Dundee Cake for St. Nicholas Day

I shared this recipe years ago. I've wanted to share it in time for St. Nicholas Day on December 6th every year since then, but would remember in the middle of December, or even in April!

But this coming weekend is the traditional time to eat this delicious cake! So here is the recipe, and just in time!

A Scottish Tradition

It's Christmastime, and one thing I love about being an American is how traditions and foods from different parts of the world blend together to become distinctly American, but still retain their roots.

Kind of like people, right?

I'm a perfect example of America's melting pot: my great-grandparents were 1) & 2) Swiss German, 3) Irish? or English? (someday I may tell you about the skeleton in that closet), 4) Irish, 5) English, 6) Scottish, 7) & 8) German.

I often talk about the Swiss and German part of my ancestry, but today we're heading north of the wall to the wilds of Scotland.

A traditional cake from Scotland is the Dundee Cake - a kind of light fruitcake. Rumor says it was developed for Mary, Queen of Scots, because she didn't like candied cherries and what-not in her cakes.

I came across this cake because I'm a Tasha Tudor fan.

She kept the tradition of making a Dundee Cake every year that was then eaten on December 6th, St. Nicholas Day. It was the start of the Advent season and a tradition her family still carries on to this day.

But the Tasha Tudor receipt (she never called them 'recipes') has candied fruit in it, and Mary Q of S wouldn't stand for that, so I started researching.

I found out the main thing that makes a Dundee Cake, other than being cakey and fruity, are the almonds.

No almonds? Then you just have a fruit cake. You might as well be English. A Low-lander. Sheesh.

I read through dozens of Dundee Cake recipes and came up with a cake all my own. I hate fruit cake, but I love this cake. I made it this weekend for our own St. Nicholas Day remembrance on Thursday.

So, (drumroll please), here's the recipe:

Jan's Dundee Cake

First, prepare your pan. I used my 8" spring-form pan, but you can also use whatever pan you have that gives you enough room for the cake to rise. A 9" round cake pan isn't high enough, but a 9" square pan should be big enough. Tasha Tudor's family uses two 9" loaf pans.

Grease your pan with butter or cooking spray, and line with baking parchment.

I cut a circle slightly larger than the bottom of my pan and laid it in the bottom.

Then I used three 5" strips of parchment to line the sides of the pan.









Now it's time to make the cake.

Ingredients:
1/2 c. whole almonds

2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup raisins
1 cup slivered almonds, chopped as finely as you wish

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon orange zest

First step: blanch your almonds. This is super easy!

Put your whole almonds in a bowl. Be sure you use raw almonds, not roasted or salted.

Pour boiling water over the nuts just to cover them. Let them soak for one minute. Any longer and you'll get soggy almonds. Any shorter and you won't be able to get the brown skins off.

Pour the hot water off the nuts and rinse them in cold water. Now you can slip the skins off.

It's an easy process, but a bit tedious. Employ your elves (aka children hanging about) to help.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder and chopped almonds. Add your fruit pieces - I used raisins - and stir to cover the fruit with the flour.


Next, using your mixer, beat together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Then add the vanilla, orange juice, lemon extract and orange zest. Blend with a spoon or with your mixer on low speed.

Stir in the flour mixture. When it's well blended, pour the batter into your prepared pan. It will be thick - almost like a soft cookie dough rather than a cake batter.

The next step is your signature. Place the blanched almonds in a design on the top of your cake. Make spirals, sunbursts, whatever. The more almonds you use, the better.

Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for about one hour.

Test for doneness with a cake tester or toothpick. Stick it in the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. But with this cake you want a few crumbs sticking to the tester - it's better for the cake to be slightly underdone than overdone.

Cool in the pan for ten minutes, then remove from the pan, place on a cooling rack and let it cool completely.

Now comes the really hard part.

really hard.....

This cake is better after it's been sitting for a few days.

Wrap it up well in plastic wrap or an air-tight food storage container, put it in a cupboard or on top of the refrigerator, and wait.

