boutique flours and the baking of bread

i don't know if it's the same everywhere, but increasingly here in denmark, there are exciting and interesting new varieties of flour on the market. especially flour for baking bread. denmark is full of good bread (which is why husband is always shell-shocked when we go to the US and encounter the bread there). the danes do an excellent rye (rugbrød) that's excellent no matter where you buy it - from the discount supermarket to the local bakery - so i don't really tackle the dark breads. but 2-3 times a week, i bake a loaf of ordinary white or lighter brown bread. and these newly available flours are taking those loaves from ordinary to extraordinary.

a number of the new types of flour are from grains that were found in the nordic seed gene bank and which have been revived and cultivated back to commercial capacity in recent years. my weekly organic box provider has recently added baking boxes which include a variety of these newly-available flours.


~ ølandshvede - with higher protein and gluten content than ordinary flour - the dough you make with it tends to have excellent elasticity and thread very nicely. the ølands wheat flour that i get is stone ground, and they say that stone ground wheat keeps more of the nutrition and taste.

- emmermel - this is a heavier flour, also stone ground. it tends more towards the rye-type and you mix it with wheat flour to get a dough that you can form into a good bread that can stand on its own. the dough is quite soft and ends up a more golden brown (the loaf below used emmermel) and has an almost nutty, hearty flavor.

~ svejderug - a revived grain related to rye, but which gives a lighter bread than rye bread. the seeds were found in norway and it has taken forty years to bring them back to commercial production.

~ spelt - spelt probably makes the most reliably good, hearty bread. you want the dough to be quite moist and loose and it's best to use a bread pan, but if you mix half spelt and half ordinary flour, you can easily form a free-standing loaf. i often use spelt when i make focaccia, as you spread it out over the pan anyway.

i tend as well to buy organic wheat flour as my everyday white flour and that's both widely available in any grocery store and some rather special ones are available through aarstiderne, the folks who bring my weekly organic box. the wheat flour i'm using right now, for cakes as well as bread consists of 75% organically-grown wheat and 25% biodynamic, which has even stricter guidelines. it's also stone ground and is made by aurion.

we intend to get our own flour mill as well and we'll be able to source the grains for grinding ourselves through aurion, so we've got no intentions of going into farming them ourselves. but for now, i'm really happy with what's commercially available. plus, the good folks at aarstiderne bring it straight to my door - what could be easier?

emmerbrød (adapted from aarstiderne)

500ml warm water (2 C)

1 cube of fresh yeast or a generous spoonful of dry

a generous pinch of salt

1 spoonful of honey

1.5 C of emmer flour (or other special wheat sorts)

3.5 C of wheat flour (preferably organic)  (depending on the weather and your flour, you may need more than this)

combine the warm water, yeast, salt and honey in your mixer bowl and let it stand 5 minutes or so. add the emmer flour. once it's mixed, begin to add the regular flour until you have a soft, pliable dough. i let my kitchen-aid do this entire process, but you can also mix by hand in a bowl and then knead. the dough hook on the kitchen-aid does all of this for me, freeing me to do other things (like make a coffee).

place it in a large bowl that you've wiped with olive oil and allow it to rise for several hours, covered with a clean tea towel. turn it out onto the counter, sprinkled with a bit of the emmer flour and fold it over onto itself repeatedly until you have a nice, tight round loaf. place it on a baking sheet (i always use baking paper underneath, for ease of cleanup), slash across the top with a sharp knife, so it looks pretty, sprinkle with flaky salt and allow it to rise again for 30 minutes to an hour. if you lack time, you can actually put it directly into the oven and it'll be fine. bake for 30-40 minutes at 180°C/375°F. 

another bread i've been baking a lot of lately is this:

feta & pine nut bread

500ml (2 C) warm water

1 cube of fresh yeast (or a generous spoonful of dry)

generous pinch of salt

a good glug of a tasty, fragrant olive oil

1 spoonful of honey

6 C of flour - it can be a mixture of organic white flour and spelt or other wheat varieties (i use ølandshvede lately)

120 grams of feta, crumbled

100 grams of toasted pine nuts

a bit of chopped rosemary if you have it

combine the water, yeast, olive oil and honey and allow it to stand until the yeast bubbles. slowly add the flour and salt until it begins to form a ball on your dough hook (again, i totally let the kitchen-aid do the work). add the crumbled feta and pine nuts and rosemary. it may go rather loose after this and so you can add a bit more flour if desired. but better to leave the dough a bit more wet than you think it should be - it makes for a more moist loaf of bread.

