Notes about Recipes in this book

• Braised lamb chops

  • veronicafrance on March 08, 2013

    This somehow didn't work for me. After half an hour's cooking the tomatoes and mushrooms were still raw. Because I didn't want to overcook the lamb, I ended up scraping them off and zapping them in the microwave. Even if the recipe had worked properly, it still wouldn't have been very interesting, so I won't be doing it again.

• Rhubarb gingerbread sponge

  • veronicafrance on April 24, 2024

    We don’t often get rhubarb in our neck of the woods, and it’s expensive. I don’t want to do crumble every time, so I picked this recipe. It’s definitely a keeper. I did it in a 25 x 18 cm gratin dish, and the topping was quite scanty. This worked though, making a slightly crispy top, almost biscuity rather than cake. I’ll increase the amount of ginger next time. You could put chopped stem ginger in the sponge mix, and/or add some of the syrup from a jar to the rhubarb. Note: it makes a large cake, would serve 8 comfortably.

• Baked rhubarb and orange sponge

  • veronicafrance on March 08, 2013

    What a disaster. The amount of topping was laughably inadequate for the amount of rhubarb, and what little there was sank into the fruit, leaving a thin scraping on top. Luckily the rhubarb tasted good, but if I made it again, I'd double the amount of sponge mixture.

• Russian raspberry pudding

  • Pamsy on April 29, 2018

    Similar to Clafoutis but less "cakey". Have also made with cherries soaked in Kirsch and then the juices added to the topping before baking...With rasps add a few tbsps Framboise.

• Cherry and almond flan

  • veronicafrance on October 04, 2023

    This was straightforward and pretty good. I used frozen pitted cherries and just drained the juice before use, no cooking required. It might be more luxurious with proper frangipane (with butter) but this went well with a dollop of crème fraîche. A good make-ahead dessert for guests.

• Greenage, orange and walnut jam

  • veronicafrance on October 17, 2014

    This makes a nice change from standard greengage jam, though the walnuts make it a bit inappropriate for spreading on toast. The citrus fruits help it to set -- too well in my case, but that's my fault, not Margaret Costa's.

• French cherry jam

  • veronicafrance on June 22, 2013

    Easy to make, but I've yet to taste it. Will report back! Later: this is a French set preserve so it's a bit too runny to spread on bread. But the flavour is lovely! It's like that expensive fruit preserve you get in small jars in delicatessens.

• Andalusian lamb stew

  • saladdays on October 13, 2013

    A good Autumn casserole, comfort food as the days get colder and shorter. It has a light end of summer taste using green peppers, tomatoes and olives. I used pitted green olives and not pimento-stuffed ones as that was what I had in the cupboard.

• Mrs. Postgate's green tomato chutney

  • Melanie on June 14, 2015

    Interesting flavour, not convinced I would make this one again. I'll see how it goes after another few meals. It is possible that I overcooked the chutney as the texture was not as loose as I would have liked.

• Belgian bun cake

  • veronicafrance on October 20, 2014

    This is a delicious fruited brioche/tea bread. It's a go-to recipe for using up home-made lemon curd. I use whatever dried fruit I have -- apricots and cranberries with candied orange peel this time. Dough can be made in a stand mixer -- just throw everything in and knead with dough hook. Add a little more flour if it seems too wet to handle.

• Cinnamon crumble cake

  • Pamsy on April 14, 2024

    Subbed Oggs for egg and added 10ml cinnamon to cake batter. Used leftover crumble topping with walnuts (in the fridge from last week) without cinnamon. Lovely flavour, served for pudding with vanilla ice cream. Will also be good with tea or coffee.