114. Sticky Apricot Pudding

I needed to bake a proper 'pudding' for Sunday dinner pudding, which would meet the dessert needs of my parents, husband, kids and me. Unfortunately, not many of the puds in Mary's book meet the stringent criteria of a family with members who between them don't like cream, cinnamon, raisins...ad infinitum until all you've got left is chocolate cake. However, this was one which seemed a pretty safe bet, although I knew my eldest offspring would only eat the accompanying ice cream.

It was a very straightforward bake; the batter was quite minimal, so I was a bit worried about it baking too quickly when spread out across the dish. I enjoyed plopping the apricot halves on top, but was amazed at the sheer quantity of demerara sugar required for the topping: a whopping 175g! I got sugar guilt as I was sprinkling, so didn't use it all in the end. It seemed pretty excessive for me, even though the batter didn't have much sugar in it.

It soon puffed up in the oven, and the apricots emitted a gorgeous aroma, but to my great annoyance, I didn't keep my eye on it in the final stages and the top caught a bit too much. Sadly, it came out looking rather charred, and I was a bit gutted about that. There's 'caramelised' and there's 'cremated': this was somewhere in between. Nevertheless, it still tasted really good and got the thumbs up from everyone who sampled it (all except ice-cream fiend daughter). The apricots tasted beautiful, and the texture of the pudding was lovely, especially with its crunchy topping. It didn't taste too burnt; I'll look forward to making it again and being a little more wary about it catching.

Baker's verdict: easy to make and delicious. I'll definitely make it again for a comforting pud.

113. Crunchy Orange Syrup Loaves

I realised that it'd been a while since I last baked (aside from a birthday cake and some flapjacks for work), so I flicked through the book to see which recipe would require the fewest additional ingredients. All I needed for this one was an orange, and, as it turned out, quite minimal effort. The method was the usual Berry-esque 'all-in-one' gubbins; the only mildly labour-intensive moment being the grating of the orange zest. The recipe makes two 1lb loaves, but I was quite surprised to see the mixture not really going very far, and hoped that they would rise well. I baked them at 150 for 25 minutes, but they were definitely on the raw side then, so added another 5 minutes on, with a bonus one for good measure, and they looked really good. They'd risen, but were still on the small side!
As soon as they came out of the oven, I had to spread the sugar and orange juice mixture over the top, observing that there was a lot to go around. Of course, the loaves had a peak in the middle, so most of the sugar syrup pooled around the edges, creating a tooth decay inducing crust (yum). I was pleased with how they baked; definitely a success story for me in terms of them not ending up dry, and the cake tasted good too. The little ones liked them, as did the husband and I. I was going to put the second loaf in the freezer, but they're so small that after cutting just four slices, there isn't a great deal left!
Baker's verdict: super easy and very tasty. I'd definitely rustle these up again.

112. Rich Cheesy Biscuits

I'm trying really hard to honour the commitment I made to myself to bake every week, so in a bid to digress from all things cake, I decided something savoury was in order. The introduction to the recipe mentions their suitability for accompanying 'drinks'; sadly no canape-inducing opportunity was planned, but I knew between us (and my parents), we'd dispatch 32 of these little beauties without too much difficulty.
They were very easy to make, but time-consuming. It basically involved making a pastry dough, then chilling it, then rolling and cutting. It was nice to be left alone in the kitchen and not feel rushed though, so the fact that they took a while to prepare was all good with me! It had been a bit of a mission to find either sesame or poppy seeds to sprinkle them with, but I'm glad I made the effort, as the poppy seeds were a nice finishing touch. I baked them for 12 minutes at 170; some of them went a little bit browner than the others, but I was otherwise pleased with how they turned out.
I don't think you can beat the taste of warm, cheesy pastry; so we of course had to try some fresh out of the oven. They were equally lovely once they'd crisped up a bit too. Husband thought they were a bit too salty, so if I make them again, I might omit the salt altogether. There's salt in the butter and the cheese anyway. They were very popular with the girls; we're still munching the last few several days later. Mary suggests popping them back in the oven; I suppose that would sort the chewiness of stale pastry out.
Baker's verdict: easy but a bit time-consuming to make; delicious. Would make again, though, and definitely if a little gathering for drinks was in the offing.