set it to rise in a large bowl that you've wiped with olive oil. let it rise for several hours in a warm place under a clean tea towel. turn it out onto a floured countertop and form it into a nice round loaf. slash the top for prettiness and sprinkle with salt. allow it to rise for 30-60 minutes and bake. you can also just pop it into the oven, no problem. bake for 30-40 minutes at 180°C/375°F. you can tell it's done by knocking on it. it's hard to describe, but it just sounds done and you'll know what i mean if you try it.

* * *

baking bread is easy, but you can have the odd day where it behaves in a temperamental way. last friday, my bread was an utter failure and i'm honestly not sure why, but i do think the weather and especially the barometric pressure can have an effect. i had a loaf of feta & pine nut spelt that just would not bake properly - it was still strangely doughy on the inside, despite nearly an hour in the oven at 180°C. some brownies i baked the same day turned out strangely as well. some days are like that and you just have to try again.

i realize that many of you won't find these same sorts of grains, but i'll bet this phenomenon isn't unique to denmark - so check your grocery store and see if there aren't some special kinds of flour available. it is well worth it to try them out.

making marmalade

as always at christmas, we gorged ourselves silly on sweet, succulent little clementines. however, once christmas was over, our consumption tapered off significantly. i didn't pick up on this fast enough and got another big box of them delivered with our weekly organic box in early january. thus, i found myself with a load of clementines in the basket and no one interested in eating them. so i went in search of a marmalade recipe.  i found one here, on an australian food blog (do go check it out, as his light was much better than mine and so the pictures are great). of course, i couldn't just follow the recipe, i had to stray from it, but he offered some good advice...like on saving all of the pith and seeds, wrapping them up in a little piece of muslin and throw it into your boil in order to take advantage of the natural pectin that's in the seeds.

mandarin marmalade

20 mandarins or clementines (approx. 2 kilos)

1 kilo organic caster sugar

1 vanilla pod

juice of 1 lemon

6 C (750ml) water

makes 3 250ml jars of marmalade.

1. peel your oranges, saving about half of the best skins and all of the seeds and pith.
2. break the mandarins apart (i made the mistake of leaving them in halves and oddly, they didn't really come apart, so my marmalade is rather...ah...chunky.
3. place the pith and seeds in a small square of muslin cloth and either tie it shut, or sew a quick seam around the entire edge of it (like i did) to keep them trapped inside.
4. finely slice the peel into small strips (see the original recipe website, he's got great pix of this step).
5. place all of the ingredients in a heavy pan and stir. put it on the stove over medium heat and stir constantly until the sugar is melted and it comes to a gentle boil.
6. turn down the heat to very low and allow it to simmer gently for at least two hours, stirring it occasionally. i actually left mine on the stove the whole afternoon - more like 4 hours or so - because it made the house smell heavenly.
7. prepare your jars...i give mine a tour in the dishwasher and then boil the little rubber seals in a pan. the site where i got the inspiration for the recipe has an interesting method of setting them in the oven that i'm going to try the next time.
8. fish out the parcel of seeds and pour the marmalade into the jars and seal them. if you have enough seeds, there should be enough natural pectin that the marmalade will set up, otherwise, you can use some purchased pectin.

it was enough to fill three 250 ml. jars - you could use smaller ones and give them as gifts. we've already used up one entire jar - i used the dregs yesterday when i made beth's bread & butter pudding, and i can highly recommend doing that.  and i'll admit that i have, more than once, just had a little saucer of the marmalade with my tea. i find this very russian of myself. and it feels a bit decadent, but virtuous too, since i made it myself with organic clementines that would otherwise have gone to waste.

Raspberry Linzer Hearts

I grew up making cookies with my mother and I've passed the same tradition down to my two daughters.
Tonight I was talking on the phone to my oldest daughter . . . and I told her that I had made Raspberry Linzer Hearts for Valentine's Day.  "Ohhh," she said, and I definitely caught a plaintive note in her voice.
I promised to freeze a few of them for her -- not knowing for sure if they DO freeze -- but just in case, here is an offering from mother to daughter:  a virtual "love heart."

