United Cakedom: treacle

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Treacle Tart & The Parasol Protectorate/Soulless

Over on A Flurry Of Ponderings my friend Missie is hosting a week-long event of Bookies into Foodies; which is a week of book bloggers making food things from their favorite books! I am guest posting over on her blog later this week, but I thought I would join in here on United Cakedom. Plus it fits right in with my Story Book Bakes posts. So, today I am sharing a British classic the Treacle Tart.

It’s not very often I re-read books, with so many different ones to read why go back to something you already know how it ends? However there are several books that have cracked spines and smudged pages due to the amount of times I have read them. Soulless, the first in The Parasol Protectorate series is one of those. As the first of the series it is the most loved. It’s what drew me in and made me want more.

Alexia Tarabotti, the leading lady, resides in England during the Victorian times. However, it’s not exactly like we remember it. Werewolves and Vampires are acknowledged as law-abiding members of society. They hold down respectable jobs in the military and police force as well as host the best balls and start fashion trends.

It is also acceptable to want to become one of the super natural. All you have to do is pay your dues by either being a claviger to the werewolves or a drone to the vampires. Then hope that you have excess soul to survive the transformation. Even if Alexia wanted to go down that route, she couldn't. See she was born with out a soul and that is where the fun begins!

In the first chapter of Soulless, on the second page Alexia sneaks away from a boring ball to take tea and it includes a plate of treacle tart. Only a rude vampire that doesn't know the first thing about proper etiquette squashes it.

It’s the first, but not the last time that this sticky classic treat is mentioned throughout the series’. The whole series offers a lot of fun and shenanigans, mystery and mayhem, and a lot of tea breaks.

Before you sit down to read the series (if you haven’t already) make this treacle tart, a cup of tea, and get stuck in!

Treacle Tart

8oz (226g) flour

4oz (113g) butter

1-3 tablespoons milk

4oz (113g) breadcrumbs

16oz (452g or 1 can) golden syrup

4 teaspoons lemon or Satsuma juice

Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6 and grease a 8 or 9 inch tart tin with butter and lightly dust with flour. Combine the flour and butter by rubbing together with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add a tablespoon of milk at a time until you can bring the dough together in a ball. Leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough and line the tart tin, using a fork prick holes in the bottom of the pastry. Mix the breadcrumbs, golden syrup, and juice together (I only had a satsuma in my fridge so used that!) and pour into the pastry lined tart tin. Bake in the heated oven for 30 minutes. Slice and enjoy with or without clotted cream.

notes: Check out A Flurry of Ponderings for a week of Bookies to Foodies fun! Thank you Jen for sending me your noted and tried recipe for Treacle Tart!

Books by Gail Carriger: (I have read all of these)

The Parasol Protectorate -

Soulless

Changeless

Blameless

Heartless

Timeless

The Custard Protocol -

Prudence

Imprudence (not yet published)

Finishing School -

Etiquette & Espionage

Curtsies & Conspiracies

Waistcoats & Weaponary

Manners & Mutiny (published November 2015)

Sticky Toffee Pudding

At first I was going to be all indignant about how no one told me how easy Sticky Toffee Pudding was to make and how much better it was homemade.

Then I realized that I would look silly if I did that because many people have said to me how easy and how good it is homemade!

When it comes to Christmas dinner I tend to cheat as much as I can. I use anything that makes my life easier on the day, because the last thing I want is to be banned to the kitchen by myself. Our kitchen and living room are very separate.

In the past even though I like making desserts, I have tended to buy or use easily put together desserts. For various reasons like the one above also because we only have one oven and time management has never been my thing!

This year was going to be different. I was proud of myself that I time managed just right and only after we finished our filling dinner I started the dessert. By the time it was ready we were all had room for it and as a bonus it was nice and hot! The best way to eat Sticky Toffee Pudding! I mean is there any other way?

I generally think of Sticky Toffee Pudding as essentially British. However there are rumors that it came originally from Canadian army men stationed here in the UK during World War II. If it we are to believe this, it makes me wonder what else they are lying to us about!

