26th November 2013
Gelly Babes November Outing
Today was the first the day that all the members of the Gelly Babes were able to meet and we started the day with a very special visit to Charlotte's beautiful house. Helen J made her own way there and the rest of us had a very interesting drive up the very narrow lane, arriving exactly on schedule at 10.27!
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| The Lady of the Manor! |
We had a wonderful guided tour of the house and all decided that we are going to move in. Sadly we hadn't brought our swimming cosies so we weren't able to make use of the hot tub on this occasion - but we won't forget next time.
It was a bit of a shame that Charlotte hadn't seen fit to tidy the pantry for our visit and we were a little bit disappointed by the missing doors upstairs but other than that we were all very impressed.
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| How many cafetieres? |
The visit was rounded off with coffee and tea cakes in one of the conservatories and when we managed to stop talking about the wonders of Charlotte's house we sorted out the education system - and all this before midday!
We said our goodbyes to Charlotte - it had been really good to see her and catch up with all her news. Exactly on schedule we headed for Tissington for our walk. We started along the trail and then headed over the fields towards Parwich. The views were wonderful but it was very muddy and some of us had difficulty staying on our feet! Some of the stiles proved to be a bit of a challenge too but expert use of a stick can be a great help in such circumstances.
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| Always good to know that Joe will have something for tea tonight |
We ate our sandwiches on the village green in Parwich which was beautiful in the late sunshine and then back up the hill to the trail for the final lap back to the car park for tea and cake in the campervan.
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| Time for tea! |
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Just what we needed to keep us going!
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And finally, as requested by Pam, here is the recipe for the sticky toffee tray bake
FOR THE SPONGE
200g pitted dates, chopped
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
300ml boiling water
80g unsalted butter, softened
160g light brown sugar
2 large free-range eggs, at room temperature, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
175g self raising flour good pinch of seasalt
75g walnut pieces
FOR THE TOPPING
100g light brown sugar
75g unsalted butter
100ml double cream
4 tablespoons mascarpone
good pinch of sea salt flakes
walnut halves or pieces to decorate (or jelly babies!)
Instructions
1.Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 25.5cm x 20.5cm x 5cm tin. To make the sponge mixture, put the dates into a suacepan, add the bicarb soda and pour over the boiling water. Simmer over a low heat for a minute, then remove from the heat and leave to cool and soften for 15 minutes.
2.Put butter into a mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or an electric beater until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy, then gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Sift the flour and salt into the bowl and fold in with a large metal spoon. Add the cooled date mixture and the walnuts, and fold in.
3.Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the sponge feels springy when gently pressed in the centre. Cool for 15 minutes in the tin, then carefully turn out and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
4.To make the caramel topping, put the sugar, butter and double cream into a saucepan and heat gently until melted, then bring to the boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes until sticky. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.
5.Beat the mascarpone until smooth, then fold in the caramel mixture and the salt. Swirl over the top of the cold cake. Decorate with walnuts. Leave in a cool spot to firm up a little before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container and eat within 4 days.
