COOKBOOKS GALORE

My friend went on holiday recently to Canada and brought me back a can of maple syrup. This recipe was on a leaflet attached to the can, so I thought I'd try it. It's a simple cake with a lot of flavour, and I've named it after my friend.  For the Cake: 125g butter, softened 100g white sugar 125cl maple syrup 1 tspn  vanilla extract 2 eggs  200g plain flour pinch of salt 2 1/2 tspn baking powder 60ml milk 100g toasted chopped walnuts For the Maple Icing: 125g butter, softened 200g icing sugar 2 tbspn maple syrup For the Maple drizzle topping: 125cl maple syrup 1 tbspn butter pinch of salt                Preheat oven 180C/gas4  Grease and line a 23cm cake tin Beat together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time then add the maple syrup and the vanilla. Mix the baking powder, salt and flour together and fold into the mixture with the milk. Spoon into the tin and bake for 25-30 mins till golde

There are a lot of fresh figs around in the shops, so I decided to make a tart. Recently I bought a large bag of grounds almonds from a cash and carry, so decided to use them with the figs -  another gluten free recipe. I love fresh figs; they're so versatile. You can use them with savoury things like ham as a starter, or just sprinkle them with brown sugar and bake for a tasty dessert. My friend adds them to salads. The tart uses shortcrust pastry, baked blind. You can use your favourite recipe or buy it ready made. You need enough for a rectangular tart tin [with a loose base if possible] - 250g flour and 125g fat. Preheat oven 180C/gas4 Grease the tart tin and line it with the shortcrust pastry. Either prick the pastry or use baking beans, and bake blind for about 15 mins.  For the almond cream  - beat 60g soft butter with 60g caster sugar and 60g ground almonds; add 1 egg and beat into the mixture. Add 10cl of whipping cream and mix together well. if you want an even s

A Reine de Saba [or Queen of Sheba] cake was one of Julia Child's favourites. There are lots of recipes of her version on blogs and websites, but this version is my French neighbour's family recipe. It always appears for birthdays and special occasions, which is how I got to try it. Persuading them to give me their recipe involved some making of English cakes on my part! I don't know why it's named after the Queen of Sheba; one suggestion I found online said  ' it shares many of the Bible Queen's qualities - exotic, rich, irresistible and the stuff legends are made of'. Hmmm! If you want to try JC's version here's a link to her  Reine de Saba Cake . There's also a clip on You Tube of JC making this cake on her French Chef programme - here's the  You Tube Clip . What an annoying voice she has! It's a chocolate and almond cake, but a lot of the recipes online don't have any almonds! Preheat oven 180C/gas4                Grease a

Sticky toffee pudding is one of my favourite desserts; I've made it as a cake so thought I'd have a try and make it as a traybake with a toffee sauce on top. My son was coming for a meal so he was the guinea pig; he loved it and took a large slice home. I miss baking for my children – they were always great critics, good and bad! Preheat oven 180C/gas4 Grease and line a 20cm square tin. Put 175g dates with 175ml boiling water and ½ tspn bicarbonate of soda in a pan and heat gently for 5 mins till the dates are soft. In a bowl cream together 85g butter and 140g caster sugar then add a lightly beaten large egg, ½ tspn vanilla extract and the date mixture. Add 175g sr flour and gently mix together. Spoon the batter into the tin and bake for about 40 mins.  Meanwhile make some toffee sauce – put 85g soft brown sugar, 40g butter and 2 tbspn milk or cream into a pan and heat over a low heat till the butter has melted and the sugar has dis