Placek with Figs – 3

  • This is a lovely placek – flat cake – this has similarities to English Fig Rolls.
  • These were biscuits that my Tatus (dad) loved.
  • He would have loved this recipe.
  • Did you know that Jacob’s fig rolls were manufactured from 1903 after a machine in America was invented that made a pastry case over a filling?
  • A fig mixture is sandwiched between 2 layers of shortcrust pastry – Kruche ciasto.
  • The placek is made like placek with figs – 2 – it is the fig mixture which is diferent.
  • You make the fig mixture first and leave it to cool as you have to use it cold.

INGREDIENTS

  • 175g dried figs – chopped
  • 25g muscavado sugar
  • 50g dates* – chopped
  • 75ml water
  • 1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 orange – finely grated zest & juice
  • 1 lemon – finely grated zest
  • 1 small apple – peeled and coarsely grated
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • *
  • * I will try leaving out the dates next time and just use extra figs.
  • *
  • Shortcrust pastry made from 250g of plain flour

METHOD

  • Chop the figs and dates into small pieces.
  • Add these to the water in a small pan.
  • Add the bicarbonate of soda, the orange zest and juice and the lemon zest.
  • Heat gently and then simmer, stirring as necessary until the mixture is
  • Thick, sticky and jam-like.
  • Leave to cool .
  • Add the grated apple and the spices and mix well.
  • Leave till cold before using.
  • NOTE
  • You can make this earlier and add the apple and spices before using.
  • *
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM5 – 190o C.
  • Grease and line a 26 x 21 cm baking tray.
  • Divide your pastry into 2.
  • Roll out 1 piece and use for the base.
  • Cover the base with the fig mixture trying to made this even and as near the edges as possible
  • Roll out the rest of the pastry and cover the fig mixture.
  • Usea fork to make pin pricks over the surface.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes until the surface is golden.
  • Leave to cool on mesh cooling tray.
  • Cut into squares to serve,
  • *
  • Option – not tried – brush beaton egg white over the surface and dust with granulated sugar before baking.

Heathcote cake stand

Rhubarb & Date Cake – 2

Many years ago I had been talking with my old school friend who lives in Leeds and she told me her husband made a lovely rhubarb cake with the rhubarb they have growing on their allotment.

So, I tried it out and it was indeed lovely!

Recently she mentioned a cake she called “Crusader Day” Cake and sent me the recipe.

I found it was nearly the same recipe but had extra Demerera on the top – so I made it again.

The Demerera made a nice crunchy topping.

Ingredients

  • 340g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 170g  butter
  • 230g granulated sugar
  • 450g rhubarb, chopped into small cubes
  • 230g stoned dates, chopped into small pieces
  • 3 eggs
  • 120ml milk (either whole or semi skimmed)
  • *
  • 2 & 1/2 tablespoons of Demerera sugar

Method

  • Preheat the oven to GM 5 – 190°C
  • Line the base of a 23cm round spring-form or loose bottomed tin with baking paper.
  • Or use a cake liner.
  • Place the chopped rhubarb and dates into a bowl.
  • Place the flour and baking powder into another bowl.
  • Cut the butter into cubes and rub it into the flour using your fingertips until you have a mixture that resembles breadcrumbs.
  • Stir in the sugar.
  • Stir the chopped rhubarb and dates into the mixture.
  • Combine the eggs and milk in a jug and beat a little.
  • Stir into the cake mix until well combined.
  • Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin and level the surface.
  • *
  • Sprinkle the Demerera sugar evenly over the top of the cake.
  • Bake for approximately 1 – 1 & 1/4  hours or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean – best check on it after an hour and cover top if necessary to prevent burning.
  • Leave to cool on a wire rack until the tin is cool enough to safely handle.
  • Remove the cake from the tin and leave to cool completely on the wire rack

Although the cake keeps well, I think it is best eaten when fresh as then the rhubarb taste is strong and the cake delicious.

Crown china tea plates – no pattern named.

Option – This cake is quite big for the 23cm – I would tried it again in a 26cm diameter tin. I used 3 eggs and 3 tablespoons of demerera sugar.