Believe me, it's worth it. I tried mine straight out of the oven, then put it away and tried it again a few days later. It definitely gets better with age...not unlike certain Scotsmen...

{2020 note - That line about certain Scotsmen was a nod to my favorite Scottish actor, Sean Connery. But, alas, Mr. Connery is no longer with us. He is one who certainly got better with age!}

The great thing about this recipe is that you can play with it and make it your own!

Here are some ideas of different additions you can make to the batter:

candied cherries
candied peel
sultanas
dried cranberries
currants
dried blueberries
whole almonds
ginger marmalade


So, are you ready to try this departure from traditional fruit cake, or are you one of the 50% of Americans who love those bricks of .....whatever they are?

Jan Drexler has always been a "book girl" who still loves to spend time within the pages of her favorite books. She lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her dear husband of many years and their active, crazy dogs, Jack and Sam. You can learn more about Jan and her books on her website, www.JanDrexler.com.

Easy S'More Dip Revisited

Missy Tippens

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving!! With all the outdoor gatherings people might be having this holiday to keep socially distant, it made me think of s'mores. I thought I'd share a repeat from my post from 2014. It's quick and easy to throw together for a party. Enjoy again! (Also, very fun to see my book cover from 2014). :)

Easy S'More Dip


Missy, here. My daughter saw this recipe on Pinterest and excitedly texted me a photo. The original recipe came from the Five Heart Home website. My daughter made it and took photos so I could share with you! She made a small version in my small iron skillet (the one I use for cornbread).

Ingredients:

Chocolate chips--a mix of semi-sweet and milk (or whatever you prefer)

Large marshmallows cut in half

Graham Crackers

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cover the bottom of your skillet with the chocolate chips. (She sprayed the pan with Pam first.)

Cover with the halved marshmallows.

Bake at 450 degrees for 5-7 minutes or until marshmallows are toasty brown.

Gorgeous!

Dip your graham crackers and enjoy! (Careful. It's VERY hot as my nearly-burned bottom lip will tell you.) :)

A quick, easy dish to share. No need for the campfire (like from my book, The Guy Next Door!). :)

www.missytippens.com

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

FROM OUR HEARTS TO YOURS!

Vegan Harvest Chili for Thanksgiving

 Over the years, my vegan daughter and I have made a variety of non-turkey Thanksgiving dinners. One year we made a lentil loaf. Another we did a vegan shepherd's pie.

This year we won't be together thanks to the pandemic, but we decided to try and cook the same meal before we sit down to share it over zoom.

My daughter came up with a Harvest Chili recipe. We decided having harvest in the name made it qualify as a Thanksgiving treat.

I thought I would share the recipe website with you today, because it seems easy and fun.

I also wanted to share it because I love the website. There are so many interesting recipes.

Vegan Harvest Chili

So what's on the menu for you? Are you doing all the traditional dishes? 

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Like it or not, the holidays are upon us. And with Thanksgiving only two days away I thought I'd revisit a post from a few years back that offers a creative use for those leftovers. Let's take our standard turkey and dressing and turn it into turkey and waffles. Let's check it out.

So Thanksgiving is over, and if your house is anything like mine, you're still noshing on leftovers. But eating the same old same can get boring after a while, so why not do something a little different.

I saw this a while back on some cooking show and decided that I had to try it. We did and loved it. I haven't quite perfected it, though I think I know the problem.

We'll start with our dressing, or stuffing, if you prefer. If it goes into the bird, it's stuffing. If not, it's dressing. Whatever the case, it's one of my favorite dishes of the entire Thanksgiving feast.

Around here, we do your basic cornbread dressing, no fancy ingredients. Not that I haven't tried, but I seem get shot down every time. "Don't mess with tradition, Mom."

Okay, okay, I get the point.

Now we're going to scoop some of that beautiful dressing onto our HOT waffle iron that's been sprayed with Pam or some such product, and kinda sorta press it down just a little with our spoon.

