NOT ANY OLD FRUITCAKE......or a cake by any other name tastes just as sweet

moist delicious fruit cake

When I was younger I went through a stage of not liking fruit cake. The closest I would get would be christmas pudding and that was only because there was money in there and it was also smothered in custard AND cream. A couple of years ago I asked my mum for a fruit cake recipe of some kind as I didnt want just any old fruitcake I wanted one with history ie; mum , nana costolloe or nana brown, other relatives who are food driven like our whole family seems to be.
So she gave me a recipe that she had used quite successfully for a number of years. I then asked where it was from and she said it was from when we lived in Singapore(I was ONE I am now past 40) a cookbook came out from the expats in the area as I'm lead to believe. So I had a go at it and found I wanted more fruit in it and a couple of other little tweaks and I think I have made a foolproof fruitcake recipe. Its really nice and I now like fruit cake again. I have done it with a number of different fruit combinations and all have worked well. I have done it leaving the grated apple out and it is nice BUT it is even nicer and moister and tastier with the grated apple, but this is just so you know it can be played around with a little tiny bit and still work beautifully.
 It is NOT low fat but it is also not meant to be eaten 3 slices at a time. Remember everything in moderation
Danie & Mum's Boiled Fruit Cake
250 g butter
1 cup sugar(brown, white, raw a mixture is ok too)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon bi-carb soda
475-500g mixed dried fruit( I used dates, sultanas, dried apricots, currants, raisins,macadamias, pecans &
glace cherries. Any combination is good as long as the dried fruit is the biggest quantity)
Put all these ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil then simmer for 10 min. It will look glorious and syrupy and taste sweet and butterscotchy. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
In a bowl
 1 cup plain flour
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon mixed spice
When fruit mixture is cooled add to dry ingredients. Add 1 grated apple. Mix together 2 eggs with 1 teaspoon vanilla and the juice from 1 orange. Add to the rest of the mixture & mix well. Put into greaseproof lined 8 inch loaf tin
cook @160degrees for one hour. take out of oven and rest somewhere to cool for an hour.
 You can slice it and eat as is...or you can get some butter and put a lashings on it...OR you can make custard and have it warm. You can also play with the ingredients to add some zing...put some cardoman and extra mixed spice and more dates and apricots than sultanas a few pistachios and you have a
very morroccan twist to a lovely Aussie/English Favourite

Muffins the UNBOUGHT way

ok my peeps here is a great muffin recipe without all the hype. I was a muffin disliker myself until I disovered that muffins don't have to be dry and tasteless. Give this recipe a go it works, I have made them hundreds of times. You can add any sort of fruit or spices for sweet muffins or leave out the sugar and add some savoury elements eg bacon , onion, ham sundried tomatoes, any sort of cheese & herbs.

Muffins by Lavendah

2 1/2 cups SR flour

100g butter(my preference always)or margarine

1 cup castor sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

1 grated apple(the apple is to keep the muffin moist when you add other fruit you dont really get the apple as a flavour so use 2 if you want more apple flavour.

Once you have your ingredients together then grease your muffin tins or use muffin wraps or large patty pan cases, make sure you do give the tin a light spray even if you are using patty pans(which I highly recommend anyway) as it stops the muffin tops from sticking to the tin. Turn your oven on to preheat to 160

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and mix through, mix the egg and milk together and then mix into the dry ingredients with the apple. Don't overmix it but dont be scared to mix the ingredients in. Add whatever fruit you wish for your flavourings.

Fill whatever size muffin tins you are using 3/4 full if you want an overflowing effect(how a muffin should look) or half fill if you want them to be the same size as the actual tin. Bake in a moderate to oven for 20-25 minutes the muffins should bounce back when you touch them, if it leaves an indent when you push them, put them back in for another 5-10 minutes keeping an eye on them but not opening the oven to let the heat escape.

Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 min in the tins then carefully run a butter knife around the edge of the muffin to losen it from the tin and put them on a cooling rack. Eat when hungry!!

An easy dessert is to make a berry sauce or a caramel sauce and serve the muffins warm with cream and ice cream.

Some of my sweet favourites are; raspberry and white chocolate, blackberry honey and apple, banana date and walnut, blueberry, apple & cinnamon.

savoury faves are fetta and herb, ham cheese and tomato, pumpkin & fetta...(generally anything and fetta I will like)