Bread and Cakes

Dornoch Dreams
 (sent in by Jenny Cunningham, Edinburgh)

Ingrediants:
2 oz butter or margarine, 4 oz plain flour, 6 fluid oz water, 3 eggs, 12 ounces raspberries, 4 oz honey, 2 tablespoons Drambuie, half pint double cream, icing sugar for decoration.

Method:
Place the butter (or margarine) and water in a saucepan and heat until the fat has melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour. Beat until the mixture forms a ball (and leaves the edges of the pan cleanly). Beat the eggs and slowly add them, a little at a time, beating well between each addition. Spoon the pastry mixture into a large piping bag with a plain nozzle and pipe 12 round cakes onto a lightly greased baking sheet (cookie sheet). Bake in the centre of a preheated oven at 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 for 20/30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven, pierce to allow the steam to escape and then leave to cool. Mix the raspberries and honey. Stir the Drambuie into the whipped cream. Split the buns and fill with the raspberries and cream. Dust with the icing sugar (frosting) and serve immediately.

Christmas recipe: Dundee Cake
(Sent in by Jenny Cunningham, Edinburgh)

This cake is popular throughout Britain as an alternative to Christmas Cake. It is originally a Scottish Christmas cake from Dundee.

Ingredients:

8 oz butter, 8 oz sugar, 4 eggs, 10 oz flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, some salt, 2 oz ground almonds, 1 lb mixed dried fruits, 4 oz candied peels

Method:
Line an 8" cake tin with baking parchment. I prefer to use springform tins, as they are easier.. Set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, with a little flour taken from the total weight of 10oz. This stops the eggs curdling. Stir in orange rind, finely grated.
Sift together the rest of the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Use plain flour and baking powder if you can, as it gives a better stability for the heavy fruit.
Now fold the flour mix into the creamed mixture and add the ground almonds, the mixed dried fruits and the candied peels. Spoon into the prepared tin, smooth the surface, hollow it slightly in the middle so that when it rises it will not peak. Arrange whole blanched almonds around the top. Brush all over with beaten egg white. Bake in a pre-heated oven 325 Fahrenheit/170 Celsius for about three hours. After the first hour, put a sheet of baking parchment on top, to prevent it going too dark and burning. Test with skewer, when it comes out clean the cake is ready.

Christmas recipe: Scottish Black Bun
(Sent in by Jenny Cunningham, Edinburgh)

is a cake in a crust and is the traditional Christmas/New Year cake in Scotland.

Ingredients:
1lb short crust pastry, 1teaspoon each of cinnamon, ground ginger, 1/4 fresh grated nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, 10 oz plain flour, 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda, 4 oz sugar, 4 oz flaked almonds, 1 lb raisins, 1 lb currants, candied peel, 2 eggs, 5 tablespoons buttermilk or milk, 2 tablespoons whisky.

Method:
First make the short crust pastry your usual method. Leave to chill. Take a cake tin, and line with baking parchment. Set aside. Mix together the spices. Weigh into large bowl the plain flour and the bicarbonate soda, mix well. Add the sugar, then the spices, and the currants, raisins, almonds and candied peel.
Mix altogether well. Now add the eggs, the milk and two or three tablespoons whisky. Mix to a stiff sticky dough.
Roll out 2/3rds of the pastry and line the cake tin with this. Press the fruit mixture into the pastry shell so that it is filled densely. Roll out the rest of the pastry to form a lid, and put on top in the usual way, moistening the edges with water to make then stick. Take a long skewer, and pierce several times, right through the cake till you feel the tip touch the tin bottom. Brush the lid with a mixture of egg and milk, and bake in a pre-heated oven at 325 Fahrenheit/170 Celsius for about three hours. Test with skewer, when it is done, the skewer will not have any cake mix sticking to it.
Serve with coffee, or as the Scots do, with a wee dram of whisky!

Wholemeal Bread

Ingredients:
1 lb wholemeal flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 dessertspoon brown sugar, 1 dessertspoon dried yeast, 1/2 pint warm water.

Method:
Put the flour and salt to warm in a bowl. Add sugar to the water and stir in the yeast. Stand in warm place until frothy. Pour liquid into the bowl of warmed flour. Mix everything well until a smooth dough is formed. Put dough into a greased and floured 2 lb tin, cover with a cloth and leave to rise, by about one third, in a warm place. Bake at Gas 6, 200°C (400°F) for 45 minutes. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.

