Cinnamon

Festive Mulled Wine

/ Claire / Leave a comment

Hot, spiced mulled wine is one of the quintessential drinks of Christmas. The smell of the spices and the hot wine makes the house smell wonderful and what better way to welcome guests to your festive get together?

I’m not keen on mulled wine (or mulled cider) to be too sweet, so just sweeten enough to suit your preference and leave the wine on a low heat so everything slowly heats and infuses together.

This is so easy to make and you can do it on the stovetop, or in a slow cooker and you can customise the spices and spike with brandy, rum or the liqueur of your choice!

Ingredients – double for a crowd, halve for 2!
2 bottles of red wine – one that you would drink
1 large orange, sliced
1-2 lemons, sliced
2 small clementines
A few cranberries (optional)
8 cloves (or more)
Cinnamon sticks
Sweetener of your choice to taste – caster or brown sugar/honey/maple syrup
Brandy (optional)

Method:
Stud each clementine with the cloves and then add everything to a pan and heat slowly. Don’t let it boil, just leave it on a low simmer and check the sweetness.

To serve, ladle into heatproof glasses or mugs and add a little extra brandy (if using) and don’t forget the mince pies. Merry Christmas!

Parkin

/ Claire / Leave a comment

The nights are long, the air is cold and thoughts turn to spiced, baked treats!  Yorkshire Parkin is a dark, sticky, oaty, gingerbread type of cake traditionally eaten around Bonfire Night.  Made ahead and stored in a cake tin, it will be at it’s sticky best for your bonfire party.Parkin2

I like to whizz up the oats in the food processor for a finer texture, but they can be left whole if preferred.

Ingredients:
220g butter
120g dark brown soft sugar
100g black treacle/molasses
150g golden syrup
120g oats – ground up on the food processor
200g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
1tbs ground ginger
2tsp cinnamon
1tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2tsp ground cloves
2 extra large eggs, beaten
50ml milk

Method:
Pre heat the oven to 140°C/275°F and generously butter a 22cm² baking tin

Place the butter, sugar, treacle and syrup in a heavy based pan and gently heat until everything is melted together, stirring with a wooden spoon.  Take care not to boil.  When all the ingredients are nicely melted and molten, set aside to cool a little.

In a large bowl, sieve together the flour, baking powder salt and spices and mix in the ground oats.

Baked Parkin

Pour in the sugar and treacle mixture and mix to combine.  Everything should be well mixed and coated.  Mix in the beaten eggs and then add the milk.  The mixture should be wet and pourable, so once the eggs are added, you might not need all of the milk to get to a nice pouring consistency.

Parkin1

Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for at least an hour and a half.  Check the cake after this time, it should be firm and spring back when gently pressed.

Leave to cool in the tin for around 30 minutes.  You can serve it warm or keep for a few days and it will increase in stickiness and be at its very best.
Parkin3

Cut into squares and enjoy with hot coffee, tea, or mulled cider!

 

 

Apple and Blackberry Cobbler

/ Claire / 1 Comment

The weather is getting cooler and the nights are starting to draw in, thoughts are turning to recipes baked with seasonal fruit and spices.

Apples and blackberries are a classic combination and I often make apple and blackberry pies and crumbles.  For a change, this is a cobbler and uses buttermilk and melted butter in the ‘cobbles’ which makes the topping very tender and moist.

Apple Blackberry Cobbler2

The sweet fruit and spices all baked together makes the kitchen smell wonderful.  The finished cobbler has sweet, juicy fruit on the bottom and the gently spiced topping is soft on the inside and a little crusty and golden on the top.  It’s the perfect alternative to a crumble or a pie and really easy to make.

Although the temptation is to dive straight in the finished pudding, it’s best to leave it to cool a little before serving as the filling is incredibly hot straight from the oven.

Filling:
3-4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 punnet of sweet blackberries, washed
Juice of half a lemon
150g brown sugar
1tsp cinnamon
A pinch of ground cloves
1tbs cornflour

Topping:
250g self-raising flour
150g butter, melted
240g buttermilk
100g sugar
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp cinnamon
A little melted butter for brushing

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/375°F and butter a baking dish

Place the sliced apples, spices, cornflour, lemon juice and sugar in a pan and heat gently.  When the sugar has melted and the juices thickened a little, place into a bowl and gently stir in the blackberries.

Apple Blackberry Cobbler

Place into the buttered dish and prepare the topping.

For the topping, place the flour, salt, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and mix together.  Make a well in the centre and pour in the melted butter and buttermilk.  Stir until just combined, taking care not to over-mix.

Apple Blackberry Cobbler1

Using a medium-sized ice cream scoop, or two spoons, drop spoonfuls of the batter over the fruit and top with a little extra brown sugar.

Apple Blackberry Cobbler3

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the cobbler is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the cobbles comes out clean.  When the cobbler is removed from the oven and still hot, brush the top with a little melted butter.

Apple Blackberry Cobbler5

This is best served warm and is good with ice cream, custard, whipped cream, or just on its own.  It’s also good cold the next day.

Apple Blackberry Cobbler4