Dutch Cake

This cake was originally made for us when we lived in Western Australia by our neighbours that we met when we first moved into the area. They were the kind of neighbours everyone wants and they did indeed become our good friends, as the 'Neighbours' theme song suggests. Every year they hosted amazing Christmas parties also. Santa would arrive in the back of a sports car with a present for each child in the street and later be spotted enjoying a beer or two with the parents. The lady of the house was a home economics teacher also and so you could guarantee there was always food around when you went over. I can't quite recall what nationality they were, it was European of some description but it wasn't Dutch, so I don't know where this recipe came into their lives. From a search on the internet it would seem that there are similar cakes out there called 'Dutch Cake' or 'Dutch Spice Cake'. This is for you Faye, wherever you are!

Pastry:
2oz (56g) plain flour
2 tablespoons almond meal
2oz (56g) butter softened
pinch salt
cold water if needed (I have never needed the water)

Cake:
6oz (170g) butter softened
4oz (113g) caster sugar
2 eggs
2 cups self raising flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon or mixed spice (I have used both and I lean towards the mixed spice)
1/2 cup milk

Lemon Icing:
1 cup icing sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon or enough to spread icing
1 teaspoon butter softened

You will also need either Raspberry, Strawberry or Plum Jam (Your choice)

For the pastry:
Sift flour and almond meal with salt into a bowl, rub in the butter using your finger tips. Add cold water if it's necessary.

Press the pastry into the base of a greased 3 or 9 inch spring form tin. I greased mine and coated it in flour and put baking paper on the base.

Spread the jam fairly thickly over the base of the pastry. I used Plum jam.

For the cake, beat the butter and sugar until creamed together.

Add eggs one at a time beating well after each one

Mix in sifted flour and spice and add your milk. If your cake batter looks a little thick you can add a splash of extra milk but don't be alarmed.

Spread over pastry base and jam and bake in a moderate oven for about 40 minutes or insert a skewer and if it comes out clean you know it's cooked.

For the icing, combine the icing sugar and softened butter in a bowl and add your squeezed lemon juice, just enough so the icing is at a spreadable consistency.

Shh don't tell the others!!!    M x

Jam Drops: easy Saturday baking

Jam drops would have to be one of the easiest biscuits to make. I turned to Donna Hay's trusty Modern Classics 2 book for the recipe this time. They were certainly yummo but the jam 'hole' (for some reason that sounds rude) I made in the dough wasn't as deep when they finished baking as I would have liked. Nevertheless they had the expected buttery crumbly texture with oozy jam centres.

Is there a secret to making the jam hole deep and stay deep when baked? If there is, I'd like to know if anyone out there is listening. Maybe I had too much butter? Maybe make the hole wider? I tried a number of batches in different sizes as I made double the mixture the recipe calls for, but they all seemed to flatten out too much (well, for my liking). Anyway they tasted just fine and I used some of my batch as part of a birthday present for a family member - all nicely packed up in a jar. Happy Birthday Barb!

Kind of looks like a giant nipple right? Oops!!

Jam Drops - adapted from Donna Hay's Modern Classics 2

180g butter softened
1 cup caster sugar
1 egg
2 cups plain flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder
jam to decorate (I used raspberry)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy.

Add the egg and beat well. Stir through the flour and baking powder and mix to a dough. (Because I wasn't in the baking 'zone' and made a double batch, I used my dough hooks to get through mixing the flour and baking powder in).

Roll 2 teaspoons of the mixture into balls. Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, allowing room for the biscuits to spread (and mine did spread!!!). Flatten slightly and press a finger into the middle of each ball of dough to make an indent.

Fill the holes with jam.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Add a little more jam to the holes while the biscuits are hot (Totally do this - it's for your own good!). Cool on wire racks.

Makes about 60 according to Donna. According to me about 40 (think mine were bigger than 2 tsp's and I even made double the mixture).

Enjoy!

Bxx

PS. If anyone has any tips on making the hole stay as a hole - let me know!!