Cake facts | root veg baking

We love a cake. We love root veg. Root veg cake are simply double the joy

We are firm believers in always having a cake in, here at The Simple Things. Our October Cake in the House page has a recipe for this deliciously moreish Beetroot Chocolate Cake from Abel & Cole., who, happily, know a thing or two about root veg, too. You can find the recipe on page 25. Root veg definitely do something magical to a cake, adding both natural sweetness as well as moist texture. Here are a few more root veg that translate well into cake form. 

Parsnips

Always pairs well with apples, as well as smoky syrups such as maple. 

Parsnip and maple syrup cake by Darina Allen

Carrots

All nuts, but particularly walnuts) love a carrot. They pair well with oranges, too. 

Carrot cake with ginger and walnuts by Nigella Lawson

Beetroot

Beetroot’s natural partner is dark chocolate which is an excellent, slightly piquant foil to beetroot’s earthiness. A creamy frosting also does the job beautifully. 

Red Velvet Beetroot Cake by Lakeland

Sweet potatoes

Sweet ingredients like maple syrup and chocolate complement sweet potatoes, as do spices such as cinnamon, cloves and ginger. 

Chocolate and sweet potato loaf cake by Waitrose

Potatoes

Traditionally, potatoes are paired mainly with savoury foods but they’re great at taking on flavours, too, and are a good vehicle for citrus flavours in a cake. 

Gluten free lemon drizzle cake by BBC Food

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Recipe | Cinnamon Popcorn

In our October issue we have a special ‘Crafternoon’ Gathering feature, with ideas for making an autumnal wreath and a few delicious snacks to fuel your creativity. We think this cinnamon popcorn would be just as good with a Saturday night movie, too. Here’s how to make it…

Makes 1 large bowl

100g popping corn kernels
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon

1 Pop your kernels using your preferred method (popcorn machine, microwave or hob).
2 Melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan on the hob, then stir in the maple syrup and cinnamon.
3 Pour the warm liquid over the popcorn, season to taste with salt and stir until thoroughly coated.

You can find this and the rest of the recipes by Kay Prestney and photographed by Cathy Pyle in our October issue on page 8, including Cranberry and Camembert Puffs, Rosemary and Orange Mocktails , Smoked Trout Dip, Spinach Twists and Chocolate Brownies. There are also instructions on how to make your autumnal wreath.

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Recipe | Sweet potato with cauliflower and minted yoghurt

Good mood foods to welcome autumn and warm your cockles

In our September issue you’ll find a menu of ‘good mood food’ recipes designed to be as good for your wellbeing as they are for your tum. Jacket potatoes are a great comfort food and, combined with creamy minted yogurt, make they for a really filling no-fuss meal.

Serves 4
4 medium to large sweet potatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
Small head of cauliflower, cut into florets
250g natural yogurt (or dairy free alternative)
4 tbsp pomegranate seeds
2 large sprigs of mint, finely chopped, plus extra to garnish

1 Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6. Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork and rub the skin with a little olive oil. Place on a tray and cook for about 40 mins (depending on size) until the insides are soft.
2 Spread the cauliflower florets onto a baking tray, drizzle with oil, season, and place in the oven for the last 20 mins of the potatoes’ cooking time.
3 Add the yogurt to a bowl, season to taste, then add the chopped mint and mix to combine. Set aside until the potatoes and cauliflower are cooked.
4 When the potatoes are done and cool enough to handle, cut a large deep cross to the top and open the potato up. Add the cauliflower, 2-3 tbsp of the yogurt mixture, then sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds and garnish with fresh mint.

Why it’s a mood booster: Sweet potatoes are lower in carbohydrates than the average spud, but have all the comforting benefits. Meanwhile, cauliflower is high in fibre and B vitamins; pomegranate is also a good source of fibre and vitamins A and C, while yogurt contains nutrients that help with bone health.

You can find the rest of the Good Mood Food recipes, inclusing salmon, greens and rice bowl, simple shakshuka and a banana and brazil nut tart from page 62 in our September issue. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

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Recipe | French apple tart

An orchard pudding with a bit of ooh la la!

This buttery French tart is a lovely way to round off an early autumn meal but a cold slice is also excellent with your morning coffee the following day.