Rhubarb & Custard Tart

  • I came across an English recipe for a Rhubarb & Custart tart, which I thought I could adapt to make it more Polish.
  • It takes many steps and takes a while to make.
  • *
  • It is easier to make the rhubarb, crumble and the budyń earlier.
  • 1 – The base is made from shortcrust pastry, which is baked blind.
  • 2 – The next layer is budyń – Polish custard.
  • 3 – The 3rd layer is baked rhubarb with sugar – it is sieved so you have a syrup to add to the finished tart.
  • 4 – The 4th layer is kruszonka – a crumble, which is baked seperately and then sprinkled on top.
  • I thought this crumble cooked seperately worked very well and will write a post about this soon.
  • INGREDIENTS – rhubarb
  • 400g rhubarb
  • 60g granulated sugar
  • METHOD
  • Pre – heat the oven to GM3 – 160 0 C.
  • Cut the rhubarb into 4cm pieces.
  • Place in a shallow roasting dish
  • Cook with the sugar for around 30 minutes.
  • Leave to cool.
  • Place in a large fine sieve.
  • Collect the syrup to use at the end when serving.
  • INGREDIENTS – budyń
  • 500 ml milk
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
    • 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • 2 – 3 tablespoons of potato flour
  • 3 yolks
  • METHOD
  • Mix some of the milk with the potato flour.
  • Heat the rest of the milk with the sugar in a saucepan.
  • Add the buter and stir.
  • Pour this over the milk and potato flour mixture.
  • Stir well.
  • Put this all back in the saucepan and heat with stirring until you have a thick mixture.
  • Add the yolks 1 by 1 with stirring until even and thick.
  • Leave this to cool completely before using.
  • INGREDIENTS – kruszonka crumble
  • 100g plain flour
  • 70g butter – cold
  • 70g granulated sugar
  • METHOD
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM6 – 200oC.
  • Mix butter with flour until the mix is like breadcrumbs.
  • Stir in the sugar.
  • Spread on a baking sheet.
  • Bake for around 30 minutes – stirring ocasionally.
  • It should be golden and crunchy.
  • NOTE – if you have too much store the excess in an airtight box.
  • INGREDIENTS – shortcrust pastry made with 250g plain flour.
  • METHOD
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM6 -200 0C.
  • Grease a loose bottomed 21cm tart tin.
  • Roll out the pastry thinly and line the tin.
  • Remove the excess.
  • Prick the base with a fork.
  • Cover with baking paper and baking beans.
  • Place the tin on a baking sheet.
  • Bake for 12 minutes.
  • Remove the beans and the baking paper and bake for another few minutes.
  • Leave to cool.
  • Turn the oven down to GM4 – 180 0 C.
  • Place a thick layer of budyń in the baked tart pastry ( if you have some left over – save it for other desserts).
  • Place a layer of the cooked rhubarb over the budyń.
  • Bake for around 15 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and sprinkle the kruszonka over the top.
  • Leave to cool completly before serving.
  • You can serve with some of the rhubarb juice.

Mackeral & Rhubarb

This is such a simple recipe, I will be making it often when rhubarb is in season.

The rhubarb goes so well with this oily fish.

The amount of rhubarb given here were for 2 fillets of mackeral but can be stretched to 3 fillets.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 fillets of mackeral (1 per person)
  • A little oil to fry the mackeral
  • 4-5 stalks of rhubarb
  • 2 -3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons of water

    METHOD
  • First cook the rhubarb.
  • Chop the stalks into lengths of around 5-8cm.
  • Place the rhubarb, sugar and water into an ovenproof dish.
  • I used a Pyrex dish.
  • Add the cover from the dish (see through is good).
  • Place the dish into an oven at around GM3 – 1600C.
  • Cook for around 30 minutes.
  • Keep an eye of this you do not want pulp – rather you want the rhubarb to keep its shape.
  • *
  • Just before the rhubarb is ready – fry the mackeral filets in a frying pan in your usual manner
  • Cook them on both sides.
  • *
  • Serve the mackeral with some rhubarb at the side.

Served here on a Royal Doulton Burgundy plate.

Yeast Racuszki with Rhubarb

This recipe is based on Yeast Racuszki with Apples, which was from my late Aunt in Poland who lived in mazury – the Polish lakes district.

Ciocia Pola (Apolonia) Aunt Pola, my mother’s sister lived on a small farm and the eggs and milk were from the farm and the butter was her own and also the apples from the garden. She made  racuszki – using a thick yeast risen batter.

As my rhubarb is growing in the garden I thought I would try these with chopped rhubarb rather than apples.

Ingredients

  • 125 ml of milk (full is best or semi-skimmed)
  • 25g caster sugar and 1 teaspoon
  • 10g  fresh yeast or 5g  dried yeast
  • 25g  butter
  • 1 egg
  • 125g plain flour
  • Large pinch of salt
  • 3-4 stalks of rhubarb ( depends on the size)
  • *
  • A little oil for cooking
  • Icing sugar, caster sugar or cinnamon sugar to dust.

Method

Warm half the milk and add a teaspoon of caster sugar and the yeast and mix it all together and leave it to froth up.

Melt the butter and leave it to cool.

