Eccles Cakes

I found a wonderful recipe for Eccles Cakes on a fascinating website. I look forward to preparing this as soon as I get the ingredients together. They look delicious!

The village of Eccles once stood on its own, with the Eccles Cake Shop at its heart. In 1793 James Birch’s shop on the corner of Vicarage Road in Eccles began selling the small, flat,cakes. The once village is now a part of Salford, Manchester and no trace of the original shop remains. Read more on the history of the cakes here.

Eccles Cakes

Prep Time: 20 minutesCook Time: 15 minutesTotal Time: 35 minutes

Pre-heat oven to 425°/220°C

Ingredients:

• 1lb 2oz/ 500g puff pastry
• 1oz/ 25g butter, melted
• Pinch freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 oz/55g candied peel
• 4 oz/ 110g sugar
• 8 oz/ 225g currants

Preparation:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and butter and cook over a medium heat until melted.
2. Off the heat, add currants, candied peel and nutmeg.
3. On a lightly-floured surface, roll the pastry thinly and cut into rounds of about ¼ inch/0.5cm thickness and 4 inch/10cm diameter.
4. Place a small spoonful of filling onto center of each pastry circle.
5. Dampen the edges of the pastry with a little cold water and draw the edges together over the fruit and pinch to seal.
6. Turn the patty over, then press gently with a rolling pin to flatten the cakes. Snip a V in the top with scissors. Place on a greased baking tray.
7. Brush with water and sprinkle with a little extra sugar.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until lightly browned round the edges.
9. Place on a wire rack and allow to cool. Try not to eat them all at once!

Easy Crescent Danish Rolls

My boss at work gave me this recipe and said I "had" to try it (Thanks, Kathy!) and she was right! Easy Crescent Danish Rolls was the Pillsbury Bake-Off Winner in 1978 and it hasn't lost an ounce of ooph since them. Chock full of ooey gooey deliciousness (as you will see from the photos) it's a winner from start to finish. Best yet, it's quick to prepare even when you make you own apple filling, like I did (recipe included). Great with my afore-published breakfast patties for a totally decadent, yum-filled brunch of champions (or something like that).

Easy Crescent Danish Rolls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients

• 1 8 oz package of Neufchatel cheese (1/3 less calories than cream cheese)
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 cans Crescent seamless dough sheets
• 4 (or more) tbsp of your favorite fruit preserve (my recipe follows)

Icing

• 1 tsp vanilla (I used rum extract because I had no vanilla in the house)
• 1/2-1 c powdered sugar (depending on how runny you like your glaze)
• 2-3 tsp milk (I used about a tablespoon or 2 with about 1 c of powdered sugar)

My imperfectly perfect spiral coils

Preparation

1. In a small bowl, blend Neufchatel, sugar and lemon juice.
2. Roll out crescent dough, one can at a time, and cut into 4 rectangles.
3. Spread rectangles of dough with about 3 tbsp of the cream cheese mixture.
4. Starting at long side, gently roll and twist at the same time until the roll is about 10 inches long. Coil loosely into spirals with seam inside. Seal ends (ok, I am not a perfectionist and my rolls aren't all that neat, but they sure look good!)
5. There should be an indentation in the middle of the coil, but use your thumb to make it slightly larger and fill with half a tablespoon or so of preserves (we like lots of filling).
6. Arrange on parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes (until deep golden brown)

The cream cheese is oozing out - more ooey gooey deliciousness!

Mix the powdered sugar, rum or vanilla extract and milk. Drizzle over warm rolls. Serve and enjoy!

Jealous yet? Yum!

Apple Filling

Peel, core and finely chop 2 Granny Smith apples. Place in small saucepan with enough water to cover the apples. Cook on 'medium' heat on stove until the apples are tender (about 15 minutes). Add 1/2 c sugar, 1-2 tsp cinnamon and 2-3 tbsp cornstarch, mixed into a paste with 1/2 c of water. Cook mixture together on 'medium' heat until thickened - approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop from sticking and scorching. Remove from heat and use to fill the danishes. Since you will only use half, the rest can be canned, frozen or kept in the fridge until you need apple preserves for pancakes, waffles or (most likely) another go-around of this recipe!