Close the lid and press hard. Just long enough to compress things.

I had my waffle iron set between medium-high and high and it took about 5-6 minutes for the waffle to cook.

Crisp outside, moist inside. Though getting it off of the waffle iron was a bit tricky. I ended up picking up the iron and flipping the waffle over onto the plate.

Once you've plated your waffle, simply top with your favorite Thanksgiving leftovers.

Turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy... The one I saw on TV was stacked high with a little bit of everything.

Okay, so one key here is that you want moist dressing. And while I did achieve my waffle, I think, next time, I'll toss a beaten egg into my dressing before putting it on the waffle iron to keep things together a little better. 

I love this idea and can't wait for Friday to do it again. In the meantime, I'd like to wish each and every one of you a blessed Thanksgiving. I know this year has been far from the norm, but there's still much to be thankful for. God is good and He's still on His throne.

Do you have some creative ways with your Thanksgiving leftovers?

Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, two sassy pups, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com

Thanksgiving Dinner Rolls

It's officially the week of Thanksgiving!

I've always loved Thanksgiving, even back when I was in elementary school and our music teacher taught us songs like, "Come, Ye Thankful People Come," "We Gather Together," and of course, "Over the River and Through the Woods!" 

Do you remember construction paper turkeys? Pilgrim hats? The anticipation of a big family gathering?

Well, some things have changed. I'm not sure elementary students even make construction paper turkeys anymore. When my children were small, they had been taken over by the paper plate turkeys. 

And this year, everything is different! We're still planning a family Thanksgiving, but it will look much different than the last several years with a smaller crowd. Much smaller.

But one thing hasn't changed: the food! We're planning a traditional Thanksgiving meal with turkey, dressing, two kinds of potatoes, green beans, jello salad, pumpkin pie...and these beauties!

I've been making homemade dinner rolls for close to fifty years.

Man, that hurts just to type it! Fifty years??? 

In 1972, our family was visiting friends (it was during the Olympic games - I remember watching Mark Spitz win a gold medal at their house!) and the mom made dinner rolls to go with our meal. My dad ate one, then another, then he said to me, "If you learn to make dinner rolls like these, I'll double your allowance!"

I may not have a good memory when it comes to some things, but a promised raise in my allowance? Oh yes, I remembered that.

I started to work right away. First, I got the recipe from our hostess. I still have it, written in my high school handwriting.

As soon as we got home, I started baking. I had just begun trying to learn to make bread that summer, so I was slightly familiar with the ingredients. By the time I graduated from high school, I was baking a fairly good dinner roll.

After I got married, I was still working on perfection. I incorporated whole wheat flour and wheat germ into the original recipe, and came up with "Floyd's Favorite Dinner Rolls." They were my staple for years!

Fast forward a few decades....my bread baking continued to improve, but I was missing that elusive texture...chewy...melt in your mouth softness...light and airy...pull-apart yum...

Until now. I have finally earned that raise in my allowance!

The secret has three parts: ingredients, practice, and the right recipe.

1) The ingredients: 

A simple bread recipe is easy - flour, salt, and yeast. 

But to make a super soft dough, you need fat. 

And if you want it airy, you need sugar. The yeast gets hungry if you don't feed it right, and on a diet of sugar it grows quickly, giving your bread dough lots of nice airy bubbles. 

Another key to a soft dough is eggs - at least one per dozen rolls.

So, as you're searching for your go-to bread recipe, look for those ingredients.

2) Practice!

I hope it won't take you almost fifty years, but you do need to make a lot of bread to get a loaf you can be proud of.

With practice, you'll learn your kitchen's climate - which kind of flour works best for you, how much flour is too much (and too little,) how warm your liquid needs to be - and if you need to be generous or stingy with the recipe's amount. You'll learn how to knead your dough and what it feels like when the kneading time is perfect. 

One reason why it took me so long is that every time we moved, my kitchen's climate changed!

