A reader Gabi Recknagel sent me her quick stollen recipe to try and here it is, given a cherry tart-up. Don’t skimp on the melted butter and icing sugar, they should smother it.

100g unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
finely grated zest of an orange
1/2 tsp each ground cardamom, cinnamon and cloves
1/2 tsp salt
150g quark or natural fromage frais
1 medium egg
325g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g ground almonds
150g sour cherries
200g marzipan
rum, melted butter and icing sugar

Beat the butter, sugar, zest, spices and salt until smooth then beat in the egg and quark. Mix in the flour, baking powder, almonds and cherries to a soft even mixed dough then pat out on a floured worktop to an oval roughly 20cm long by 15cm deep. Roll the marzipan 18cm long, lay this in the middle then fold the dough in half and seal it with a little water. Place on a tray lined with non-stick baking paper, heat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F/gas 5 and bake for about 40 minutes until just golden and baked when a skewer is poked in. As soon as it’s out brush it with rum, then heavily with melted butter then when cold with even more butter. Finally dredge it heavily with icing sugar, wrap well and leave a week to mature.

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from The Guardian

A classic burnt sugar caramel rich with cream gives the edge to this extra soft fruit cake, ready to ice and decorate as you please.

200g caster sugar
150ml double cream
50g honey
50g black treacle or molasses
finely grated zest of an orange and lemon
4 tsp mixed spice
100g unsalted butter
3 medium eggs
250g strong white flour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
250g each currants, raisins and chopped prunes or figs
400g natural glacé cherries
200g shelled, halved walnuts

Place the sugar and 50ml water in a saucepan and boil hard for 5-6 minutes until it cooks to a dark reddish caramel. Pour in the cream, being very careful to stand back in case it spits, then remove from the heat and add the honey, treacle, zest and spice. Stir well then add the butter and beat that through as it melts. Pour into a mixing bowl and beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the flour and soda until smooth. Stir in the fruits and nuts, then line the base and sides of a round 18cm diameter cake tin with 2-3 layers of non-stick baking paper, and spoon the mix in. Heat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/335°F/gas 3 and bake for about two hours or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

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from The Guardian

Chickpea flour gives the crumb a yellow tint and a compact and delicate texture. A bread absolutely designed to be sliced and served toasted alongside soups, hotpots and other sloppy autumn dishes.

50g unsalted butter
500g strong white flour
175g chickpea flour
2 tsp fine salt
300ml warm water
1 tsp fast action yeast
extra flour for shaping

Rub the butter though the two flours and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the yeast and water, mix to a smooth dough, and leave for an hour without kneading. Then lightly knead the dough for 10 seconds and leave a further 30 min. Flour a tea-towel, and flour the worktop. Tip the dough onto the worktop and pull the edges in to the centre 6-7 times to make a giant Kaiser roll shape (search Google if you’re unsure). Place the dough seam side up on the cloth, bring the corners together and lift this into the bowl. Leave to rise an hour then heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/425°F/gas 7. Have a floured tray ready, carefully roll the dough out of the cloth onto your hand then gently roll it seam side up onto the tray. Bake for 20 minutes then reduce heat to 200°C/180°C fan/390°F/gas 6 and bake another 25 minutes.

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from The Guardian

The texture of these crackers is like a very brittle and sturdy potato crisp, less filling than an oatcake and rather good with a plate of cheese as they can handle a slice of the hard types without crumbling. The matinee idol of crackers.

300g plain flour
1 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp fine salt
25g unsalted butter, softened
100g rolled oats
175ml cold water or milk
extra flour for rolling
sea salt flakes for sprinkling

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl and rub in the butter. Toss in the oats and water (or milk) and mix to a soft dough. Cover the dough in the bowl and leave for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/390°F/gas 6, roll the dough very very thinly using extra flour to stop it sticking and cut into 10cm discs with a pastry cutter, or squares with a sharp knife if that’s easier. Lay the disks on a tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Brush the top of the discs very lightly with water and sprinkle each with a few salt flakes. Bake for about 12-14 minutes until barely golden at the edges but still slightly pale.

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The crumb has a very soft moist texture from the syrup and dried fruit, and a rich nutty flavour. Good with a glass of chilled sweet wine in the afternoon.

100g unsalted butter, softened
75g golden syrup
100g dark brown sugar
2 medium eggs
100g skinned, roasted and chopped hazelnuts
75g ground almonds
300g chopped prunes
125g plain flour
1 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp baking powder
brandy to finish

Line the base and sides of an 18cm round deep cake tin or similar with non-stick baking paper, and heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas 4. Beat the butter, syrup and sugar until light and smooth then beat in the eggs one at a time until evenly mixed through. Fold in the hazelnuts, almonds and prunes then sift the flour, cocoa, nutmeg and baking powder directly into the bowl and stir this evenly through. Spoon the mixture into the tin, smooth the top and bake for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out barely clean. Remove from the oven, douse the warm cake with a few tablespoons of brandy as it cools then leave until cold in the tin.