Serves 6

1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
2 tbsp plum jam (use greengage, apricot or rhubarb jam if you prefer)
5 small apples of your choice, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Double cream, to serve

1 Preheat the oven to 190C/Fan 170C/Gas 5. Line a baking tray with greaseproof parchment.
2 Put the pastry on the lined baking tray and, using a round-bladed knife, gently score a 2-3cm border around French apple tart Buttery pastry, sweet jam and fresh apples combine to create a classic dessert or teatime treat the edge – this will help to keep the sticky cooking juices from escaping. Inside the border, prick the pastry all over with a fork, then spread over a very thin layer of jam.
3 In a large bowl, combine the sliced apples with the lemon juice and sugar. Arrange the slices in overlapping rows over the pastry, then sprinkle with the cinnamon.
4 Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 mins until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and, while still warm, slide the tart from the greaseproof paper to a serving plate.
5 In a small saucepan, gently heat the remaining jam with a splash of water, stirring constantly, until it starts to bubble. Use a pastry brush to brush the glaze over the apples, then set the tart aside to cool.
6 Slice and serve with a jug of cream on the side.

This recipe is part of our Autumn Picnic gathering feature in our September issue., with recipes by Kay Prestney, including apple and parsnip soup, orchard salad, and pork and apple rissoles.

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Recipe | Greengages on toast with lavender and fennel flowers

Late summer fruit on toast makes a delicious brekfast or a sweet snack for any time

From their smallholding in rural Somerset Kathy Bishop and Tom Crowford enjoy all their orchard has to offer with recipes that capture the season. You can find the rest of the recipes, including sour cherry cocktails and plum and marzipan cakes starting on page 54 of our July issue

Serves 2

10 ripe greengages
75g cream cheese
2½ tsp honey, plus a little extra for drizzling
A pinch of sea salt
4 slices of sourdough bread
A sprig of lavender flowers, divided into tiny individual blooms (optional)
A sprig of bronze fennel flowers, divided into individual blooms (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4. Halve and stone the greengages. Put them in a single layer in a roasting tin, skin side down, and pop them in the oven for around 10 mins until they’re cooked through, but still holding their shape, and have released a small amount of their pale yellow juices into the tin.
2 While the greengages are cooking, mix together the cream cheese, honey, and sea salt. In doing this the cream cheese will loosen a little, so put it back in the fridge to firm up until you’re ready to serve. Lightly toast the bread and set aside to cool.
3 To assemble, simply spread a spoonful or two of the honeyed cream cheese onto a piece of toast. Top with the roasted greengages and spoon over any juices from the tin, plus an extra drizzle of honey if the fruit is a little on the tart side. Scatter over a pinch of the herb flowers to finish (you’ll only need a tiny amount – use them like a seasoning).

Cook’s note: This is best served with the toast and cream cheese cool and the greengages still slightly warm.

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Make | Grown-up ice lollies

Give the classic lemonade lolly a refreshing twist, and add a cheeky shot of gin if you like, too

Make your own sophisticated lollies and you’ll never again need to wait for the cacophanous tinkle of the ice-cream van, and be disappointed by its saccharine-sweet, slightly melty offerings. Fill your freezer instead with raspberry, bee pollen and honey yoghurt or mango, ginger and lime lollies, chunky orange dark chocolate ice cream or spiced berries sorbet. All the recipes, by Cathy Pyle, are in our July issue, which is on sale now. And because we can’t bear to see any grown-up without a lolly, here’s a recipe from the feature to whet your appetite:

Cucumber, mint and lemonade lollies

Makes 6

350ml traditional lemonade (use a brand that contains real lemons if possible)
1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
25g fresh mint leaves

1 Pour the lemonade into the moulds until they are half full.
2 Drop in 3-4 cucumber slices per lolly and some torn mint leaves.
3 Top up the moulds with lemonade and freeze overnight.

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Debate | winning wafer biscuits

Pink wafer or Tunnocks caramel? Which is the King of the Scottish wafer biscuits?

Our June Miscellany page features some of our most loved biscuits and there was some heated discussion among The Simple Things’ team about which biscuit was best. So we decided the only fair way to settle it was in a head-to-head debate. We’ve pitted two Scottish champions against each other: the pink wafer biscuit and the Tunnocks wafer. Below you can read the (very serious) debates on both sides, and then do cast your vote, on our blog or on our Facebook or Instagram feeds so we can crown one or other the winner. Now it’s over to the biscuits…

The Pink Wafer

Originally created by Crawfords in Edinburgh and latterly by United Biscuits, the pink wafer is a children’s party staple and a secret favourite among adults, too. Who could resist that lighter-than-air first bite and the way the leaves of wafer melt biddably into your mouth? 

