Banana oat bars

 Ingredients

•  3 large very ripe bananas
• 120g peanut butter or almond butter
• 200g rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp salt

Optional:

• Vanilla extract
• Chocolate chips or raisins
• Ground cinnamon or ginger

Method 

1. Mash the bananas on a plate until they are smooth and creamy.
2. Tip the mashed bananas into a mixing bowl and add the peanut butter.
3. Mix well until you have a creamy mixture.
4. Add the rolled oats and salt and stir well.
5. Add any flavouring, spice, choc chips or dried fruit etc. if desired.
6. Grease and line an 8" square or oblong tin
7.  Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth the top.
8. Bake in the centre of a moderate oven, 350º F or gas mark 4 for around 25 minutes.
9. Allow to cool a bit and then mark into bars with a knife.

 

 

 Lemon Curd Ice Cream

NB Before starting this recipe, first make a batch of lemon curd, and prepare the ice cream machine by putting the freezer bowl in the freezer. Turn up the freezer to the right number.  

If you are making this mixture with all refrigerated ingredients, you can go straight to the freezing stage without delay. If any of the ingredients are warm, or if the weather is very warm and the bowl was warm, put the mixture in the fridge for a few hours before using the ice cream machine.  

 

Ingredients: 

• 300 ml double cream (half a large pot)
• 150 ml natural yogurt 
• 200g lemon curd 
• Grated zest of one lemon

Method 

1. Mix the ingredients (perhaps with an electric whisk) in a large mixing bowl. 
2. Chill the mixture if required. 
3. Decant into a jug for pouring into the ice cream machine. 
4. Freeze the mixture in the ice cream maker in accordance with the instructions for the machine.  

 

Ideally, drizzle some more lemon curd into the machine at the stage where you can add ripple effect sauces. This seems to be tricky to judge (use the instruction manual). 

 

 

 

Fig chutney

Ingredients 

6 oz (150g) light brown soft sugar
⅓ pt (180ml) apple cider vinegar
1 lb (450g) chopped fresh figs
1 large or 2 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 large or 2 small onions, finely chopped
3 oz (75g) sultanas
2 tsp sea salt

 Method

1. Put all the ingredients in a pan and bring to a gentle simmer.
2. Simmer for 1 hr, uncovered, stirring occasionally until it gets sticky and jammy.
3. Pour into jars and put on lids.

Root ginger or spices can be added if desired. 

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!

Ice cream Mint choc chip

250 ml double cream

250 ml full fat milk

100 g sugar

2 cups of fresh mint leaves

Some chocolate or chocolate chips.

Warm the cream in a pan and submerge the mint leaves in it. Leave to steep for at least an hour. 

Meanwhile put the milk and sugar in a pan and warm, stirring, just enough for the sugar to dissolve. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

After an hour or more has passed, whizz up the minty mixture with a handheld liquidiser (this is optional). 

Strain the mint mixture, discard the mint leaves and pour the minty cream into the milk mixture. Chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Put mixture in pre-prepared ice cream maker and let it start churning. When it starts thickening, add in chocolate chips or chocolate chopped into teeny chunks.

Ice cream Fior di Latte

250 ml double cream

250 ml full fat milk

100 g sugar

A few drops of vanilla essence

A generous pinch of salt

Put all ingredients in pan and heat gently until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool in fridge for at least a few hours. 

Put into prepared ice cream maker and let it do its thing.

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.

Nursery wheels (aka pinwheel biscuits, whirlygig biscuits)

 Ingredients:

6 oz plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

3 oz butter

3 oz sugar

vanilla essence (a few drops)

milk (a little)

2-3 teaspoons cocoa powder

Method: 

• Cream butter and sugar 
• Add flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla essence and enough milk to mix to a stiff paste.
• Divide mixture in half
• Blend cocoa powder thoroughly into one half of the mixture
• Roll out each mixture thinly to the same size and shape (a longish rectangle)
• Place the chocolate piece on top of the plain one and roll up tightly (rolling from the longer side)
• Leave the roll 1/2 hour in a cool place
• Cut into slices 1/4 inch thick
• Place slices on a greased baking tray and bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 mins
• Dust with caster sugar (optional) and cool on a wire rack.
  

