Recipe: Hot Chocolate

So you know my passion - making things from scratch.  I cannot bring myself to buy something that I can make myself (unless driven out of desperation OR laziness OR because I don't feel like moving a muscle OR because its Friday OR just because!).  I enjoy using products I know, with no added chemicals with unrecognisable names.  Often it's because we want something at odd times at night or days when the shops are closed, the car is in the garage or I am feeling particularly adventurous.  I hope that by now you have tried to make the golden syrup, unless of course you are trying to avoid all sugars (not a bad idea mind you, but one that's never really grabbed me - after all, where would my love handles go if I avoided all these lovely things?)

So here's the latest greatest recipe for Hot Chocolate

2 cups sugar

1 cup cocoa

3 cups powdered milk/ Cremora

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cornflour

I sieved all of this together in a bowl and then mixed all the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon.  If you don't sieve it you are bound to get lumps of cocoa, which could mean a mouthful of bitterness, or even worse lumps of salt or Cremora .  In fact any kind of lumps are just disgusting!  I use the same quantities as the bought version but this one is very chocolatey and rich.  If you find it's still too strong, add another half cup of powdered milk.

[Now the Cremora was also not my first choice but one night I discovered that I had forgotten to buy my regular powdered milk and saw that there was Cremora (coffee creamer) in the cupboard.  I gave it a try and the kids said that it tasted as good.]

Enjoy experimenting with this recipe: try a twirl of cream, a couple of marshmallows and some grated chocolate for some extra deliciousness!

And for those of you that prefer coffee, don't forget to enter our big coffee giveaway before Friday!

Recipe: Golden Syrup

Golden Syrup 

Some of you may not even know what this is apparently! Yet here in South Africa, there is not a week that goes by when we are not enjoying some peanut butter and syrup sandwiches. Healthy lot we are, I know. It's really just cane syrup. Lots and lots of sugar but it's delicious. We eat it on bread with or without peanut butter, on pancakes, waffles and flapjacks (dollar pancakes), we use it for baking and crunchies especially.

I was at home, the car was in the garage and I wanted to make crunchies and there was no golden syrup in the house. And like the time I made my own condensed milk, hot chocolate and candied lemon peel - I went online to see what I could find. Of course the added dilemma is that so much of the stuff you read online has to be taken with a pinch of salt or in this case, a pinch of sugar. Unlike printed magazines which guarantee that they test all their recipes three times (or more), people who write blogs or own recipe websites, don't and you never really know how they will come out.

It's really such an easy recipe. My children think it's a real winner, and I made my first batch of crunchies yesterday with it and they were delicious - so all in all I think it was a remarkable success!

Soooo many of you asked me for the recipe so here goes:

Ingredients for Golden Syrup:

water

sugar

2 slices lemon


 part 1 ingredients:
200g sugar
75ml water


part 2 ingredients
1kg of sugar
1litre boiling water
2 slices of lemon



This is really a two part recipe.  I got the original recipe from here, but found that I needed to change and adjust it for it to really work.

So part 1 ingredients are as follows:
200g sugar
75ml water.

Here's a picture of me weighing out the sugar.  Why I put a photo of this in the recipe I have no idea but it seems that bloggers do this and if I don't show you how to do this, you may not know how?

Into the pot it goes - proof that I made it myself, or that I own a pot - not sure which one.

And there's the water!  As you can see this really is a very simple recipe!

Bubble bubble - this is just at the beginning.  You might think that you have left something out because it's not the right colour yet but it's coming.

Now you see how the colour is starting to change - just a hint of colour

And finally the colour I was looking for.  Let it boil until it changes to a golden colour - be careful that you don't overdo it, as at this stage you are determining the flavour of the golden syrup - if you let it get too dark, it doesn't taste as nice. Now this part is key - get the pot off the stove before you add the next set of ingredients otherwise your syrup will start to burn which you really don't want .