Learn to gauge the moisture and crumb in your finished loaf. And learn how to adjust what went wrong.

3) The right recipe.

For this batch of rolls, I used a new recipe from a cookbook written by a friend of mine, Martha Greene.

By the way, you can buy this book HERE, and it's even on sale!

Martha's recipe checks off all the boxes I mentioned earlier: it calls for butter, sugar and eggs. Definitely a sweet roll dough that will give you light and airy dinner rolls!

The sweet roll dough in one of my other favorite cookbooks should give the same results - The original 1950 Betty Crocker cookbook is the source for that one. 

I don't know if that recipe is included in the 2017 reprint edition, but I hope so!

Another source for great recipes is Pinterest. I found this one there: Recipe from I Heart Eating

Recipes abound, so start baking!

What traditional dishes are you making for Thanksgiving?

Jan Drexler has always been a "book girl" who still loves to spend time within the pages of her favorite books. She lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her dear husband of many years and their active, crazy dogs, Jack and Sam. You can learn more about Jan and her books on her website, www.JanDrexler.com.

Cranberry Time!

 Missy Tippens

Thanksgiving always makes me think of cranberries. I love them (well-sweetened, of course)! And I just discovered a new product last week that I wanted to share.

I found these wonderful breads from a company called Ozery Bakery. It's in the U.S. and Canada. The ones I bought and have enjoyed are the Cranberry Orange Morning Rounds and the Cranberry Orange Snacking Rounds.

The morning rounds are the size of a small (but puffy) pita bread. The snack rounds are mini-sized. I usually eat two or three for a meal.

Both toast beautifully. They puff up and fill with steam, so you have to be careful when you cut into them. But they're toasted on the outside and so soft on the inside.

I split them in half (like a bagel) and then spread cream cheese on them. They taste like a cross between a soft bagel and a tender English muffin.

You can see the beautiful cranberries inside! I just love these. They are now going to be added regularly to our grocery list.

Have y'all had these before? I found these at Sprouts, but my husband has also found them for me at Publix (I believe in the bakery area).

www.missytippens.com

Thanksgiving Favorites and Blessings Galore!

 I am  not a worrier. 

It's just not in my genes.

Did you know that there is a specific "worry gene"? They discovered it as they broke down the human genome, the pattern that makes us specifically us. And lo and behold, if you're worried about whether or not you have the gene, well...

You probably do.

But that's okay! 

Maybe you're just more sensitive. (I can be a bit of an insensitive lout at times, but I'm quite happy the way I am, so I'm not going to extremes to change it. I think my heightened awareness is quite enough, thank you very much!) 

:)

With a beautiful holiday season looming and a pandemic breathing its Covid 19 germs throughout the USA, there are decisions to be made and we grown ups have to be the ones to make them. So there's that.

Do we do a normal Thanksgiving with the whole family? Do we do a scaled down version? Do we all eat separately and wave to one another via Zoom?

A conundrum. And it's a conundrum that only you can solve, based on what you're comfortable with.

And the worry, concern, stress varies from state to state, region to region and even draws a fairly definitive line by political party affiliation. There's a lot of "them" and "us" going on. But in the end, it's up to you and we have lots of advice about food prep... 

Jan's Pumpkin Pie

Ruthy's Cranberry Orange Relish:

One bag of cranberries
One large orange
1 cup sugar

Grind cranberries and orange together with grinder or food processor. Add sugar. Chill! 

Ruthy's Apple Pie (ONE OF OUR FIRST POSTS!!!!!) 

And of course you need some sweet potatoes, right? I love sweet potatoes!  Here's a link to Cate Nolan's Pomegranate and Sweet Potato bake.... Non-traditional but delicious! 

Cate's Sweet Potato and Pomegranate Bake

And a new favorite around here, Corn Bread Spoon Pudding.... which isn't a pudding or a bread, but whatever it really is, it's delicious! Here's our Texas gal's version and it's delicious! I could easily make an entire meal on this!!!! Not kidding.

