Raspberry Meringue Roulade

On Thursday evening, we had some friends round for a meal, so I decided to bake this meringue roulade.
Once again, my tin was not quite the right size (it was a bit too big), so I didn't spread the mixture right to the edges.
It uses 5 egg whites - by the way, does anyone have any great ideas about what to do with 5 egg yolks? I feel bad about throwing them away, but am really not sure what else to do with them. Answers on a postcard...
Anyway, it all went fairly smoothly, and I followed all the instructions, apart from using frozen raspberries instead of fresh. I looked at the price of the fresh ones, and decided that frozen would do. It would have been better with fresh ones, but it turned out fine. I made sure that when the raspberries defrosted, I drained them well and dried them with kitchen roll.
If I was making it again, I would leave the meringue to cool down for longer - it cracked rather a lot when I rolled it up. Also I would spread the mix to the edges of the larger tin and have a slightly thinner meringue.
It makes a very large roulade - the picture is not of the whole thing - I cut over 2 inches off the end so it would fit on the plate!
Our guests seemed to enjoy it, and had second helpings - always a good sign,  It scored 8.5.

Cherry & Almond Traybake

I made this cake yesterday as we were having visitors.
It is another, throw it all in recipe, so it was nice and easy. The hardest part is cutting up the glace cherries. Actually it is worth noting that it needs 225g of cherries, and the pot that I had bought only contained 200g. I only realised this once I'd started measuring out, but I decided that it would not make too much difference.
As it turned out, you don't miss the extra cherries, although I am sure it would be even nicer with them.
Mary said to bake it for 40 mins, so I checked mine after 35 and it was already cooked. Next time I may even try it for 30 mins. It is a tiny bit dry around the edges, but the pieces in the middle are delicious!
The centre of the cake gets 8.5, the edges get 7.75!! I'm not sure that's allowed, but nevermind!
Its Ellie's birthday at the weekend, so I am building myself up for something exciting - watch this space!

Lemon Meringue Pie

Sunday was the day for special puddings when I was young, and lemon meringue was always  popular, so I thought I would try Mary's version. As a kid, I remember stirring the lemon mixture for my mum, waiting for the little lemon ball to burst, and the mixture to thicken. There are no lemon balls in Mary's recipe as there are no packets involved! The lemon mixture is made from condensed milk, egg yolks, and the juice and rind of 3 lemons! Also, rather than a pastry base, she uses a biscuit crumb one.
Our eldest son Tom loves lemons - I mean, he would happily eat one! He really loved this lemon meringue pie as it was zingy to say the least.
The rest of us enjoyed it, but the consensus was that it could do with less lemon juice in it. Also, I don't think you can beat a pastry case. Having said that, this base is a lot easier and quicker.
If we don't include Tom's score which was 9.0, the overall verdict was 7.5
Oh, and I forgot to say that I added the flaked almonds, they are not in the recipe, but I think they improve it!

Iced Chocolate Traybake

Saturday didn't turn out quite as I had planned - you know what those days are like, so what better to do than bake! I have decided that I always feel better when I bake, there is something satisfying about it. So what better to make than an iced chocolate traybake?  Also, we were having visitors on Sunday Evening, so I knew it would get shared out!
This was another straight forward recipe, and  the results were good. There was plenty of icing to go all over the cake, including the sides. The icing on its own was rather sickly, but with the cake, it seemed to go well.

It scored 8.5, and went down well with the guests. There's none left, so that's always a good sign!

Cut and come again cake

I baked this last Tuesday as we were going to a meeting, and a meeting can always be improved with cake!
I had quite high hopes for it as my mum had baked it previously and said it was delicious. Mine turned out ok, but it was rather dry. The flavour was good, but it was rather crumbly. If I made it again, I would probably cook it for less time.
It scored 7.5

Chocolate Chip Brownies

Yesterday Ben had the Monday morning blues, so, being the kind Mum that I am, I told him he could look in the book and choose something nice to come home to. This was his choice!
I have had difficulty getting a 12 x 9 traybake, but I managed to pick up a smart price roasting tin from Asda for £1!. It is only a bit smaller, and seemed to do the job.
The brownies were very tasty and moist, and have received and excellent reception by all who have tried them.
I would like to assure my readers that we are sharing all our cakes liberally. Last night Ad took some brownies to football, to give to those who had worked off extra calories! Unfortunately that did not include Adam himself as he has a knee injury, so no brownies for him!!
The brownies scored 9.0, and made Ben's day!
P.S, Just to let you know, there is a "Cut and come again" cake in the oven as I type!
Must go, the programme about Mary Berry is on in 5 mins!

Pineapple and Cherry Loaf

 I wasn't very well last week, so didn't do any baking. However, by Sunday I was getting withdrawal symptoms!
I felt it was about time that Adam had the choice of what I baked - well, within reason!
He would have chosen the "boozy fruit cake", but I didn't have all the ingredients, so he settled for this one. It turned out to be a good choice.
It was simple to make, and turned out to be lovely and moist. My only criticism was that it didn't cut very neatly, but then maybe that was because it wasn't completely cool as certain people were in a hurry to try it!
Mary suggests keeping it in the fridge as "it could go mouldy if left in a tin in a warm kitchen". A chance would be a fine thing - it would never last long enough to go mouldy - well not in our house!
It got a rating of 8.75!