Day 88: Pear Upside Down cake

I'm not fond of pears and DH had bought some but not eaten them, they were on the way to being inedible .... so I winged it to make this cake.  I generously buttered the base of a loaf tin, sprinkled soft brown sugar all over the butter, then placed the cut up pears over the base.  The cake itself is a standard sponge mix - for every egg, use 2 oz each of self raising flour, caster sugar and margarine or butter.  I estimated that my tin would take a 3 egg mix, though as it turned out, 4 would have been better!  But it still turned out really well and I will probably make it again, I rather liked the cooked pears :-)
See you tomorrow!

Day 78: Lemon bars

These are delicious, I have been making them since 2002 and they are very popular at work!

250g plain flour
120g icing sugar
170g butter / margarine
3 eggs
350g caster sugar
5 tbs concentrated lemon juice from bottle, not fresh
3 tbs plain flour

The original recipe used a 9" x 13" tray-bake tin, which is a standard USA size, I don't have one so make it in a 7" by 11" tin, it comes out fine.  Lakeland do a 12" by 9" tin, which would also work.  Make sure the baking parchment comes over the top edge of the tin, so you can lift out the completed bake more easily.

Preheat oven to 175C / 160C fan / Gas 4 / 350F.  Mix the flour, icing sugar and butter/margarine into a soft dough.  Place in a 1" deep baking tray lined with parchment and spread out the dough so that the whole base is covered evenly.  Bake for 20 minutes.
Whilst the base is baking, make the topping.  Whisk the eggs, caster sugar, flour and lemon juice until frothy.  When base is baked, pour the mixture over and return to the oven for a further 20 - 25 minutes, or until light golden brown.  Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift the entire bake in its parchment and transfer to a wire rack, it will cool much faster out of the tin.  Cut into bars when completely cold.

Day 76: Chocolate choc chip muffins

250g caster sugar
290g plain flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
6 tbs cocoa powder
1 packet (around 100g) choc chips, white look good in this recipe
pinch salt
2 eggs
200ml milk
100ml sunflower oil or melted butter

Preheat oven to 200C / 190C fan / Gas 6 / 400F.  Mix all the dry ingredients into a large bowl.  Combine the wet ingredients into another bowl.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and mix in the wet until just mixed, batter will be lumpy.  Put mixture into muffin cases, it will be enough for 10 or 11.  Bake for 18 - 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.  You can make these as mini muffins, add another 50 ml of milk as the minis dry out more, and shorten the cooking time to around 10 - 12 minutes, though your oven may vary.

Day 69: Gingerbread Christmas Trees

Gingerbread Christmas trees for my FIL who likes the tree shape even though it isn't Christmas!!! I don't have a metric recipe, it's all ounces because I have been making them for so many years.

8oz plain flour

4 oz soft light brown sugar

2 tsp ground ginger

pinch cinnamon

4 tbs golden syrup

2 tbs milk

4 oz margarine

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and make a well at the centre.  In a small saucepan, gently heat the margarine, milk and syrup until the fat has melted.  Cool for a few minutes, then pour into flour mixture and mix until a soft dough is formed.  Chill in fridge until firm enough to handle (or place in freezer for 30 minutes).  Roll onto a floured surface to about 1/4" or 5mm thick.  Cut out Christmas tree shapes and place on baking sheets lined with parchment, making sure they room to spread a little.  Bake at Gas 4 / 180C / 170C fan / 350F for 10 - 12 minutes.  Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes to firm up, then transfer to wire racks too cool completely.

Day 30: Banana cakes

I have used this banana cake recipe for years, and have baked it into all sorts of shapes - from the original large loaf, to muffins .... to these mini loaves.

75g margarine
100g soft light brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 medium bananas
250g sultanas
250g self raising flour
1tsp ground mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Cream margarine and sugar.  Mix in the eggs, beating well.  Peel and mash the bananas and them to the mixture, together with the sultanas.  Stir in the flour and spices.  Pour into 2 greased 1lb loaf tins and bake at Gas 4 / 180C / 170C fan /350F for 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Adjust the timings for other tins, the mini loaves shown took 20 minutes to bake.  They freeze very well.

See you tomorrow!