This Sticky Date cake is effectively a boiled fruit cake, but as it’s egg-free and uses a tin of condensed milk, I was intrigued. It’s a recipe from ‘The Hairy Bikers: Mums know best’ and was given to them by someone they met. When Mum looked at the recipe, she recognised it as one of Delia Smith’s, so if ever you needed evidence that recipes do the rounds, then here you have it.

I have to say, I’m not sure that ‘sticky’ is the perfect word. It is sticky, but more than that, it’s moist and flavourful. The condensed milk gives it a hint of caramel and richness. As I say so frequently that I bore even myself, it is easy to do. It’s fun to do too – not least because the unappetising gunk in the saucepan transforms into quite possibly the nicest fruitcake ever.

So into your saucepan, put the raisins, dates, sultanas and currants with the butter, water and tin of condensed milk. At this point you’ll be thinking all sorts of things that I shouldn’t really post here.

Slowly bring it to the boil, stirring frequently to avoid the edges catching. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3-4 mins.

Transfer it all to a heatproof bowl and set aside for around 30 ins to cool. If you want to speed the cooling process, just sit the bowl in a sink of cold water.

You can see how much the texture changes once it’s cool. If you should happen to stick your finger in to taste the mixture, it might feel a bit grainy, but don’t worry about that.

Stir in a tablespoon of marmalade

then fold in the flour and bicarb

Spoon into the tin and smooth lightly. Cover with the doubled piece of parchment and bake for 2 – 2½ hours. I checked my cake at 2 hours and it needed the additional time.

Cool the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then take it out of the tin and cool completely on a wire rack.

Slices nicely, doesn’t it? It can be a bit crumbly, but that’s hardly a problem when the crumbs taste as they do.

Who did that?!

mmmmhfdjikfjs *swallow* here’s the recipe.

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Sticky Date Cake

(recipe -modified by me- from Delia Smith, the Hairy Bikers, Tom Cobley and all)

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110g/4oz raisins
225g/8oz chopped dates
175g/6¼oz sultanas
110g/4oz dried currants
275g/10oz butter
275ml/10fl oz water
1 x 400g/14oz can condensed milk
300g/10 oz plain flour (or 150g plain and 150g wholemeal flour)

pinch salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 heaped tbsp chunky marmalade

Preheat the oven to 170C/340F/Gas 3. Grease and line a 20cm/8in square cake tin. Also prepare a doubled piece of baking parchment (to sit over the top of the cake whilst it cooks) and cut a hole the size of a 50p piece in the middle.

Place the raisins, dates, sultanas and currants into a saucepan together with the butter, water and condensed milk. Slowly bring the mixture to the boil, stirring frequently to prevent the mixture from burning. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool for around 30 mins. If you haven’t got 30 mins, put the bowl in cold water and keep stirring to cool it more quickly.

Meanwhile, mix together the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda in a separate bowl.

When the fruit mixture has cooled, fold it into the flour along with the marmalade until smooth and well combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin.
Cover the tin with a double layer of baking parchment (cut a hole about the size of a 50p piece in the middle so that it doesn’t steam), then bake the cake in the oven for 2 – 2½ hours, or until the cake is springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. I checked mine at 2 hours and if definitely needed the extra time.

Allow the cake to cool for ten minutes in the tin before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Wrapped in baking parchment and foil, it keeps like a dream. We have a few slices left from 2 weeks ago and it is still perfect.

Seems like a million years ago since I made these delectable truffles. Hours and hours I must have spent agonising over what to make for Alex’s teachers at school.

I changed my mind a thousand times.

Kept coming back to this recipe though – and I’m glad I did, because as I started making them, I remembered just how good they taste.

I might have to make some more. That’ll really give my new Wii Fit Plus something to whinge about. When you step on the platform it yelps. That’s emotional abuse, you know.

Anyway. On to the truffles! (and yes, I’m back!)

This is a tin of Caramel, aka dulce de leche, aka condensed milk that has already been cooked to caramel for you. Isn’t that convenient?
Even better, you only need half this tin, so the other half is there for you to eat from your finger until you are bilious. Fantastic.

Put the half of the contents into a small saucepan and heat until it’s melted, then stir in 100g dark (50, 60, 70% cocoa solids) until that’s all melted and smooth.

Take a dinner plate and cover it with clingfilm, then rub/spray some oil on it.

Pour/scrape the mix onto the plate and smooth it evenly with a spatula. Put it into the freezer for a couple of hours until it’s really firm, or just in the fridge, but be aware that you might have to interrupt your truffle-making to return it to the fridge to harden up again if you snub the freezer method.

Heat a 142ml tub of cream and pour it over a mix of 200g milk and 200g dark chocolate that has all been chopped. Go ahead and add a couple of tsp of vanilla extract too. Let it stand for a minute, then stir to melt.

If your kitchen, like mine, is cold enough that you have polar bear pets and a hole in the ice to go fishing in, then you might need to chuck the lot in the microwave and cautiously (30 second intervals) zap until it melts together.

Well done; you melted! Now let it chillax in the fridge until firm.

Here’s the caramel mix after its stint in the freezer. A pliable caramel frisbee. Good-oh.

Now, I don’t like running out of filling – or covering, for that matter – so at the beginning of the assembly process, I score the plate of filling and the bowl of ganache into quarters. That way, you can see how mean or generous you need to be with both components.

Don your serial killer gloves, sift some cocoa onto a shallow bowl and get a plate out to receive the finished truffles.

With your spooky hand, mould a heaped tsp of truffle mix so that you have a little depression to cradle the filling in.