111. Walnut Teabread

When deciding what to bake next, I discovered this recipe and had the happy realisation that I already had most of the ingredients in the cupboard; all I needed was the walnuts and the sugar. Initially, I thought I'd forgotten the butter, so asked husband to pick me some up, only to have another look at the recipe and discover butter doesn't feature. I did a double-take: a cake without butter? Was this a typo? I went along with it anyway, having faith that all would turn out as intended. For the first time in ages, Elizabeth assisted, and she enjoyed watching the ingredients melting in the pan and feeling the sugar dissolve - always a satisfying experience! The time it took us to sort out the remaining dry ingredients allowed enough time for the melted mixture to cool, but we were both surprised at how liquid the mixture was as I poured it into the tin. I was still sceptical about how this would turn out!

I continued my system of reducing the oven temperature by 10 degrees, and baked it at 150 for 1 hour - the maximum time Mary suggests. It rose beautifully and smelt delicious. We initially tried some of it warm, and weren't keen; it was a peculiar bouncy texture, but once it had firmed up a bit and was spread with butter, it was really tasty and satisfying, and was still good several days later.
Baker's verdict: easy to make and very enjoyable to eat. I'd definitely make this again.

110. Chocolate Chip and Vanilla Marble Cake

This was my choice of cake for my littlest daughter's birthday cake this year, as we've realised that none of us particularly enjoy fondant icing. I thought it'd be nice to try a different type of sponge, to ring the changes. Despite the two different mixtures, it was very easy to make, with the vanilla mixture being the 'base' if you like, and then what was left after dolloping half into the tin was turned chocolatey. I've never made a marble cake before, and quickly saw the error of my ways when dolloping in the chocolate mixture to fill the gaps: my dollops were too large. The end result, therefore, was a 'blob' cake, rather than a marble one! Smaller blobs next time, Sal.
I decided to use this bake as my experiment with the oven temperature, and knocked it down by 10 degrees, also reducing the cooking time by 10 minutes. Peering through the oven door, it looked like it might be ready, so I poked it with a cake tester and found it still a bit moist in the middle. After a further five minutes, I was fairly sure it was done, and took the gamble. I made a stencil for the '2' and once it had called, removed it from the tin so that I could shape it accordingly. That was when I discovered the squidgy bit at the centre - apparently missed by the skewer. It wasn't hideous, but was definitely under-baked in a very small section. Just a few minutes more would've solved that, so I'll try reducing the temperature, but sticking to the time for my next bake.
It was very easy to sculpt and was only just a tiny bit dry at the edges. I improvised with the icing and didn't mess about with bags, just used a spoon to drizzle it all over, Jackson Pollock style, chucking a few white chocolate stars at it for good measure. I thought it looked quite effective, and the kids certainly appreciated it. It tasted nice; the chocolate topping and the chocolate chips in that part of the sponge worked really well, and it was lovely and light. The birthday girl's Grandad certainly enjoyed it!
Husband rating: he really liked it; he's not available for comment at the time of writing!
Baker's verdict: easy to make; tasty; would make it again with smaller dollops.

109. Marmalade Cake

I decided to bake this one next as a means of reducing the amount of marmalade left in the jar, bought on a whim by husband (and hardly touched). It's essentially a fruit loaf, with a tablespoon of marmalade added to the mixture, and a tablespoon spread on top when the cake has cooled. It was very easy to make, but it did turn out dry, owing to me not doing anything to rectify the unreliable oven situation. It was still very tasty though, and the marmalade was a nice addition, if quite a subtle one. I think I'd add more to the mixture next time, to try and give it a bit more of a tang.
Husband rating: He liked the flavour and was very kind about the dryness!
Baker's verdict: a nice, buttery fruitcake, but needed more of a marmalade flavour running through the cake.

108. Borrowdale Teabread

I baked this ages ago, along with a lemon cheescake (in the same weekend), and forgot to take photos of it! Happily, I'd made two loaves, so when the second one emerged from the depths of the freezer, it was duly 'papped'. It was a very straightforward bake, with relatively few ingredients; always nice to soak fruit overnight and see them go all plumpy the next day. I think maybe the tea could've been stronger; I'd probably let it stew for longer next time. I'm still doing battle with our unreliable oven, so inevitably this came out a bit on the dry side, but was nevertheless very tasty - especially with butter.

Husband rating: alas, he won't remember.

Baker's verdict: very easy to make and pleasant to eat.