Built from layers of dyed pink wafer (because it’s nice to make an effort isn’t it?) interlaced with vanilla cream, the pink wafer looks as attractive as it tastes delicately sweet. Chunky, clumpy biscuits (we’re looking at you, Tunnocks) might be satisfying but they’re nothing to look at are they? The pink wafer, meanwhile, brings colour, fine texture and, might we say, a little glamour to a plated array of digestives, Malted Milks and the like. They are the biscuit one can rely on to ‘lift’ the rest of the plate. 

So delicate are they, it has often been argued they are more of a cake. Pish and fie is what we say to this; the wafer is a recognised subset of biscuits and what’s more, it fulfils the brief well. If we wanted something chewy, we would buy a flapjack. If we wanted something chocolatey we’d visit a sweetshop instead. Wafer biscuits should be crips, meltingly delicate and light, and the pink wafer ticks every box. This house believes wafers should be wafers. 

The Tunnocks Caramel Wafer

When we reach for a biscuit, we don’t want some mimsy bit of confectionery that you could inhale without noticing, we want something filling, something substantial, something that can be dunked briefly in a cup of tea without fear of biscuit decomposition. 

If that’s what you demand from your biscuits too then the Tunnocks caramel wafer is the only wafer biscuit to consider. Another Scottish invention (St Andrew’s University has its own Tunnocks Caramel Wafer Appreciation Society - and so it should), it’s been proudly displayed in its geometric gold and red wrapping since 1956. 

The bar is made up of five layers of wafer, with four layers of caramel between, wrapped in a thin layer of chocolate. And that’s where it has the edge over the pink wafer. If they’d only thought to dip them in chocolate, pink wafers would not get nearly so stale and slightly soggy as they occasionally do. Not so the Tunnocks. 

Secondly, the addition of the sticky caramel gives the Tunnocks a far superior, more architectural make-up. The layers of caramel are chewy enough to bond the wafer successfully so you don’t end up with a lapful of crumbs and it also gives your jaws a bit of a work-out. Because we all know that the best store cupboard treats make your mouth hurt just a little (see also Pickled Onion Monster Munch and Twiglets).

In conclusion, where the pink wafer is an amuse bouche (and amusing it may be) the Tunnocks Caramel Wafer is practically a meal. We rest our case.

These biscuits are the work of Charlotte Farmer. You can buy her artwork at charlottefarmer1.etsy.com or follow her on Instagram, @lottiefarmer7 . You can see more of her biscuit illustrations in our June issue.

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Recipe | Bakewell slice

Fragrant frangipane, crunchy almonds and no sickly sweet fondant in sight makes a lovely tea-time treat

Makes 12

For the sweet pastry base:
200g plain flour
50g ground almonds
75g caster sugar
160g salted butter (at room temperature), cubed
1 egg yolk

For the Filling:
150g raspberry jam
130g salted butter, softened
160g caster sugar
4 eggs
260g ground almonds
40g flaked almonds, to decorate

1. To make the base, put the flour, ground almonds and caster sugar in a bowl and combine. Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub it into the mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk, then mix and knead the dough to create a tight, smooth ball. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 mins. Before use, allow to stand at room temperature for 10-15 mins.
2. Preheat the oven to 170C/Fan 150C/ Gas 3. Roll out the sweet pastry base until it's 5mm thick and use it to line a 34x20cm baking tray, gently pushing it into the edges. Trim off any excess.
3. Prick the base a few times with a fork, then line with baking parchment and fill with baking beans before blind baking for 15-20mins. Leave to cool, but leave the oven on. Once cooled, spread the raspberry jam over the base.
4. To make the filling, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the ground almonds and whisk thoroughly.
5. Spoon the filling over the jam base right up to the edges. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds, then bake for 30-35 mins until golden on top and firm in the middle. Cool before cutting into 12 slices.

This recipe is from the June issue of The Simple Things. If you fancy a little something sweet the issue also has recipes for a yarrow cake, crab apple tarte tatin, meringue kisses and more.

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Taken from Artisan Home Baking: Wholesome and Delicious Recipes for Cakes and Other Bakes – Recipes from Meg Rivers, Bakers of Happiness (Ryland Peters & Small) Photography: Steve Painter

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Recipe | Meringue kisses

These melt-in the mouth meringue kisses are great with berries… who needs Wimbledon to enjoy them?