Jerusalem artichokes, roasted with mushrooms and onions

 I used to believe that Jerusalem artichokes were out of bounds because they cause terrible flatulence, but I got some from waitrose recently and they were no trouble at all (and delicious). This recipe worked very well, but see the modifications below!

Serves 4. Prep 10 minutes. Cook 45 minutes in the oven.

Ingredients

1 ½ lb (700 g) Jerusalem artichokes

2 onions

A few sprigs of fresh thyme

4 ½ tbsp olive oil

1 lb (450g) chestnut mushrooms (less will do)

1 oz (20g) butter

Salt and pepper etc 

 

Method (see below for advice on simplifying this)

1. Heat the oven to 230º C or gas mark 8.
2. Cut the artichokes into even sized pieces (large). Cut the onions into wedges. Put all these in a large roasting tin, in a single layer. 
3. Toss in 2 ½ tbsp of the oil. Season with salt and black pepper as you wish.
4. Roast these for 35 minutes, turning occasionally.
5. Cut the mushrooms in half. 
6. Put the mushrooms in another roasting pan with half the butter and 2 tbsp of oil. Roast for 30 minutes till golden, turning occasionally.
7. For the last ten minutes add the rest of the butter to the artichokes,
8. Throw the contents of both pans together and serve.

Alternative method.

Follow steps 1-3 as shown. 

4. Roast them for 15 minutes.

5. Add the mushrooms and all the rest of the butter and oil and roast for the remaining 30 minutes.

Serve.

Paraguayan chipa

 Recipe from Antonela

Chipá 

Ingredients:

500g of cassava flour

1 egg

300 grams of cheddar (the one actually used is Pategrás but i haven't found it in England)

150g of mozzarella

100 g of butter

A spoonful of salt

A mug of milk

Chop the mozzarella and half of the hard cheese into small cubes and grate the rest. Mix the cassava flour with the cheese and salt. Add melted butter and stir. Mix the egg and milk and add it, use your hands until you get a dough (it won't be a smooth one). Preheat the oven at 180° while you make the balls. Put the balls onto a tray with baking paper and bake for 25 minutes at 6. Depending on the oven it'll take between 20 and 30 minutes, so you might want to check them when it's been 20 minutes. Let them cool down for about 10 minutes and enjoy =)

Lemon drizzle cake

6oz soft margarine
6oz caster sugar + 4 tablespoons
2 eggs
6oz self raising flour
level teaspoon baking powder
1 lemon
a little milk

Grease and line either a 2lb loaf tin or 7in deep cake tin. Preheat oven to 160 C.

Beat together 6oz soft margarine, 6oz caster sugar, 2 eggs, 6oz self raising flour, level teaspoon of baking powder, grated rind of 1 lemon and enough milk to make a fairly soft consistency.

Put into tin and bake for about 50/60 mins until well risen and springy to touch.

Mix together 4 level tablespoons caster sugar and 3 tablespoons lemon juice in a pan over very low heat.

As soon as cake comes out of oven prick top of cake with needle and pour syrup over it. Leave to cool in tin for 10 minutes then transfer to rack to finish cooling.

If you like icing you can also mix lemon juice and sifted icing sugar to make a thin icing and drizzle it in a zigzag pattern over the top of cooled cake.

Sourdough hot cross buns

This is a sourdough version of the Hot Cross Bun recipe from Bread Matters by Andrew Whitley, slightly adapted.

Makes 16 buns.

12-24 hours before you want to make the Hot Cross Bun dough, soak a Fruit mixture and refresh your sourdough starter.

