Tuesday, June 10, 2008

It's theThought that Counts

This is a 'healthy eating' recipe that uses bulgar wheat as one of the ingredients.
Wholefood Honey Cookies:
1 lb (450g) plain wholemeal flour
half tsp baking powder
2 oz (50g) bulgar wheat
1 tsp ground ginger
4 oz (100g) thick honey
5 oz (125g) golden syrup
5 oz (125g) margarine
Sift the flour with the baking powder and ginger and mix in the bulgar wheat. Put the honey, syrup and margarine into a small pan and heat gently until dissolved. Leave to cool to luke-warm, then stir this into the flour mixture. Knead together and wrap in cling-film or foil and leave in the fridge for a hour.
Roll out the dough on a floured board to quarter inch thickness (5mm), and cut into circles, squares, heart shapes etc. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 180C, 350F, gas 4 for 12 - 15 minutes. Remove with a fish slice or palette knife and place on a wire rack to cool.
Note: the cookies will be quite hard once cooked but will soften when kept for one or two days in an airtight container.

This next cake is one my mother was fond of making, and very much a favourite of hers (and mine).
Sand Cake:
6 oz (180g) caster sugar
3 eggs
few drops vanilla extract
grated rind half a lemon
pinch salt
4 oz (100g) self-raising flour
4 oz (100g) cornflour
6 oz (180g) butter, melted
icing sugar
4 oz (100g) cornflourPut the sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and salt in a pan standing over hot water, and beat together until just lukewarm. Remove from the heat. Sift the flour and cornflour together and fold into the egg mixture. Lastly fold in the melted butter. Pour into a greased and lined 2 lb (1kg) loaf tin and bake for 40 - 45 minutes at 190C, 375F, gas 5. Turn out and cool on a wire rack. Sift icing sugar over the top and serve sliced.

Malt extract can be bought from a chemist. The malt probably gives the sticky brown effect as in bought loaves, failing that use half syrup and half black treacle.
Malted Fruit Loaf: makes 2 loaves
2 oz (50) malt extract
2 tblsp golden syrup
3 oz (75g) butter
1 lb (450g) white bread flour
1 tsp mixed spice
three quarter ounce (20g) fresh yeast
5 fl oz (150ml) milk, lukewarm
2 oz (50g) currants
2 oz (50g) sultanas
2 oz (5og) no-soak dried apricots
2 tblsp mixed peel
(glaze: 2 tblsp milk, 2 tblsp caster sugar)
Put the malt, syrup and butter in a pan and heat gently until dissolved. Leave to cool.
Sift the flour and spices into a bowl, making a hollow in the centre. Cream the yeast with a little of the warm milk, then blend in the rest of the milk. Pour this into the flour along with the malt mixture, stirring to make a dough.
Knead on a floured surface for about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with oiled clingfilm and leave in a warm place to double in bulk This can take up to 2 hours.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knock back. Gently knead in the dried fruits, then divide the dough in half, and placing in two greased 1 lb (450g) loaf tins. Cover again with oiled cling film and leave to rise until the dough has reached the top of the tins - this will take up to an hour and a half. Check after the hour.
Bake at 200C, 400F, gas 6 for 35 - 40 minutes until golden, then remove from the tins and cool on a wire rack. Heat the ingredients for the glaze in a small pan and brush this over the warm loaves.