Sharing - Part II

I had a tweet last week from one of my customers @eatupshrewsbury telling me they were making rock cakes with my raspberry jam. Instant transportation back to Domestic Science classes in school and one of the first things we were taught to bake.
I've checked the recipe out again and here we go:

Raspberry Buns or Rock Cakes

Ingredients:

200g self raising flour

75g granulated or caster sugar

50g butter or margarine

1 large egg

Raspberry Jam (or jam of your choice)

It’s the same recipe for Rock Buns, simply substitute the jam for 50g sultanas.

Pre-heat oven to 180°C (360°C), Gas Mark 4

Lightly grease a baking tray

Cream sugar into butter/marg

Add flour and egg,  mix until mixture comes together (you may need to use a little milk)

Divide mixture into 12 and roll into balls

Indent the top of each ball using your thumb and add approx a teaspoon of jam

Transfer to baking tray and cook for 12-15 minutes or until slightly brown

Leave to cool

Sharing

I spoke to a lovely lady in Shifnal at the weekend, She'd really enjoyed the last posting here and was keen to try the Clementine Marmalade recipe.
I love chatting about jamming.
I'm not interested in celebrity gossip & I feel my opinions on world affairs are neither knowledgeable nor of much value BUT I can talk jam!
I did say I would post more recipes but for now I thought I'd let you into a little secret for making the best bread & butter pudding (in my opinion) in the world.


Bread & Butter Pudding with Clementine Marmalade.
You will need:
8 slices of fruit loaf (I used Warburton's Fruit Loaf with Orange )
good butter
jar of Jammy Cow Clementine Marmalade with Cointreau
400ml milk (or a mix of 350ml milk & 50 ml of double cream)
2 eggs
25g sugar
15-30ml Cointreau (depending on your preference)

Grease a 1 litre dish with butter.
Butter the fruit loaf generously with butter and marmalade then cut each slice in half (I like mine on the diagonal).
Arrange the bread, buttered side up, on the dish in layers, pointed crusts pointing up.
Beat the eggs into the milk together with the Cointreau if using extra.
Pour the egg mixture over the bread slices then leave for about half an hour while the bread soaks up the custard.
While it is soaking, pre-heat the oven to 180C/355F/Gas4
Before putting into the oven sprinkle with sugar for an extra crispy top.

Cook for about 30 or 40 minutes until the custard is set & the bread is toasty brown.

Serve with cream, custard or ice cream.

You'll need to excuse me now....strangely, I have the need to make pudding.

If you only ever buy one recipe book...or maybe two

If there's one thing I lack confidence in, it's making things up from scratch. I need inspiration. I like taking an idea and running with it. It's not always pretty!

.A small selection of inspiration

I have a few recipe books for preserves. 

OK, I have a lot of recipe books for preserves.

Some of them, quite frankly, are rubbish. They're over complicated & often make you feel like its just all too much trouble. I hate books that hint at 'leave it to the experts'.

While I was waiting for my gooseberry & elderflower jam to boil yesterday I was flicking through one of my favourites.

'Preserves' by Pam Corbin

This would be my Can't Do Without Book. It brings me back to my reason for The Jammy Cow in the first place and, if I ever feel I've lost the plot, out it comes. I'm reading through it quite a lot at the moment!

But I really, really like this one too....

It, also, has no pretensions and was my sole inspiration to make marmalade.

But, there's no way I'm stopping looking for more books...all in the name of research, of course!