Recipes From Countryside Connection Members

This wonderfully unique french toast recipe was a great favourite with our Beckwood Pond guests and remains a favourite of family and friends today. In France, it is known as pain perdu “lost bread” and was originally created to revive day-old or stale baguettes. In fact, I do find it works much better with bread that is at least a day or two old and works equally well with Italian or French bread (with crusty loaves I still leave the crust on and it works perfectly), challah or larger loaves of homemade bread. The completed dish offers enticingly puffy, wonderfully scented French toast fresh from the oven with the added benefit of having been put together the night before and left in the refrigerator ready for baking in the morning.

BAKED ORANGE SCENTED FRENCH TOAST

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

1 large (approximately 14” long) loaf of Italian, French, Challah or Homemade Bread

2 oz / 56 grams unsalted butter, softened

¼ teaspoon salt

2 large free-range eggs

11 oz / 325 ml. whole milk

3 oz / 85 ml. orange juice

Zest from one large orange

1 generous teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Confectioners / Icing Sugar – Lightly sprinkle before serving.

Accompaniments: Maple Syrup or Fruit Syrup (warmed is best) and Fresh Berries

Method:

Cut 12 (1 inch-thick) diagonal slices from bread (the original recipe, without my personal changes and additions, and many other similar ones often suggest cutting off the crusts, but I prefer to leave them on and they are always completely absorbed by the custard)

Generously butter one side of each slice and arrange slices buttered sides up, in one layer in a well buttered (important to avoid sticking) 13”x 9”x 2” glass baking dish. If necessary, squeeze bread slices slightly to fit in.

Whisk together eggs, milk, orange juice, zest, vanilla and ¼ teaspoon salt until well combined. Pour evenly over bread. Chill overnight, covered with plastic wrap/cling film, until bread has absorbed all of the custard. If necessary, time can be reduced but must be no less than one hour and chilled in refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. / 220 degrees C.

Bring mixture to room temperature. Bake, uncovered, in the middle of the oven until bread is puffed and top is golden, about 20-25 minutes.

Serve immediately with accompaniments of your choice.

Recipe contributed by Farmaround (London), Farmaroundnorth and Izzy Lane, Richmond, Yorkshire

Scrumptiously Moist Orange Cake

Approximately 380g of navel oranges
6 eggs
225g Sugar
250g ground almonds
1 heaped tsp baking powder

Place the whole oranges in a pan and cover with cold water. Place over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/Gas mark 5

Drain the oranges and, when cool, cut each orange in half and remove the pips. Place the oranges - skins, pith and fruit – into a food processor and give a quick whiz. Put the remaining ingredients into the food processor with the orange mush and pulse to a pulp.

Grease and line a 21cm/8.5” cake tin. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer will come out clean. NB. You may need to cover the top with grease-proof paper or foil after the first 40 minutes to stop the top burning.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin, on a rack. Remove from the tin once cool.

Please visit Farmaround, Farmaroundnorth and Izzy Lane’s listings on our Farm Page:

www.countrysideconnection.co.uk/farmfareartisanproducersanddelis.aspx

Here is a recipe for a simple skin balm (this should make enough for a 60ml jar)

SKIN BALM RECIPE

You will need:

10g Beeswax (ask your local honey producer!) Jane asked me to note that she is not the one shown in the adjoining image as she isn’t that brave – nor am I!)
25g Olive Oil
25g Sweet Almond Oil
5 drops Pure essential oil (Sweet orange is really nice, or Sandalwood, or Lavender)

Combine all the ingredients except the pure essential oil in a small saucepan over a low heat. Heat until the besswax melts. Remove from the heat, allow mixture to cool slightly and then add the essential oil. Stir, then pour into a clean jar, and allow to cool.

The balm will be of a fairly soft consistency, great for massaging into dry hands and feet!

Please visit Jane Maddern’s listing in our Farm Fare, Artisan Producers Category for a full range of her wonderful handmade goat’s milk soap and range of skin products.

This is one of those simple to prepare family favourites that has been around for so long that no one can remember who originally starting making it. I only know that it is something we all look forward to and people never hesitate to suggest it will be "the perfect summertime gift" each and every year!  Heléne Leichter-Saxby, founder of Countryside Connection

STRAWBERRY GRAND MARNIER JAM & SYRUP

Note: Measures in this recipe are American Standard.

6 cups whole strawberries
1 ½ cup sugar (approximately)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

Rinse strawberries. Stem and slice and divide into two equal portions. Place ½ in a sauté pan. Sprinkle sugar to taste, add lemon juice and mash the berries with a fork or potato masher.

Cook over medium-low heat, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, stir in Grand Marnier and strain syrup into container leaving thick fruit pulp. Note: Syrup will thicken slightly as it cools.

Cut remaining strawberries into small pieces and stir into cooked pulp. Put strawberry jam into jars that have been thoroughly cleaned with very hot water and thorougly dried. Seal tightly and let cool. Store in larder or other cool place.

Yield: 1 ½ cups jam and 1 ½ cups syrup (excellent topping for American Pancakes, Ice Cream and other desserts).

Jackie Miller, Collier’s Hill Conference Centre & Guest House
Bayton, Worcestershire

The season for English strawberries is short and sweet. The jewel in the crown of summer fruits needs to be treated with respect and devotion.

Probably one of the earliest packaged foods, sold in the 16th century in cone-shaped shaped baskets, regarded in medieval times as an aphrodisiac and by the Romans as a cure for melancholy and bad breath, this is a fruit to be treasured.

Eaten freshly picked from your garden with lashings of clotted cream or liberally doused with black pepper to draw out their flavour, strawberry recipes that can lengthen the intensity of that first taste of summer are a must for a discerning cook.

STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM

 (Serves 6)

Ripe fruit full of flavour is essential for this recipe

340g ripe strawberries hulled
juice of I orange and I lemon
170g-castor sugar
420m whipping cream

Rub berries through a sieve, or process briefly in a blender or food processor and strain the puree.
Combine puree with orange and lemon juice and sugar.
Set mixture aside for about 2 hours to intensify the flavour
Whip cream until it holds in soft peaks combine with puree whisking lightly together.

Freeze in an ice-cream maker following manufacturer’s instructions.

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