Kattern Cakes

November 25th – Saint Katharines Day                    This is the day that unmarried women pray for husbands. It is also the day that women of 25 years of age and more are known as “Catherinettes” in France.  The Catherinettes send postcards to each other.  While their friends make them hats expecially for wearing on the 25th November.                    Many women make a pilgrimage to St Catherines Statue to ask for help in finding a husband whilst wearing their special hats in the fear that they do not become spinsters.                                                            “Cattern cakes” are really a soft and slightly chewy biscuit which have been spiced with cinnamon, lightly fruited and flavoured with caraway seeds.   Traditionally they were made by the English Nottingham lacemakers for the festivities on their special feast day which is 25th November to celebrate Saint Catherines Day, the patron of lace makers, rope makers, spinners and spinsters.     The recipe is said to go right back to Tudor times, and has reportedly not changed much over the centuries, although they can also be made sometimes made with a yeast dough.   Cattern cakes are allso known as Catherine Cakes (named after Catherine of Aragon, whilse she imprisoned at Ampthill, is said to have heard about the local lacemaker’s financial plight.  She is said to have destroyed all of her beautiful lace purely to give work to the local lace making industry.   Cattern cakes were traditionally accompanied with the drink Hot Pot, which is made of rum, beer and eggs and served hot.

 

 

Kattern Cakes

 

Ingredients

2lbs bread dough
2oz lard or butter
1oz caraway seeds
2oz castor sugar
1 large egg

                     

Method
1 Prepare the dough.

2 On a floured surface knead in the lard or butter, caraway seeds, sugar and egg.

3 When the ingredients are well mixed, divide in two equal sized pieces.

4 Knead one piece to fit into a 2 lb greased loaf tin.

5 Divide the second piece into two equal sized pieces.

6 Knead each half to fit a 1 lb loaf tin.

7 Cover all 3 tins with a damp tea towel.

8 Leave to rise until the dough reaches the top of the tins.

9 Bake at 200 degrees centigrade/gas mark 6 for 20 to 25 minutes.

 

Serve sliced and buttered.  

Mum’s Christmas Cake

My dearest mother used made this cake every year on Stir Up Sunday (the first Sunday in Advent).  It was always stored in fresh greaseproof paper in her special cake tin.    She always marzipanned it on December the 10th to enable the marzipan to dry out so that the marzipan did not bleed into the Royal Icing and always stored in the lid of the tin as a base and the original base was used as the lid, which might sound odd but it was so easy to get in and out of the tin.     The cake was religiously iced on December the 17th to allow the icing to dry out so that the decorations did not bleed into the virgin white icing and the band did not stick to it.    The finale occured every Christmas Eve afternoon accompanied to the Carols and Lessons froms Kings College, Cambridge blaring out from the transistor radio. I used to help her decorate it with the obligatory cake ornaments of Santa, snowman, reindeer, Christmas trees and holly.  It was always the beautiful shiny and frilly cake band always secured by a sterilized pin that went on last.                          Ingredients 225g/8oz raisins 170g/6oz currants 450g/1lb sultanas 110g/4oz glace cherries, quartered and then cut in half again zest and juice of 1 lemon zest and juice of 1 orange 2 to 6 tablespoons sherry, dark rum, whisky or brandy 225g/8 oz butter at room temperature 225/8oz soft brown sugar 4 large beaten eggs 225g/8 oz plain flour 1/2 teaspoon mixed ground spice 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 80g/3oz flaked almonds   Method  1 Place the raisins, currants, sultanas, glace cherries, lemon an orange zests and juices into a medium sized saucepan. 2 Bring to the boil. 3 Remove from the heat and stir in the alcahol. 4 Cool completely. 5 Oil an 8 inches deep round cake tin with a loose bottom.  6 Line the tin with baking parchment or greaseproof paper. 7 Oil the paper. 8 Wrap brown paper or newspaper and tie with string 9 Purée one third of the fruit and all of the juice in a liquidiser or food processor or use a stick blender. 10 Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric whisk until almost white, soft and very fluffy. 11 Gradually add the beaten eggs a tablespoonful at a time, beating well between additions. (If the cake mixture curdles add a tablespoon of plain flour and then continue as normal).. 12 Add the fruit puree and stir well. 13 Add the fruits and nuts stir well. 14 Sieve the flour and the spices together. 15 Add the flour and spices into the cake. 16 Spoon into the tin and level the surface. 17 Bake at 170 degrees centigrade/gas mark 3 for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until the skewer when placed into the centre of the cake comes out clean. 18 Cool in the tin on a wire cooling rack. 19 When completely cool remove the old greaseproof/baking parchment paper and replace with new and store in an airtight tin in a cool place, but not in the fridge.   Serves 15 to 20 quite generously

Grandmothers Apple Pie

My maternal grandmother was a fantastic cook and was able to cook most dishes. She was left a widow with 3 young sons (aged 3 to 11) and was 6 months pregnant. Often my father and his brothers would ’scrump’ for apples from which she made a multitude of dishes, this was 1 of my godfathers favourite pies.