Whisk the egg with the rest of the sugar until it is thick and creamy.

Put the flour and salt into a large bowl.

Use a wooden spoon (one with a hole works really well) and beat in to the yeast mixture, the egg & sugar mixture and then the melted butter.

Slowly add the rest of the milk, mixing until the mixture has the consistency of double cream.

Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave this to rise.

Cut the rhubarb into chunks of around 2cm ( not too small as it will turn out too stodgy)

Add the rhubarb to the risen batter and mix them well in to coat them.

  • Use a griddle or thick cast iron frying pan and use oil to grease it lightly and heat it up.
  • You need to try and keep a low to medium heat so as not to burn the pancakes.
  • Place large tablespoons of rhubarb and batter onto the pan and cook them so that they are golden brown on both sides.
  • Remove them from the pan and dust them with icing sugar, caster sugar or cinnamon sugar.

Royal Doulton – Burgundy plate

Cake with Poppy Seed Filling

  • Today is the 11th year anniversary of my blog.
  • I started on 4 July 2015.
  • This will be my 725 post.
  • I used to have several recipes per post but have realised that is too much and I now try to have 1 recipe per post.
  • I thought I would use a very Polish ingredient in this post – that is poppy seed.
  • This is really a large version of my small buns with poppy seed filling.
  • I had some poppy seed to use up and wanted to make a simple cake.
  • I used a large cake liner in a 20cm diameter loose bottomed tin.
  • I used a 3 egg version of my sponge cake.
  • I had around 50g of poppy seeds – you can use a bit more.

INGREDIENTS

  • Cake
  • 3 eggs – weighed in their shells
  • Equal weighs of the eggs for – Sugar, Butter and Plain Flour
  • 1 teaspon baking powder for each 100g flour
  • *
  • Filling
  • 50g or more of poppy seed
  • Milk to cover these in a pan
  • 2-3 tablepoons of runny honey
  • 1 tablespoon of semolina – optional

METHOD – filling

  • Simmer the poppy seeds in the mix for around 20 minutes.
  • Using a fine sieve, sieve the poppy seeds to remove the milk.
  • Get the poppy seeds as dry as possible.
  • Put them back in the pan and heat gently to remove any move liquid.
  • Add the honey and stir this in well.
  • Stir in the semolina if using.
  • Leave to cool completly.

METHOD – cake

  • Pre-heat the oven to GM5 – 190o C.
  • Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Cream in the eggs.
  • Fold in the flour and baking powder mixture.

METHOD – to assemble the cake

  • Put the cake liner into the tin.
  • Add just over half the cake mixture and spread to the edges.
  • Put all of the poppy seed mixture on top and stir a little into the cake mixture.
  • Put the rest of the cake mixture on to and spread to the edges.
  • Bake for around 50 minutes – maybe more – until the top is golden and a tester comes out clear.

Serve on a Royal Doulton Sonnet tea plate.

Racuszki with Rhubarb

  • This is the first of several new recipes with rhubarb.
  • Racuszki are a cross between a fritter and an American style pancake.
  • Rbubarb is starting to grow in the garden.
  • I decided to try a recipe based on racuszki made with apples which I had posted several years ago.
  • INGREDIENTS
  • 4 -5 stalks of rhubarb (depends on size)
  • 130g plain flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 125ml of yoghurt
  • 2 eggs
  • Water (up to 60ml)
  • *
  • Sunflower oil for frying
  • METHOD
  • Chop the rhubarb into thin slices around 1 to 5cm (no more).
  • Mix the flour, salt and yoghurt in a large bowl.
  • Beat in the eggs.
  • Add enough water to make a very thick batter.
  • Stir in the rhubarb to coat the pieces.
  • Using 1-2 tablespoons, drop these on a hot griddle or frying pan – you may need a little sunflower oil.
  • Have the heat on low to medium so you do not burn them.
  • Flatten the rhubarb so you only have 1 layer in each pancake.
  • Turn over and bake on both sides.
  • *
  • Best eaten hot – but you can keep them in a warm oven if you want to serve them all together.
  • *
  • Dust with icing sugar to serve or sugar mixed with cinnamon.

Roasted Poppy Seed Buns

This recipe appeared in one of my very early posts when I wrote up several recipes per post.

I now write up 1 or maybe 2 per post as this is easier for me and for readers of the posts.

These are small cakes or buns – you can call them babeczki.

The dry roasted poppy seeds have a lightly nutty flavour.

The buns are made in small bun cases – I am not sure if these are found in Poland – but you use bun trays with the bun cases in each if you have them.

To make 12 small buns I used 2 eggs

  • 2 eggs – weigh them in their shells
  • Equal weight of caster sugar, butter and plain flour.
  • Baking powder to match the flour at 1 teaspoon per 100g

For this amount you need 40 -50g of poppy seeds.