Now for part 2 ingredients
1kg of sugar
1litre boiling water
2 slices of lemon

Add the water first and then the sugar as it will stop the syrup from cooking any further while still lying in a hot pot. Don't leave out the lemon.  It's the lemon which helps it become syrup - some kind of chemical reaction. (oh yes and don't forget to the take the seeds out before you do this) Bring the pot to a boil again (I normally put my stove on max and get it boiling and then turn it down so that it boils slowly on a lower temperature but still maintains the boiling- not sure that makes sense but just make sure its bubbling all the time but not about to overflow)

This part is really easy - the mixture needs to boil for up to 40 minutes long.  And your house will smell delicious! In fact for those of you that have made toffee apples, it will definitely remind you of those days!  Once you are finished switch the stove off and wait for about 10 minutes.  Now this is where you have to test the consistency of the mixture.  Put a couple of drops on a small plate - after the tester has cooled it needs to have the right consistency.  If it's hard, then it needs more water.  I would suggest adding about 1/4 cup water, mix it in and test again.  If it's still too thick or hard - add some more.  However you must make sure the test mixture has cooled down sufficiently to give a true reflection of how thick the syrup is.  If it's too thin, then you need to boil it for a little longer.  DO NOT decant into any jars until you have done this test because once it sets (especially if it's too thick or hardens) it will be almost impossible to get it out of the jar afterwards.

And there you have it. I have made this recipe twice already and love it.  Including electricity it cost me about R15 to make and I ended up with enough volume that if I had bought it in the store it would have cost me R58!  So from needing some syrup for crunchies, I ended up discovering an amazing way to make my own golden syrup!

I have already made two batches of crunchies, using my homemade golden syrup and it was delicious!  Give it a try, you wont' be sorry.  If you have any questions about this recipe, feel free to comment and I will try my best to help you with my very limited culinary skills.

**** Remember this is VERY hot, so I would not try this recipe with children around and also don't make any sudden moves with the pot to avoid spilling on yourself.

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And then for those of you who would like to enjoy some excellent coffee with those homemade crunchies you are going to make, don't forget to enter our competition to win R250 worth of coffee products.

Recipe: Butternut Soup

It might be headed for Spring but this morning I woke up to rain.  Our homeschool excursion was cancelled and the temperature was down to the teens again.  Not that I am complaining.  I love Cape Town, I love that no day is the same.  Every day I wake up to the sea painted a different colour and the artist in me just loves the unpredictability of it all. Isn't life exciting when you don't know what's the day holds?

Butternut soup is a firm favourite in this house. The mention of me making it for supper brings the kids running and whooping with joy!  Yes, my children whoop for joy over food.  They love it, they finish the whole pot every time I make it.  I can never make too much.  In fact if I made it for 3 days in a row, they would not complain as long as there were lots of yummy breads to go with it.


I started with a sink full of butternut - no that's not how many I use but I always wash my butternut after buying it, especially after we discover an overripe one has exploded all over all the others. OK moving on.

Cream

 

Instant Oxtail Soup. 

Then we get these beauties ready for the oven.  Big butternut for a big family.  Now the reason I am doing this in the oven is because it is so much easier.  I use to do it on the stove and would have to peel and de-seed it all first before I boiled the butternut.  This makes preparing the butternut easy peasy and I like easy peasy.

While I wait for the butternut, I take about 250ml of water and just mix in the instant soup and leave it to stand.  This way you don't get those nasty funny bits of concentrated soup in your soup because it hasn't dissolved properly.

 

Yeah baby, doesn't this look good.  OK so maybe they don't look beautiful but those of you who have smelt and tasted roasted butternut before will know how nice this is.  It might ooze a bit, don't worry you are not doing anything wrong, it's just those delicious juices - they sizzle, they pop - YUM!

  

Cook the butternut for about an hour..... or less...... or more.  Not quite sure.  You need to poke a sharp object into the butternut and see if they are all soft before taking them out.  If you have an oven like mine, you need to check them all because in our oven what happens in the back of the oven never quite happens in the front.  I could probably think of some life analogy at this point but it's now Saturday morning, I'm still in my puffy pink gown and only had one cup of coffee for the day - so I'll leave it up to you.

The best way to do this is to wait until they cool down, because the skin actually separates from the butternut flesh and then it really is a breeze. Once it's cooled down take the skin off and remove the seeds.

 

Put all that butternut into a big pot, I just love the colour of this vegetable. 