Production Sourdough (12-16 hours)

Plain or Wholemeal flour	120g
Rye flour	60g
Sourdough starter	130g
Water (room temperature)	110g
Total	420g

Refresh your old starter with flour and water as above. Don’t use only white wheat flour for this part because it’s lacking in the bioactive elements (natural yeasts and beneficial bacteria) that make a sourdough work well. Mix everything together into a smooth dough, then cover (a lidded tub is good) and leave in a cool place (not the fridge) to ferment.

[You can do a faster four-hour refreshment if you have a reasonably active starter. In this case, use 35°C water and leave the mix to ferment in a warm place.]

Fruit Mix

Raisins	100g
Sultanas	100g
Stem or crystallised ginger, or candied peel, or flaked almonds	70g
Fruit juice, water or spirit (e.g.rum)	40g
Total	310g

Put everything into a bowl with a well-fitting lid or a strong polythene bag, tie its neck and swirl it around a bit so that the liquid comes into contact with all the dry ingredients. Do this a couple of times over the soaking period if possible.

 Once the production sourdough has doubled in size: 

The Main Dough

Production sourdough (from above)	400g
Plain flour	100g
Wholemeal flour (or bread flour, or whatever flour you want)	200g
Butter (or olive oil)	50g
Brown sugar	50g
Mixed spice	10g
Sea salt (reduce to 2 g if using salted butter)	5g
Egg (two medium eggs)	100g
Water	100g
Fruit Mix (from above)	300g
Total	1315g

Add the flour, spice, salt, egg, sugar, butter & water (but not the fruit) to the production sourdough and mix until everything is combined well. Knead (or mix in a machine) gently for as long as it takes to develop a soft, fairly smooth dough (the smoothness will depend on the proportion of wholemeal flour in the mix). Scotland The Bread flour has a softer gluten that doesn’t require much kneading. Add a little extra water if the dough becomes too stiff. It must be very soft at this stage. The dough will be tacky on the surface because of the sugar and egg in the mix, so use water on your hands and the worktop to stop it sticking too much. If your dough feels too soft and sticky to handle, it is probably about right! Put the kneaded dough in a bowl, cover well and leave it for 30 minutes or so. It won’t show many signs of rising in this time, but the gluten will relax which makes folding the fruit in much easier. Stretch the dough gently out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 25 cm (10”) x 20 cm (8”). Spread the soaked fruit mix over almost all the surface. Roll the dough up carefully, turn it through 90 degrees and roll it gently up again, taking care not to force the fruit through the surface (easier said than done). Divide into pieces weighing about 80 grams each and, using a little flour on your hands and if necessary on the worktop, mould them into fairly tight, round buns and place them in accurate rows on a baking tray with a 2.5 cm (1”) gap between each bun. Remove any fruit exposed on the top of the rolls and tuck it underneath so that it doesn’t burn and become bitter. Prove until the buns are almost touching. This may take four or five hours, depending on the vigour of your sourdough. Be patient and remember that the natural sourdough yeasts are struggling with elements (butter, egg, spice, even the extra sugar) in the mix that make life difficult for them. Make the cross mix as it needs about the same amount of time to start bubbling:  The Crossing Mix White flour (or sifted wholemeal) 50g Olive oil 5g Sourdough starter 10g Water (warm) 50g Total 115g Mix all together and ferment for about four hours. The mixture should be bubbling a little and should be fairly runny. Then when the buns have proved:     Place the fermenting crossing mix in a piping bag with a fairly fine nozzle, or cut a very small triangle (the opening should be no more than 3 mm across) from the corner of a stiff polythene bag and improvise your own piping bag.  Then pipe the crosses onto the buns as neatly as you can. Put the buns in the oven immediately after piping the crosses.  Bake at about 180°C/350°F for 10-15 minutes depending on your oven. Glaze generously as soon as the buns are out of the oven with a mixture of two parts warmed honey to one part whipping cream, thoroughly stirred.

Quince jelly and quince paste

Ingredients

About 2 lbs quinces or japonica apples

Around 3 pints of water for every 2 lbs of fruit 

Sugar (probably two bags of it)

A little vanilla essence if desired. 