This recipe comes from Mary Englebreit's Cookie Cookbook which I bought for my girls when they were beginning bakers.  The subtitle of the book is "The Queen's Best Recipes" -- which reminds me of my bossy older daughter, who has ruled over us all since she was about two years old.

Here's the editorial recommendation:
Don't bring these out for the Super Bowl:  they are labors of love for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and ladies' teas.

They actually aren't that difficult, especially if you are used to working with roll-out cookie dough.
But make them for family and friends and let them be impressed by how very hard you labored . . .

Ingredients:
1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) walnuts*
1 cup (4 ounces) whole blanched almonds* (ensure your nuts are fresh)
8 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' (icing) sugar, plus a bit extra for decoration
2 large egg yolks
2 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/2 cornstarch (cornflour)
1 cup seedless raspberry jam

You will also need two heart-shaped cookie cutters -- approximately 2 1/2 inch and 1 1/2 inch.

Method:
Using a food processor, combine the walnuts and almonds and process, pulsing, until finely ground.  Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg yolks.  On a low speed, gradually add the flour and cornstarch, mixing just until incorporated.  Add the ground nuts and mix until blended.
Divide the dough (it will be stiff) into four pieces -- and shape each of these into a disk.  Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate until firm (2 to 4 hours).
Preheat the oven to 325F/160C.  Grease two baking sheets -- unless you use Silpats, as I do.  Or, use parchment paper to line your cookie sheets.
On a floured surface, roll out one piece of dough at a time until approximately 1/4 inch thick.
Usint a 2 1/2 inch heart-shaped cutter, cut out as many cookies as possible.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes -- depending on how thinly you rolled your cookies.  They should just be starting to turn slightly golden, but you don't want to brown them.  After they have slightly cooled on the baking sheet, transfer them to wire cooling racks.
For half of the cookies, you will need to cut out the large heart shape -- and then use a smaller (1 1/2 inch) heart-shaped cutter centered in the middle. 
Bake and cool the cutout hearts.
Very important:  Dust the cutout hearts with confectioners' sugar BEFORE you assemble them.
Spread a rounded teaspoon of jam onto each whole heart cookie bottom and then cover with the cutout heart tops.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Bread and Butter Pudding

We spent last Saturday looking at houses in Oxford. 
It was one of those winter days that is much better spent inside -- what with the wind and the rain and bone-chilling damp. 
No house is going to look its best on such a day, even if it is filled with vases of red tulips and wood-burning fireplaces in every room.  But that fantasy scenario was far off the mark.  In reality, we were looking at run-down houses that were still horrendously expensive. Is there anything more depressing than looking at houses that have come on the market because their elderly occupants have recently died?  They have a forlorn quality like nothing else in the world. The howling wind just magnified the flaws of inadequate heating systems and ancient wooden sash windows which creaked in their frames. 

On the drive home from this grim outing, I caught part of a Radio 4 program about bread and butter pudding.  There is definitely a good reason why this solid old English pudding falls under the heading of "comfort food."  By the time we got home, I was so desperately hungry that I went straight into the kitchen to make myself one.  There was a rather virtuous minestrone soup for dinner, but I filled up on bread and butter pudding.  What is that saying?  Life is uncertain; eat dessert first.

This version is my own experiment, based on what I could remember from the radio program -- mainly, to "heat milk, cream and eggs until they were the temperature of blood."  It is creamier and more custardy than the English version, which can be a bit dry, but not as rich and decadent as American bread pudding.
I highly recommend it -- best just warm from the oven, but still quite good cold for breakfast the next morning.
It's vegetarian, although not as low-fat or high-fiber as the lentils that Julochka has been eating.  On the other hand, it has a pleasingly frugal quality that seems right for February.  It is the perfect use for stale bread, and I was also able to empty out two jars of orange marmalade that contained about two tablespoons each.