Makes 20 kisses

2 egg whites
125g white caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract (1 tsp sifted cocoa powder, if making chocolate ones)

FOR THE KISS MIXTURE
100ml double cream
3 tbsp lemon curd
2 tbsp blackcurrant jam (Or 100ml double cream and a handful of strawberries, hulled and finely chopped)

1 Put the egg whites in a large, clean bowl and whisk until they hold soft peaks.
2 Add the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, whisking in each spoonful as you go. Once all the sugar is combined and the egg whites are glossy and stiff, add the vanilla extract. If making the chocolate variety, now is the time to fold in the cocoa powder, too.
3 Preheat the oven to 120C/Fan 100C/ Gas ½. Fill a piping bag with the mix and pipe 40 little peaks about 2cm apart on a lined baking sheet.
4 Bake for approximately 1 hr, until dry and crisp. Allow the meringues to cool fully before removing them carefully from the baking sheet.
5 In a bowl, whisk the cream and add your chosen fruity component.
6 To serve, take a meringue and sandwich it together with a second meringue using about 1 tsp of filling.

This recipe is part of our June ‘Gathering’ pages, which features some of our most magical summer recipes. You can find the rest of the recipes, including crab toasts and elderflower fizz from page 36.

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Food matching | Rosemary

A list of things to put with rosemary that aren’t lamb

If you have a rosemary bush going wild right now you won’t want to miss our Herbery feature in our May issue, by Lia Leendertz, in which she shares three very different recipes with rosemary and gives advice on which herbs to plant in your garden. 

We were pleased to see lots of ideas we hadn’t thought of for rosemary recipes - it’s too good a herb to wait in the wings to be shown the occasional leg of lamb, after all. So here’s a list of a few more foods that love rosemary. Mix and match them as you wish:

• Almonds

• Anchovy

• Apricot

• Aubergines

• Bacon

• Brussels sprouts

• Butter

• Butternut squash

• Chestnuts

• Chicken

• Chocolate

• Citrus fruits

• Courgettes

• Gin

• Goat’s cheese

• Honey

• Mushrooms

• Oily fish

• Olives

• Onions

• Parmesan

• Parsnips

• Peas

• Potatoes

• Prawns

• Rhubarb

• Strawberries

• Sweet potato

• Watermelon

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Cook | hazelnut pesto and gnocchi with fennel

Deeply nutty toasted hazelnuts make a brilliant alternative to pine nuts in pesto. Delicious dolloped over your own homemade gnocchi

In our May issue (in shops and available to order online now), we have a feature by Lisa Leendertz from our series Today, Tomorrow, To Keep, with recipes for a tart for today, a bhaji for tomorrow and a kimchi to keep. So we thought we’d dig another out of our archives. This recipe is from our ‘Hazelnuts’ Today, Tomorrow, To Keep from issue 76. We hope you enjoy it again.

Serves 4

For the pesto
1 large bunch of parsley, leaves only
60g blanched and toasted hazelnuts
60g hard goats’ cheese, finely grated
150ml cold-pressed extra virgin rapeseed oil
Juice of ¼ lemon

For the gnocchi
500g potatoes, peeled and boiled
1 egg, beaten
125g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
Olive oil and butter, for frying and drizzling

For the fennel
50g butter
2 large fennel bulbs, each cut into eight wedges to serve
A few toasted hazelnuts
Hard goats’ cheese, for grating

1 If you have a food processor, put all the pesto ingredients into it and blitz together. If you’re using a pestle and mortar, crush the nuts first, then finely chop the herbs, add these and the rest of the ingredients, and pound to a paste. Whichever method you use, taste and add salt and pepper as necessary. Add a little more oil if you prefer a looser consistency.
2 To make the gnocchi, push the potatoes through a ricer, or mash them (riced potatoes make lighter, fluffier gnocchi). Roughly mix in the egg with a fork, then sieve over the flour, season with salt and work into a dough, kneading a few times. Dust a work surface with flour and roll out the mixture to 2-3cm thick. Cut into short lengths and mark with a fork.
3 Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and drop in the gnocchi in batches. Lift out with a slotted spoon when they bob to the surface after a minute or so. Drain on kitchen paper.
4 For the fennel, melt the butter in a frying pan and gently fry the fennel until caramelised (at least 10 mins). Turn and caramelise the other side.
5 If you like, you can brown the gnocchi. In another frying pan, melt a knob of butter with a little olive oil and fry the gnocchi until golden. Divide the gnocchi and fennel between four plates and top each with a spoonful or two of pesto, some toasted nuts and a little extra grated goats’ cheese.

