The boiled fruit cake is an outstanding success. It tastes delicious. It is moist and not crumbly. And whoever anonymous is who suggested doubling the booze ... thank you thank you thank you!! I won't use expensive liqueurs in the future (unless, like this one, they are a gift and too sweet for us) but I think a cream sherry would do just as well. I would like to try it with a smokey rum or bourbon, too. Oh, the options. I do want to try the other recipes but they make a larger cake and this is enough for the two of us. it says it will keep for a couple of months in the fridge. I can't see that happening unless I can lock the fridge to keep Himself out!
As I mentioned before, I used a recipe from a cookbook first published in 1984. Considering it was titled Best Recipes from, it is safe to assume some, if not all, the recipes come from as far back as the 70s. Maybe even earlier. All of the recipes have much smaller serving sizes. All the ingredients are the sort you would find in your grandmother's pantry. They don't give oven temps - rather slow, moderate, high, etc. In the back of the book you get the interpretation for *C, *F and gas mark! Who remembers gas mark? Gas mark 4 was the go to for most baking adventures.
| Gas mark | degrees Fahrenheit | degrees Celsius | Descriptive |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1⁄4 | 225 | 107 | Very slow/very low |
| 1⁄2 | 250 | 121 | Very slow/very low |
| 1 | 275 | 135 | Slow/low |
| 2 | 300 | 149 | Slow/low |
| 3 | 325 | 163 | Moderately slow/warm |
| 4 | 350 | 177 | Moderate/medium |
| 5 | 375 | 191 | Moderate/moderately hot |
| 6 | 400 | 204 | Moderately hot |
| 7 | 425 | 218 | Hot |
| 8 | 450 | 232 | Hot/very hot |
| 9 | 475 | 246 | Very hot |
| 10 (omitted in most tables) | 500 | 260 | Extremely hot |
I was thinking the exact same thing. If I make something and people like it they ask for the recipe. But I just add things in and when it “looks right “ I cook it. And then it’s the smell that tells me it’s almost done.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course I love to experiment in the kitchen.
You can’t do that if your following a recipe
If making something new I'll follow the recipe then I dance to my own drum!
DeleteI don't use recipes a lot. It's more about experience in what tends to work! So it's hard for me to explain. I tend to blog with pictures. Not saying I'm a great cook, just that I enjoy trying things. And now that I live alone, I have an uncritical audience!
ReplyDeleteIt's a confidence thing, too, Liz. And as long as something is edible can it be considered a failure if it doesn't look like the photo?
DeleteI follow recipes up to a point. My instinct is not bad from there on. The skewer for a cake is my only way to test it. My partner does similar but he has a much better instinct than I do, and is much better at presentation.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I go by colour and shrinkage from the side of the baking tin. Like when I make my peanut caramel slice.
DeleteAs I always say, some of us have an innate knowledge of how to cook. For us, recipes are guidelines. Not everyone has that. Just as I cannot make a garment without a pattern. We are all different and all have our different talents.
ReplyDeleteMany were brought up at the knees of their mothers in the kitchen. My mother hated cooking and we had people to cook for us when I was growing up in Hong Kong. All my cooking has been trial and error. And the good old Women's Weekly cookbooks.
DeleteI’m the Anonymous one…. On Andrews blog I am the Stalker I follow three blogs yours Andrews and Going Gently . You all write on topics that interest me ..dogs food travel gardening And you always write with interest and you all seem to have parts of my personality that are the likeable parts . My unlikeable ..well that’s another story.Retired schoolteacher
ReplyDeleteMy first cookbook was the original Margaret Fulton It was the bible for us in PNG where my first posting was. We had to adapt those recipes to what was available at the local trade store or what could be sent by boat from Port Moresby..The boiled fruit cake froze well and of course the double the alcohol measure was a tip one of the older women teachers gave me.
But the way Margaret’s Apple Strudel made though with tinned apples and frozen pastry was always a favourite as were her spaghetti and meatballs .. Margaret was a legend
Thank you for reading. I am in esteemed company with Andrew and John. I feel humbled.
DeleteMy brother and sister in law are school teachers. I will say no more!
I have Margaret Fulton's book. I tend to use AWW more but it is still a good nostalgic read. I remember my mother making cream out of butter when we were young as we couldn't eat the fresh dairy due to possible contaminants. Butter came from overseas from memory. Milk was powdered.
In my mind my fruit cake will forever be Anonymous' fruit cake (with extra booze!).
I'm very tempted to try a boiled fruit cake but I think I'll just stick with the plum pudding. It's got quite a bit of booze in it anyway.
ReplyDeleteI was amazed at how easy it was. I guess you could substitute orange juice for the booze. I will post the recipe today for Pat.
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