Ingredients:
8 slices white bread
approximately two ounces of butter, plus a bit more to grease the pan
32 ounces (or 800 ml) of milk and cream combined -- I used two-thirds semi-skimmed milk and one-third single cream.  I think this is a fairly flexible arrangement, though.
2 ounces of caster sugar, plus extra sugar (demerara would be good) to sprinkle on the top
3 large eggs
enough orange marmalade -- maybe 4 tablespoons -- to cover four slices of bread
a large handful or raisins soaked in a couple of tablespoons of Grand Marnier
freshly grated nutmeg

Method:
Preheat the oven to a moderate heat -- about 350F.
Start soaking a generous handful of raisins in a couple of tablespoons of Grand Marnier (or Cointreau; or orange juice if you are teetotal).
Generously butter 8 slices of white bread.
Spread 4 slices with orange marmalade -- again, quantities need not be too specific and can depend somewhat on your liking for marmalade (or how much you have left in a jar you want to empty).
Make "sandwiches" from the bread, and then cut them into triangles.
Whisk the eggs into the cream, milk and sugar until thoroughly combined, and then carefully heat over a low flame until barely warm. 
Arrange the bread triangles in an oven-proof dish.  I like to use my oval two-quart Pyrex.
Throw the raisins over the bread, and then pour the liquid mixture over the top.
Leave to soak for about ten minutes -- and then, as a final touch, dust with freshly grated nutmeg and some coarse demerara sugar.

It will need about 35 minutes in the oven, and maybe 5 minutes before you can plunge in with a big spoon.

vegetarian lunch for one - beluga lentils

oddly enough, our commitment to eating less meat around here has lasted into February. and i'd have to say that i'm feeling increasingly comfortable with it and feeling less tempted to throw bacon into dishes at the last minute.

i find it easiest to eat vegetarian when i'm making lunch for myself. no one else's palate to accomodate allows me to experiment and explore new flavors. i'm also pushing myself to be a bit more inventive with what's at hand. here's the result from today...

beluga lentil lunch

300 grams of beluga lentils (little round black ones)

1 veggie bouillon cube

1 bay leaf

500 ml (2 cups) of water - you may need to add a bit more if it boils away before you think the lentils are done.

1 small onion, diced

a handful of fresh thyme

handful of hazelnuts, toasted in the pan and then chopped roughly

1 large spoonful of honey

juice of half a lemon

olive oil

soft, fresh goat cheese (mine was packed in oil with seasonings)

rinse the lentils, then cook on the stove, like you would rice, until the liquid boils mostly away - about 20 minutes.

while it's cooking, stir together a generous spoonful of honey and the juice of half a lemon, thyme and a drizzle of olive oil in a bowl, season with salt and pepper. dice onion and add it. toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan (keeping an eye on them so they don't burn). roll the hazelnuts in a towel to remove the husks and roughly chop them. once the lentils are done, drain off any excess water (tho' theoretically, there shouldn't be any) and add several large spoonsful of them to your dressing/onion bowl. stir well, top with soft goat cheese and toasted hazelnuts and enjoy your healthy and delicious solitary lunch. there will be enough lentils left over to do it again tomorrow.

a reluctant vegetarian

beans for lunch

tho' i'm not much of a maker of new year's resolutions, nearly every january, i am inspired to embark on some new healthy eating campaign. i think it's the overload of sweets and heavy, fatty food from christmas that does it. often, what i think is "we're going to eat a lot less meat around here." and this year was no different. between christmas & new year's, i went online and changed our weekly organic box delivery to the vegetarian box. it comes with enough non-meat goodies and recipes for four meals. it's a good mix of fresh vegetables and beans or pasta and tofu or goat cheese. it's different every week and they're very good at providing inspiration with new ingredients (for example, something called a "silver beet" (directly translated) that is a winter green of sorts) and staples (potatoes, carrots).

i don't want to be a vegetarian per se, but i would like us to eat less meat and thereby enjoy the meat we do eat that much more. i'd rather buy the occasional organic chicken for a sunday roast (and afterwards, a good pot of chicken stock) than eat manufactured, water plumped chicken breasts from chickens that led a dismal life, three times a week. it's a factor too that the production of animals for human consumption is, in general, one of the hardest things on our environment and one of the biggest contributors to climate change. so, we try to eat less meat.

but having grown up in the midwest, the urge is strong to think that no meal is complete without meat. i can stir up a pot of beans or a veggie soup or a stir-fry, but nearly every time, at the last minute, i think, "hmm, some bacon would be quite nice in this." even the beautiful marriage of flavors that is potato leek soup often gets a bit of crumbly bacon on top when served around here. it's hard to fight your upbringing.

however, i recently did fight it and with great results. so great, in fact, that i utterly failed to photograph it. i made a truly vegetarian lasagne. no last minute bacon or any other kind of meat! and it was delicious!