Carrot Cake
(Sent in by Margaret Carrington, Glasgow)

Ingredients:
8 oz (2 cups) wholemeal flour, 8 oz (2 cups) brown sugar, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, half a cup melted butter or oil, 4 eggs, half cup chopped walnuts, 14 ounces (3 cups) finely grated carrot, zest of an orange. FOR ICING: Half pound (two cups) icing sugar, 3 oz cream cheese (under half a cup), one teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 oz butter (three quarters of a cup)

Method:
Mix the dry ingredients together and then add the walnuts and carrots, mixing well. Beat the eggs and them and the butter (or oil) and mix well. Pour the mixture into two, one pound rectangular loaf tins or one, two pound loaf tin. A nine inch round cake tin can also be used. Bake for an hour in a pre-heated oven at 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4. Make the icing by beating the ingredients together and, once the cake has cooled, decorate the top and the side with the icing.

Oatcakes
(Sent in by Jenny Cunningham, Edinburgh)

Oatmeal was for a long time the most important meal in Scotland and still produces best known Scottish dishes like porridge and oatcakes. There are almost as many recipes for oatcakes as there were mills in Scotland, but this one, provided by Mrs. Jenny Cunningham, who already sent in a lot of other recipes, is particularly easy to make and tastes delicious.

Ingredients:
2 handfuls plain flour, 1 lb medium oatmeal, 6 oz cooking fat, 1 cup cold water, 1 teaspoon salt.

Method:
Put oatmeal, flour and salt in a basin and mix. Make a hole in the centre and pour in the hot melted fat and cold water. Mix well and then roll into small balls with floured hands to prevent sticking. Roll out each ball and cut into four pieces. Bake in moderate oven Gas 5, 190°C (375°F) for about 20 minutes.

Scones
(Sent in by Jenny Cunningham, Edinburgh)

Scones are similar to oatcakes but consists of wheatened meal instead of oatmeal.

Ingredients:
1/4 lb plain flour, 1/4 lb wheatened flour, 1/2 oz butter or margarine, 1 tablespoon caster sugar, 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of Soda, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, 3/4 teaspoon salt and a little milk.

Method:
Sieve the plain flour and add the other dry ingredients. Rub in the butter and add enough milk to form a soft consistency. Roll out on a floured board to 3/4 inch thick. Cut in rounds of 2 inches and bake in the oven Gas 6, 200°C (400°F) for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Sweet Brodick Bannock
(Sent in by Muriel Shaw, Inverness)
 

Ingredients:
6 oz brown flour, 2 oz oatmeal, 1 oz butter, 2 oz sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 egg, 3 tablespoons milk.

Method:
Mix together flour, baking powder and rub in the butter. Add sugar and oatmeal and mix well. Make a hole in the centre of the mixture, add the egg and milk and mix to a soft dough. Shape into a flat round bannock shape about 1/2 inch thick. Cook in a hot oven at Gas 6, 200°C (400°F) for 15-20 minutes.

Shortbread

Shortbread is traditionally associated with Christmas and Hogmanay but is now made throughtout the year. Today it is sold to tourists in fine Scottish wrapping and is also exported to the continent and the USA where you can buy it in almost every well-stocked super market.

Ingredients:
12 oz flour, 4 oz sugar, 8 oz butter.

Method:
Sieve the flour and add the sugar. Rub in the butter and work the mixture into a ball with a knife. Butter a baking tray and spread in the mixture or press into a floured mould. Bake in pre-heated oven at Gas 5, 190°C (375°F) for 25 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven, cut into squares from the tray and sprinkle with caster sugar.

Gingerbread

Gingerbread is always popular on a picnic and particularly liked by stalkers and shepherds on the hill, who carry their gingerbread in their pocket for the little hunger.

Ingredients:
2 eggs, 1/2 cup beer.
Put into a pan and slowly melt: 1/2 lb butter, 1/2 lb soft dark sugar, 2 level tablespoons treacle, 2 level tablespoons syrup.
Into a mixing bowl sieve: 10 oz plain flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon mixed spice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg.

Method:
Beat two eggs and add half cup of beer. Add this to the melted ingredients in the pan, and add this gradually to the flour mixture and beat well. Put in a roasting tin well lined with greased and floured paper. Bake in moderate oven at Gas 4, 180°C (350°F). After 45 minutes lower to Gas 2, 150°C (300°F), until cooked.

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