Red Nose Day Cakes

If you have children, sooner or later you will be faced with a request for cakes at very short notice. Many people dread those words:   " I need to take some cakes into school tomorrow".  In fact, one of my friends admitted that she fees physically sick when she gets home from work and her daughters want her to bake cakes for them.  On day my daughter came home from school and announced that the following day was to be French day at her school.  She casually said
 "I told my teacher you would bake a cake like the French flag."  When I rang my sister she marvelled at how children have so much faith in their parents that they take it for granted they can create a cake, model or whatever is required.  Needless to say, I donned my apron and  cracked on with the task and judging by the feedback I received the following afternoon I don't think I let her down.
Anyway, If you are faced with a similar situation, such as a charity or school cake sale, her is my foolproof recipe for fairy cakes and in my experience these do sell like the proverbial hot cakes.  As it is Red Nose Day today get baking and raise some money for this wonderful charity that helps so many people. I find that the following recipe makes 12-14 cakes.  I used glace cherries for the red noses, but feel free to decorate you cakes as you wish.

Ingredients

115g/ 4oz self raising flour

115g/ 4oz unsalted butter

115g/ 4oz caster sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1tsp vanilla extract

Icing sugar

Food colouring

Equipment

Cupcake tray

Paper cake cases

Large mixing bowl

Spatula

Metal tablespoon

Sieve

Cooling rack

Hand whisk

1.   Line a cupcake tray with paper cases.

2.    Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180c, 400F.

3.   Cream together butter and sugar.

4.   Add the eggs and vanilla.

5.   Add the sieved flour and baking powder and fold in with a metal spoon.

6.  Fill the paper cases about 2/3 full.

7.  Bake for 15 minutes.

8.  Remove from oven and leave to cool on a rack.

9.  To make the glace icing sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually add cold water, beating all the time to avoid lumps, until you have a smooth spreadable icing.  If you wish, you can add colouring.

10. When the cakes are cold, pour some boiling water into a jug or cup and dip your palette knife into it. Put a large teaspoon of icing on each cake and

Quickly spread it over the cake with you hot palette knife, dipping the knife back in the hot water between each cake. Decorate each cake with  edible glitter, sprinkles, or small sweets.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated  in the United States of  America  as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and is said to have arisen from a celebration feast in 1621 at Plymouth in Massachusetts that  was prompted by a good harvest.  The pilgrims who began emigrating from England in the 1620s gave thanks for a good harvest that would see them through the harsh New England winter.
Although we do not celebrate Thanksgiving in Britain, there is no reason why we cannot enjoy some of the foods that are traditional Thanksgiving staples and anyone who has been to America will know that it is not Thanksgiving without a pumpkin pie, so here is my recipe for this sweet delicacy.    

                         PUMPKIN PIE

Ingredients

Pastry

175g plain flour

90g unsalted butter or half butter and half lard

Approx 2 tbsp cold water

Filling

450g  pumpkin pulp

2 eggs

250 ml double cream

75g soft brown sugar

4 tbsp golden syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

1.       First make the pastry:   Place the flour in a large bowl and cut the butter into small pieces.  Rub the fat into the flour using just your fingertips, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add the water and mix with your hand until you have a firm dough. Wrap it in cling film and place it in the fridge for at least half an hour.

2.       Roll out the pastry, turning it regularly on the board, until you have a thin circle slightly larger than the pie dish.  Lift one edge of the pastry and roll it around the rolling pin. Gently lift it over the pie dish then lower it and press gently into the tin.  Prick the pastry with a fork and refrigerate for a further 15 minutes.

3.       Remove the pastry case from the fridge, put a piece of greaseproof paper on the pastry and weight it down with baking beans. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Take it out of the oven and carefully remove the baking beans and paper. Return it to the oven for 10 minutes then take it out and put it on a rack to cool.

4.       Put all the filling ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat or stir well. Pour into the cooled pastry case and bake for 30 minutes or until the filling has just set.  It should not be set hard but should have a slight wobble as the filling will firm up as it cools.

4.  Serve warm with cream or “a la mode” with ice cream.