 

I missed a couple of steps here because I got so busy cooking that I forgot to take photographs.  Add your soup mixture and 250ml of cream to the butternut with 250ml of water.  Now this is where the fun comes in. Blend it until it is really smooth.  I didn't always own a blender and so if you don't, you can push it through a sieve which works as well but takes a longer.  Once its smooth, I normally add another 250ml to 500ml of water and then pop it onto the stove.  I heat it up until the soup has thickened.  How thick you like your butternut soup really depends on you. I wouldn't add too much water as it is inclined to taste watery if you do, rather use milk if you want it much thinner. Add salt, pepper and a dash of cinnamon which gives it a lovely flavour.  I leave it to simmer on the stove for about 10 to 15 minutes and then you're ready to go!

Of course some good crusty bread to go with the soup.

 

And with all the orange in the pot, a couple of beautiful flowers to go on the table is definitely fitting!

Dinner in our house is an event.  It's where all our big family discussions happen and the one time of the day that we all sit together and talk about the day.  It's about fellowship, friendship and fun times!(And a view of the washing)   Enjoy! 

Enjoy making this soup and if any of this is a bit vague or confusing, feel free to ask any questions in the comment sections below.

Recipe: Natural homemade air freshener with oranges, cloves and cinnamon

I have a very sensitive nose.  I don't like smelliness.  I am constantly telling my children to brush their teeth over and over again, I spray way to much deodorant or perfume on myself because I like to smell nice.  I buy things to make my house smell nice, toilet tablets for the toilets, potpourri for between my clothes, toilet spray for the bathrooms, essential oils for the counters and floors.  I know this may sound odd but don't imagine that I vapourize everything at the same time!  I'm not that bad.

But I also am so aware of how many of these things are full of chemicals that fill the air and fill my children's lungs.  And so I am always looking for something natural and not harmful to us or our environment.  And then I stumbled on this recipe idea for making a natural homemade air freshener.  I wish I could remember where I had found it, though it's probably common knowledge to many of you.

With it being winter, there are plenty of oranges around.  I use the oranges my children have already eaten.  (so no wasting of oranges, just re-using the skins).

Recipe for a natural homemade air freshener

Orange peels of about 2 to 3 oranges (I am sure you could use lemons too)

Whole cloves (3)

1/2 cinnamon stick

Water and a pot

I simply let this simmer and it releases the most amazing fragrance.  It fills the air with the richness of spices laced with orange - and it's wonderful.  When I feel like it's done it's job, I switch it off and leave it to cool.  I might decide to heat it up again later in the day.    Normally a small pot like this will last for about 2 days(I just leave it on the stove and heat it up when I want to).  After I am finished, I remove all the bits and put the water in a spray bottle.  I then use it as a cleaning spray which gives the house a lovely citrus smell which I use for counters and for mopping the floor.

Simple but delightful and of course for those of you who struggle with pests like ants - this is a win win situation because they detest oranges.

What natural methods do you use for making your house smell lovely?  I would love some more ideas

A truly South African recipe: Magic Malva Pudding

Recently Ethan entered a competition for Kids National Geographic and this was his favourite South African recipe he entered and so I thought I would share it with you (you will notice that it remains unedited, as it is aimed at children)

The Malva Madness

50ml butter (make it slightly soft in the microwave otherwise it can be very hard)

400g white sugar 

2 eggs (big ones)

2 teaspoons Bicarbonate of Soda

2 cups milk

525ml flour (the regular one not the one that has baking powder in already)

3 tablespoons (big spoons) of apricot jam

2 tablespoons vinegar (the white one)

And now add some Magic

1 cup cream

220g brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla essence 

pinch of salt

How to make it

You have to put the oven on first at 180 degrees Celsius

Make sure you put all your baking things and ingredients on the counter first so you know where to find everything and also to make sure that you haven't forgotten something like the time my mother made a cake and didn't know that she didn't have any baking powder. We almost didn't have cake.

First you start by mixing the butter and sugar together. I used an electric beater but I am sure you could do it with a normal whisk, its just much harder to do. Put your eggs in as well. Make sure you break your eggs in a separate cup first otherwise you might end up with broken pieces of egg shell or even worse a rotten egg and then you will have to start all over again. And just do them one at a time, its better that way. Use the beater again.

Put your bicarbonate of soda in the milk and stir it until you can't feel the pieces. It must feel smooth. If it's not dissolved it feels like there is sand in the milk. Now you must put this together with the sugar and butter.