Nana's Meat Pie

Nana's Meat Pie

This is a recipe that I have made for at least 30 years. It's an adaptation of a Mennonite recipe which my mom made as a staple in our household while I was growing up. Paired with a good white sauce (recipe to follow), you can't beat it for taste, plus it's a great introduction to sauerkraut and all its health benefits! You can use a commercial pie crust (boxed or frozen) or make your own. I've given directions to making a simple, no-fail crust that holds together quite well while still being flakey and tasty.

INGREDIENTS

Pie Filling

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp vegetable/canola oil
• 2 c sauerkraut
• 1/2 c water
• salt and pepper to taste

Pie Crust

• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 c shortening
• 1 tsp salt
• ice water (approx 2-3  tbsp) - enough to make pastry dough stick together

White Sauce

• 2 tbsp flour (approx.)
• half stick butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 - 2 c milk (for calorie's sake, I use non-fat)
• pinch of salt and pepper

PREPARATION

Pie Filling

Heat oil in a large heavy saucepan. Break up ground beef and place in saucepan with onion. Stir and cook til onions are translucent and ground beef is no longer pink inside. Add sauerkraut, water, salt and pepper and cook for approximately half an hour, until ingredients are combined and soft (this is when I like to sneak some to eat - shh).

Pie Crust

Place flour in a medium bowl and chop in shortening using a pastry blender or 2 knives. Add salt. Add water, one tbsp at a time until mixture forms a ball and holds together. Spread 2 tbsp flour on a work surface (covered with waxed paper). Gently roll and knead the pastry until it's smooth. Divide into 2 balls and roll each out into a circle. Place one on bottom of pie pan, put filling inside; cover with the other circle. Crimp sides of crust to hold together. Prick pie top with a fork. Bake pie at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce to 350 degrees for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until the crust is light golden in color and the filling is bubbly. Cover edges with foil if crust gets too dark.

White Sauce

Melt butter or margarine in a heavy non-stick medium saucepan on medium-high heat. Add flour, salt and pepper. Cook and stir constantly for approximately 1 minute, or until a thick roux (base) is made. It will look dry. DO NOT SCORCH. Add milk, 1/4 c at a time, Cook and stir between additions to keep sauce creamy. Add enough milk to give the consistency you prefer. We likes our thick and velvety. 

Voila! Nana's Meat Pie!

Apple Raisin Strudel

Apples and raisins combined in flaky pastry. How can you possibly go wrong? Yum!

Puff Pastry Apple & Raisin Strudel

Total Time:  1 hr 0 min

Ingredients

·         2 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick

·         1 lemon, juiced

·         1 cup raisins (softened for approximately 20 minutes in hot water, then drained)

·         1/4 cup sugar, plus 3 tablespoons and 1 tsp ground cinnamon

·         2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces, plus 2 tablespoons butter, melted

·         All-purpose flour, for dusting

·        1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (available at most supermarkets)

Directions

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F
2. In a medium bowl, toss the sliced apples with the lemon juice until the apples are thoroughly coated.
3. Add the softened raisins, 1/4 cup sugar and the 2 tablespoons cold cubed butter. Toss well. Set aside
4. Lightly dust the counter or work surface with flour. Lay the puff pastry on top and dust the rolling pin with additional flour. Gently roll the puff pastry to 1/8-inch thickness
5. Spread the apple and raisin mixture over the bottom half of the puff pastry square leaving about 1-inch of space along the side edges. Fold the top half of the puff pastry over and pinch to seal the edges together.
6. Brush strudel with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and reserved sugar. 
7. Using a serrated knife, make several diagonal slits along top of strudel.
8. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes, rotating halfway through to ensure even browning. Bake until puffed and golden. Adapted from my Mennonite Cookbook.

Variations on the theme

Cranberries  and apples make an ideal combination near Christmas, as do strawberries and rhubarb during summer.