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Recipe | a picnic pie for the garden

A delicious picnic pie tastes as good in the garden as it does on a blanket in the woods

This lovely layered veggie pie beats soggy sandwiches hands down. One slice is never enough. You can find the recipe for this and the rest of our outdoor menu in our April issue… Salad jars with peanut butter dressing, tomato, mozzarella and prosciutto skewers, homemade scotch eggs and berry cheesecake.

Serves 6-8

You will need:
400g butternut squash, cubed
1 red onion, sliced
Olive oil
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
50g soft goat’s cheese
2 large peppers
1 courgette, sliced
150g baby spinach
100g ricotta
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
500g shortcrust pastry
1 large egg, beaten

How to make:

1 Pre-heat the oven to 200C/ 180C Fan/Gas 6.
2 Peel and deseed the butternut squash and cut it into small cubes. Place on a baking tray with the sliced onion, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 30 mins, or until soft. After 20 mins, add the rosemary and sage.
3 Transfer to a bowl and, when cool, stir in the goat’s cheese and set aside. Place the peppers, whole, on a separate baking sheet and cook for 30 mins or until the skin blackens. Allow to cool before peeling the skin, deseeding and cutting into slices. Allow to drain in a sieve until ready to assemble. Heat a frying pan with a little olive oil and add the sliced courgette. You may need to do this in batches. Cook each side until brown, then transfer to a plate and set aside.
4 In the same pan, add the spinach, allow to wilt in the heat for 2-3 mins, transfer to a colander and, when cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess moisture. Chop up and place in a large bowl. Add the ricotta, sprinkle in the nutmeg, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Set aside.
5 Grease a 20cm spring-form tin. Lightly flour a surface and roll out two thirds of the pastry to cover the base and tin sides. Carefully press into the tin leaving some overhang, then trim the rest. With the remaining pastry, roll out a circle large enough to cover the top of the tin and set aside. Spread the base with the spinach mix, followed by the pepper slices, then a layer of courgettes and finally the butternut squash mix. Add the pastry top, crimp the edges to seal the pie and make a hole in the top for the steam to escape.
6 Brush the top with the beaten egg and bake for 50 mins or until the top is golden brown. Leave to cool completely before removing from the tin. Slice to serve. Cook’s note: This pie is good hot or cold. so, it’s great for a picnic. It can be made the day before, simply keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

You can find the rest of the outdoor recipes in this menu in our April issue, available in shops now or from our online shop.

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Recipe | raspberry macarons with lady grey tea

Photography: Isobel Wield

Is there a finer pairing than tea and cake? Tea and macarons, perhaps

Named in honour of Mary Elizabeth Grey, the wife of the original Earl Grey, Lady Grey is a black tea scented with oil of bergamot as well as lemon and orange oils. Invented in the 1990s, it is great served alongside these moreish raspberry macarons.

Makes about 30
220g icing sugar
160g ground almonds
4 large egg whites
A pinch of salt
95g caster sugar
Red food colouring gel
200g high fruit content raspberry jam

How to make

1 Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with baking parchment and draw 4cm circles (spaced a little apart) as templates so that all the macarons come out the same size.
2 Blitz the icing sugar and almonds in a food processor until very fine, then push the mixture through a fine meshed sieve. Set aside.
3 Whisk the egg whites and salt together until stiff and glossy. Add the sugar, about a third at a time, beating each time until the eggs are stiff and glossy and all the sugar has been incorporated.
4 Carefully, but thoroughly, fold the almond mixture into the egg whites, until fully incorporated but still light. Fold in enough food colouring to achieve the desired pink colour.
5 Spoon the mixture into a large piping bag and pipe circles onto the parchment, following the circles you drew earlier.
6 When all the macarons have been piped, take hold of the baking sheet and tap it firmly on the work surface 2 or 3 times to knock out any air bubbles.
7 Preheat the oven to 140C/120C Fan/Gas 1-2 and leave the baking sheets to stand for 30 mins.
8 Bake the macarons for about 15 minutes, until the shells are crisp and they have grown little ‘feet’ underneath. Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool. Once completely cool, sandwich with the raspberry jam and serve. For one pot of tea Use 5 tsp of Lady Grey tea and allow to brew for 5 minutes. Serve with a slice of lemon.

This recipe is taken from Tea & Cake by Liz Franklin (Ryland, Peters & Small). Photography: Isobel Wield. It’s one of several tea and cake pairings we have featured in our April issue.