Ingredients

1 basic amount of shortcrust pastry

       

1oz margarine

1lb peeled, cored and roughly chopped cooking apples

2 heaped tablespoons granulated sugar

powdered cinnamon or cloves to taste

      

Method

1 Melt the margarine in a saucepan.

2 Add the apples and sugar.

3 Bring the contents to a simmer and continue to simmer until the apples breakdown easily.

4 Add the cinnamon or cloves to taste.

5 Allow the puree to cool.

6 Roll out half of the pastry to generously fit an oblong or square tin.

7 Line the tin with pastry.

8 Trim off the surplus pastry.

9 Roll out the remaining pastry to generously fit the top of the tin.

10 Brush the top of the rim of the pastry with a little water.

11 Spoon the apple sauce onto the base of the pastry in the tin.

12 Cover the apple sauce with the rolled out pastry.

13 Seal the edges of the pastry.

14 Trim off the excess pastry.

15 Brush the top of the pastry with a little milk.

16 Sprinkle with a little sugar if wished.

17 Make steam holes in the centre of the pie.

18 Bake in the oven at 200 degrees centigrade/gas mark 6 for about 20 to 30 minutes.

      

Notes

Serves 6 to 8 people

Serve hot, warm or cold on it’s own or with custard, creme fraiche, ice cream or fresh cream.

Ideal for serving as a dessert course during a meal, taking on picnics or even in packed lunch boxes.

Can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Granny’s Christmas Pudding

This recipe has been in the family for years, it was my paternal grandmothers. It is lighter than most Christmas puddings best served with brandy butter, custard or freshly whipped double cream.                This pudding is traditionally made on ‘Stir Up Sunday’, which is the first Sunday in Advent.   Ingredients 8oz melted butter 10oz stale breadcrumbs 4oz plain flour 1/2 teaspoon ground mace 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 8oz demerara sugar 5oz candied mixed peel 6oz quartered glace cherries (or cut into 1/8 if large) 8oz sultanas 1lb raisins 3oz chopped nuts 1 grated medium sized carrot 6 large beaten eggs 2 tablespoons black treacle 1/2 pint strong ale   Method 1 Sieve flour and spices into a huge mixing bowl. 2 Add breadcrumbs and sugar, mix well. 3 Add candied peel, cherries, sultanas, raisins, nuts and grated carrot. Mix well. 4 Add beaten eggs and treacle, mix well. 5 Add cooled melted butter, mix well. 6 Add beer and mix well. 7 Cover bowl with cling film and leave in the fridge overnight. 8 Mix for a final time. Let each member of the family stir and make a wish. 9 Divide between 4 x 1 pint greased pudding basins. 10 Cover with a pleated sheet of greaseproof paper. 11 Cover with a pleated sheet of aluminium foil. 12 Secure with a large piece of string. 13 Steam for a minimum of 4 hours. 14 Cool slightly in the bowl, turn out onto a wire rack. 15 When cool cover with clean greaseproof paper and aluminium foil. 16 Store in a cool dry place for up to 18 months wrapped in greaseproof paper. 17 To reheat, steam for 1 1/2 – 2 hours.   Notes Smaller versions can be made – I use a 180ml greased dairyole mould with a small circle of greaseproof paper on the bottom. Cover as per the 1 pint bowl. The cooking time is 3 hours (for a lighter coloured version or 4 hours for a darker colour), then 1 – 1 1/2 hours on the day of eating.   For larger versions – 2 pint sized bowl, prepare as before. Steam for 8 hours and then 2 1/2 hours on the day of eating.   It was traditional to place a silver thrupenny bit coin in the pudding, now this custom is slowly fizzling out due to safety reasons

Yorkshire Sticky Parkin

   

Parkin is moist and delicious cake traditionally made in the English County of Yorkshire for Bonfire Night (also known as Guy Fawkes Night), the 5^th November as well as other occasions.  

            

Ingredients

8oz plain flour

2 level teaspoons baking powder

2 level teaspoons ground ginger

1 level teaspoon cinnamon

8oz medium oatmeal

6oz black treacle 4oz margarine

6oz soft brown sugar

1 large beaten egg

¼ pint  milk  

                 

Method

1 Grease and line with greaseproof paper a 9 inches square cake tin.

2 Sieve the flour, baking powder and spices together into a large mixing bowl.

3 Add the oatmeal and stir well and make a well in the centre.

4 Put the treacle, margarine and sugar into a saucepan and warm gently stirring occasionally until only warm and the margarine melted.

