Orange Mincemeat Cake

I just cleaned out the fridge. Not cleaned out its contents by checking expiry dates, but actually cleaned the entire vessel. It was completely gutted, then refilled, and now it is sparkling and fresh. It was stomach-turning, to be honest. We had to clean out jars of condiments that were shockingly out of date and it's not like bog-standard chutney smells good at the best of times. A prune yoghurt fell on the floor and exploded. Yoghurt on the skirting board. But it has all been cleaned up now and my head is happy. Organised and diligent start to the new year.

Anyway, I made a cake for Hogmanay. It is a recipe out of one of the many beautiful recipe books I received at Christmas : ) 

I revisited crystallised orange slices, after I was introduced to them at the time of my festive cupcakes. 

It was a very pretty cake, I have to say, although I was slightly worried about how it would taste as I was taking it to a party and I had never tried this recipe before. Thankfully, it was received with delight. At least, people made yummy noises. Whether they were merely a reflection of good breeding or whether they were genuine, I do not know! The sponge was surprisingly fluffy and light for a recipe that does not use any raising agents other than self-raising flour and a fairly standard quantity of egg. 

Orange Mincemeat Cake (serves 8)

adapted from the recipe for  Rum and raisin cake in Cakes & Slices - Murdoch Books

200g mincemeat

1 small apple, grated

1 tbsp orange juice

185g (6 1/2 oz) self-raising flour

1 tsp each of ground cinnamon and ground ginger

140g (5oz) butter

95g (3 1/4 oz) soft brown sugar

2 tbsp golden syrup

3 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F/Gas 4). Lightly grease a deep 8 inch round cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.

Sift the flour and spices into a large bowl, mix and make a well.

Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a small pan over a low heat. Stir gently until all the sugar and butter has dissolved. Remove from the heat.

Add the melted mixture and the eggs to the flour alternately, folding them in gently until just combined - do not over beat. Stir in the grated apple, mincemeat, and orange juice.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface.

Bake for 40 minutes or so, until a skewer comes out clean. 

Turn out onto a cooling rack until completely cooled.

To decorate:

I used a simple glacé icing made with orange juice. Spoon it over the top of the cooled cake and let it drizzle down the sides. 

Then, top with slices of crystallised orange (Put 2 tbsp water in a pan with 4 tbsp granulated sugar and bring to the boil. Place the orange slices in the pan and continue to simmer for about 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally, until the pith begins to turn transparent. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until they can be safely handled. Toss them in a little lemon juice and then lightly toss them in granulated sugar. Dust off any excess, so that you can still see the attractive orange cross-section). 

Cranberry & Orange Bundt Cake

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,

But the fire is so delightful,

And since we've no place to go,

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Yesterday was a truly flawless day. Everything was festive and everyone was happy. My school friends have come home from universities here, there and everywhere, for  the Christmas holidays and my culinary chum and I welcomed them with the smell of mulled wine and ginger biscuits at a festive dinner party, against the winter backdrop of frosted trees and dusted rooftops.

In the tizzy that was the kitchen at peak serving time last night, I did not have an opportunity to take photos of the main course! I will still tell you about it though, because  it was yummy and we were pleased. To satisfy the majority of guests, we served sticky roast chicken with red onions, plums and apples. It was sticky, it was sweet, it was fruity, it was juicy, the chicken was slightly crisp. Hurrah! Tomato, mozzarella and basil tart was the vegetarian option, which was equally successful.

But, hence the title of this post, I am really here to tell you about the puddings. Yeah. It was fierce stuff.

Cranberry and orange Bundt cake and an apricot and raspberry sherry trifle.

I christened my much anticipated Bundt tin. It looked and smelled and tasted like Christmas.

