Recipes for survival
Those who know Marian Keyes as a bestselling novelist might get something of a shock when they pick up her latest book and and it’s full of... recipes.
What on earth is going on? They’ll be even more baffled if they begin by reading Keyes’s Introduction where she seems not only to be in the kitchen but also in the midst of a nervous breakdown. ‘Panic started rolling up from my gut and down from my head and pushing out from behind my eyes,’ she confides on page eight. ‘Too much reality was rushing in through my eyes.’
That’s too much reality rushing in through the eyes of the reader as well – which is especially unnerving in a cookery book. What you want are calm instructions regarding oven temperatures and stirring procedures – not the tragic outpourings of a woman who, by page 11, is working out how to kill herself.
‘I’d decided that it would be better to kill myself in a hotel... I had a suicide bag...’ So it comes as something of a relief to discover that Keyes, persuaded back in from the ledge as it were, was saved in the nick of time from total meltdown by baking. Yes, baking.
She baked her friend Helen a birthday cake, and then found she couldn’t stop. This book is the result, a collection of over 80 recipes, ranging from classics (scones, rock cakes, Christmas cake) and biscuits (lebkuchen hearts and shoe-shaped biscuits), to liquid cakes (three milks cake, aka ‘a hug in a cake’, and cola cake), and cheesecakes, including Blokey Snickers Cheesecake Loaf – ‘hefty hearty cheesecake especially for the boys’.
They’re great recipes. Even though Keyes had to ‘learn everything’ because ‘I was absolutely cluelesThose who know Marian Keyes as a bestselling novelist might get something of a shock when they pick up her latest book and and it's full of... recipes. What on earth is going on? They'll be even more baffled if they begin by reading Keyes's Introduction where she seems not only to be in the kitchen but also in the midst of a nervous breakdown. 'Panic started rolling up from my gut and down from my head and pushing out from behind my eyes,' she confides on page eight. 'Too much reality was rushing in through my eyes.'
That's too much reality rushing in through the eyes of the reader as well – which is especially unnerving in a cookery book. What you want are calm instructions regarding oven temperatures and stirring procedures – not the tragic outpourings of a woman who, by page 11, is working out how to kill herself.
'I'd decided that it would be better to kill myself in a hotel... I had a suicide bag...' So it comes as something of a relief to discover that Keyes, persuaded back in from the ledge as it were, was saved in the nick of time from total meltdown by baking. Yes, baking.
She baked her friend Helen a birthday cake, and then found she couldn't stop. This book is the result, a collection of over 80 recipes, ranging from classics (scones, rock cakes, Christmas cake) and biscuits (lebkuchen hearts and shoe-shaped biscuits), to liquid cakes (three milks cake, aka 'a hug in a cake', and cola cake), and cheesecakes, including Blokey Snickers Cheesecake Loaf – 'hefty hearty cheesecake especially for the boys'.
They're great recipes. Even though Keyes had to 'learn everything' because 'I was absolutely clueless' she also managed to pick up 'all kinds of handy little helpful tips', which makes her book particularly accessible for the novice, yet because Keyes is not afraid to try anything once, interesting enough to spur on the already committed baker. You could even use it as a little exercise in home therapy – at 17 quid or so, it's a load
Saved By Cake by Marian Keyes is published by Michael Joseph, £16.99.cheaper than seeing an analyst...
TIRAMISU MACAROONS
Makes 15 pairs
Ingredients
For the macaroons:
- 2 egg whites
- 150g golden caster sugar
- 120g ground almonds
- 120g icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee, dissolved in a tablespoon of boiling water, then fully cooled
- Cocoa powder, for dusting
For the filling:
- 100g mascarpone cheese
- 1 tablespoon Marsala wine (optional)
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee, dissolved in a tablespoon of boiling water, then cooled
Method
Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff, gradually add the caster sugar, then the almonds and icing sugar. Add 1 tablespoon of cooled, dissolved coffee and stir carefully.
Using either two teaspoons or a piping bag, create small macaroon rounds on your baking paper. Leave to stand for about half an hour, then heat the oven to 140°C/275°F gas 1. Bake for 30 minutes, then cool on wire racks. Use a palette knife to lift the macaroons off the baking paper and when they’re fully cooled, make the fi lling by beating the mascarpone until smooth, then mixing together gradually with the Marsala and dissolved coffee. If it goes very runny put it into the fridge for a while. When it has re-fi rmed to your satisfaction, use it to sandwich the macaroons into pairs. Finally, sprinkle over a light dusting of cocoa powder through a sieve.
SWEET AND SIMPLE STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES
Makes 12
Ingredients
- 200g fresh strawberries
- 100ml sunflower oil
- 90g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 180g plain flour
- ¾ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4 and line a 12-hole cupcake tray with paper or silicone cases. Wash and hull the strawberries and mash until they’re pulpy.
Beat the oil, sugar and eggs together for a few minutes until the mix starts to look caramelly. Add the pulped strawberries, sieve in the flour an bicarbonate of soda and fold through.
Pour the thinnish batter into the cases and bake for about 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and decorate pinkly.
MAM’S APPLE TART
Serves 6
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 170g plain fl our
- 55g icing sugar
- 110g butter, chilled and cutinto cubes
- 1 egg yolk
For the filling:
- 5 cooking apples, peeled,cored and chopped
- 4 cloves and 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
For the glaze:
- 1 egg, lightly beaten (or milk)
- Caster sugar
Method
Grease a 20cm pie tin.
Sieve the fl our and icing sugar together, then add the butter. Beat slowly until the mix goes sandy and there are no lumps of butter still visible. Add the egg yolk and mix again. The pastry should gradually cohere, ie start looking like pastry. If it still looks dry and crumbly (this is unlikely) add a tablespoon of cold water and mix again. Wrap the lump of pastry in cling fi lm, then put in the fridge for at least an hour. Meanwhile, put the chopped cooking apples into a heavybottomed saucepan.
Bash the cloves (this releases their oil) and add to the apples along with the cinnamon stick. Add the caster sugar and 2 tablespoons water and stew over a gentle heat. However, to quote Mam here, ‘Go aisy! You don’t want the apples to turn to mush.’
When the apples are soft but still lumpy – this should take about 20 minutes – test for sweetness. If you think they’re a bit sour, add more sugar.
Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas 3.
Divide the pastry into two ‘halves’, one slightly bigger than the other, and roll into flat rounds.
Put the larger round into the bottom of the tin, spoon in the cooked apple and drape the second round piece of pastry over the top of the tart. Stick the edge of the bottom layer against the edge of the top layer, using the egg wash or milk.
Swipe the top layer with the egg wash or milk and prick several times with a fork. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.
Scatter caster sugar over the top just before serving.