To be honest I can’t imagine why Mum would have cut out and saved this recipe. I doubt she’s ever tasted bourbon in her life and while she likes a glass of sherry or white wine, I’ve never seen her drink either brandy, cognac or whisky. She does like and often used to make the old style bread and butter pudding, maybe she thought one day she’d go wild…..
Pecan nuts weren’t something that Mum cooked with as I’m pretty sure that they weren’t easily available back when she did her most of her cooking. Although she kept this recipe I doubt that she ever actually made it. I think pecans work really well in a pie, especially when you serve it up with a big blob of cream.
I haven’t made this Lemon and Blueberry Tart yet as I’ve only just found the recipe in Mum’s collection. It looks great though and pretty easy to make. Because it uses frozen blueberries you can make it all year round, so I think I’ll try it out for our next family get together.
My father’s all time favourite. When I found this recipe in Mum’s collection I was instantly reminded of him. Sadly, they seem to have gone out of fashion and you don’t see them very often in cake shops or in cafes, maybe they’ll make a comeback one day. Dad really loved them.
Bread and butter pudding was a family staple in our house when I was growing up as I’m sure it was in many homes. As this recipe says it’s a pretty cheap and foolproof dessert and the great thing is that you can use a variety of breads, stale cake, scones, rolls or even biscuits as the base. I’ve always thought lashings of cream poured over the top adds to the delight.
This homemade take on a Cherry Ripe comes from Mum’s friend Thel, who was a great cook and gave Mum some terrific recipes.
RIPE CHERRY SLICE
Melt chopped chocolate and copha in double saucepan. Line 2 – 25x8cm bar tins with foil, pour half chocolate mixture over base of each tin (reserve the other half for top). Refrigerate until set. In bowl combine coconut, ground almonds and sifted icing sugar. Add unbeaten egg whites and rum, mix well. Chop cherries roughly, add to coconut mixture and mix well. Spread over chocolate in tins, pour remaining chocolate over. Refrigerate until set. Allow to stand at room temperature 30 minutes before cutting. Remove from tins, remove foil before cutting.
These were one of Mum’s treats that I can remember coming home to after school and finding leftover from an afternoon tea Mum had had for her friends. They were light and filled with fresh cream with a light dusting of icing sugar, my mouth waters just remembering them.
Mum used to make Egg and Bacon Pies all the time, but also made this Quiche Lorraine recipe when she wanted something a bit fancier. The difference between an egg & bacon pie and a quiche lorraine is that for a quiche the eggs are beaten together with cream and milk and poured into the base on top of the bacon. While for the more basic egg & bacon pie you just break the eggs top of the bacon. As a result a quiche has a much lighter filling than the more rustic egg & bacon pie. Whichever one you go for, they’re both really great.
QUICHE LORRAINE
Melt butter and fry bacon and onion until soft. Place in pastry case. Beat remaining ingredients together and pour over bacon and onion. Bake at 190c for 30-40 minutes. Serve hot or cold.
This is another no-pastry quiche which Mum collected from the New Idea. I’m not sure what the difference between a quiche without pastry and a frittata is. I suspect it’s just the country it’s made in – Quiche, Australia – Frittata, Italy. What do you think?
I’ve always thought that a Tea Cake was a cake which can be made quickly just before visitors arrive and eaten fresh and warm with a cup of tea or coffee. Cakes made like this don’t keep well and are really best eaten the day their made.
TEA CAKE
Beat on high speed 3-4 minutes. Place mixture in large cake tin (200ml). Bake moderate oven 180o for about 30 minutes. Turn out while still hot and spread with butter. Mix together 2 teaspoons coconut, 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and spread on cake.
Beb's Recipe Drawer 