Uganda baking - thumb buns

This was another from John's mum. Probably not our favourite- I'm not sure I did them the right size or had them in the oven quite the right time or had enough jam with them. Still they were fun to try though and the name entertained us! 

Thumb Buns   You may have made these at Manor.  Good for making with G? Recipe from Golden Anniversary Cookbook from a school I was at before I was married!

 

Guaranteed Success!! Thats what it says!   Gas 4

 

Half the fat to flour   Same amount of sugar as fat   a little water   jam or chopped fruit

 

Add sugar to flour in a bowl. Mix with fingertips. Cut marg into small pieces rub into flour mixture Add a little water .mix into a ball .Make into balls of same size. put on greased baking tray leaving spaces around each one .Make a thumb hole in each one. Put in fruit or jam. Or leave this until they are cooked.

Bake until golden brown.

Uganda baking - Aunty Betty's (who is she!!) Lemon Cake

Another of the recipes sent by John's mum. I tried making this for John's birthday as lemon is one of his favourite flavours. I got it in the oven an hour before neighbours were due for celebrations but then read about cooling it after the 55min baking time - whoops! So I popped some muffins in the oven too and we had those. Then John said he liked hot cake so we tried the lemon and it went down very well! 

Aunty Betty’s (who is she!!) lemon cake

 

Gas 4

 

Grams for this one!

 

113g soft marg   170g SR flour   170g castor sugar  2 eggs (hopefully)   4 tablespoons milk    rind & juice of lemon   icing sugar

 

Beat all ingredients including lemon zest NOT juice  together until smooth & creamy. Bake in a greased & lined loaf tin.

Bake for 55-60mins.Whilst hot in the tin pour over the syrup made from juice of lemon & 3 tbls icing sugar warmed over a gentle heat.

Leave in tin until cold. Keeps well in a cake tin & freezes well.

Uganda baking - melting moments

This was a recipe emailed by grandma C. She sent it one morning, I made it that afternoon and then emailed back a photo of it. Before she had had chance to read the email, we had an unexpected FaceTime where she said she had forgotten to say the biscuits spread quite a lot, which I had mentioned in my email! 

We took them on safari and they weren't as good a few days later when they were chewier. I'm going to try make another batch now 😀

          Dear Caterina 

I have already sent you a recipe by snail mail but I gather from your Mum that the snails are very slow so I thought that I had better send you it by email so that you got it before you left the country!
                                            

 MELTING MOMENTS

                                   4oz margarine
                                  3oz sugar
                                 Half an egg
                                 Vanilla essence
                                 5oz self-raising flour
                                 Crushed cornflakes


I usually double up the quantities rather than fiddle about halving an egg!

Cream fat and sugar and beat in egg and a few drops of essence.Work in flour and mix to a smooth dough.WET THE HANDS,divide mixture into small portions and roll into balls with hands.
Roll these in crushed cornflakes,put on a greased baking sheet(or upside down roasting tin if you haven't a baking tray) and bake in a moderate oven(35o F) for 15 -20mins.

It doesn't matter if you leave the flakes in big pieces  or small (or of course some of each!)

This is out of my first Good Housekeeping cookery book published in 1952, A very well thumbed book!
                                                 

Lots of love to you both, The Chicks.

On Oct 29, 2015, at 18:00, Catherine Kirkland <catherinekirkland1@gmail.com> wrote:

Thank you so much grandmama for sending the recipe! I remember you making these before. I thought it was a big funny when I mentioned I had cornflakes in my list of ingredients but I am glad I did! We had an empty day today so I got on and they were nice to make. I was initially unsure about the 'cream the fat and sugar' as I didnt think I was very good at that but it was easier than I thought. I think I was thinking of when you have to mix flour and butter. I also followed your advice on doubling the quantities - I found it really funny that it would say half an egg in the recipe - I wonder if that was a rationing era thing. I wasn't too sure what size balls to do and I think I put them a bit close together on the baking tray but tada.... Here are the finished goods...

And John and I both had one while they were still a bit warm and they were delicious!! Thank you so much for sharing. 

Some of the other recipes people have sent have been from 1950s books! People say here that Uganda is like the UK 70 years ago so I guess that kind of fits in. The ingredients we have here now must be similar to UK in the fifties! 