veggie lasagne

3 carrots, grated

2 parsnips, grated

2 large beefsteak tomatoes, diced

1 zucchini, grated

3 leeks, sliced

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (or pressed - i've grown to loathe my garlic press, because it's so hard to clean, so i just bash the garlic with the side of my knife and chop it up as best i can)

1 eggplant, thinly sliced, salted, left to stand for 5-10 minutes, then rinsed

1 fennel, thinly sliced

1 jar/can crushed tomatoes

2 bay leaves

1 veggie bouillon cube

pepper

salt

chili flakes

whatever herbs you have around (my thyme is still growing strong, even tho' it was covered with snow for a month)

bread crumbs for topping

lasagne pasta (if you use fresh, you don't need to boil it first, if you use the dried kind, do give a boil to al dente)

1 recipe of bechamel sauce (i'm linking you because i always make husband make this and haven't got the slightest idea how it's done.)  i only know that to that recipe, i would add a cup of grated cheese (we use prima donna - an aged gouda) and a good grating of fresh nutmeg, because that's what husband does.

sauté off your leeks and garlic in a good glug of olive oil. add the grated carrots, zucchini and parsnips. after they begin to soften, add the chopped tomato and the can of tomatoes, plus bay leaf, bouillon cube and herbs. salt and pepper to taste. if it doesn't look liquidy enough, you can add a bit of water - i usually rinse the can and just toss that half a can of water in with all of the goodness that remains on the can. simmer the sauce while you thinly slice the eggplant and fennel. use a mandolin if you dare (after my recent adventures in felting, which resulted in quite a lot of needle-related injuries, i stayed away from the mandolin this time).

next, layer your fresh lasagne pasta in the bottom of a pan you've buttered or given a coat of olive oil, on top of that, a layer of thinly-sliced eggplant and about half of your sliced fennel. spoon the tomato sauce over it, then another layer of pasta, eggplant, fennel and tomato sauce. ladle the creamy, cheesy bechamel over the top of it, using a knife to encourage it to sink down into all of the nooks and crannies. top with bread crumbs and bake in a 180°C/350°F oven for 45 minutes to an hour - until it's simmering and bubbling and you simply can't stand to wait for it any longer.

serve it with a simple salad. it tastes even better the next day, but you may not have leftovers.

* * *

i'm often home alone when it comes to lunchtime (such is often the fate of the independent entrepreneur). i find it easier to do a vegetarian meal for myself when my family's not around. (i wonder why that is?) but just because you're alone, doesn't mean you can't make yourself something healthy and delicious.

beans for lunch: a solitary lunch

400 grams of dried beans (pinto, black, white, red - whatever you have on hand)

1 carrot, cut into chunks

1 parsnip, cut into chunks

2 bay leaves

10-12 whole peppercorns

1 handful of fresh (or dried) thyme

1 small onion

3 cloves of garlic

salt & pepper

1 avocado

1 small red onion, diced

soak the beans overnight and discard the liquid, rinsing the beans. place them in a pot with fresh liquid and throw in the rest of the ingredients. cook them until the beans are tender (45 minutes - 1 hour).

dice your onion and avocado and combine it with a few spoonsful of the cooked beans. you can either include the carrots and parsnips as you ladle the beans into your bowl, or not, depending on your taste. i used a slotted spoon to avoid the "soup" the beans are in, as i wanted a hearty lunch, not a soup, but you could leave the liquid there and have more of a soup.  there will be plenty of beans left over for another use...a salad, or for lunch tomorrow, or to be mashed into refried beans for tacos later with the family.

you could put on a dollop of yogurt or creme fraiche and eat it greedily for your solitary lunch. and it would be even easier and quicker with a can of beans.

* * *

for more goodness, check out this new food blog by mari, she's got a couple of vegetarian recipes wherein she (mostly) resists adding bacon.

and some properly vegan recipes that inspire here.

12 Days of Christmas Baking

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

I undertook to bake . . .

twelve pecan tassies

eleven mincemeat pinwheels

ten cardamom buttons

nine molasses crinkles

eight oatmeal chewies

seven gingerbread trees

six cranberry loaves

five butter stars

four gingerbread houses

three dozen spritz

a double batch of sugar cookies

and a whole lot of Texas fruitcake!

