Perfect For Breakfast On The Go!

Love this fruit and oat slice, perfect for breakfast on the go or as a lunch box addition!

Here's what I used:

• 140g light brown sugar
• 3 tbs golden syrup
• 140g butter
• 250g oats
• 85g raisin/sultanas
• 85g walnut pieces or any other nut you may fancy
• 50g sesame or mixed seeds
• 25g dried cranberries
• 50g dried apricots, finely chopped

Here's how I made it:

Heat oven to 160C/fan140C/gas 3 and line a 23x23cm tin with greaseproof paper.

Now heat the butter, sugar and syrup in a large saucepan until melted before adding the oats, raisins, nuts, seeds, cranberries and apricot.
Mix well, before spooning into your prepared tin.

Make an even layer of the mixture by pressing down firmly with the back of a metal spoon before baking for approximately 35 minutes, or until golden brown.
Leave to cool completely before cutting into 16 slices. 

Mix it all together!

Golden brown!

Ready for a taste test!

What quantities of ingredients do I need for my cake tin?

How much mixture do I need for this tin, what recipe and quantities should I use?

These questions are regularly asked and it is very difficult to give a straight answer as there are so many variants, size, shape and height of tin for example, hopefully this chart will help?

As a general rule, measurement of ingredients for round tins are the same for petal, heart, hexagonal and octagonal. 

Square tins however need more mixture, so for a 6" square use the 7" measurements, 7" square tin the 8" and so on.

Madeira Cake Ingredients for different sized round cake tins all 3" deep

Here's what to use;	6" (1200ml)	7" (1800ml)	8" (2100ml)	9" (3000ml)	10" (4000ml)	12" (4500ml)
Butter, softened	150g	226g	276g	376g	500g	560g
Caster Sugar	200g	300g	366g	500g	660g	750g
Vanilla Essence	1 tsp	1½ tsp	2 tsp	2½ tsp	3 tsp	3½ tsp
Medium Eggs (53g)	3  (159g)	5  (265g)	6  (318g)	8  (424g)	10  (530g)	11  (583g)
Plain Flour, sieved	225g	338g	412g	566g	745g	845g
Baking Powder	1½ tsp	2½ tsp	3 tsp	4 tsp	5 tsp	6 tsp
Milk	3 tbsp	4 tbsp	5 tbsp	7 tbsp	9 tbsp	11 tbsp
Approx Baking Times	35-40 min	45-50 min	60-65 min	70-80 min	90-100 min	110-120 min

Approximate baking times are based on;

Pre heated oven 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3


Here's how to make it;

Line your tin with greaseproof paper and sieve the flour and baking powder ready for later.

Beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy before adding the eggs gradually, continue beating until it is all incorporated. This is best done in a mixer or with a hand blender.
Now you can add the vanilla essence, flour and baking powder.
The milk is added at the end, add enough to make the batter loose, so it will fall off a spoon.

Tip the batter into the cake tin and make sure that the top is smooth before baking.

Test that your cake is ready with a cake tester or skewer, insert in to the middle of your cake, if it comes out clean it is ready.
Baking times are only a rough guide as all ovens are different, so always keep an eye on your cake so as not to over or under bake it.

Leave the cake to cool for a while before removing it from the tin, peel off the paper and leave on a wire rack until completely cool.

It will keep for a few days in an air tight container or alternatively, wrap it in plastic and freeze, for up to a couple of weeks, celebration cakes are much more easily decorated from frozen.

I hope you find this information useful and it helps you achieve the perfect cake!

Yummy Pud!

Don't waste your left over bread, make a yummy pud instead! This bread pudding is a great way to use up left over bread, rolls and buns. Try it you'll love it!

Bread pudding recipe

500g left over bread
500ml milk
200g dried mixed fruit
2tsp mixed spice
2 medium sized eggs
100g melted butter
100g caster sugar
2 table spoons of brown sugar.

The darker the sugar you use the darker the pudding will be, I've used light brown sugar in this one cos that's what I had in the cupboard.

For the mixed fruit, sultanas, currants raisins and mixed peel work well and give lots of flavour and different textures.

Method

Pre heat oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4 and line an 8" square tin ready for the bread mixture.

Soak the bread in the milk for about 15 minutes until soft before adding all of the other ingredients and mixing well.
Put in your prepared tin and bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes in the middle of your oven.

Sprinkle with granulated sugar while still warm, then cut into small squares once cool and enjoy!