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Recipe: Wholemeal hot cross buns with whipped honey lemon butter

The addition of wholemeal flour makes these Easter classics wholesome and nutty, while the lemony butter adds decadence to homely hot cross buns

Makes 12 buns
250g strong white flour
200g strong wholemeal flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp easy bake yeast
50g golden caster sugar
110g currants
50g candied peel
50g butter, room temperature
150ml hand-hot milk
75ml hand-hot water
1 egg, beaten

for the crosses
75g plain flour
5 tbsp water
for the glaze
3 tbsp apricot jam

1 Sieve the flours, salt, mixed spice and cinnamon into a bowl and add the yeast, sugar, currants and peel.
2 Give it a quick stir, then make a well in the centre and drop in the butter, followed by the warmed milk and water, and the egg. Mix well with a wooden spoon and then go in with your hands and knead, adding a little more milk if the mix feels too dry.
3 Cover the bowl with cling film and leave in a warm place to rise for around two hours, or until it has doubled in size.
4 Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead it briefly again, then divide
it into 12 pieces. Roll each into a bun shape in your hands and place onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment, leaving space for each to rise. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for a further 45 mins or so, until doubled again.
5 Heat the oven to 220C/Fan 200/425F while you make the crosses. Mix the flour and the water to a thick paste, spoon into a piping bag and pipe on the crosses. Bake for around 15 mins.
6 Meanwhile, heat the apricot jam in a small pan and then sieve it to remove pieces of fruit. Remove the buns from the oven, place on a wire cooling rack, and paint immediately with the glaze. Allow to cool a little before eating, or cool completely and split and toast.

Whipped honey lemon butter

Smother your hot cross buns with this for a true taste of Ostara

110g butter
4 tbsp honey
zest of 1 lemon

1 Chop the butter into cubes and drop it into a bowl of lukewarm water, then leave it for at least five mins, until really soft. Drain off the water and tip the butter, honey and zest into a large bowl.
2 Use a wooden spoon to beat until all is combined and the butter is creamy. Use straight away or put into a ramekin and chill.

This recipe was first published in our March 2016 issue. Our new April issue is on sale now both in shops and via our website and has lots of ideas on how to do Easter weekend well.

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Recipe | nettle soup

Serves 6

Knob of butter
1 onion, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
2 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
1½ ltr vegetable stock
1 handful of spinach
3-4 handfuls of young nettles, well washed
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Crème fraîche, to serve
Toasted seeds, to serve

1 Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then add the onion, celery, garlic and bay leaves and sweat down for a couple of mins.

2 Add the potatoes and stock and simmer for 30 mins until the potatoes are cooked through.

3 Add the spinach and most of the nettles (saving a handful for deep frying later), then return the soup to the boil and remove from the heat. Allow to cool for a few mins before transferring to a blender. Whizz the soup until smooth, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

4 Pour a couple of centimetres of vegetable oil into a small, heavybased saucepan. Heat the oil over a medium heat until a small cube of bread dropped into it turns golden in about 15 secs (about 180C on a cooking thermometer). Deep-fry the reserved nettle leaves until they are dark green and just crisp, being careful to shield your eyes as the hot oil can spit with some ferocity.

5 Drain on kitchen paper, then drop into the soup with a drizzle of crème fraîche and some toasted seeds.

Taken from Giffords Circus Cookbook: Recipes & Stories from a Magical Circus Restaurant by Nell Gifford & Ols Halas (Quadrille). Photography: David Loftus

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Cake facts | Simnel cake

This light fruitcake, served traditionally for Mothering Sunday and Easter, and layered with marzipan might look innocent enough, but it is, in fact, steeped in mystery and intrigue. 

Leaving aside the missing 12th marzipan apostle (that’s Judas, who betrayed Jesus and therefore is not deserving of a marzipan sphere in his name), there are other puzzles… Such as where Simnel cake got its moniker.

There are several stories. Are you sitting comfortably? Then take a slice of Simnel and we’ll begin.

One tale goes that the cake was named for Lambert Simnel, who invented it while working in the kitchens of King Henry VII as punishment for trying to usurp the throne. Simnel, a boy of ten, had been passed off as one of the two princes in The Tower, who were allegedly murdered by Richard III (so not a terribly convincing story, really). He turned out to be a much more convincing kitchen hand though and did so well he was eventually promoted to the position of Falconer by the King. However, we remain unconvinced that Lambert is the true King of Simnel cake. When you’ve made up a whopper like being heir to the throne of England, who’s going to believe you when you say you’ve invented a new cake, after all? 

