Turnip cookies

175 g (6 oz) butter

150 g (5 oz) sugar (I use 50 g granulated and 100 g light brown soft sugar)

Pinch of salt

1 egg

150 g (5 oz) turnip puree (roughly 1 small or 1/2 medium size turnip, boiled and mashed). 

60 g (2 1/2 oz) ground almonds

200 g (7 oz) plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 or 2 tsp ground mixed spice

50 g (2 oz) rolled oats

Makes about 20 cookies

Cream butter with sugar(s), add salt, egg, turnip puree and combine. Next add ground almonds, flour, baking powder (or if you're in the UK, just use self-raising flour and miss out the baking powder!), mixed spice and oats. Mix well. 

Refrigerate this (soft) dough for at least 1 hour. 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (gas mark 6). 

Remove dough from fridge and use a couple of teaspoons to make dollops of dough about the size of golf balls. Space these out on a greased baking tray or non-stick liner. 

Bake for 13 minutes or until just golden around the edges. 

If you're feeling adventurous, you might try sprinkling flaked almonds or more rolled oats on the top of the blobs before baking.

I just made this recipe up, so feel free to suggest improvements!

Fig and almond cake

 Ingredients

6oz salted butter

6 oz sugar

2 large eggs

4 oz ground almonds

3 oz flour (plain/gluten-free)

⅓ tsp salt

a smattering of ground vanilla beans

a pinch or two of ground star anise

3 oz Greek yogurt

6-9 figs

Method 

1.  Soften the butter. 
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Weigh up the almonds, flour, salt, vanilla, spice together.
4. Crack the eggs into a cup and beat them a bit (or just add them one at a time to the mixture if you can't be bothered with this).
5. Alternately add a bit of egg and some of the flour/almonds dry mix to the bowl, until it's all well mixed in. 
6. Mix in the yogurt.
7. Put on the oven, at gas mark 6, 200C
8. Find an 8 inch sandwich tin or flan tin, grease it and line it with greaseproof baking paper
9. Spoon the cake mixture into the lined tin.
10. Slice the figs down the middle to make halves or wedges
11. Arrange the fig pieces on top of the cake
12. Bake in the hot oven for 15 minutes and then reduce the temperature to Mark 3, 170C, and continue baking for 30-35 minutes. Test it with a skewer to see if it comes out clean. 
13. Serve hot or cold with yogurt or cream for pudding, or cold for tea.

Apple and almond cake bars

Gluten-free and rather yummy.

Ingredients:

4 oz real butter (salted)
3 oz sugar
4 oz ground almonds
3 eggs

1 large cooking apple
1 oz sugar

Method:
Preheat oven to moderate. Grease a square or rectangular non-stick baking tin.

1. Cream the butter with the 3 ozs of sugar.
2. Stir in the ground almonds.
3. Break the eggs into the mixture and beat them in.
4. Peel and core the apple and slice it into a saucepan. Add the 1 oz of sugar.
5. Put the pan on the heat and stew the apple until it is fluffy. Beat it to ensure it is all smooth.
6. Take the stewed apple and (while still hot) pour it into the almond mixture. Stir it quickly into the mixture and beat it a bit to add some air.
7. Pour the mixture into the greased tin.
8. Bake in moderate oven for about 25 minutes.
9. Cool in the tin and then cut into bars with a plastic spatula. Alternatively serve warm with custard for pudding.

For added interest add some lemon zest or pith, or cinnamon or ginger.

No flour chocolate cake

250 g bitter/plain chocolate
2 tbsp milk
6 tbsp sugar
6 eggs separated
240 g ground almonds

(For some reason the hand written version of this recipe also has [butter & flour) written on the bottom of the left column of ingredients... possibly it means butter and flour the tin before you pour the stuff in)

Preheat oven, 180ºC.

1. Melt the chocolate with the milk in a bain marie vel sim.
2. Mix melted chocolate with almonds, sugar and egg yolks and beat well.
3. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites and pour into cake tin, preferably with removable base. [no size given...]
4. Bake in preheated oven for 3/4 to one hour.
5. When cool, turn out and sprinkle with caster sugar/icing sugar to decorate.

Icing:

125 g plain chocolate
50g unsalted butter
1 egg, beaten
175 g sifted icing sugar

1. Melt chocolate and butter in bain marie
2. Mix with wooden spoon
3. Add egg and beat until smooth
4. Remove mixture from heat.
5. Stir in icing sugar and beat until smooth and glossy.
6. Pour straight on for smooth thin icing or leave to cool for thicker icing (recommended)