The Queen of Delectables

The past week was National Baking Week – did you manage to fit in any baking? I had the excuse of a birthday to get me in the kitchen to make a carrot cake (and a great one at that, if I do say so myself!).

Remaining on the subject of baking, we’re also right in the middle of The Great British Bake Off (series 4), (oh what a scrumptious slice of TV that is), which brings me to the queen of delectables herself - Mary Berry.

Having publishing over 70 cookery books during her career, it’s fair to say she has a good few recipes on offer – and with the last name Berry, you can trust they’ll be sweet!

As well as having made a career in cooking and baking, at the ripe age of 78, she’s also become somewhat of a style icon. With her brightly coloured outfits, well-kept hair and warm appearance, Mary Berry certainly deserves some kudos! So this week, as well as sharing one of her delicious recipes, we’ve included a few of her simple life and style tips too. Enjoy!

On Fashion 

“Reluctant as I am to regard myself as a style icon, I would love to think I could inspire older women to make the most of themselves. These days, there’s no reason to be dowdy. I do look at people in the street and think: ‘Gosh, I wish you’d cheer yourself up a bit!’”

“I try to dress for my age. I am pale and I don’t want to look insipid, so I dress cheerfully. I always wear lots of bright colours. I don’t wear much plain grey or beige as I look washed out”

On Food 

“You can have a very interesting and varied diet, but you don’t need a huge portion and you certainly don’t need a second helping, especially as you get older. Rather than deny myself anything, I prefer to have tiny portions of beautiful food: a sliver of quiche with crispy bacon, for example, and a nice bit of asparagus.”

On Life & Career

“I believe the success I’ve had in my career has been down to grabbing hold of every opportunity that came my way. If I could give any advice to the young, it would be to get as much experience as possible in your chosen field and be willing to go that extra mile so that you stand out — and, as Judy Chalmers always told me, to make sure you do it with a big smile!”

THE VERY BEST APPLE DESSERT CAKE (from Mary Berry's New Aga Cookbook)

Ingredients

225g self-raising flour

1 level tsp baking powder

225g caster sugar

2 large eggs

½ tsp almond extract

150g butter, melted

250g cooking apples, peeled and cored

25g flaked almonds

Special Equipment

Deep 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Lightly grease a deep 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin.
• Measure the flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, almond extract and melted butter into a bowl. Mix well until blended, then beat for a minute.
• Spread half this mixture in the prepared tin. Thickly slice the apples and lay on top of the mixture in the tin, piling mostly towards the centre. Using 2 dessert spoons, roughly spoon the remaining mixture over the apples. This is an awkward thing to do, but just make sure that the mixture covers the centre well as it will spread out in the oven.
• Sprinkle with the flaked almonds.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 1¼-1½ hours until golden and coming away from the sides of the tin.

PREPARING AHEAD - Best made to serve warm but can be made the day before. And, once cooked and cold, you can wrap and freeze it for a maximum of 3 months.

AGA - With the grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven and the cold plain shelf on the second set of runners, cook the cake for about 20 minutes or until pale golden brown, watching carefully. Transfer the plain shelf (which is very hot!) to the middle of the simmering oven, then lift the cake very gently on to this and bake for a further 30-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake.

This recipe is from Mary Berry's New Aga Cookbook and courtesy of http://www.maryberry.co.uk/