All the other ingredients must be added, it looks like a lot but once you mix it with the beater, it will go down a little. You must put in the flour with a sieve, the jam and the vinegar. You have to beat it until its smooth. It's quite runny but don't worry once you cook it, it will look just like a cake.

Use a oven dish that you have spread butter over so that it doesn't stick. Pour it all in and put it in the oven for 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

Now while you are waiting for the cake part to cook, you need to make the sauce which is the best part. Without the sauce there would be no magic just Malva Madness. Because you will be mad that you forgot to put the sauce on. In a small pot you need to put all the sauce ingredients, cook it until it boils and all the brown sugar needs to be dissolved. It might get a little thick but that's even better because it makes the malva even more delicious and sticky. Don't leave your pot, otherwise it will bubble over or burn.

The moment the malva is ready you must pour the sauce over straight away so that all the sauce gets sucked in. They both have to be hot for it to work. The best time to eat it is while it's really hot with ice--cream, which is my favourite, or with custard or even better, with both.

I hope you enjoy this, I know it's my favourite.

Ethan

This post features on the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers (SACH Bloggers) where South African home schoolers share experiences, ideas, philosophies and much more. You can join the carnival too by heading to the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers sign up page.  We hope you enjoy the
 carnival as much as we have!

Snack Attack - 35 Energy snacks that keep kids going

When it comes to snacking, my children are experts. They are busy. They are active and their systems are running on high maintenance all day!

When we are doing school work though, I find - that if their attention is slipping, they get fidgety or their behaviour becomes disruptive - providing them with good snacks, it helps a lot.  However I am not saying that they need to eat all day.  Children who are not active, will need to be monitored carefully ( as just like we can eat out of boredom, so can they).  My children lead very active lives between Nippers lifesaving, running, J-boarding, cycling, going to gym and the endless games they play running around the house. I always consider how much they are physically doing against how much they are consuming.  Your choice of snacks in this instance then becomes important.

But maintaining energy levels is important.  With a full day of school, after school activities and sport - you really can't expect your child to keep going on a bowl of cereal in the morning and a sandwich in the afternoon. Smaller more frequent snacks are a far better idea.

There are a few things to consider when choosing snacks:

 Consider preparation time

I have time to bake at night when I am making supper because the oven is already on and so I save on electricity. 
I often freeze after baking so that I have really easy days and only need to take something out of the deep freeze.
I keep snacks simple when I know that life is busy.
Our local Fruit and Veg city will clean and slice your vegetables which can save a lot of time and energy.

You don't want sticky dirty hands

 Use toothpicks, forks and facecloths to ensure that hands don't end up on pages.  And try not to keep the snacks on the same table as your books as one of the little ones are likely to spill the contents at some point or another.  If you keep it on a separate table it means away from books and a place to snack AND wipe hands.  Obviously wet wipes or dry wipes work too.

Low GI (you see I even get to sound like an expert)
Be careful of too much fruit and sugar, which includes the dry fruit. Try to balance your snacks with ingredients that are low GI

Affordability
The list includes cheaper and more expensive options. I do not believe in spending money unnecessarily. Just because its cheaper (or plainer) doesn't mean it's not as good. If you want to do a treat snack (like biltong) do it on a Friday or for special occasions.

Doesn't require moving to the kitchen to eat but can be consumed wherever they are
I don't do snack time in the kitchen otherwise I lose time rounding them up. They are clever in that way - they disappear in every direction. Yes! Even if they love learning new things - they will still duck and dive to play and read and build Lego. Or is that just my children?

I have made a list of snacks that are fairly healthy and easy to prepare. Again, how much effort you put into your snacks is directly proportional to how much time you have, but consider the benefits of maintaining energy levels and concentration against the preparation time. When you see what a difference it can make, you will feel a lot more motivated. And in fact these types of snacks can be given to the children at any time. Children need to sustain their energy even if they are not attending school or homeschooling.