The first day of Christmas doesn't actually start until the 25th,

but when it comes to Christmas baking, I'm pretty much done by that day. 

I might manage one more batch of mince pies, and maybe another batch of English toffee for my mother-in-law, but all of my baking efforts come in the run-up to the Christmas season.

For weeks now, my kitchen has resembled an amateur bakery . . . and feel free to call me crazy, because all of my friends (and my husband) do.

I suppose we all have our favourite Christmas traditions -- the ones that make us feel cosy, and put us into the seasonal spirit -- and for me, it is all about a warm kitchen and the alchemy of flour and sugar.  I'm sure it goes back to my childhood, when I spent many happy hours decorating sugar cookies and cutting out gingerbread men with my mother.  These days, some of my best moments come when I'm in the  company of my own children and we are chatting and laughing and listening to Christmas music -- whilst absorbed in our culinary tasks.  I know that I will treasure the memory of the snowy day when my teenaged daughter's social plans were ruined and so we spent a long afternoon making candy:  peanut brittle, English toffee, and a family favorite called "Oklahoma Brown" candy.

It's not that we don't sample the treats, but when it comes to Christmas baking, I definitely prefer to give . . . rather than to keep it all in the family.  I make cookies platters for friends and teachers, and no one can enter my house without me breaking out the fruitcake and making little gift bags to take home.

This year will go down as the "Fruitcake Christmas."  I dug up an old recipe that my grandparents used to love:  they called it Fort Worth fruitcake, and my mom told me that the recipe was an annual request in the Fort Worth, Texas newspaper.  I've made a few changes in the original recipe . . . you know that saying that necessity is the mother of invention? . . . and so I've called it Texas Fruitcake.  Unlike the English versions of fruitcake, it doesn't have raisins, currants or mixed peel.  Instead you get lots of moist dates and apricots, and plenty of pecans -- which are a major crop in Texas.  I've tested this recipe on ALL sorts of people this Christmas, and everyone seems to love it.  I've become a victim of my own success, though -- and I keep on having to make more of the stuff because I will insist on giving it away.  I've made at least 20 loaves of it, maybe more; I lost track a long time ago. 

Texas Fruitcake

Ingredients:

1 pound of stoned and chopped dates

1/2 pound candied cherries

1/2 pound chopped apricots

1 pound of pecans, coarsely chopped

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 eggs

Method:

This recipe will make either one large angel food tube pan, two medium loaves, or four small loaves.  The cooking times are more or less the same for all of them -- two hours, taking away about ten minutes if you use the small loaf pans.  Prepare all of the pans by using a bit of butter or shortening and then lining with parchment paper.

Cut fruit and nuts into small pieces and put into a large bowl.  Note:  If you cut them by hand you will have more quality control, but you may also use the food processor -- except for the cherries which really need to be cut up by hand.  Be careful with the dates, too -- as they can easily turn to mush.

Sift the dry ingredients together and mix with the fruit and nuts -- using a wooden spoon. 

Beat the eggs and vanilla together and pour the liquid mixture over the fruit/four mix.

Mix very well -- with a wooden spoon, or even with your hands.

Pack the mixture into the prepared pans.

Bake at a very low oven -- 250 F/125 C for approximately two hours.

Cool the cake in the pan, and then remove and wrap well in cling film.

Some commentary:  When it is fresh out of the oven, this cake is absolutely delicious.  You may treat it like a traditional fruitcake though, and "feed" it with brandy (sherry, rum, whatever) for several months or weeks before eating.  It will get darker with age, and the flavour and texture will change -- but both versions are great.  Yesterday, we had friends over for mince pies and mulled wine and I cut into a loaf that I've been "steeping" for almost two months now.  (Sadly, there isn't a trace of it left now.) 

If forced to choose, though, I would probably opt for the non-alcoholic version -- which is great for afternoon tea or even breakfast-on-the-run.  At the beginning of the week, I had to catch an early train to London and I brought along several slices to share with a friend for our commuter breakfast.  She was begging me for the recipe . . . really, it's that good.

Although it may seem like it's a bit late for fruitcake season, you might as well treat yourself because we still have wintry January and February to get through.

This is really such an easy-peasy recipe, and did you notice?  No butter or other fat in it. 

Perfect for Christmas -- or the upcoming season of austerity.

Happy Christmas baking!