While I attempt to research that I will sit down with a bowl of this pudding and realize I don’t really care where it comes from because it’s so good!

Sticky Toffee Pudding

180g dates, chopped

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

200ml boiling water

75g butter, softened

100g light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g plain flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp cocoa powder

100g pecans, chopped

Heat the oven to 160C fan/180F and line an 8x8 square cake tin. Soak the dates in the boiling water with the teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.

Beat the butter until soft and creamy, add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat for a few seconds until combined. Then fold in the flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder until just combined. Last but not least fold in the pecans.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes. Use the skewer test if you are unsure.

While it’s the oven make the

Naked

toffee sauce

100g light brown sugar

150ml double cream

75g butter

1 tablespoon black treacle

pinch of salt

Place all the ingredients into a saucepan and heat until they are all combined. Once the pudding is out of the oven serve it up and cover each portion with enough toffee sauce to cover said portion.

Enjoy!

Not Naked

notes: Recipe is adapted from Crumb by Ruby Tandoh. If you liked this post you may be interested in the review of Crumb and Monkey Bread also from her book.

Paint the Town Black! Gingerbread Guinness Cupcakes!! #ToArthur

This Thursday is Arthur Guinness Day and pubs across Ireland have invited massive music names and local artists to come celebrate the man behind the pint and Paint the Town Black.

Wish I lived in Ireland! ;0)

I have had my eye on these cupcakes for a while, but whenever I look through Tea With Bea I always decide on a cheesecake! Not sure why that is? There are so many other delicious looking cakes in this book!

My frosting was very liquid-y I am sure I did something wrong…. like put my butter in the microwave to soften it and even though it wasn't melted it was probably too soft!

But it still tastes delicious and I kind like how the cupcakes looked like mini Guinness pints with the foam ya know? I also sorta wish I had made it as a cake instead…ah well there’s always tomorrow!

So here they are Gingerbread Guinness Cupcakes!! Enjoy!

Gingerbread Guinness Cupcakes:
250 ml/1 cup Guinness stout

250 g/3⁄4 cup black treacle/molasses

11⁄2 teaspoons bicarbonate of/baking soda

280 g/2 cups plain/all-purpose flour

11⁄2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1⁄4 teaspoon ground allspice

1⁄4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1⁄4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves

3 eggs

100 g/1⁄2 cup caster/superfine sugar

100 g/1⁄2 cup dark brown soft sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger

200 ml/3⁄4 cup sunflower oil

chopped crystallized ginger, to decorate
muffin trays, lined with about 24 large cupcake cases

makes 24

Preheat the oven to 170˚C (340˚F) Gas 5.

Put the Guinness and treacle in a tall saucepan (the next step will cause the mixture to bubble up violently and potentially overflow, so choose a very tall pan) and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the bicarbonate of/baking soda. Let stand until completely cool.

Put the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves in a bowl and stir until well blended.

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, both sugars and the grated fresh ginger. Gradually add the oil. Add the stout syrup and stir thoroughly.

Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cupcake cases, filling them four-fifths of the way up (the mixture will not rise that much).

Bake in the preheated oven for 25–35 minutes until they feel springy to the touch. Remove the cupcakes from the muffin tray and let cool on a wire rack.

golden cream cheese icing

225 g/1 cup cream cheese

60 g/3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

175 g/11⁄2 cups icing/confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons golden syrup

piping bag fitted with a star-shaped nozzle/tip

To make the golden cream cheese icing, put the cream cheese and butter in a bowl and beat until combined and glossy. Add the icing/confectioners’ sugar and beat until fluffy. Fold in the vanilla extract and golden syrup.

Fill the prepared piping bag with the icing and pipe onto the cupcakes. Top with a couple of pieces of crystallized ginger, to decorate.

Variation: to make into a layer cake instead of cupcakes, spoon the mixture into 2 x 20-cm/8-inch pans or 1 x 25-cm/10-inch pan and bake at 160˚C (315˚F) Gas 4 for 45–55 minutes (for the small pans) or 1 hour 15 minutes (for the large pan).