Method:

For the jelly:

1. Cut the quinces in quarters and get the pips out and any black dusty bits. No need to peel them or remove the cores. The peel and cores are where the pectin is.
2. Put them in a large pan and add lots of cold water: around 3 pts for 2 lbs of fruit. If you don't have enough water there's not enough jelly and it's too strong.
3. Bring to the boil and simmer until the fruit's tender (this seems to take very little time if they are ripe: maybe 15 to 30 minutes should do).
4. Lay a large square of muslin in a large mixing bowl and spoon the fruit into it. Gather up the corners, tie it with string and hang the jelly bag over the bowl. Leave it to drip over night.
5. Next day, set the bag of fruit aside (we use it for the quince paste).
6. Measure the juice into a measuring jug. 
7. Weigh up sugar at the rate of 1 lb for each pint of juice.
8. Put some jars to warm in the oven.
9. Put the sugar and the juice into a pan, and boil it.
10. Test it to see when it reaches the setting point, by the old fashioned methods or using a thermometer. In my experience it sometimes sets below the jam temperature.
11. When it reaches setting point, remove it from the heat. Skim off the scum if any and save it for bread and jam for tea. 
12. Pot the jelly into the warm jars, and label it up.

For the paste (or quince comfits):

1. Remove the fruit pulp from the muslin bag.
2. Rub it through a steel sieve, in small batches, using a wooden spoon, until it is all rubbed. Wipe the pulp off the bottom of the sieve with a scraper. 
3. Discard the fibrous residue left in the sieve after each batch of rubbing.
4. Weigh the resulting pulp. You should have around 1 lb or so.
5. Weigh up 1lb of sugar for every 1 lb of pulp.
6. Put the pulp and the sugar in a pan. 
7. Heat very gently to dissolve the sugar, and then simmer on very low heat for an hour and a half, until it is deep orange and thick. Add vanilla at the end of cooking if desired.
8. Line the base of a small swiss roll tin with greaseproof paper. Spread the paste into the tin.
9. Place in a warm dust-free place to dry, for about a week or two.
10. Cut into pieces, to serve small slices with cheese or cold meat (as membrillo), or serve in small squares as sweets (medieval comfits) with coffee etc.

Light banana pancakes

Ingredients

One over ripe slightly fermenting banana 

One egg

1 tbsp plain flour (wheat or buckwheat etc) 

A little olive oil or fat 

Method 

1. Mash the winey banana in a large breakfast cup.
2. Break the egg into the cup and stir.
3. Add a spoonful of flour, and whisk it a little.
4. Leave it to stand for a bit. (The longer you leave it the more bubbly it will be).
5. Heat the oil in a large flat non-stick pan and fry small drop scone size spoonfuls of the mixture.
6. Turn once with a non-stick spatula.
7. Serve with fruit and cream or syrup etc.

Good for breakfast or pudding at any time. Can also be taken on picnics.

 

Lemon mascarpone cake (with wheat free option)

 Ingredients:

For the cake

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup plain flour OR 2/3 cup rye flour
• 1/2 cup cornflour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) mascarpone cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice (make sure you keep 1 teaspoon of juice for the frosting!)

 For the frosting

• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) mascarpone cheese
• 1 tablespoon icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Grease an 8 inch round tin. Line if you can be bothered and lightly dust with flour (wheat-free if you're doing that version!)

Beat together oil, sugar, mascarpone cheese, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until completely smooth. Next, beat in the flour, cornflour, baking powder, bicarb and salt and stir until no lumps remain.

Pour mixture into tin and bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes until golden, risen, and just starting to pull away from the edge of the tin. Check if it's done with cake tester - should come out clean! Cool in the tin at first, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, whip together mascarpone, icing sugar and lemon juice until smooth and thick. Spread over the cold cake.

