat the egg and add to the milk.

Pour the melted far into the centre of the dry ingredients and mix to combine before adding the egg and milk mixture.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and place in the centre of the oven for between 30 and 40 minutes (until springy to touch.)

Cool in the tin and then cut into squares and serve

 

Zesty Rock Cakes

The littlest Jelly Baby and I were recently invited with some old neighbours to our dear friend Bette’s house for a cup of  tea. You can imagine our delight on arrival when we set eyes on the table laden with platefuls of home baked cakes, Bette and her grandaughters had prepared for us. Of all the scrumptious goodies on offer, it was the Rock Cakes that thrilled me the most. Biting into these sugar crusted, morsels immediately brought back memories of my childhood. Rock Cakes were a staple, something that was baked on a rainy morning and enjoyed straight from the oven. Later that day it occurred to me that my children had never eaten a rock cake, let alone baked one so I set about putting this right.

Rock Cakes 

Makes 12

225g Plain Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

75g Caster Sugar plus a little for sprinkling

A Pinch of Salt

125g Butter (cut into cubes)

75g Raisins

75g Sultanas

Zest of a Lemon

1 Large Egg

25ml of Milk

Mix together the flour, baking powder, caster sugar and pinch of salt.

Add the butter to the mixture and rub together until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add the raisins, sultanas and lemon zest.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and the milk together and then add to the dry ingredients.

Using a fork, mix the ingredients together until you are left with a ball of sticky dough.

Divide the mixture into 12 dollops and place onto a lined baking sheet.

Pop into a preheated oven at 180 degrees celsius for 12 to 15 minutes.

Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Create your own pizza

The summer holidays have finally begun and after what feels like weeks of sunshine the heavens have most definitely opened. All our dreams of day trips to the seaside and picnics in the park have had to be shelved for the time being. But don’t fear for your sanity just yet. The Wobbly Jelly has been saving this great idea for just such an occassion.

Recipe (enough for 4 large individual pizzas)

Ingredients for the pizza bases

500g Strong White Flour

1 x 7g Sachet of Dried Yeast

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tblsp Caster Sugar

2 tblsp Olive Oil

325ml of Warm Water

Ingredients for the toppings

Carton of Passata

1 tsp of Tomato Puree

 1  Garlic Clove (crushed)

Basil Leaves

Grated Cheddar Cheese

Mozzerella Cheese

Any of the following ingredients cherry tomatoes, salami, tinned sweetcorn, peppers, mushrooms, fresh herbs, cooked chicken pieces.

Method for the dough

Add the yeast to the sugar, olive oil and water and leave to one side.

Sieve the flour and salt straight onto a clean table and using your hands make a well in the centre.

Pour the liquid mixture into the centre of the flour.

Using a fork gradually stir the flour into the liquid until you are left with a sticky dough mixture.

Dust your hands with flour and flour the surface you are working on. Knead (stretch by repeatedly pushing or pulling) the dough for ten minutes.

Dust the inside of a large bowl with flour and pop the dough into it. Place a damp (but not wet) tea towel over the bowl and put it into warm place for an hour. In this time the dough should double in size.

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead the mixture on a floured surface for a couple of minutes.

Divide the dough into four equal sized portions and roll out to a pizza shape (we had fun trying to swing the dough as we’ve seen pizza chefs do in Italian restaurants.)

Place onto oiled baking sheets.

 Method for the toppings

Liquidize the passsata, tomato puree, crushed garlic and basil leaves.

Spread the tomato mixture over the dough, almost to the edge of the pizza.

Sprinkle over some grated cheddar and a few torn up pieces of mozerella and then add whatever ingredients take your fancy.

Place in an oven preheated to 220 degrees celsius.

Bake until the cheese has melted and the bases are crispy (approximately 12 to 15 minutes.)

Queen of Hearts Cherry Bakewell Biscuits

150 years ago today Lewis Carroll  first told his much loved classic, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In light of this, The Wobbly Jelly is sharing a real show stopper recipe that would be the perfect addition to the Mad Hatters tea party.

 Queen of Hearts Cherry Bakewell Biscuits

Ingredients

250g Butter

140g Castor Sugar

The Yolk from an Egg

2 tsp of Almond Extract

300g Plain Flour

To decorate

Cherry Jam

Icing sugar

Juice from a Lemon

Method

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celsius.

Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.

Beat the butter and sugar together, adding the egg yolk and almond extract.

Sieve the flour into the mixture and stir to combine.

Roll out onto a floured surface and cut into approximately 32 hearts.

Pop onto the lined baking tray and put into the oven until the biscuits have turned golden (approximately 15 minutes.)

Cool the biscuits on a wire rack.

To Assemble

Spread half of the biscuits with cherry jam and set aside.

