SINGLETON'S GINGER 'N CHOCOLATE PLUS CHERRY LOAF CAKES: small households, easy-peasy, higher fibre indulgence

Two different delicious loaf cakes from one baking session;  eat one, freeze the other...

Ginger in syrup is the shared flavour but one loaf has chocolate added  
while glace cherries stud the other.
'Really nice texture and the flavours were very good.'  Taster

With the Christmas season coming up fast, there is no harm is stashing a few baked goods in the freezer for expected or surprise visitors.

Mary Berry's one-bowl-Madeira cake recipe is the basis for this week's 'treats' recipe.  Two different 1-pound moist loaves are produced, easily and quickly.  And they'll last a week in the fridge or a couple on months in the freezer. 

67goingon50 made two contrasting loaves but if you have a favourite, make two of the same.  67 chose ginger in syrup with either chocolate chips or glaze cherries but choose your own flavourings.

Ingredients:

175gm/6oz softened butter (it must be soft)
   175gm/6oz caster sugar
   150gm/5.3oz self-raising flour (add 1 tsp baking powder to plain flour)
     75gm/2.6oz self raising brown flour
     50gm/1.75oz ground almonds 
      4 large eggs

      3-4 globes of stem ginger in syrup, finely chopped

   1/3-1/2 generous cup chocolate chips

   1/3-1/2 generous cup halved glace cherries 

Icings:

Chocolate: 300g/10.5 oz 70% dark chocolate; 1 tbsp veg oil or butter

Cherry: 1-2 tbsp soft butter; 3/4 cup icing sugar; either water or milk to thin OR

1-2 tbsp juice from glace cherries OR cherry brandy OR brandy

 

Method: 

'CHEATS' MULLIGATAWNY SOUP: singleton's; quick & easy

Getting home hungry and exhausted?  Here's a perfect solution for a solitary supper after a hard day's work...

Mulligatawny: layers of Indian spices, rice & shreds of protein.  In minutes.
'A wonderfully tasty and satisfying soup for the end of a long day.'

Sometimes it's just too much darned trouble to make a meal from scratch, and the freezer is bare.  At those times, the Blogger 'cheats' with supermarket friends.

Pizza bases, soups, rotisserie chicken, salads ... 67 uses them as a base, and tarts them up with spices, herbs and bits of protein.  The only criteria for the choice of supermarket 'friends' is that they are as free as possible of e-numbers, nasty additives and preservatives.  There are a surprising number to choose from...just take the time to read the list of ingredients.

This week the focus is on tinned 'chunky' soups.  In this case, M&S' Tadka Dal Soup, at all of £1.10.  Add a bit of water, rice, curry powder & cumin, cooked or raw meat/fish/plant protein, finely chopped apple and Voila: rich, thick & satisfying Mulligatawny Soup.

In only minutes.  

And it won't cost the earth.

Give it a whirl.

It's a formula that can be applied to any chunky tinned soup, though 67goingon50 prefers M&S or Baxters - no danger of metallic tastes with these two brands.  

Cost: £1.50'ish, depending on protein 

Serves: 1

Ingreds:

1 tin M&S Tadka Dahl Soup

1/2 tin water, used to rinse out soup tin 

2 tbsp raw washed easy-cook* or leftover rice OR a small potato in fine dice

1/2 tsp curry powder

pinch of cumin

pinch of dried ginger or a scrape of fresh

100-150gm/3.5-5.2 gm protein of choice, raw or leftovers

1 small apple, finely diced

Garnish: chopped parsley or chives

Method: