Jamie Oliver Fruit Cake Food

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
• Grease and line two 23cm round cake tins.
• Sift the flour and cinnamon into a mixing bowl, then add the sugar and a large pinch of sea salt.
• Peel the bananas and mash them up with a fork in another bowl. Drain and finely chop the pineapple and add to the bananas with the oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until combined, then fold into the dry mixture until smooth.
• Finely chop the pecans and gently fold in, then divide the batter evenly between your prepared tins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until risen, golden and the sponges spring back when touched lightly in the centre.
• Run a knife around the edge of the tins, then leave to cool for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, to make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a free-standing electric mixer, add the butter and beat until pale and creamy.
• Add the cream cheese, finely grate in the zest of 1 lime and add a squeeze of juice, then beat until just smooth - it's really important not to over-mix it. Keep in the fridge until needed.
• To make a brittle topping, place the caster sugar and a splash of water in a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. Shake flat and don't stir it, just swirl the pan occasionally until dissolved and lightly golden.
• Add the pecans and a pinch of salt, spoon around to coat, and when nicely golden, pour onto a sheet of oiled greaseproof paper to set (check out the how-to video below).
• Once cool, smash up to a dust (you'll need about half to top the cake - save the rest for sprinkling over ice cream.
• To assemble the cake, place one sponge on a cake stand and spread with half the icing. Top with the other sponge, spread over the rest of the icing, then grate over the zest of the remaining lime.
• Scatter over the brittle dust and decorate with a few edible flowers, such as violas, borage or herb flowers, if you feel that way inclined.
• With a cup of tea on the side, this will make everyone who eats it extremely happy. Serve in a bluebell wood on a fallen tree, as you do.

WONDERFUL WELSH CAKES

Steps:

• Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl, then add the sugar and mixed spice.
• Cut the butter into cubes and add to the bowl with a pinch of sea salt.
• Use your hands to rub it all together until you get a fine breadcrumb consistency, then toss in the dried fruit.
• Make a well in the centre of the mixture and crack in the egg. Add a splash of milk, then use a fork to beat and mix in the egg.
• Once combined, use your clean hands to pat and bring the mixture together until you have a dough. It should be fairly short, so don't work it too much.
• Put a large heavy-bottomed non-stick frying pan on a medium heat.
• While it's heating up, dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour and roll the dough out until it's about 1cm thick. Use a 5cm pastry cutter to cut out as many rounds as you can. Scrunch the remaining scraps of dough together, then roll out and cut out a few more.
• To test the temperature, cook one Welsh cake in the pan for a few minutes to act as a thermometer. If the surface is blonde, turn the heat up a little; if it's black, turn the heat down - leave for a few minutes for the heat to correct itself, then try again. When you've got a golden cake after 4 minutes on each side, you're in a really good place and you can cook the rest in batches. It's all about control.
• As soon as they come off the pan, put them on a wire rack to cool and sprinkle them with caster sugar. You can serve them just like this, as they are. Or, if you want to do what I've done, gently cut each cake in half while turning so you get a top and a bottom.
• Whip the cream, sugar and vanilla paste together until you have soft peaks. Put the berries into a bowl, slicing up any big ones, and toss them with the juice of 1 lemon and a sprinkling of sugar. Open the cakes up, and add a little dollop of cream and a few berries to each one.

MY FAVOURITE FRUIT SALAD

Steps:

• Remove the vanilla seeds from the pod and put seeds and pod into a small pan. Add the water, sugar and reserved grapefruit juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer to make a syrup. Put in the refrigerator until thoroughly chilled.
• Toss the prepared fruit in the chilled syrup. Spoon onto plates and pour over the chilled Prosecco. Serve with creme fraiche.

VANILLA BAKED FRUIT

Steps:

• Simply mix the sugar into the mascarpone.
• This cream has a lighter texture than mascarpone cream. It goes well with almost any dessert.
• Whip the cream and sugar until the mixture stays in soft peaks. Don't over-whip.
• Don't buy vanilla essence and don't buy ready-made vanilla sugar. It's so expensive, you don't get much and you can so easily make a much better version yourself. You should use vanilla pods. Although the pods are quite expensive, the recipe works out much cheaper in the long run because of the amount you can make.
• VANILLA SUGAR: Don't buy vanilla pods that are dry and hard -- buy them fat, sticky and squashy. What we want to do is infuse the natural vanilla flavor of the vanilla pods into the sugar. It is perfectly fine, and obviously quicker, just to pop the pods in an airtight container with the sugar; you will achieve a more subtle flavor. I really like this recipe, though, because you get the maximum flavor from the pods.
• You need a food processor for this one. Put your vanilla pods in the mixer, blitz, scrape the sides and blitz again. Add all the sugar and blitz for about 2 minutes. Sieve the mixture into a bowl, return any lumps to the food processor and blitz again. (You may want to repeat this process if you want it really fine). The result will be a slightly ashy-colored mixture -- now that's real vanilla sugar!
• Store it in an airtight container. It should last you for ages.

BEST EVER FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Put the sugar, sultanas, currants, raisins, water, cherries, butter or margarine, salt into a saucepan, bringing it to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes
• Pour into a mixing bowl and allow to cool. Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees / Gas Mark 3
• Grease and line with grease proof paper a 20 cm round cake tin
• Add the egg to the cooled fruit mixture and stir in well. Add the flour and mix well
• Turn into the prepared cake tin, smooth the top and arrange optional almonds on the top.
• Bake for 1.25 - 1.50 hours until risen and golden brown. Cool slightly before turning out. The cake improves with keeping.

JAMIE OLIVER'S BAKED FRUIT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425*F Using a food processor, combine vanilla pod and sugar.
• Wash fruit.
• Halve and remove pits from plums, nectarines, peaches and apricots, if using, and peel bananas and cut into chunks.
• Place fruit in a single layer on baking sheet (s).
• Sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of vanilla sugar.
• (Store leftover vanilla sugar in an airtight container.) Bake fruit 10-15 minutes, or until fruit is soft but still holds its shape.
• Serves 8-10.