In a small dry frying pan – without any oil or butter – fry the seeds for 5 minutes – stirring them with a wooden spoon or spatula – taking care not to burn them.

Tip the seeds into a bowl containing cold milk.

Once cool, pour the mixture into a fine sieve.

Leave the sieve over an empty bowl, press down on the seeds several times to remove the milk.

METHOD

  • Pre-heat the oven to GM5 – 1900 C.
  • Cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
  • Mix the bakng powder with the flour.
  • Add the eggs 1 by 1 with a little flour.
  • Fold in the roasted poppy seeds.
  • Fold in the rest of the flour.
  • Bake for around 20 minutes.
  • Dust with icing sugar before serving.
Weighing eggs

Rhubarb Revisited

  • Rheum rhabarbarum is the Latin name for rhubarb   –  in Polish  it is rabarbar.
  • It is a plant that has its origins in China, Mongolia & Siberia – its roots survive the cold!
  • Rhubarb roots have been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years.
  • The plant arrived in Europe via Venice in the 14th century  having been brought  from China  along the Silk Road.
  • The leaves are poisonous  to humans as they contain large quantities of oxalic acid and other toxins.
  • The stems however can be eaten safely, although they do contain a little oxalic acid but their tartness is due mainly  to malic acid which is also found in sour green apples.
  • Rhubarb stems were first eaten in England in the 17th century.
  • In 1820 the rhubarb plant was taken over to the USA.
  • I live in West Yorkshire –  just outside what is called the Rhubarb Triangle  of Wakefield, Leeds & Morley   – where rhubarb is grown in forcing sheds (in darkness) on a commercial scale.
  • *
  • I have rhubarb growing in my garden.
  • The rhubarb is springing up and I have been looking for new recipes for it.
  • So far I have found several new recipes, which I will be trying out soon.
  • I thought I would look at recipes I have already posted and there are quite a few.
  • This post show links to recipes I have already posted.
  • It will save you searching.
  • Cake with Rhubarb
  • Cheesecake with Rhubarb
  • Easy Rhubarb Cake
  • Meringue Cake with Rhubarb
  • Placek with Rhubarb & Meringue
  • Pleśniak with RhubarPork with Rhuba
  • Pork with Rhubarb
  • Rhubarb Cake
  • Rhubarb & Custard Cake
  • Rhubarb & Date Cake
  • Rhubarb Soup – 1
  • Rhubarb Soup – 2
  • Rhubarb Yeast Buns

Yeast Racuszki with Apples

This recipe was with several others posted as Racuszki – a Kind of Pancake.

I now know it is better to not have too many recipes together.

This recipe is from my late Aunt in Poland who lived in mazury the Polish lakes district. She made these when I visited her.

Ciocia Pola (Apolonia) Aunt Pola, my mother’s sister lived on a small farm and the eggs and milk were from the farm and the butter was her own and also the apples from the garden. She made  racuszki – using a thick yeast risen batter and roughly chopped apples – a cross between a pancake and a fritter. They were delicious.

I have made them here many times using her recipe. Whilst researching and checking other  variations I saw that several recipes used grated apples – these came out stodgy  with little taste of the apple – you need to keep the pieces fairly large.

Ingredients

  • 125 ml of milk (full is best or semi-skimmed)
  • 25g caster sugar and 1 teaspoon
  • 10g  fresh yeast or 5g  dried yeast
  • 25g  butter
  • 1 egg
  • 125g plain flour
  • Large pinch of salt
  • 2 Bramley apples
  • *
  • Icing sugar, caster sugar or cinnamon sugar to dust.

Method

Warm half the milk and add a teaspoon of caster sugar and the yeast and mix it all together and leave it to froth up.

Melt the butter and leave it to cool.

Whisk the egg with the rest of the sugar until it is thick and creamy.

Put the flour and salt into a large bowl.

Use a wooden spoon (one with a hole works really well) and beat in to the yeast mixture, the egg & sugar mixture and then the melted butter.

Slowly add the rest of the milk, mixing until the mixture has the consistency of double cream.

Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave this to rise.

Peel, core and quarter the apples and cut them into small chunks or slices cut in half.

Add the apples to the risen batter and mix them well in to coat them.

  • Use a griddle or thick cast iron frying pan and use oil to grease it lightly and heat it up.
  • You need to try and keep a low to medium heat so as not to burn the pancakes.
  • Place large tablespoons of apple and batter onto the pan and cook them so that they are golden brown on both sides.
  • Remove them from the pan and dust them with icing sugar, caster sugar or cinnamon sugar.