Coffee Walnut and Sultana Madeira Cake - a new take on an old favourite

I was baking the other day and thought I'd divert half the batter from an 8oz/4 egg Victoria Sponge basic mix to make a Madeira cake, but as I had no cherries to make a fave cherry madeira I decided to make do with what was available in the store cupboard.

I had walnuts from Lidl and some sultanas, and of course coffee. So I made some yummy jam and apple bakewells with pastry I had in the fridge, and filled half with stewed apple and half with some fresh strawberry and blueberry compote - kinda like jam but not as set or as sweet.

Then I took the remaining batter and added another 2oz/50g self-raising flour and 4 tablespoons milk, and 2oz/50g each of chopped walnuts and sultanas, along with 4 tablespoons strong coffee (I made some in this nice cafetiére (which I got free with Bewley's coffee a few weeks ago along with a nice coffee book - as opposed to a coffee table book!).

I put the lot into a parchment liner in a 2lb loaf tin and dotted the top with walnuts - and into the oven for 45 minutes or so. End result - a nice nutty cake that's not too sweet, perfect with coffee or tea for elevenses.

I brought it into work for the tea-break and it went down a treat - I have recently moved office into the hospital in Dungarvan, so I have company now, with my other public health nurse colleagues and the office staff.

I hope you enjoy this - I'll summarise the recipe here. Bung everything in and mix well, and it's a doddle to make, so enjoy it.

Coffee Walnut and Sultana Madeira Cake

Ingredients

1. 6oz/175g Self-raising flour
2. 4oz/115g Butter - soft
3. 4oz/115g Vanilla sugar (or sugar with added vanilla essence)
4. 2 eggs
5. 4 Tablespoons milk
6. 4 Tablespoons strong coffee (instant or filter/cafetiere/percolator)
7. 2oz/50g chopped walnuts
8. 2oz/50g Sultanas
9. Whole walnuts to decorate

Method

1. Put everything in a bowl and mix well - until stiff dropping consistency.
2. Put in lined loaf tin (greaseproof liner or paper).
3. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees Centigrade for 45 minutes until a skewer/knitting needle comes out dry when stuck into the cake.

Enjoy and tell your friends to give it a go!

Oh - I have to tell you that the strawberry bonanza is finally over and we have a number of delicious pots of jam to last the next few months - maybe into the autumn and some of the winter.

It looks like this year we'll have a bumper crop of apples which is terrific after last year's disastrous non-harvest - we're having a lovely summer and are afraid to jinx it by taking it too much for granted. Hope it lasts through July and August, and beyond.

Mini-Bakewell and Jam Tarts

This is a lovely variation on the classic Bakewell Tart, which to the best of my knowledge is almond topping a pastry base, with strawberry or raspberry jam in the middle. I sometimes make a full-sized tart, although tart is probably a misnomer as its only relationship to a tart is the pastry base, with the topping made of a cake-like mix. In fact some recipes only use a rich marzipan-(egg-sugar-almond) mix with no flour, and I rarely do this, as I find it a bit overwhelmingly rich and prefer a Victoria Sponge-type filling.

These are delicious bite-sized buns actually, the sweet shortbread pastry base is crisp and light and a perfect foil to the sponge topping, with the pastry strips on top finishing it off nicely and using up the trimmings as well. I have put Lidl marzipan (very yellow this, as it is commercial and not lovingly hand made from scratch as my Christmas Cake Almond Paste was, honest!) in some of them; it tasted just fine and despite the colour it was not full of artificial E-numbers.

(I actually Googled the colouring agent, Lutein, and it is classified as a natural herbal food colour extracted from Marigolds which as many of you will know have numerous properties besides being nice flowers. They are an excellent insect repellent in vegetable gardens, and in Tanzania the Mexican Marigold root was used to make a natural insect repellent on crops in the villages where our NGO had projects, with great effect!) There's a bit of information you didn't expect in a recipe for Bakewell Tarts so back to the main topic and here is the recipe for them.

Mini-Bakewell and Jam Tarts

Ingredients

(for 24 tarts or 2 bun trays full)

8oz/225gm flour (self-raising or plain with 2-3 teaspoons baking powder)
8oz/225gm sugar

8oz/225gm butter

4 eggs

Almond or Vanilla Essence (as preferred)

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (for base) (*half this quantity is probably enough but I make a batch and freeze the leftover for another day)

1lb/450gm plain flour8oz/225gm chilled butter (preferable to margarine).
2 oz/50gm sugar (or caster sugar or icing sugar).
1 egg.
A few tablespoons of cold water to bind.

Fillings: Strawberry Jam or Marzipan

Method

Pastry

Rub the butter into the flour until crumbly consistency.

Add sugar and egg, mix well with knife blade.

Add water if necessary to bind, careful not to overhandle.

Roll out and cut with cookie cutter to fit baking tray cups - line tray cups with pastry discs and add a dollop - teaspoon - of jam or marzipan.

Cake topping

Put all ingredients into mixing bowl and whisk together, using electric whisk preferably. Otherwise, using a wooden spoon, cream butter and sugar well, add essence and beaten eggs and flourand baking powder (if used) alternately until a dropping consistency is reached.

Add spoonfuls of the cake mix to the pastry/jam bases and decorate with strips of pastry leftovers as you wish - a cross, basketweave or whatever takes your fancy. This bit is entirely optional!

Bake in a hot preheated oven (200degrees Centigrade/375 degrees Fahrenheit) for 10-15 mins, reduce heat to 150 degrees Centigrade/300 degrees Fahrenheit) and bake to golden brown and pastry should be light golden colour.

Remove and cool, then sieve icing sugar on top to decorate - I like this finish but you can leave plain if you prefer.

Enjoy! Delicious warm with a nice cuppa tea!