Wren's recipes

 Hello again, Nanna here with a couple more yummy recipes for you to try out! These won't do much for your waistline, well not if you're trying to reduce it at any rate, BUT they will make you the BEST Mamma / Nanna / Big Sister / Pappa / Grampy / Big Brother in the ENTIRE universe!

The Lemon Cake is a tried and trusted recipe from Nanna's archives, and TRUST me, it WILL not keep. Only because it will be eaten at a rate of knots. I took one into work once, it was opened at 9am, and reduced to crumbs by 9.15am! The original recipe said you could use bottled lemon juice, DON'T! Use fresh lemons, they are much nicer. I'd also replace the margerine with good quality butter. The cake WILL work fine with margerine, but again, the taste is superior with butter.

Luscious Lemon Cake

4 oz soft margarine (but butter is better)
6 oz self-raising flour
6 oz caster sugar (I use organic unrefined golden caster sugar)
4 tablespoons milk
Grated rind of 1 lemon
2 large free range eggs

Lemon Syrup:
3 tablespoons icing sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Grease a 2 lb loaf tin or 6" square tin (or in fact any tin you have that isn't enormous!) and line the bottom with greaseproof paper. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs and lemon zest and beat (I use a mixer for about 3 minutes), then add the flour. Turn out into the tin and smooth level. Bake for 45 minutes at Gas 4, 350°F or 180°C. Remove from the oven and stand cake, still in tin, on a cooling tray. Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice until a syrup is formed. Prick the warm cake all over with a fork, then gently spoon the syrup over it. Leave until the cake is cold, then turn out and hide it!!!

 Leannes's Ginger Biscuits

Next up, we have my good friend Leanne's Ginger Biscuits. These, my friends, are AWARD WINNING biccies! Yup, good Ol' Nanna has Silverware in the cabinet thanks to these little beauties. They were entered into our local Allotment Autumn Show and not only bagged me First Prize in their class, but also Best Cookery exhibit out of ALL the entries, and a Silver Salver to boot. A friend referred to them as ‘Little explosions of gingeriness in your mouth'. I LIKE that. So here they are, they're great to make with kiddies helping as well, they LOVE getting to mix and shape them, and they are dead easy to make as well. Get those aprons on, and off you go.

12oz self-raising flour
4oz demerara sugar
4oz soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1 egg
4oz butter
A generous tablespoon or so of golden syrup

(I have used 8oz of white sugar in the past when I've run out of the brown sugars and they work fine too.)

Heat the oven to 325°F/160°C/Gas Mark 3. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Melt the butter and syrup together, beat the egg in a separate bowl and mix all 3 into the dry mixture, ensuring it is mixed thoroughly. Roll into small balls, place on a greased baking sheet about 2" apart and bake for around 20 minutes. They will flatten out as they bake, and will resemble bought gingernuts when cooked, as the surface cracks. Lift off the baking trays after a minute and cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

© Karen Dobbin 2008