Thanks for not waiting for snail mail - I think we need to think of an animal slower than a snail for Uganda post! John and I are going to take the melting moments on safari with us this weekend - but definitely for us not the animals. 

Lots of love Catarina xxxxx

GYIL

John and I are currently in Uganda as part of GYIL, the rather strange but affectionate name we have given to our Gap Year In Learning! We have been given a sabbatical by school and on 4th September we set off for Uganda for our round the world tour. We are so fortunate to be doing it and we are definitely loving being here. We are keeping a separate blog for the year - www.newlandswiththekirklands.wordpress.com

One of the things I blogged about was the lack of sweet treats here - or at least the ready to eat chocolate bars that I'm used to buying at the station- or more accurately luckily being given at the end of the school year by pupils! So I did a shout out for easy recipes that fit the ingredients we have here and I have really enjoyed having the time to try them out, and to share them with our new friends. Now I no this interest isn't likely to maintain itself much beyond Uganda but I love the thought of being able to make some of these again back in the UK so I'm going to try and blog about them but I thought it would be better to do so on here rather than main blog - which shockingly people actually read!! I was going to put all the recipes in this post which photos but actually I think I'll do separate posts. So look out 😉 

Here is my plea that I blogged:

On a different note, I was wondering if I could ask a favour from the many friends I know who are wonderful bakers! I have realised that if you want something for a sweet treat here that isn't fruit, then you have to make it! And I have made banana muffins three times and 2 loaves of banana cake and really thinking it was time for a change! So I wonder if anyone fancied and had the time to send me a recipe to try? There are through a few restrictions so please don't get any ideas from the bake off!!

• It has to be an easy recipe as I'm not an experienced or proficient baker!
• The relatively readily available ingredients are white and brown flower (plain and self-raising), caster sugar, icing sugar, oats, bicarbonate of soda, margarine (or more accurately Blue Band, apparently you had it in the UK too before fridges were common?), sometime eggs, vanilla essence, bananas, pineapple, oranges, lemon, cornflakes (?!).
• We have a gas oven, hob and grill but there are no markings on the gas knob so it can't be a recipe that's too particular on the temperature!
• We have scales and measuring jug but no measuring cups or tablespoons! I've just been guessing so far!
• We have a microwave and hand whisk but no electric mixing things.
• There is a muffin baking tray and cases. There is a loaf tin and small and medium cake tins.
• We have foil, baking paper and cling film.
• 
  
• Thank you so much if this makes you think of a recipe and you are able to send it! I promise to try and share a photo of you when I attempt it!

Uganda baking - 'My Mum's Giggle Cake'

This was one of four thoughtful recipes sent to me by John's mum. I hadn't made it as it said to make with currents, then my neighbour leant me some raisins so I had a go. I don't know how to stop things likes raisins sinking in a cake and I wasn't the majorest fan of it but John and our neighbours were keen. I forgot about it in the oven for a long time but fortunately rescued it when it was just still ok but am not actually sure how long it had! I checked my phone a few times while it was cooking as I wondered if it was making a noise to say I had a message. Then I wondered if I was hearing the cake giggle, but I'm not so sure!!

Here's the recipe I was sent:

My Mum’s Giggle Cake -  recipe has 1 cup of currants you could substitute those with chopped pineapple?  Oven Gas 4  Medium heat

1 cup sugar- castor preferably   4oz. marg.   1 cup water   2 tsp mixed spice – substitute or leave out! 

Melt marg & sugar in a saucepan. Add water & spices. Mix.  Add 2 cups SR flour Mix.

Bake in 7” greased cake tin 30mins or until golden brown. Leave to cool.  Keeeep giggling!

update 26/3/17  I've made this one a few times since being back in the UK, although this is the first time in 2017 and the last of the GYIL bakings to get an outing in 2017. I like that when making it, you don't need a mixing bowl and it just all goes in the big pan you have melted the butter into.  Nice and simples.  And Gas Mark 4 is 177 Degrees C.  Making today for CCC catering this afternoon.  Knife showed not cooked at 30 mins but by 45 it was done!