SNACK ATTACK LIST 

• Carrot sticks/ discs (My children prefer the discs because they can pop them into their mouths and I prefer them because then they are not holding carrot sticks all the time which are prone to give off an orange colour on the hands)

•  Butternut slithers (Raw butternut is delicious. Give it a try. I often add slithers of it to my salad)

• Diced cheese blocks

• Apple slices and raisins

• Banana (don't peel entirely, keep the skin on and let them take it off progressively, keeps the mess to a minimum)

• Biltong (an expensive snack but I know some families who make their own, making it affordable)

• Popcorn (Be careful with this because unless you use a popcorn maker, this can end up being fairly oily and too much salt is not good for them either) 

•  Drinking yoghurt (store bought or big bottles of drinking yoghurt de-canted into a little bottle with a straw)

• Nuts

• Cucumber sticks/ discs

• Frozen grapes (because they are frozen, far less mess but if like my youngest they start putting it in and out of their mouths - which of course results in a big sticky mess - best leave that one out)

• Crackers or savoury biscuits

• Cheese wedges

• Yoghurt with a plastic spoon

• Hard boiled eggs

• Seeds - pumpkin, sunflower etc

• Raisins

• Rice cakes (now don't go putting lots on top, let them eat it as is)

• Dried fruit - there are so many varieties

• Dried fruit roll - I buy, but you can make your own if you are feeling especially adventurous.

• Naartjies (recommend these rather than oranges because if you buy them small, peel them and break them up into segments, its easy for the children to pop them into their mouths with almost no mess)

• Smoothie - a great alternative to drinking yoghurt and again so many variations.

• Trail Mix - mix nuts, seeds, dried fruit, muesli - go wild!

• Cherry tomatoes - my kids love the popping sound they make.

• Pretzels

• Sugar snap peas/ green beans or miniature corn - they are normally sold together in our shops

• Fruit of any variety - melon or watermelon balls, pineapple slices, grapes, apricots

• Muffins (variety, variety, variety - don't get stuck in a rut and dish up the same things over and over) - added bonus, they can be frozen

• Banana bread or any breads that don't require butter or toppings

• Granola bar

• Granola - this is delicious, especially if you make your own this is especially delicious.

• Protein on a stick (toothpick) - whatever you have: sausage, cold meats, fish sticks

• Scones - these are like muffins - delicious with lots of potential variety and can be frozen

• Sandwich squares or triangles - toasted, plain, oven baked - my children love garlic butter on toast, its a smelly affair but garlic keeps them healthy and its just so delicious

• Leftovers - pizza, meatballs - just remember this is not lunch time, so don't let snack become the focus, this is just to keep them going 

•  Rusks - these are great if you don't dry them out completely, if they are too dry you will have endless crumbs!

All of these snacks are based on a family with no sugar, wheat or allergy problems - however all of them can be adapted to suit your family. In terms of health benefits: opt for home made, it protects your family from all the extra colourants and preservatives and other can't-name-the-chemical-additives that they put in our food these days.

Why not leave a comment, I would love to hear what snacks you give your children which keeps them on the go.

Linking up with Raising Homemakers, Domestically Divine Tuesdays,Titus 2sday Link-Up,Living Well Wednesdays,Growing Home: Teach me Tuesdays, Proverbs 31 Thursdays,

Simple and Easy Breakfast Ideas for Children

Oh if only there were a chef in our house!  They would be the most appreciated and revered individual in the Grant household - esteemed and adored.  

 But there's not.

Just me. 

And so breakfast is breakfast in our house, like everybody else and I have to face the dilemma weekly to think up original and tasty breakfast ideas.  Cereals?  Yep I do those but I know that they are not the best I can give my children and I want to give them the best and even cereal gets boring after a while. My children love variety and love surprises.

I normally rotate these ideas after a two week period and the choice I make for breakfast is based on how much time I have, what we are having to eat for the rest of the day, my budget and just plain ol' "if I feel like it".

What is a healthy breakfast?
I am of the opinion that breakfast needs to be:
*  an easy breakfast (no grinding wheat or milking cows- not that we have any, but just saying)
*  needs to be long lasting (as long as possible in fact before I need to drag myself back to the kitchen to prepare round two)
*  a healthy breakfast (this one is fairly debatable - but let's just say as healthy as possible, and if you aren't doing healthy, then start doing healthy one step at a time)
*  they need to be able to eat it (now this may seem obvious, but don't go mad and start preparing odd things that are not even recognisable all for the sake of some kind of health benefit - they must like what they are eating)
*  breakfast should be based on size/ age/ activity level (I have boys who are very active and need lots of energy, and I have a little girl who spends her days being a princess, their food needs are going to be VERY different)

Time is always a challenge especially for mom's who need to get their children up really early to head off to school.  I know it's really busy already with lunches that need to be packed, books to be found, uniforms to be put on - and all of this before your first cup of coffee (another reason I chose homeschooling - surely coffee is a good reason?).  However a lot of these ideas can be prepared the night before.