Cranberry & Orange Bundt Cake (serves 10-12)


6oz fresh cranberries

90ml water

4oz granulated sugar

a couple drops almond extract

60ml freshly squeezed orange juice

10oz plain flour

10oz wholemeal flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
240ml sunflower/vegetable oil
4oz light brown sugar
4oz caster sugar
3 eggs
145ml natural yoghurt
grated zest of 1 orange
8oz icing sugar, sifted
enough lemon and orange juice to make a fairly thick icing to dribble down the sides of the cake


Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F. Grease a Bundt tin.
To make the mixture for the cranberry 'tunnel', put the granulated sugar in a pan with the water, fruit juice and almond extract. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the cranberries and continue to simmer until they burst and the sauce becomes thick, squashy and syrupy. Leave to cool.
Sift the flour, raising agents, salt and spices into a large bowl. Make a well.
Lightly whisk the eggs, oil, sugars and orange zest together and gently fold it into the dry mixture (try to separate any large clumps of brown sugar before stirring it in or you could get sporadic lumps of it throughout your cake, like I did...!)
Fold in the natural yoghurt.
Pour half of the batter into the cake tin. Then, carefully spoon over the cranberry sauce into the middle of the layer of batter - try your best to keep it in the middle, to avoid it oozing out of the sides of the cake, although when I added the second layer of batter it all spread out anyway, but the 'tunnel' effect was still decipherable!
Then add the rest of the batter on top and gently smooth it out.
Bake for 50 minutes - 1 hour, inserting a skewer into the middle to check if it is ready.
Leave in the tin for about 15 minutes, before turning out and letting it cool. If it looks a little dry, brush over a glaze made by reducing down some orange and lemon juice, a little water, and granulated sugar to make a syrup (do this while the cake is still warm).
To make the icing, mix the icing sugar with enough orange and lemon juice (you choose the ratio depending upon your personal taste) to make a fairly thick icing. It should be thick enough to stay put on top of the cake i.e. not thin and transparent like a drizzle cake icing, but loose enough to dribble down the sides without too much effort.
Decorate as you wish, or leave it plain. I coated some fresh cranberries in lemon juice and then tossed them in granulated sugar to create a frosted effect and dotted them over the top. So festive!

Pear, Cardamom & Chocolate Cake

What do you do when someone you love is having a birthday...you are going to make them a cake...you have been bookmarking a recipe for a spectacularly indulgent chocolate fudge cake for weeks...and that someone decides to kickstart a healthy living-weight loss plan? 

Well, you decide that putting fruit and half wholemeal flour in a cake instead of glossy and  gooey chocolate ganache is one step closer to achieving a healthier cake (I won't say healthy cake...healthier). And it tastes every bit as lovely as that worshipped and anticipated recipe tear-out cake. In fact, probably better because you don't feel guilt ridden with the quantity of cream and sugar you would be consuming, and you feel all in all pleasingly sprightly and satisfied, rather than resigning yourself to the sofa for the rest of the evening. 

This is not to say that I will never make the anticipated chocolate fudge cake. It will happen - it just has to...the ganache is glossy and thick. It's an obligation. 

But whatever happens, I will definitely make this cake again. It looks so pretty, sends fierce aromas out of your oven, and tastes comforting, especially if you eat it when it's still cosy : )

I would like to thank Chocolate & Tea and SmittenKitchen for their posts that inspired me to add chocolate chips.

I would also like to thank the genius who first combined chocolate and cardamom. This partnership sort of roasts inside of you, in a very, very good way. It kindles a little glowing fire in your happy tummy. 

Pear, Cardamom & Chocolate Cake (serves 9) 

adapted from Simple Home Baking - Carol Pastor

900g (2lb) ripe pears     

lemon juice

40g (1 1/2 oz) butter

55g (2oz) caster sugar

55g (2oz) soft butter

110g (5oz) caster sugar

2 eggs

1 tbsp milk

couple drops of vanilla extract

1/2 tbsp rum or brandy (optional)

85g (3oz) each of plain flour and wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 cardamom pods (seeds removed and crushed) 

50 g (1 3/4 oz) chocolate chips 

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F.

Peel and core the fruit and but into inch sized chunks. Keep one pear (peeled and cored) and quarter it. This will decorate the top.

Brush with a little lemon juice.

Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the fruit. Add the sugar and cook for 15 minutes, turning occasionally. 

Beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well. Beat in the milk, alcohol and vanilla until smooth. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, then add the crushed cardamom seeds and 3/4 of the chocolate chips. Stir lightly, do not over mix. 

Gently stir in the pear pieces (reserving the quartered one). 

Pour into a buttered and lined 9 inch round or square tin. Arrange the reserved pear quarters on top and push down very slightly (they cake will rise up around them a little more when baking). Then scatter over the rest of the chocolate chips and press them down a little, too. 

Bake for 40-50 minutes.