Shrewsbury Biscuits

Ingredients

6 oz plain flour
2 oz castor sugar
2 oz butter
1/2 level tsp salt
1 egg
vanilla essence

Method

1. Prepare a moderate oven, 350º F or Mark 4.
2. Cream butter and sugar.
3. Add egg and vanilla essence and beat well.
4. Work in flour and salt to form a stiff dough.
5. Knead lightly and roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into fancy shapes (approximately 40 biscuits using a 1.5 inch round cutter).
6. Bake on a flat greased tin for 20-25 minutes.

"Recipe for Sweet biscuits"

This is the recipe that came in the child's baking set with rolling pin and cutters.

Makes approximately 18 biscuits

First collect together the things that you will need. Mixing bowl, wooden spoon, pastry board, rolling pin, pastry cutters, baking tray.

(Editor's note: I would advise that you grease the baking tray. The recipe is designed for very small cutters, of three different designs. With larger cutters you will not get 18 biscuits).

Ingredients

2 oz (56 grams) softened butter
2 oz (56 grams) caster sugar
4 oz (113 grams) plain flour
About 2 dessert spoons milk

1. Ask a grown-up to turn on the oven for you and set it at 350ºF (180ºC, Gas mark 3) with a shelf in the centre.
2. Put the butter and sugar in the mixing bowl and mix them well together with the wooden spoon until soft and creamy
3. Mix in the flour and the milk with the wooden spoon until the ingredients are mixed well together. Now using your hands, knead the mixture together, making it into a ball of dough.
4. Sprinkle a little flour onto the pastry board and rolling pin so that the dough will not stick, and roll the dough out until it is about as think as a 10p piece.
5. Using the pastry cutters, cut out shapes from the dough and put them carefully onto the baking tray, leaving spaces between each one. You should get about six of each shape but don't worry if you have more or less.
6. Now ask a grown-up to help you, and remember that the oven will be hot. Put the biscuits into the oven on the centre shelf. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the biscuits are light brown.
7. Take the biscuits out of the oven on the baking tray. Don't forget that the baking tray will be very hot, so use an oven cloth. Leave the biscuits to cool for five minutes. Lift them onto a wire cooling tray and when they are completely cold sprinkle a little sugar on top of them—DELICIOUS!
8. Store them in an airtight tin so that they will not go soft.
9. Now you can tidy up the kitchen and wash up your cooking utensils. Just wipe clean the pastry board and rolling pin; do not put them in the water.

Hot cross buns (the traditional family version from the grey folder)

Ingredients

1 lb strong white flour
1 level tsp salt
1 level tsp mixed spice
1/2 level tsp grated nutmeg
2 oz caster sugar
1 oz fresh yeast (or 1 level tbsp dried yeast)
1 warm egg (beaten) made up to half a pint with warm milk and water, and 1 tsp caster sugar (make sure it's all very nice and warm!)
2 oz melted butter
4 oz currants
1-2 oz chopped mixed peel

For the crosses:

1 oz self raising flour
1 dessert spoon of oil
1 dessert spoon of milk
1 dessertspoon of water

For the glaze:

1 tbsp water
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp caster sugar

Method

If possible, work in a warm room!

