Coconut Meringue Cake

I was fortunate to have a 3 week hiatus between my previous and new jobs.  The unusual luxury of time has permitted me to kick off this blog, and also permitted me for midweek afternoon bakes.  After a leisurely London day featuring lunch in South Ken with my Dad, I returned to my kitchen a couple of weeks ago now ready to bake a cake for dessert that evening.  This recipe caught my eye as I love coconut (and cake) and have the American sweetened coconut to use up.  This turned out to be the toughest interpretation yet, as the quantities in the transcribed recipe were just plain wrong unfortunately.  It resulted in one batch thrown out, which the Aberdonian in me is loathe to do, and some google-consultation.  The first final product was tasty, but not ideal, so I had 2 more attempts (over a course of days you understand!) and I'm pretty pleased with the final result.  I'll describe the 3 variations below, but first, the final recipe:

The recipe with the actual amounts used, and Chrissie's quantities in brackets for info:
100g Butter(1 tablespoonful)
70g Sugar (1 tablespoonful)
135g Self-raising flour (1 teacupful flour + 1 teaspoon baking powder)
2 egg yolks (same)
Meringue:
3 egg whites (2 egg whites)
70g caster sugar (3/4 cup)
1 cup shredded coconut (same)
100ml milk (this was my addition)

Instructions:
- Grease a round cake tin (I used 8 inch) and preheat the oven to 175 degrees celcius.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
- Add egg yolks and 100ml milk and beat only long enough until all are well mixed
- Sift in the flour and fold in with a metal spoon
- Spoon the mixture into the greased cake tin and smooth out until evenly spread
- In a clean and dry bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are beginning to form soft peaks
- Add the caster sugar and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form and the mixture can be held upside down - it should be a glossy consistency
- Fold in the coconut until mixed - try and avoid having to stir for very long
- Spoon the meringue mix onto the cake mixture and again spread until even across the cake
- Bake for 35 minutes in the pre-heated oven - cake is ready when a cocktail stick comes out clean

I found a recipe on allrecipes.com for a coconut meringue cake which seemed similar, so that became my guide for the quantities, although I didn't exactly follow that one either.  

In the end, this is undoubtedly my favourite recipe to date, the resulting cake was delicious and interesting, and very moist and sweet (once the consistencies are correct!)

The original instructions:

Beat butter and sugar, add beaten yolks
Add flour and B.P.
Beat whites stiffly, add sugar and coconut
Put mixture in greased tin with meringue on top
Cook till set 1/2 - 3/4 hour

(Flowerpot) Granary Loaf

The finished product

I've long had a desire to be able to bake bread, and assumed that it was challenging.  This recipe has convinced me how accessible it is, and how a few slight variations can make for an interesting bake.  Flowerpot loafs seem to have become a real artisan trend and can be found at most London markets, so I was surprised to see the recipe in one of Chrissie's books as I didn't realise it was a traditional method dating back decades.  Of course it makes sense that it was simply a convenient reuse of a commonplace item.  Although I don't recall Chrissie ever making bread, I recall hundreds of terracotta flower pots around Scotscraig - my childhood home that had previously been Chrissie's home.  


With this recipe I haven't changed the ingredients at all, although I did supplement the recipe with some pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds mixed into the flour.  Just a few grabbed out of a bag.  


It is critical to first prepare the flower pots - and a warning for when you do this - it filled my kitchen with an awful chemical-like smell, which thankfully didn't return when I baked the bread.  Here's Chrissie's instruction for preparation:
* To season flower pots - wash and dry thoroughly.  Brush inside liberally with oil or lard and bake in a moderate oven for 1-2 hours


1lb Granary Flour or 1/2 lb strong white flour and 1/2 lb wholemeal plain flour
1 sachet easy blend yeast
1 tablespoonful sunflower oil
Good 1/2 pint warm water
(1 teaspoon salt)
Plus of course a selection of seeds to throw in optionally and definitely to decorate on top with the help of a beaten egg.  I go for sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and poppyseed.


The recipe:

An homage to my late grandfather,
Raymond Green who spent many
years working for Watson & Philip in
Aberdeen

1. Mix salt and yeast with flour
2. Add water and oil and mix well
3. Turn onto a floured board and knead till smooth about 5 minutes.
4. Put back in bowl cover and let it rise in a warm place till doubled in size - about 45 minutes
5. Turn onto a floured board and reknead lightly and divide (1/2) dough to fit two greased and floured tins or flowerpots
6. Leave to rise in a warm place
7. At this point I brushed the top of the loafs with some beaten egg and sprinkled seeds on top
8. Bake in a hot oven 220 degrees celsius for about 30 minute

If the pots are well floured, then the bread simply pops out.  I find it nice to cut into chunks and serve back from the flower pot. These can of course be baked in a traditional loaf tin, or as rolls.