Mindy's Easy Corn Pudding Thanksgiving Side Dish 

And from Missy we have Cellia's Cran-Raspberry Jello Salad! So amazingly delicious!

We're seeing it without the cream cheese/sour cream topping here... and it's also good if you use Cool Whip in place of the sour cream, or along with.... Cool Whip has never hurt anything, if you know what I mean! :)

So there are some great ideas to make the holiday easier... Or just spritzier with a pinch of this and a dash of that. 

However this all happens for you this year, please know that you are in our prayers... and we'll all be glad when this winds down.

In the meantime, may God bless you in every way with happiness, home and health.

Multi-published, USA Today Bestselling author Ruth Logan Herne loves to write, she loves to cook and bake, and the thought of being thwarted by a germ of another's creation annoys her no end, but she's going to enjoy being with more of her ilk as the holidays go on. Her "You're not the boss of me" somewhat two-year-old attitude isn't a surprise to her family... but she loves and respects the worriers just as much as the non-worriers so that's kind of how it goes. Write to Ruthy at loganherne@gmail.com, friend her on Facebook and here's a link to her website to check out her over 60 published novels and novellas... ruthloganherne.com

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! 

Keeping it Simple with Kale and Rice

 Not complaining, but school is exhausting, so by the time I get home, the last thing I feel like doing is cooking. Still, a person has to eat.

In my attempt to be lazy, I discovered something that was very tasty.

My original plan was to have salmon with rice and lemon, but when I took out the lemons, they were mush. Time to change plans.  

Since I already had the rice cooking, I decided to toss some kale in. It was chopped frozen kale. Turns out it's a great way to cook it.

I had some sprouted lentils in the fridge, so I put them on top of the kale rice mix, and then topped it with melted cheddar cheese.

Easy. Fast. And delicious.

Works for me. What do you think?

Fenway and I were enjoying an autumn walk so I took some photos to share. We always say Fen is an autumn dog because he blends in so well, and he LOVES running through leaves.

Staying Healthy and Strange Things at the Ranch

November is one of my favorite times here in Texas. Yes, spring is lovely with the wildflowers, but after a long, hot summer, the cooler temperatures are such a welcome reprieve that you just want to be outside. For those of you in the north who look forward to spring after a long winter, that's how fall is for us. But lately, I've been noticing some strange things.

Our Mexican Heather is still in full bloom, which isn't so strange, but seeing it covered in honey bees is. For the past month, it has been inundated. You go out on the patio and you hear the low hum of the bees. It's kind of cool and creepy at the same time. But as long as they leave me alone, they're welcome to hang around.

And then the other day I was sitting in my thinking chair in my office when I saw something white on the magnolia tree outside. As in a flower. But magnolias bloom in the spring. So I went to investigate.

Some new shoots had grown out of the trunk and, apparently, they didn't realize it's November.

I'm surprised the bees hadn't found that.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, we've been trying to keep things on the lighter side. Or at least low-carb. And since hubby is convinced that he loses a pound every time we have salmon for dinner, we've been eating it once or twice a week. And my favorite side for salmon is asparagus.

There are so many good things about this meal. Not only does it help our waistlines, but because it's all cooked on the grill, there's almost no cleanup. However, if you don't have a grill, you can roast them in a 400 degree oven.

The asparagus is so simple. Just rinse and trim your spears. Put them in a lidded container and drizzle with some olive oil.

Then add some lemon pepper, which is the same seasoning I use on my salmon so they pair perfectly.

Put the lid on and tossed everything. Then throw it on the grill either while the salmon is cooking or afterward. Depending on the thickness of the stalks, it takes 3-5 minutes per side. You want them tender, but not completely limp. And a little bit of color is nice, too.

This is a perfect pairing all the way around. And since our eating will soon lapse into the indulgent category for a brief time, healthy and waist-trimming is a very good thing.

What strange things are going on where you are?

Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, two sassy pups, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com