Just out of the oven…
5 Likes
Gawds
I can almost smell them…
Carinthia. xx
5 Likes
Seriously impressed!
Also shamed - having sourced authentic Type 700flour ages ago I still haven’t tried making them! This must be rectified…
6 Likes
I expect when you do, you’ll nail the shaping first go. And then I shall have to pelt you with Brazil nuts* or suchlike.
*unshelled
6 Likes
Of course, when I do reveal the perfect-first-time Kaiserbrot, you only have my word for it that I haven’t been practising like mad for the last six months…*
*Spoiler: I haven’t, and confidently predict that my first (and no doubt subsequent) efforts will look less like crowns than dog turds.
5 Likes
Had I actually been practicing, I would remember the name correctly! Kaisersemmeln, of course.
4 Likes
Should they come out misshapen, just claim they are Hapsburgsemmeln…
4 Likes
On a more positive note, the other night I managed to produce some not-at-all-bad buns and - particularly surprising - mince pies. Which may not sound like a big deal - but they had to be gluten-free. I had never tried making GF pastry before so was a tad nervous. Think there might be a bit of a spree over the next couple of weeks…
Unfortunately, the bowl of MiniKen (ancient food processor) broke after making the pastry, so have to wait till I get a replacement. The good news is that said replacment is going to be the processor attachment for BigKen. The even better news is that I just got notified that the delivery date has been changed from next Tuesday to tomorrow. YAY!!!
On which point, the breadmaker just meeped at me:
L-R Breadmaker GF White, Real Brown from oven
Oh - and I managed to lay in a store of Hen! Tomorrow’s mission is to find a bottle of Hermitage. Could be a good Christmas…
6 Likes
I should have thought that you, of all people, would have no shortage in that department.
5 Likes
Hens, no problem. Hen, unfortunately no longer stocked by Tesco. Fortunately the off-licence manager in the local branch knows my fondness for it so tipped me off about the last couple of cases and put them aside for me.
6 Likes
Attajoe! Never tried making GF pastry but I understand it can be temperamental.
Talking of GF, made Nigella’s Clementine Cake, albeit with oranges, today. The top cracked horribly, but it tasted good. Which is just as well, considering half a dozen eggs went into it. So that might be worth a whirl if your GF person can eat almonds.
5 Likes
Tempting…
Made a similar style chocolate & almond cake a couple of times, then manged to lose the recipe. It was from Theodora Fitzgibbon* in the Irish Times years ago. Quite a faff, as I recall - the eggs had to be separated, with the beaten whites folded in after all the other ingredients were mixed. The chocolate (as in bar of good quality dark) was grated in, so you got a beautiful marbled effect in the finished cake. A lot of work but well worth it! I’ve tried to find a similar recipe, but thus far to no avail. Must have another trawl online - the fact that it would be GF may have made it a more common option…
*Quite a remarkable woman: Theodora FitzGibbon - Wikipedia
5 Likes
If you do find that one, I’d love to see the recipe, please. I’ve encountered a number of hers and they’re always interesting.
5 Likes
Indeed! I’ve just found (and ordered!) this:
Should be here within the week - if it’s in there I’ll pass it on!
I suppose I could always try a search of the Irish Times archive. I moved to Ireland in August 1988, and Fitzgibbon died in March 91, so it’s quite a narrow window. (Come to think of it, it’s the sort of thing @3Wells might know…)
5 Likes
Excellent call!
5 Likes
BINGO!!!
Watch this space…
5 Likes
The print/download option doesn’t work, so copying manually - beware of typos!
I note it’s not gluten free, but see no reason not to substitute GF flour - Dove’s Farm Freee™ self-raising has always worked for me.
CHOCOLATE AND ALMOND CAKE
Theodora Fitzgibbon
Irish Times, 21 October 1989
A deliciously moist cake, fairly light in colour but a lovely flavour, with speckles of chocolate.
- 100g (4 oz) butter or margarine at room temperature
- 100g plain chocolate, grated
- 175g (6 oz) caster sugar
- 6 tablespoons milk
- four large egg whites & four large egg yolks
- 100g (4 oz) ground almonds
- 175g (6 oz) sifted self-raising flour
- Preheat oven to 200°C, [180°C fan]*, 425°F, gas 7.
- Grease and line a 20cm (8 in) cake tin.
- Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Beat egg yolks well and add them about a teaspoon at a time to the mixture until well absorbed.
- When finished, lightly fold in the ground almonds, grated chocolate and milk, using a metal spoon.
- In a clean, dry bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks, fold them in so as not to lose all the air you have whisked in.
- Finally put in the flour, folding carefully in with a metal spoon.
- Put this mixture into the tin, level it off and put it on the centre shelf.
- Reduce heat to 170°C, [150°C fan]*, 325°F, gas 3 and bake for 1 to 1¼ hours until centre is springy when lightly touched.
- Stand in tin for 5 minutes, then turn on to a wire rack to cool.
*NB No fan temperature was given in the original, but 20°C lower is a good rule of thumb, so that's what I've gone for. You know your own ovens, so adjust if necessary!
5 Likes
The original, for the purists out there (The scanning errors are theirs, not mine)
This, from the same column, looks intriguing:
5 Likes
I’ve come over all cakeyfied. The clementine cake would be a Good Idea for manging marauders and I have lots of boozy fruits to stiffen its resolve…To go with, not in…
Soo xx
6 Likes
I have the metal tablespoon my Mother always used for ‘folding in’.
Carinthia. xx
5 Likes