Best English Hop Pickers Oast Cakes Recipes

ENGLISH LEMON CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
• Cream butter and sugar in large mixing bowl; add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Mix flour, baking powder and salt; add alternately with milk to the butter mixture.
• Pour batter into pan.
• Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 45 minutes to one hour.
• Meanwhile make Lemon Glaze. Heat sugar, fresh lemon juice, and lemon zest until just boiling in a small saucepan.
• Pour glaze over cake immediately after removing cake from oven; cool in pan.

ENGLISH GINGERBREAD CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°. Grease bottom and sides of an 8" x 8" metal baking pan with butter and line bottom of pan with parchment paper. Grease parchment paper with butter and dust paper and sides of pan with a little cake flour. Heat 8 tablespoons butter, golden syrup, brown sugar, and marmalade in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until syrup thins and sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes; let cool for 10 minutes. Whisk in the milk and eggs; set syrup mixture aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together cake flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt. Add reserved syrup mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into reserved baking pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
• Transfer cake to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat remaining butter along with sugar and lemon juice in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Using a pastry brush, brush half the lemon syrup over top of cake. Invert cake onto cooling rack, discard parchment, and brush the remaining lemon syrup on bottom and sides of cake. Invert the cake onto a serving stand and wrap in plastic wrap; let cool completely. The cake tastes better the day after baking and will keep for up to 4 days. To serve, cut cake into squares and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

ENGLISH ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Cream sugar and butter together with beater until fluffy.
• Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, milk, and eggs; mix until all is incorporated.
• Add one orange which you have removed imperfections from, quartered, deseeded, and then pureed in a blender or food processor (yes, rind and all).
• (Optional) Stir raisins and walnuts into batter.
• Pour into greased cake mold with a center hole. Bake for 50-60 minutes until knife inserted comes out with moist crumbs. Let cool to warm and overturn onto a plate.
• While cake is still warm, mix the juice of one orange with 1/2 cup sugar until the sugar dissolves (may need to heat slightly). Slowly pour by spoonfuls all over the cake.

STAFFORDSHIRE OATCAKES - TRADITIONAL ENGLISH HOTCAKES - PANCAKES

Steps:

• Pour the milk and water in a saucepan and warm gently on the hob. This is just to create good conditions for the yeast when the batter is mixed so, as always, keep it below 30°C.
• Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix together before starting to whisk in all of the warm milk and water. I was looking to get a reasonably thin batter and 600ml did the trick on this occasion. Of course, add less or more milk and water as the situation dictates. Once the batter is mixed, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm room for about an hour, allowing the yeast to make the batter nice and bubbly.
• When it's ready, give the batter a gentle stir, smear a little butter or oil on a hot, non-stick skillet and add enough of the batter to thinly coat the bottom. Cook on one side until golden (about 3 minutes) and gently flip over and cook the other side for another couple of minutes.
• Note: As oatcakes contain less flour, and wholemeal flour at that, they contain less gluten and will be more prone to tear. I'm guessing this is why people bulk them up with plain flour, but it's by no means a problem, it just means a gentler hand is required. No vigorous skillet-shaking.
• This batter will yield about 6 large oatcakes. Don't just stick to savoury fillings, either. Fruit, berries, crème fraîche, syrup, ice cream are all brilliant with these pancakes.