Breakfast Ideas

Here is what we eat on any given day (weekends included)

1.  French toast 

2.  Porridge - oats, mielie meal, maltabella, rice porridge 

3.  Scrambled eggs on toast

4.  Boiled eggs with toasty finger things (I forget their name)

5.  Muffins 

6.  Pancakes

7.  Cereal (yep it's there too)

8.  Home made rusks and tea.  (they simply LOVE dipping)

9.  Fruit and yoghurt and toast 

10.  Homemade muesli and yoghurt with banana or apple (in fact any fruit will work if they will eat it)

11.  Left Overs 

12.  Smoothies (this only works as an add on for us - my children never seem to believe that this could possibly be all they are getting)

13.  Scones (so many varieties to choose from and flexible and tasty like muffins)

And to make breakfasts even easier let your children do the preparation and cooking!  Who knows maybe you could even get some breakfast in bed and give up cooking permanently!  

I have decided to work on the most important meal of the day, do some research and try some new recipes for my children.  I will let you know what I find and what works.  What is my motivation?  Well I have a list of 13 breakfast ideas.  I have about another 40 to 50 years of living to do (conservatively speaking) which means that I have too-many-days-to-work-out-on-my-calculator-breakfasts to eat and prepare and I definitely do not want to eat these 13 things for the rest of my life.  Anyone else feel the same? 

What do you find is a winner for breakfast?  What works for you and your family.  I would love to hear your thoughts on preparing a healthy breakfast for kids, why not leave a comment or share a recipe?

Cake Recipe: Chocolate Wacky Cake

This is a great recipe!  A great chocolate cake recipe! Kids birthday cakes, cupcakes, in fact any jolly cake that you like.  How you decorate it, will be the deciding factor - you can downgrade or upgrade your version.  Since I rediscovered this recipe, I have made about 4 in the last week.

Why?

*  I only have to use one bowl (minimal washing up!)

*  Ingredients are so simple, no rushing out to find the margarine because I didn't realise that I didn't have enough.  

*  No eggs and milk- for those of you that can't have or don't want the animal products in your cakes.

*  It takes 5 minutes to make, if you're Chad(that would be my 8 year old) maybe 20 minutes - but it was so simple, I hardly had to supervise him.  

*  Chocolate - yummy!

Ingredients

1 and1/2 half cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/3 cup oil
1 cup water or milk

Put all the dry ingredients into the bowl, no sifting required.  I do sift my bicarbonate of soda because it can get lumpy and then not dissolve.  If you want to spoil a cake, take a bite with a piece of bicarb that hasn't dissolved.  Disgusting!  Which by the way is not in the picture because I accidentally put baking powder in the picture and then 2 cocoa's and no vinegar.  I couldn't tell you what I was thinking when I was doing this.

 

Once all the dry ingredients have been added, grab a fork and mix it until it looks beautifully brown like mine:)

Make 3 holes in the dry ingredients.  In the one put vinegar, the next the vanilla essence and then lastly the oil in the third.

Pour your one cup water or milk over the lot and mix with a fork until its all mixed in.  Can you believe it can be so simple?  Of course I have to always test everything I make and so a couple of finger dipping moments are required though I would never confess to that in public.  Just look for the tell tale sign of chocolate around my mouth.

Stick it in the oven for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius or until its done.  Normally I prod it with a kebab stick (without the meat on of course) and check that there is no sticky goo stuck to it.  And then you know its done.

And then?  These are some of the things you can do with this recipe, just so you can see how versatile this cake is!

The English Kitchen

Food Loves Writing

Bankrupt Vegan

Now how can you not love this !?

For those of you who love a little bit of history:  Apparently this cake is also known as the Depression Cake, because it was a cake made during that time, when money was tight and cakes were a luxury that few could afford.  I love the fact that someone came up with a recipe like this to help during those tough times.  We all have them at one time or another.