Enjoy!

Peach Macaroon

Last night, Sergio and I were privileged to have good friends from Belfast coming over to the house for dinner, who we've never cooked for before.  The challenge for us, is that Harry and Angelique are both vegetarian, so we planned out a vegetarian feast, largely inspired by my new favourite website, www.gojee.com  - it wasn't a question where the dessert recipe would come from however, as I consulted back to Chrissie's books.  Our starter was thai inspired courgette fritters, followed by camembert-topped tofu and sweet potato feta salad.  We wanted something fairly light after what was a fairly starchy meal, so the recipe for peach macaroons seemed like an obvious choice.  Here's the recipe from Chrissie's book:


8 halved peaches
1 egg white
Almond essence
2oz coconut
1oz caster sugar


Place peaches, hollow side up on foil
Whisk egg whites stiffly
Add sugar, coconut and essence
Fill peach centres with this and grill for 5 mins
*Serve with cream


This was super easy to create, the hardest part in fact was getting the peaches halved without being squished to bits.  Had they been more ripe then it would have been easier.  

American sweetened coconut

The mix took only a few minutes to prepare, and I was surprised that only one egg white was required, but this absolutely sufficed for the 12 half (6 whole) peaches that we used.  I didn't have any almond essence so substituted with ground almond.  It is also worth noting for Brit-American clarity that I used American sweetened coconut rather than the usual UK dessicated coconut.  I prefer the taste and texture of this coconut, it is more coarsely grated and ironically to be appears less sweet than dessicated and more akin to fresh coconut, sure either would work.

Peaches ready for the grill

The peaches were grilled only for a few minutes - I had added some brown sugar on top of each for colour, but frankly they didn't need it.  We finished the peaches with some creme fraiche leftover from a meal earlier in the weekend and it complemented them very well, cream, ice cream etc would also be good. 


A very quick, easy, and not a particularly unhealthy dessert.  Highly recommended! 

Chocolate Coconut Slices

Action Shot mid prep

Well today has taken another baking turn as we tested out yet another of Auntie Chrissie's recipes, today 'Chocolate Coconut Slices'.  Not one that I recall, but the chocolate/coconut combo reminds me of the fridge cakes that we'd often buy as a treat on the walk home from school in Edinburgh.  This recipe is a baked slice, and little guidance is given once more in respect to size of tin and temperature of oven.  This may be because Auntie Chrissie had an old Aga in the house in Milltimber.  Today I'm also baking in an Aga at my parent's house in Edinburgh.  Here's the recipe as transcribed from Chrissie's notebook:


1 cup self raising flour
1 cup coconut
2oz caster sugar
2 teaspoons powdered chocolate
4oz margarine

Melt margarine and pour over mixed dry ingredients
Make into a paste and spread in a shallow baking tin
Bake 20-30 mins in mod oven
Cover with chocolate icing while still warm
Cut in slices


We used cocoa as the powdered chocolate and substituted marg for butter as we were low on marg.  The 'paste' did not quite materialise as there was not enough wet ingredients, it was more of a malleable mush, however easy enough to press into the tin in readiness for baking.   

Paste?

We used a long rectangular tin about 9" x 16" which was indeed too large, but all that we had. So we simply moulded the mush into one end around 3/4" thickness and it didn't shift in baking which worked out fine.  We baked it for around 25 minutes, in the Aga baking oven, around 175 degrees celsius.  Like the sponge, it was slightly over baked, but tasted very good nonetheless, particularly with one of Chrissie's chocolate icing recipes. We cut it into small squares rather than slices when it was iced but still slightly warm, and dusted with coconut for effect.  It was a hit with the family, so a recipe I'd recommend.  Thanks Auntie Chrissie!

The finished product

Sponge

I am a keen baker, and have over the years been perfecting my own sponge recipe which is prepared most frequently as cupcakes.  I'm interested in perfecting the ideal sponge and my own version is a traditional mix which starts with a creamed butter and caster sugar mix.  When I saw a sponge recipe in Chrissie's notebook which followed a method of whisked eggs first mixed with the caster sugar, I was curious to try it to see whether it should impact my own sponge recipe.  This is a fairly common method followed by many as it offers a light and fluffy sponge....let's see.