Make up some icing by mixing the sieved icing sugar with the juice from the lemon. Initially make the icing very stiff so that you can pipe a thin outline around the edge of your biscuit (this ensures the icing doesn’t drip over the edge)

Once this is done add a little more lemon juice to the icing mix to loosen the mixture and very carefully spread it inside the icing heart outline

Finally sandwich the biscuits together (so the jam is in the middle of the biscuit and the icing is on the top)

“Yes, that’s it! Said the Hatter with a sigh, it’s always tea time.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Speedy homemade ice cream – made in a bag in less than 15 minutes

When a friend told me about a magical ice cream making experiment that she’d done with her two preschoolers, that required neither a freezer or ice cream maker and took just 15 minutes to make from start to finish,  I knew immediately that we should give it a whirl.

But I’ll be honest it sounded too good to be true. Ice Cream made with just three ingredients, ready in only fifteen minutes. It sounds like one of those experiments that never really work. BUT IT TOTALLY DOES!!!

Ingredients

120ml Full Fat Milk

2 Teaspoons of Caster Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Materials

75g Rock Salt

4 ziplock bags

Ice

A Tea Towel or a Pair of FootBall Gloves

Method

Firstly crush your ice by placing in a bag and whacking it with a rolling pin.

Carefully pour the milk into a zip lock bag (putting the open ziplock bag inside a wide mouthed jug makes it easier for little ones to get the milk in the bag and not on the floor.) Add the sugar and vanilla extract to the milk and seal the bag, ensuring there is no air trapped inside.

Place inside another empty zip lock bag to protect the ingredients if the bag splits. Press out the air and zip up.

In a third bag place the crushed ice and rock salt. And then carefully place the bags containing the ingredients inside. Once again seal the bag, letting any trapped air escape.

Place the three bags into one last bag.

Either put on the gloves or wrap a towel around the bags and gentle massage the bags for approximately ten minutes until hey presto the ice cream has set.

Serve with your chosen topping.

 

Tropical Macaroons

With the recent spell of glorious hot weather, my mind has been drifting towards thoughts of white sandy beaches and turquoise seas. It is most definitely these thoughts of far off lands that have inspired The Wobbly Jelly’s latest recipe.

Ingredients

220g of Desiccated Coconut

150g Caster Sugar

50g Dried Pineapple

A lime

3 Egg Whites

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Finely chop the pineapple.

Mix the coconut, sugar and pineapple together in a large bowl.

Grate the zest of the lime into the coconut mix and squeeze the juice of half of the lime into the mixture.

Gently whisk the egg whites and add to the mixture. Combine all the ingredients.

Roll into small balls and place on a lined baking tray.

Gently squish down.

Bake for 12 minutes until the coconut is lightly toasted.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

With Summer Fete season upon us I thought it was time I shared with you the recipe for these scrumptious ice cream cones cupcakes. These vanilla scented cupcakes encased in wafer cones and decorated like traditional ice cream cornets, take no longer than a regular cupcake to make but are real showstoppers. Perfect to whip up for the cake stall.

Makes 18

Ingredients for the cupcakes

200g Butter (softened)

200g Caster Sugar

4 Free Range Eggs

A drop or two of vanilla extract

200g Self Raising Flour

18 flat bottomed wafer ice cream cones

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Lay out the ice cream cones on a rectangular baking tray.

Cream the butter and sugar together.

Gradually add the beaten egg mixture.

Stir in the vanilla extract.

Fold in the flour.

Put a good dollop of mixture into each ice cream cone, filling them approximately 1/2 full.

Place in the oven for approximately 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool.

If the cake mixture has risen over the cone, trim the excess mixture.

Ingredients for the Icing

300g Butter

600g Icing Sugar

A few drops of Vanilla Extract

A dash of Milk

Chocolate Flakes

Strawberry Sauce

Sprinkles

To Make the Icing

Cream the butter and slowly add the icing sugar.

Mix well.

Add the vanilla extract and a dash of milk and combine.

Either add a spoonful to each cone as we did or if you’re feeling particularly creative you can pipe the icing on.

Decorate with a small chunk of flake, a little sauce and some sprinkles.

These are best made on the day of the fete.

Cherry, Strawberry and Lime Slushies

These jewel coloured slushies are a slightly more sophisticated take on those iridescent drinks that they sold in the 1980s at my local sports centre alongside the Mars Bars and platefuls of salty chips. This version is packed full of fruit but every bit as delicious.

Ingredients

1 x 350g punnet of strawberries

1 x 225g punnet of cherries

1 x lime

125g of caster sugar

1.5 pints of water

Method

Wash and chop the strawberries and cherries and pop into a blender.

Whizz until all the fruit is liquidized.

While the fruit is blending, squeeze the juice from your lime.

Add the lime juice and sugar to the blended fruit and whizz once again until it is mixed.

Pour the mixture through a sieve into a freezer proof container.

Add the water and stir well.

Put it in the freezer for two hours and then using a fork, gently scrape the frozen edges and fluff up.

 

Pop back in the freezer for a couple more hours and repeat the fluffing process.

Before serving remove from the freezer 20 minutes or so before serving up and give it one final fork through before serving in glasses.

If  you find yourself with any left over slushy at the end of the day, prepare yourself a glassful and add a slosh of your favourite tipple. White rum or vodka are particularly fabulous additions.