So go on, get the cake in the oven, make a good strong pot of coffee and invite some friends over!

Recipe: Jam Squares

I love having friends and visitors over.  

However I don't always have all the ingredients to make something really elaborate or the time.  But one thing I always have, is a roll of puff pastry in my deep freeze - or almost always.  If puff pastry could get an award, I would give it a thumbs up. 

I realise that there are some of you who very diligently make your own, or there is some green, organic puff pastry (probably with special ingredients like spinach, herbs and the likes - yuk!) but I go for the regular stuff.  Very upmarket I know.

With this I make jam squares - yummy, sticky, crunchy, sugary, eat-some-moreish-jam-squares. In fact I have known wives to hold their husbands back as they cannot resist going for seconds, then thirds and then those hidden fourths and fifths.  If these were packaged in the shop, they would probably come with a warning label : Proceed Cautiously 

Here's the Recipe 

Ingredients

* roll of puff pastry

*  2tbsp jam

*  1 cup sugar

* 100 g margarine/butter

* 1 cup cake flour

Step 1

Spray your baking sheet with a non stick spray or grease it if you like.  Roll out your pastry.  Make sure its defrosted properly before you start otherwise it will crack - like mine did because I was in a hurry.  But no fear, you can just press it together with your fingers. 

Step 2

You'll need about 2 big spoons of jam.  This is a tablespoon that we use for cereal or soup.  I used apricot jam here but you really can use any type.  If your budget really is tight, mixed fruit jams are just as good.  I often make a variety.

Step 3

Spread the jam fairly evenly over the puff pastry.  You need to do this very professionally like I do otherwise someone might say you are just a housewife with very few culinary skills.

Make sure you go to the edges otherwise they will be very dry.  Its a little like putting your tomato paste on a pizza - spread it all over.  If you put too much on, it can get a little soggy and won't bake as well.  This may not look like much but its enough.

Step 4

100 g Margarine block in the bowl. Make sure that its had time out of the fridge or deep freeze otherwise it makes it really hard to work with.  I have even used the soft margarine spreads and those also work (so really just use what you have).

Step 5

Add the sugar (you could probably use brown too if you wanted to) and flour.

Step 6

Take your rings off and get in there.  Rub the ingredients together until you have crumbs. The test for me is that if I take a handful and press it really hard in my fist it should make a ball but then fall apart when I press my fingers against it.  Its nice to have some chunky bits and then the finer pieces.  It gives the jam squares a nice texture.

Step 7

Spread the crumbs over your puff pastry. Also ensure that your nails are done in a red hue as it adds a bit of colour to your otherwise rather bland unprofessional photos.

Use it all up!  Or nibble some if you can't resist.  I always have to do quality control "testing" throughout my baking process.

Step 8

The trick to these is to cut them before you put them in the oven.  You will need to cut them slightly again once they are done, as the gooey jam smudges the lines but it makes it much easier when its done.  Cut them into squares and you can decide how big you want them.  With guests, I generally cut the blocks a little smaller, because they have to go further, but when it's just us - the children like big chunky pieces. 

Step 9

Put them in the oven at 180 deg Celsius for about 20 - 30 minutes.  Make sure the pastry doesn't burn.  Take them out the oven and while they are still hot, cut along the lines again and leave it to cool.  They will be very hot so don't try and eat them. They are deceptively cool on the outside but the jam is very hot and I have had many a blister in my mouth when I sneak a taster when I shouldn't have! (confession time).

Step 10

Put on a plate and enjoy!

Now I know this looks like a huge recipe because I divided it into 10 steps but it really is such a quick one. It will take you about 10 minutes to prepare, 20 -30 minutes to bake and then you will have the most delicious treat for your guests.

And you are probably wondering where the tribe are? After all how do you keep the children out of the kitchen when there is such deliciousness going on?

I gave them a mound of washing to fold up which they did right next to me, with the promise that when all the folding was done, they could have some.  Did it work?  Of course. And they did it so quickly and so well. 
Food in our house is a big motivator.  If I want anything done, I just do it before food, snacks or treats! 

Try this one and you will have your guests asking for more.  Enjoy!