PRINTING ERRORS IN JANE'S NEW BOOK, BEAUTIFUL BAKING:
Jane would like to apologise to anyone who has been inconvenienced by printing errors in her new book.
Page 42 - JANE'S LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS CAKE: Please note - you will need to add 4 eggs to the ingredients list for this recipe. Please see full correct recipe below.
Page 36: SOAKED LEMON CAKE: On the instructions, number 1, the loaf tin dimensions should read 21 x 10 x 6cm deep tin.
Page 86: TOASTED TEA CAKES. There are a couple of printing errors - please see full correct recipe below.
Jane’s Last Minute Christmas Cake
750g mixed dried fruit
150g glace cherries
225ml Guinness
100ml whisky
75ml orange juice
zest of 1 orange
2 tbsps black treacle
4 medium eggs, beaten
200g butter, slightly soft
200g soft brown Muscovado sugar
250g plain flour
1 heaped tsp (7ml) baking powder
1½ tsps mixed spice
75g chopped Brazil nuts or almonds
Method
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Place the dried fruits, cherries, Guinness, whisky, orange juice, zest and treacle into a large saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. Preferably, transfer to a bowl and refrigerate overnight – but don’t worry if you can’t: just leave it soaking as long as you can.
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Pre-heat the oven to 140C, 275F, gas mark 2. Lightly grease an 8” round cake tin and line with baking parchment or a shaped silicone sheet.
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In a mixing bowl, place all the remaining ingredients except the nuts, and mix thoroughly (I did mine in the electric mixer because I was feeling lazy). Beat until smooth, then fold in the soaked fruit and the nuts. Spoon into the prepared tin and level the top, making a slight dip towards the centre. Bake for 3 hours, then check and cover the top with more paper or silicone if it is over-browning. Bake for a further ½ - 1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes or so in the tin, then turn out and allow to cool completely on a rack.
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When completely cool, wrap the cake in baking parchment and then in foil, and store in a tin somewhere cool and dry (oh for the days of larders!) until it’s time to decorate it. Every couple of weeks (or more often, if you’re short of time, unwrap the cake, make a few holes in the top with a skewer, and spoon over a little brandy or whisky. This keeps the cake moist – and makes it taste even better. You can use orange juice if you prefer. If you like really moist cake with no ‘crust’, then leave the cake in the tin when it comes out of the oven and feed it with the alcohol in that.
Toasted Tea Cakes recipe: there are errors in the ingredients. Please see correct recipe below:
(makes 4 large)
200ml warm milk
1 tbsp caster sugar, plus 1 tsp
2 tsps dried yeast
450g strong white bread flour
1 tsp salt
75g mixed dried fruit
25g melted butter
A little warm water
1 medium egg, lightly beaten
Method
1. In a cup or small bowl, stir the sugar into the warm milk, then sprinkle the dried yeast on the top. Leave for 5 minutes or so until foamy.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the salt into the flour. Stir in the fruit, then add the yeasty milk, the melted butter and the egg. Mix well, adding a little warm water as necessary, until it comes together into a dough. Scoop onto the work surface, either dusted with flour or covered with a silicon sheet, and knead well - you don’t have to keep going as long as for bread – just until it’s smooth and springy.
3. Place in a clean, lightly oiled or lined bowl, and cover lightly with cling film or a cloth and leave in a warm place for an hour or so until doubled in size.
4. Divide the dough into 4 or 6 and shape into round buns. Leave in a warm place to prove for a second time, while the oven heats. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C (205C fan assisted), 425F, gas mark 7.
5 Bake for 15-20 minutes or until they are springy to the touch and beautifully brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely (or eat while still warm…).
Page 36: Soaked Lemon Cake: On the instructions, number 1, the loaf tin dimensions should read 21 x 10 x 6cm deep tin.