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Carraway is the Marmite of seeds, and if you like them you’ll pounce on these very rich buttery savoury biscuits. Otherwise use poppy or black onion seeds for a more subtle effect.

175g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
a few good twists of freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
125g unsalted butter, softened
150g red Leicester, grated
lightly beaten egg white
Caraway, poppy or black onion seeds

Place the flour, salt, black and cayenne peppers in a bowl and rub in the butter. Add the cheese and work everything into a smooth dough. Roll the dough into a cylinder about 30cm long, wrap in non-stick baking paper and freeze for 30 minutes. The remove from the freezer and the wrapper, stand the stick on dough on it’s end and brush the outside with egg white, then roll the dough in a scant layer of seeds so they stick firmly to the outside. Wrap and chill the dough until needed. To use heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas 4, slice into 3/4 cm rounds, lay on a tray lined with non-stick paper and bake for about 20 minutes until golden.

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from The Guardian

Cooked plain chestnuts, unlike the über-rich marron glacé, have a dusty flavour that is helped in something sweet like this by marinating it is a simple mixture of brown sugar, vanilla and rum. As the chestnuts are chopped first this helps the syrup soak in and, when baked in a brownie, helps them to taste almost candied in the crumb.

240g tin of cooked chestnuts
200g brown sugar
25ml dark rum
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 medium eggs, separated
200g unsalted butter
200g dark chocolate, broken into small chunks
100g plain flour

Line a 20cm deep square tin with non-stick baking paper. Chop the chestnuts and stir well with 100g sugar, rum and vanilla. In a clean bowl beat the eggs whites until they form soft white peaks then slowly beat in 100g sugar until you have a soft meringue, then beat in the yolks. Melt the butter and the chocolate then remove from the heat and beat this with the chestnuts and flour. Mix this with the meringue then spoon into the tin. Bake at 170°C/150°C fan/335°F/gas 3 for about 20 – 25 minutes until barely set in the middle, then leave in the tin until cold before cutting.

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Serve cold with a dollop of whipped cream and berries.

125g plain flour
50g icing sugar
100g unsalted butter
2 medium eggs
25g chopped hazelnuts
50g each rolled oats and dried cranberries
50g brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
125ml milk
2 tbsp double cream
2 tbsp cornflour
50g caster sugar

Rub the flour, icing sugar and 75g butter until it resembles breadcrumbs, then mix with an egg yolk (save the white) and 2 tsp water until smooth then chill the dough. Melt 25g butter then mix with the hazelnuts, oats, cranberries, brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread this on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper. Roll the dough out to line an 18-20cm round deep tart tin, chill the tart case to firm it, then line with non-stick paper and baking beans. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas 4 and bake the tart and the granola for 20 minutes. Remove the granola, spread it with a fork and cool; give the tart an extra 10 minutes baking without the lining. Whisk milk, cream and cornflour, bring to the boil, remove and beat in the whole egg, extra white and sugar. Pour into the tart case, bake 15 minutes (same temp) then sprinkle on the granola and bake another 5 minutes.

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Hazelnut and milk chocolate fragments are buried in a layer of chocolate shortcrust, under a stratum of soft dates and a crumble crust. Holy Triassic, Batman!

the finely grated zest of one or two oranges
100ml orange juice
375g stoned and chopped dates
250g plain flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa
125g light soft brown sugar
125g unsalted butter, softened
75g roasted, skinned and chopped hazelnuts
100g milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces

Pour the orange zest and juice into a saucepan with the dates and 100ml water, bring to the boil, simmer and give it a good stir until the mixture thickens then leave to cool. Spoon the flour, baking powder, cocoa and sugar into a bowl and work in the butter with your fingers until it just starts to form a rough crumble. Stir in the hazelnuts and chocolate. Press two-thirds of the mixture into the base of a buttered 18cm square tin then spread the date mixture over this. Slightly dampen the remaining crumble with a few teaspoons of water so that you get bigger and moister crumble pieces then spread this over the top. Bake at 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas 4 for about 40 minutes.

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For those days when all you want is a high-risen loaf with a beautifully soft tender crumb and a crisp golden crust. Toasts like a dream. If you don’t have one of those British made, sharp-cornered 2lb loaf tins get one from bakerybits.co.uk.

125g cold sour cream
2 tsp salt
2 tsp caster sugar
1 sachet fast action yeast
550g strong white flour
oil for kneading
extra flour for shaping

Mix the cream with 150ml cold water and 100ml boiling water, salt sugar and yeast in a bowl then mix in the flour until it forms a rough ball. Cover and leave it sit for 10 minutes then lightly oil a patch of the worktop and knead the dough gently on it for 10 seconds. Return the dough to the bowl, leave it for 10 minutes then repeat the quick knead twice more at 10 minute intervals then leave the dough for an hour. Butter the base and sides of a large deep 19cm long loaf tin or similar and line the base with non-stick baking paper. Pat the dough out to about 2cm thick, roll it up tightly like a scroll and squish it seam edge down into the tin. Leave to rise for 60-90 minutes, dust the top with flour and bake at 200°C/180°C fan/390°F/gas 6 for about 45 minutes.

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