JAM: Blackcurrant, Damson or Gooseberry

Ingredients

2 1/4- 2 1/2 lbs prepared fruit

3 lbs granulated sugar 

1-2 pints of water

Method

1. Warm enough clean jars for about 5 lbs of jam (put them in a low heat oven).
2. Put the fruit and water in the large preserving pan and simmer gently until the fruit is soft (about 30 minutes). Add a little water to prevent the fruit from burning if necessary.
3. Stir in the sugar.
4. When the sugar has dissolved, boil the jam hard, but not so hard that it boils over.
5. Test for setting after about ten minutes of fast boiling, and/or use a jam thermometer.
6. When setting point is reached, draw it off the heat to a safe place for pouring into jars.
7. Use a warm jug to scoop jam out of the pan and pour into the pots. Screw on the lids firmly before the jam is cold.
8. Clean the sticky off the outside of the jars with a hot wet cloth, and then label the jars when cool and dry.

Rebarbova buchta - Rhubarb cake

Very easy, rather good.



c. 500g rhubarb (I used less and it was fine)
500 g polohrubé mouky / plain flour (if you have self raising, use this and omit baking powder!)
250 g sugar, or 200g does nicely for not such a sweet cake.
half a pat of butter or similar, around 100g but it can be approximate
250 ml milk
1 egg
1 sachet = 2 to 3 tsp baking powder
2 sachets = 5 to 6 tsp vanilla sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Chop the rhubarb into smallish chunks and sprinkle them with the vanilla sugar. Set aside while you make the rest.

Cream butter and sugar, then add egg, flour, baking powder, and as much of the milk as you need to form a fairly soft mixture. Spread this into a greased lined tin, and on top scatter the rhubarb. Sprinkle the cinnamon gently over the top. Bake in a moderate oven, around about 180C, for about half an hour or whatever it takes for the cake to be nicely golden and the cake tester to come out clean.

For those who prefer their rhubarb sweeter, sprinkle with icing sugar after it comes out of the oven.

Rybízová buchta s drobenkou

"Buchta" is a traditional czech cake. It can be made with any fruit, therefore simply substitute the redcurrants in this recipe for whatever fruit you happen to have. You can also leave out the fruit and put something else in to liven up the cake. It comes out something like apricot slice & similar.



For the buchta base:

150 g butter

2 cups plain (polohrubá) flour (this is slightly coarse milled: use half strong flour if you have it, half normal)

1 cup caster sugar (vanilla if poss)

1 sachet vanilla sugar OR few drops vanilla essence (or just use vanilla sugar) 

2 eggs 

1.5 cups plain yogurt
1 sachet / 2 tsp baking powder

For the topping:

Some fruit (in this case, around 1/2 lb redcurrants, but any fruit will do, peeled/chopped if necessary)

Some "drobenka" (crumble) created as follows: 

• Mix 2 -3 tablespoons icing sugar (caster sugar is ok too if you haven't got icing sugar. Vanilla sugar ideal, or add a little vanilla essence) together with 3-4 tablespoons plain (hrubá) flour (use strong flour if you have it, or semolina). 
• Melt 1 - 2 tablespoons butter and add this to the flour/sugar mix. With a spoon or your fingers work butter into the flour to create crumble effect. 
• You might need more than this - increase in the same relative quantities. 

Method:

1. Prepare the fruit (wash & drain, peel/chop or detach berries from their stalks). Prepare the crumble topping as above. 
2. Preheat the oven to 170C and grease a fairly shallow cake tin (square is best) approx 8 inches across.
3. Mix together butter, flour, sugar and vanilla sugar, then add the yogurt, eggs and baking powder, and mix well. 
4. Spread the mixture evenly in the tin, then add a good layer of fruit on the top, and finally sprinkle liberally with the "crumble" topping. 
5. Bake until golden. Cool in the tin for a few minutes, then cut into squares.