As with many others in Chrissie's repertoire, the instructions were limited, the recipe written as follows:

Fellow baker, Pamela
Abernethy

Sponge

4 eggs, separated

4oz self-raising flour

2 oz cornflour

4 oz caster sugar

Vanilla

1/2 oz of butter

4 tablespoons of boiling water

Beat egg whites stiffly

Whisk in sugar till glossy

Whisk in yolks 1 by 1

Fold in flours

Melt butter in water and add

Bake in 2 tins for 20 minutes

My mother, Pamela Abernethy, provided a helping hand in this cooking experiment.  One of the basic, yet crucial techniques for any baker is the whisking of the egg whites.  For anyone who is unfamilar, my mother has provided her top tips:

We were nervous to add the melted butter in case it did remove the air from the batter, but a quick stir in prior to transferring to our pre-greased tins did the trick.  We used two 8" tins, however with hindsight 7" would have been preferable.  We baked at approximately 325 degrees farenheit (using an Aga so temperatures are never guaranteed).  Again, would have preferred a hotter oven - perhaps 350 degrees.  Due to the heat of the oven, the cake did not develop a particularly deep golden colour, so we perhaps over baked it.  I wouldn't expect this cake to take much colour, nor did it rise a great deal.  I would suggest baking for 15 minutes and testing it after that point to see if it's ready.

The results were good, a very light sponge and quite a structured sponge, maintaining its shape.  I imagine this method would be effective for a more formal celebration cake such as a wedding cake.  In memory of Chrissie, we sandwiched the sponge with a raspberry jam and whipped cream filling and dusted with icing sugar.  It went down very well!

 

An introduction to this blog

Today, I'm an adopted Londoner, living South of the River and working a fairly corporate life north of the river, but when time allows I'm happiest creating in the kitchen.  This is undoubtedly an impact from a childhood far from here, around 500 miles north, growing up in Deeside, a few miles west of Aberdeen.  

The recipe books

Many of the women (past and present) in my family have been keen cooks and bakers, and this is indeed the case for me.  My parents recently uncovered a series of recipe books carefully documented by my Great Auntie Chrissie which both remind me of my childhood, but also provide a historic record of recipes more common to times past in the UK and some specifically Scottish.  Chrissie began her recipe documentation in 1922 and her books appeared to date up to the 1970s/1980s, I know as one recipe is attributed to my own mother, who she would have only met in the early 70s.  

1985 - Chrissie with great-nieces - l-r Lynsey (me), Kate
& Jane

Together with my Grandmother, Agnes Abernethy, these two women conjure wonderful culinary memories from my childhood out in Deeside.  My memories persist of my Grandma particularly in her kitchen which I remember as very dark, iron and formica-filled (this was the early 1980's after all).  Whereas my grandmother baked and cooked practically blindfolded, relaying the quantities as a "bittie o' this and a bittie o' that", Chrissie was  a disciplined documenter and patiently scribed each of her recipes into a series of notebooks, the first is dated 1922 and is most likely from her time at the "Do' School" - a neatly transcribed book of "Cookery Recipes" beginning with instructions on how to cook stock and including recipes such as 'Boiled Salad Dressing' and 'Brain Cakes'. Whereas I never experienced Chrissie's 'Brain Cakes' - perhaps one that never graduated into her repertoire - I do recall many a wonderful meal with her.  

As much of my cooking today takes inspiration from other cuisines, I thought it would be a fun experiment and a good record to test out some of Chrissie's recipes and provide my own views on how these could be tweaked for our modern tastes.  

Some recipes are somewhat brief and require some invention, so I hope that you can enjoy these too and I do welcome any thoughts from yourselves in the comments.

To learn a bit more about Chrissie, read her intro page, an except below:

Chrissie, far right, at the
Do School

Christina Reid Forbes (née Abernethy) was born in 1904 at her parents' farm, Bakebare, in Drumoak, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.  Chrissie came from a large family, the second youngest of eleven (from two mothers) and the only daughter of the second family.  (Her mother was also named Christina, née Greig.)  My Grandfather, Douglas, was in fact the baby of the family.  

Inevitably Chrissie developed an interest in cooking and baking, one can only assume through supporting her mother in feeding her large collection of brothers, and certainly cemented through her attendance at the Aberdeen School of Domestic Science (the "Do' School") and perfected through the following twenty years keeping house for her mother. 

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