5 Pour the warm liquid into the well and gradually stir in the treacle mixture.

6 Add the egg and mix well.

7 Add sufficient milk to form a smooth batter (you may need a little less or more).

8 Beat well until really smooth.

9 Pour into the prepared cake tin.

10 Bake in the oven at 180 degrees centigrade/gas 4 for about an hour, or until thoroughly cooked and golden brown.

11 All to cool slightly in the tin on a wire cooling rack.

12 Turn out onto the wire rack and leave to cool completely  

    

Notes

Serve on it’s own or even more delicious with butter spread on it.    

To keep at its best store in a tin for about a week before eating to allow the flavours to mature and become moist, hence the name sticky parkin.

Treacle Toffee

Treacle toffee

 

This is a wonderful traditional English dark toffee with a rich almost burned flavour that used to be popular around the 5th November, Guy Falkes Night..

 

Ingredients
1lb/500g brown cane sugar
1lb/500g black treacle
1oz/28g butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Method

Put the treacle into a saucepan with the sugar and butter, and heat gently until melted. Then bring to the boil and stir until it breaks crisp when tested in cold water. (drop a small piece into the water and if it holds its shape completely then it is ready).

Flavour with the vanilla, pour into a greased tin and break into pieces when cold.

 

Clapshaw

This is a traditional savoury dish from the Orkney Islands.  The secret is to boil the neeps and tatties together in the same saucepan, the taste is simply not the same cooked any differently.  Clapshaw is also known as Orkney Clapshot or south in Scotland as clapshot.   Ingredients 500g peeled and diced neeps 500g peeled and diced tatties 50g dripping  salt pepper   Method 1 Place the neeps in a saucepan. 2 Cover with cold water. 3 Place the saucepan on the hob and bring to the boil. 4 Add a pinch of salt. 5 Cover with a lid. 6 Reduce the heat to a simmer.  Cook for 8 minutes. 7 Add the tatties, making sure that they are barely covered. 8 Bring the vegetables back to the boil. 9 Cover with a lid. 10 Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the neeps and tatties are tender. 11 Drain the vegetables into a colander and return to the pan. 12 Dry the vegetables completely, shaking the saucepan occassionally. 13 Mash with a potato masher thoroughly, leaving in any fibrous neep fibres. 14 Add the dripping. 15 Mash again. 16 Beat the puree with a wooden spoon. 17 Place back on the heat. 18 Heat thoroughly.   Serve immediately with sausages or beef dishes.   Serves 4 people.   Notes A pinch of nutmeg can be added when the tatties and swede are mashed.   Butter can be used instead of the traditional dripping.   Some people have been known to use chives or shallots as well.   If there is any left over form into a patty, cover and leave in the fridge.  Fry the next day in a little lard or butter or oil and butter until browned on both sides

Apple Suet Crust Pudding

This pudding is a classic of yesteryear.  It is staging a bit of a comeback, thankfully.  Serve hot with warmed golden syrup and a medium thick custard.                 Ingredients 225g plain flour 100g shredded suet ½ teaspoon baking powder pinch of salt water or milk 4 large cooking apples (peeled and cored) caster sugar 4 cloves sultanas, currants or raisins   Method 1 Heat the oven to gas 4, 180 degrees centigrade.  2 Prepare the suet crust by sifting the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl.  3 Add the suet and stir well. 4 Make a well in the centre.  5 Add sufficient water or milk to bring everything together to form a firm but rather dry dough.  6 Roll out the dough on a floured surface to around 2 inches/5mm in thickness. 7 Cut into rounds big enough to cover the apples. 8 Place an apple on the round of dough and fill the middle with a quarter of the caster sugar, clove and few sultanas, currants or raisins.  9 Moisten the edges of the dough. 10 carefully bring the pastry up around the apple covering it completely.  11 Press the join gently to make sure it is well sealed.  12 Turn the apple over joint side down. 13 Place the puddings onto a lightly oiled/greased baking tray. 14 Bake in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes or until pale golden brown.                          Notes  Serve with custard, cream or warm golden syrup. Serves 4 people

Corsie Scotch Scones

This is another recipe from my Great Uncle and Aunt Tommy and Mary Corsie.

Ingredients
 
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
buttermilk
 
Method
 
1 Mix the dry ingredients.
2 Add buttermilk until the mixture is the consistency of powder biscuits.
3 Bake on a griddle on top of the stove until light brown on both side.
4 Place on a dampened tea towel placed on a cooling rack.
 
Store in an airtight container or can be frozen for about a month

Corsie Oatcakes

Ingredients
 
2 cups quick cooking oatmeal
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon  baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup melted shortening
3/4 cup luke warm water
 
Method
 
1 Mix dry ingredients.
2 Add the melted shortening and water.
3 Roll out very thin, cut like cookies or cut 8″ circles in quarters.
4 Bake on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees farenheit (200 degrees centigrade/gas mark 6 for 15 to 20 minutes.
5 Cool on the baking tray on a cooling rack.
 
Store in an airtight tin