Ice cream

(Traditional Rowett childhood recipe)

Ingredients

Juice of 1 orange
Juice of half a lemon
1 mashed banana
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of cream (unspecified)
Colouring (unspecified) optional

Method

1. Put all the ingredients in a bowl
2. Whisk with a rotary whisk
3. Pour into a plastic tub
4. Freeze in the freezer or freezie bit of your fridge
5. Optional, remove during freezing a whisk again (this is not in the recipe, but then nothing is except step 2).
6. Eat on a hot day :)

Kentish apple tart

Ingredients:

6 oz shortcrust pastry
2 large cooking apples
3 oz sugar
1 egg
2 oz softened butter
rind and juice of one lemon

1. Line a pie plate with the pastry. (We use the pyrex pie plate or a small flan dish)
2. Peel the apples
3. Grate the flesh of the apples into a basin (it's best to leave the apples whole for grating: don't quarter them).
4. Add the sugar, beaten egg, butter, lemon rind and juice and mix well.
5. Put this mixture into the pastry case.
6. Bake at 375ºF, 190ºC, gas mark 5, Fan oven about 170º, for circa 35 minutes.
   

Choc fondue made with cocoa powder

Fudgey Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients:

• 4 oz butter or margarine
• 2 oz Cocoa powder
  
• 6 oz sugar
• 4 fl oz evaporated milk or light cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Assorted Fondue Dippers: pound cake pieces, marshmallows, cherries, grapes, mandarin orange segments, pineapple chunks, strawberries, fresh fruit slices

Directions:
1. Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; immediately stir in cocoa. Add sugar and evaporated milk.

2. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and hot. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Fondue will thicken slightly as it cools. Serve warm with Assorted Fondue Dippers. About 1-1/2 cups fondue.

Summer Pudding

Ingredients:

6 large slices of white bread, home baked or from a proper baker.

1 1/2 lbs of summer fruit (raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, blackberries... Some people like to use cherries)
6 oz sugar (more or less, depending on how tart the fruit is)
2-4 tbsp of water.

Lashings of fresh cream to serve.

A large pudding basin (2 pints or so).

Put the fruit, water and sugar into a pan and heat until the juice just runs and the fruit turns soft but not mushy. Some fruit does not need to be stewed at all, but can be added at the end of cooking (e.g. raspberries).

Set aside to cool.

Cut off the crusts from the slices of bread, and cut them into large pieces that can be arranged in the basin, so as to cover the bottom and all the sides neatly without too much overlap. Reserve a large piece or pieces for the top.

Pour in the fruit. If there is a lot of juice you can keep some back so as not to swamp it.

Put the remaining slice(s) of bread on top.

Find a saucer that does not rest on the side of the bowl but will settle in, while still covering the whole of the top of the pudding. If the pudding is very juicy a porringer with sides is good.

Put the saucer on top of the top slice of bread. Put a weight (1 lb or 2 lb) or a full jar of jam on the saucer. If the juice is coming over the edge of the saucer, stand the weight in a cup to keep it clean.

Allow the pudding to cool and then refrigerate over night. There should be enough juice to soak the top slice of bread thoroughly (if you kept some back you may want to add it later if the pudding seems too dry).

To serve:

Remove the weight and the saucer. Run a palette knife round the pudding to loosen the sides. Turn it out onto a deep dish. Serve slices of the pudding on white plates, with silver spoons and lashings of fresh cream served in a silver jug.

Gooseberry crumble

1 1/2 lbs gooseberries
sugar

6 oz flour
2 oz butter
4 oz sugar

1. Top and tail the gooseberries.
2. Add a spoonful of water and some sugar and bring to the boil or microwave till they are soft. Test for sweetness, and add more sugar if necessary. Don't make them too sweet.
   
3. Put them in a greased dish.
4. Heat the oven.
   
5. Put the flour and butter in a mixing bowl and rub in.
6. Add the sugar. Stir till sugar is well dispersed.
7. Pour the crumble over the fruit.
   
8. Bake in a moderate oven for about half an hour.