An even bolder story appears in Chambers’ Book of Days in 1867. This story says that the cake was invented by a couple by the name of Simon and Nelly (we expect you already have a hunch where this is going). They had set about making a cake to mark the end of Lent, using some leftover plum pudding from Christmas. Simon thought they should boil the cake and Nelly was convinced it should be baked. After a brief domestic disagreement they compromised, deciding to boil the cake first and then bake it. And this happy union of baking methods produced a cake that became named after both of them - the Sim-Nel cake. (We’d have gone for Nelsim, had we been young Nell… assuming, of course, that we believed this very tall tale). 

The least charming, most tedious story, is probably the most believable. ‘Simila’ is Latin for the sort of fine, white flour that was used for these Lenten cakes, and it’s easy to see how Simnel would come from simila. We told you it was slightly tedious. There’s no arguing with Latin though (unlike Simon and Henry VII, who it seems were both up for a bit of a disagreement).

The rather fine Simnel cake pictured above is taken from Fitzbillies: Stories & Recipes From a 100-year-old Cambridge Bakery by Tim Hayward and Alison Wright (Quadrille) with photography by Sam A. Harris. You can find the recipe on p23 of our March ‘Blossom’ issue. 

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More from our March issue…

More cake facts…

Recipe | nettle soda bread

Now’s the time to gather treasures from the hedgerows. And then head home and into the kitchen to make this nettle soda bread.

Nettle Soda Bread

Good handful of young nettle leaves and/or wild garlic
½ pint buttermilk
6oz self raising flour (wholemeal or brown)
3oz plain flour
3oz seed & grain bread flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Gather your nettle tips (with gloves on) before they flower. Strip off the stems until you have enough for one large handful of leaves.

Heat oven to 200C/Fan 180/400F

In a blender or large jug, add leaves and buttermilk. Blend until smooth.

Put flour, salt and soda into a mixing bowl. Form a well in the middle and pour in the nettle buttermilk. Quickly mix together with a fork until a soft dough is formed.

Turn out mixture onto a floured surface, lightly need for 2 minutes then form into a round shape.

Put on a floured baking tray. Flatten the top of the dough and score the top in a cross.

Cook for 30 minutes until the dough sounds hollow. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

N.B. You can substitute nettles for ramsons or crow garlic. For a seed top, before baking rub a little buttermilk over the top and add some sedge seeds (found in autumn) or sunflower seeds also work nicely.

 In this month’s Blossom issue, we have a beautiful feature we think you’ll love by Lia Leendertz, in which she looks at cooking and enjoying some of the season’s bounty. Nature’s Table is the first in a new series. Do tell us what you think! This soda bread recipe with photography by Kirstie Young, was first published in our March 2016 issue but it tastes just as good (if not better) four years on.

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From our March issue…

More foraging fun…

Recipe | leek, butter bean and white wine casserole

Hearty beans and sweet alliums makes this meat-free casserole a modern winter warmer

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
3 small leeks, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
250ml white wine 
¼ tsp chilli flakes 
2 x 400g tins butter beans, drained and rinsed 
750ml vegetable stock 
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped

1 Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the leeks and garlic with a good pinch of salt and cook over a gentle heat until softened.

2 Add the white wine, chilli flakes, butter beans and vegetable stock, and simmer for 10-15 mins. Stir in the lemon juice and chopped parsley, then season to taste.

This recipe is from our feature Midwinter Food for Friends with plant-based recipes by Lottie Storey, including beetroot and dukkah-topped seed crackers, radicchio with orange and mustard dressing, potato and celeriac mash with shallots and chocolate and Guinness cake with coconut cream. A lovely menu whether you’re a lifelong vegan, are throwing yourself into Veganuary with vigour, or just fancy trying something new. All in the January issue, in shops now.

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How to | do Christmas leftovers better

Photography: Mowie Kay

If you’re about to embark on a week of turkey curry and risotto, stop. Hold our eggnog. We’ve got this. 

We don’t know about you, but much as we love a Christmas lunch, it’s the leftovers that get us really excited. A classic turkey and stuffing sandwich or two is a must, but there are plenty more ways to deal with The Rest of the Bird, and a hundred things to do with your other Christmas leftovers that don’t just involve bubble and squeak. Here are a few of The Simple Things staff’s favourites:

Turkey tonnato (enough for 4)

A tasty Italian lunch

Whizz 100g of mayo, a tin of tuna, the juice of half a lemon and a tbsp of capers together in a blender and set aside. It should be quite thin so it can be drizzled. You may need to loosen it with a little water. Slice enough turkey breast for 4 and lay on a plate. Drizzle over the tuna mayo sauce. Decorate the top with criss-crossed anchovies with little capers in between. Serve with rocket and crusty bread. 