1. Warm the bowl to quite hot
2. Sift the flour, salt, spices and sugar into the warm bowl
3. Add the warm milk and water to the egg and add the yeast (and sugar if using dried yeast).
4. Make a dip in the middle of the dry ingredients and stir in the melted butter and the yeasty liquid.
5. Mix to a soft dough.
6. Turn out onto an unfloured surface, and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth.
7. Press out the dough with knuckles and spread the currants and mixed peel over the surface.
8. Gather it up and knead it again to distribute the fruit.
9. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a smooth ball. Put it in the warm bowl to rise, covered with a plastic bag.
10. When it has doubled in size turn it out again, flatten it, knead it again, and divide into 16 pieces by rolling the side of your hand across the middle of each piece to force the dough apart at the centre. (The original recipe says make 12, but when it works well this quantity makes 16 large buns).
11. Place the buns well apart on a greased tray. Put them in a warm place to rise (covered with a bag or cloth).
12. Heat the oven to 425º F, Gas mark 7
13. When the buns are risen and all joined up at the edges, apply the crosses: make up the paste for the crosses in a small bowl, and use a piping bag or cone of greaseproof paper to squeeze a tube of paste across each row of buns, and then again at right angles across the vertical and horizontal axes. (If your piping hole is too large and you have 16 large buns, you may need to make more paste!)
14. Bake them in the hot oven for 15-20 minutes (until they sound good and hollow on the bottom).
15. While they are baking make the glaze: heat the ingredients in a small pan on the stove, slowly at first then boil, stirring with a wooden spoon. Draw it off the heat.
16. When the buns are done, glaze them using a pastry brush while they are still hot.
17. Allow to cool a bit, or just eat them immediately.... 
18. To serve, split the bun horizontally and butter it liberally. Split buns can be toasted in the toaster, or whole buns can be reheated in the oven.

Staffordshire oatcakes

Ingredients

8 oz fine or medium oatmeal
8 oz wheat flour (or some non-wheat flour)
1 tsp salt
1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast or 1 oz fresh yeast
3/4 pint warm water
3/4 pint warm milk

Method

1. Mix the oatmeal and flour together.
2. Mix in the dried yeast (or rub in the fresh yeast).
3. Gradually add the liquids and make a smooth batter.
4. Cover the bowl and leave in a warm place for an hour, or cooler overnight.
5. Heat a pancake pan, greasy with bacon fat from frying the bacon.
6.  Use a ladle to pour in batter and spread to about 9 or 10 inches diameter.
7. Flip it over when the bubbles on top burst and the top is set.
8. Finished cakes should be soft, not crisp.
9. Serve with bacon and the rest of a cooked breakfast, or topped with melted cheese etc.

Baked Apple Roly Poly

Ingredients

10 oz (275g) self-raising flour
pinch of salt
5 oz (150 g) shredded suet
some cold water
1 lb (450g) cooking apples
3 oz (75g) Demerara or soft brown sugar
2 level tsp ground cinnamon
3 oz (75g) sultanas
Milk and sugar to glaze

Method

1. Turn on the oven to moderately hot, 400ºF, 200ºC, Gas mark 6.
2. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and mix in the suet.
3. Add just enough cold water to mix to a soft but not sticky dough.
4. Roll out your pastry on a floured board, to a rectangle about 12x14 inches (30x35 cms).
5. Trim the edges and then cut off a strip about 2 inches wide from the shorter side. (What exactly does this mean? I suppose it means that you now have a square 12x12 inches, and a strip 12x2 inches—but see further below for counter evidence to this theory).
6. Peel core and chop the apples (NB chop them small!)
7. Spread the chopped apple over the pastry to within 1 inch of the edge.
8. Mix the brown sugar and the cinnamon together and sprinkle over the apples.
9. Scatter the sultanas over the apples.
10. Fold the pastry edges over the apples on the long sides. (humph, I thought there was no long side any more?)
11. Brush these and both ends with water. 
12. Roll it up from the shorter side like a swiss roll, and seal the ends.
13. Place the roll, join downwards, on a sheet of foil on a baking tray. Push up the sides of the foil to hold the pastry roll in shape. (Hmm I think it is more recommended to put it in a tin with sides, such as a very large loaf tin or an oblong tin).
14.  Gather up the trimmings with the pastry strip, roll into two thin sausage shapes and twist them together. 
15. Brush the roly poly with milk and sprinkle with caster sugar.
16. Place the twist down the centre of the roll and brush with milk. 
17. Make four slits in the pastry on each side of the roll to allow the steam to escape.
18. Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until well risen and golden brown. If the pastry twist browns too quickly cover it with a strip of foil to protect it. (I am beginning to wonder why we bother with this twist of pastry?)

Serve hot with custard or cream, or a hot sweet white sauce. This can be dairy free if you don't glaze it with milk.