Form a piece, roughly about the size of your thumbnail, of the caramel filling into a ball and place in the depression, then mould the truffle around it to encase it.

Place the truffle on the cocoa and roll to cover

then onto a plate to await some truffle friends

Here’s one sliced through so that you can see the filling. You don’t get a definite ‘filling’ feel when you’re eating it because the mouthfeel of the two textures is so similar – so similarly fabulous – but the middle does seem to melt in the mouth.

These are so good.

I made a batch of brownies too, but cut them into tiny squares – petit four size. I dredged them with icing sugar so that there was a definition between the two chocolate offerings in the bag.

All dressed up to be given as Christmas gifts, and I am happy to say, there was enthusiastic feedback from the recipients!

Ian wasn’t thrilled.

None left.

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Melting Middle Truffles

(slightly adapted from a Good Food magazine 2008 recipe)

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1/2 x 397g tin Caramel/Dulce de Leche
100g dark chocolate (60-70%), chopped

400g milk chocolate (I used 200g milk and 200g 50% dark choc), chopped
142ml pot double cream
2 tsp vanilla extract

cocoa powder to dust

Make the middle:
Put the caramel into a small saucepan and heat gently to melt it.
Stir in the 100g dark chocolate until smooth.

Cover a dinner plate with clingfilm, oil it, then pour the mix onto the clingfilm and spread evenly.
Freeze until really firm – you will be able to lift it as a bendy disc when it’s firm enough.
Failing the presence of a freezer, refridgerate until firm, but be prepared to keep returning it to the fridge to firm up, as you work.

Put the 400g chocolate in a bowl.
Heat the cream and pour it over the chocolate. Leave for a minute and stir to melt. If, like mine, your kitchen is too cold for this to work, put the bowl in the microwave and zap for 20-30 second intervals until it is melted and smooth.
Cool, then chill until set.

When both mixtures are ready, you might like to don some vinyl/serial killer gloves and do some prep.
Sift some cocoa into a shallow bowl.
Get a plate to put the finished truffles on.

Cut the caramel mix into small pieces – about the size of your thumbnail.

I don’t enjoy maths, but I hate it less than having too much of one mix left over, so I tend to score each mixture into quarters so that I can get a feel for whether I’m using the right amount of each.

Take a heaped tsp of the truffle mix, create a chamber with your thumb and insert a piece of the choc-caramel, then gather it round to seal.
Sounds complex, but this stuff melts in your hands and moulds easily – you’ll get your own method sorted.

Roll the truffle in the cocoa and set to one side.

Keep the truffles in the week for around 1 week before eating, or freeze for a month!
I packaged them into little pretty bags with some brownies cut into tiny petit-four squares, dusted with icing sugar for a colour contrast.

I had most of a pot of sour cream left over, so I had to make something with it, right? Luckily, I still have a little left over, so I can sense some fajitas in the not-so-distant future.

I wanted a really cinnamon flavoured cake, but I didn’t want to put any nuts in it, so this was the answer. Moist, tender crumbed, cinnamon-y enough to satisfy – more than a nice way to use up sour cream.

Preheat oven to GM4-5/350-375F/180-190C (I know that’s annoying, but GM4 was a little too low and I think GM5 would scorch the top)
Grease and line a 9″ round tin.

The usual prep:

Sift 1 cup plain flour, a pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda into a medium bowl.
Mix 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl. Set both bowls aside.

In a large bowl, put 2oz unsalted butter and 2/3 cup caster sugar. Cream until fluffy (high five!)
Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and beat that in.

Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beat them in thoroughly.
Add 1/2 cup (125ml) sour cream and beat that in well.

Add the flour mix next and either combine it with a hand whisk or a large spatula.

Spoon half the batter into the tin and smooth it out

Sprinkle the sugar-cinnamon mix evenly over that

Then spoon the remaining batter over the top and smooth that out too.

Bake for 30-40 mins.

Leave to cool in the tin for 5 mins, then remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack. See how the cinnamon has migrated around? Kind of cool.

Once completely cool, make up the icing.
In a bowl, put 1 cup icing sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. (I had only added about 1/2 tsp in this pic and ended up adding more)

Add 1 tbsp milk and combine with a hand whisk. If it’s too stiff, add more milk. Check it’s got enough of a cinnamon taste.

Using a teaspoon, drizzle the glace icing over the top.

Allow the icing to set, then serve. Oh, it is so tender… never mind left over sour cream, it’s worth buying a tub for!

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Cinnamon Sour Cream Cake

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1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch salt
2oz unsalted butter
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup (125ml) sour cream
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to GM4-5/350-375F/180-190C (I know that’s annoying, but GM4 was a little too low and I think GM5 would scorch the top)
Grease and line a 9″ round tin

Sift together the flour, baking powder and bicarb in a medium bowl.
In a small bowl, combine the dark brown sugar and cinnamon. Set both bowls aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Beat in the vanilla extract, then the eggs.
Add the sour cream and beat well to combine.

Gently, either by whisking or with a spatula, add the flour and combine.

Spoon half the batter into the tin and smooth it.
Scatter the cinnamon-sugar mix evenly over the batter.
Spoon the remaining batter on top and smooth.

Bake for 30-40 mins or until a toothpick comes out cleanly.
Cool in the tin for 5 mins, then remove from tin and cool on a wire rack.

Once cool, make the glace icing.
Put the icing sugar and cinnamon into a medium bowl and combine with a hand whisk.
Add 1 tbsp milk, whisk and add more if necessary.
Using a teaspoon, drizzle the icing over the cake.

Allow the icing to set, then serve.