Red cabbage pickle

Fancy up a cold lunch in a flash.

Toss leftover red cabbage with equal parts red wine vinegar and caster sugar. Add a good slug of salt. Cover tightly and leave in fridge for an hour. Serve on Scandi style open sandwiches with leftover smoked salmon, white meat or cheese. 

Nut roast falafel in pitta

A simple and delicious dinner for Boxing Day

Crumble leftover nut roast, then mix with a couple of tablespoons of hummus and some crumbled feta and season well. You can add chopped chill or other herbs if you wish. The amount of hummus and feta will depend on how much nut roast you have left but the mixture should be not too sticky and able to be formed into balls. Roll teaspoon sized lumps of the mix into balls. Pop on a baking tray and cook at 180 fan for approx 10 mins, until the falafels are golden. Serve with pitta, salad, tzatziki and any extras you like. 

Christmas pud truffles

Because all puddings should bring you joy at least twice

Break up and crumble  any leftover pud. Melt a few squares of dark chocolate in the microwave or on the hob. Stir into the crumbled pud and mix well. Add leftover Christmas booze if you wish. Roll the mixture into little bite-sized balls. Melt a little white chocolate and drizzle over the top to look like brandy cream. Put the truffles in the fridge to set. 

All the above recipes should be served with a glow of satisfaction at having used your leftovers well and not become thoroughly sick of the whole festive season. We were inspired to write this blog by the amazing Brussles Sprouts Christmas Tree pictured above. The recipe is from LEAF: Lettuce, Greens, Herbs, Weeds by Catherine Phipps, with photography by Mowie Kay (Quadrille) and we’ve printed the whole recipe in our December issue. One the shops are open again, pop out and buy it (or click on the link below to have it delivered to your door) you’ll find it on p94. You won’t find a better use for your leftover sprouts. 

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More festive fun…

Make | molten chocolate oranges

These oozing chocolate treats can be cooked in the embers of a winter barbecue

Whether you’re having a few friends over for a Yule bonfire and some outdoor snacks, or are going ambitious and cooking your whole Christmas lunch outdoors (see our Gathering feature in the December issue) these chocolate puds will put a smile on rosy-cheeked winter faces. And a Terry’s Chocolate Orange will never be quite the same again.

Serves 6

6 oranges
120g unsalted butter
135g dark chocolate (minimum 75% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
4 tbsp Cointreau (optional)
55g plain flour, sifted
Grated chocolate, to garnish

For the vanilla cream

600ml double cream
3 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or the seeds scraped from 1 vanilla pod

1 Prepare your oranges by slicing the top off each one, about ¼ of the way down – don’t discard the tops!
2 Gently remove the flesh by running a spoon down the sides and pulling the flesh away from the skin. Be careful not to pull out the ‘pith plug’ at the bottom of the orange, as this will create a hole. You can keep the discarded orange flesh in the fridge and have it for breakfast or sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and serve with ice cream.
3 Next, make the vanilla cream. Pour the double cream into a mixing bowl and add the sugar and vanilla. Using an electric whisk, whip until soft peaks form. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
4 In a bain-marie, melt the butter and chocolate together. Once melted, remove from the heat and set aside.
5 In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until light and fluffy. Slowly pour in the chocolate mixture, whilst continuing to whisk on a low speed. Once combined, add the Cointreau (if using) and then fold through the sifted flour.
6 Divide the mixture evenly between the hollowed-out oranges, and replace the orange lids. Carefully double wrap each orange with two layers of foil, watching that the lid doesn’t slip off in the process and that the oranges remain upright at all times. Make sure the oranges are completely sealed in the foil, with no gaps or holes for the chocolate mix to escape through.
7 Place the oranges upright, directly onto hot embers for about 12 mins.
8 Remove from the heat, unwrap and remove the lids. You should have a chocolate sponge with a runny molten middle. Top with the vanilla cream and a grating of chocolate.

These puds were part of our Gathering feature in the December issue with recipes by Bex Long for an outdoor Christmas lunch, including a spectacular hang-roasted bacon-wrapped partridge. Find the rest of the menu in this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More from our December issue…

More chocolate to tempt you…