___________________________________________________________________________________________LAZY JANE’S DELICIOUS MARMALADE
Put 3kg Seville oranges into a huge thick-bottomed pot (ideally a proper preserving pan), together with 3 lemons and 5.5 litres of water. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about 2 hours – don’t let it boil!! Turn off the heat and take the fruit out with a slotted spoon. Let it cool a few minutes, then cut each orange and lemon in half (they’ll be very sloppy and slimy, but never mind) and scoop the pulp, seeds and pith back into the pot. Put the empty shells to one side, and bring the pot to the boil. Boil hard for 5 minutes, then strain through a muslin jelly bag into a large bowl or pan, squeezing all the juice you can through the cloth. You should have about 1.3 litres – if not, make up the difference with water. Put the liquid back into the large, cleaned pot. Scoop any remaining white pith away from the orange skins, then put them into the food processor and give them a quick blitz until they look like the sort of size bits that you like (or, of course, you can cut them into strips with a knife, but this is so easy).
Put the peel into the pan with 3kg sugar – I use ½ jam sugar, which contains the extra pectin, and ½ preserving sugar. Stir over a low heat until the sugar is dissolved, then bring it to the boil and keep boiling it hard (stirring occasionally to stop it burning on the bottom) until setting point is reached – about 15 minutes or so. I use a thermometer to see when it’s ready (about 104°C) – although it’s worth a quick check by putting a tiny bit onto a cold saucer, letting it cool for a minute or so and then pushing your finger across the top: if it wrinkles then it’s ok.
Let the marmalade cool for about 15minutes, then stir it gently to make sure the peel is evenly spread throughout the liquid. Pour it into clean, warm jam jars (a wide-necked funnel is a GREAT help here!). Add waxed circles onto the tops of the hot jam, then damped cellophane covers (they’ll shrink to fit tightly as they dry) with rubber bands round the necks.
Label the jars, stand back and feel very, very smug.
JANE ASHER'S CHOCOLATE FRIDGE CAKE
(as seen on ITV's This Morning programme)
350g dark chocolate drops
125g butter
2 tbsps golden syrup
450g cake crumbs
4 tbsps brandy
225g crushed digestive biscuits
50g glace cherries
125g butter
2 tbsps golden syrup
450g cake crumbs
4 tbsps brandy
225g crushed digestive biscuits
50g glace cherries
Makes 9 large or 16 smaller portions (the smaller ones are perfect for most people!)
1. Prepare an 8” square cake tin by lightly oiling it and lining the bottom with a square of baking parchment.
2. Put the chocolate, butter and golden syrup into a large, heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until all is melted together (or melt it in the microwave) – or, if you’re feeling brave, you can do it on the hob, but keep stirring it and heat very gently.
3. Take the pan off the heat and stir in all the other ingredients
4. Turn the mix into the prepared tin and chill until set (about 2-3 hours)
5. Cut into 9 or 16 squares and dust lightly with sieved icing sugar.
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CHOCOLATE SPONGE CAKE
INGEDIENTS
(1 quantity = 1½ pints)
150g (5oz) butter
175g (6oz) castor sugar
6 eggs, separated
100g (4oz) dark plain chocolate
150g (5oz plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
METHOD
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 180°C (350°F). Grease and flour the cake tin which should be 15cm (6 inch) round for this amount of mixture.
Cream the butter with 100g (4oz) of the sugar and beat in the egg yolks one by one. Break up the chocolate and place in a microwave bowl. Cover and cook on full power for 1-2 minutes until the chocolate is melted. Alternatively melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Add the chocolate to the egg and sugar mixture. Whisk the egg whites until light and fluffy and fold in the remaining sugar. Sieve the flour and baking powder together. Fold in alternate spoonfuls of flour and egg white into the chocolate mix. Pour the cake mix into the tin and cook for 35-40 minutes. The cake is done when the top is springy and the sides are shrinking from the sides of the tin.
Allow the cake to cool before removing from the tin.
Buttercream Icing
100g (4oz) butter
225g (8oz) icing sugar, sieved
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Beat the butter in a bowl with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy then beat in icing sugar and lemon juice.
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