DELIA COOKBOOK RECIPES

Steps:

• To make the pastry, first sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add some freshly milled black pepper, then add the suet and mix it into the flour using the blade of a knife. When it’s evenly blended, add a few drops of cold water and start to mix with the knife, using curving movements and turning the mixture around. The aim is to bring it together as a dough, so keep adding drops of water until it begins to get really claggy and sticky.
• Now abandon the knife, go in with your hands and bring it all together until you have a nice smooth elastic dough which leaves the bowl clean. It’s worth noting that suet pastry always needs more water than other types, so if it’s still a bit dry go on adding a few drops at a time.
• After that, take a quarter of the dough for the lid, then roll the rest out fairly thickly. What you need is a round approximately 32.5cm in diameter. Now line the bowl with the pastry, pressing it well all around.
• Next chop the steak and kidney into fairly small cubes, toss them in seasoned flour, then add them to the pastry-lined basin with the slices of onion. Add enough cold water* to reach almost the top of the meat and sprinkle in a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and another seasoning of salt and pepper.
• Roll out the pastry lid, dampen its edges and put it in position on the pudding. Seal well and cover with a double sheet of foil, pleated in the centre to allow  room for expansion while cooking.
• Now secure it with string, making a little handle so that you can lift it out of the hot steamer. Then place it in a steamer over boiling water. Steam for 5 hours, topping up the boiling water halfway through. You can either serve the pudding by spooning portions straight out of the bowl, or slide a palette knife round the edge and turn the whole thing out onto a serving plate (which is more fun!) Recipe © Delia Smith 2008, Delia’s Frugal Food, published by Hodder and Stoughton. https://www.deliaonline.com Click here for more Delia recipes, cookery school videos, information on bakeware and ingredients.

Steps:

• You should get the pre-soaking ingredients ready the night before you make the cake. Put all the fruits in a bowl and mix them with the brandy, cover with a cloth and leave them to soak for a minimum of 12 hours.
• When you’re ready to cook the cake, pre-heat the oven to 140°C conventional oven, gas mark 1. Now all you do is sift the flour, salt and spices into a very large roomy mixing bowl then add the sugar, eggs, treacle (warm it a little first to make it easier) and butter and beat with an electric hand whisk until everything is smooth and fluffy. Now gradually fold in the pre-soaked fruit mixture, chopped nuts and finally the grated lemon and orange zests.
• Next, using a large kitchen spoon, transfer the cake mixture into the prepared tin, spread it out evenly with the back of the spoon and, if you don’t intend to decorate the cake with marzipan and icing, lightly drop the blanched almonds in circles over the surface.
• Finally take a double square of baking parchment with a 50p-sized hole in the centre (for extra protection during the cooking) and place this not on top of the mixture itself but on the rim of the brown paper. Bake the cake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 4 hours until it feels springy in the centre when lightly touched. Sometimes it can take 30-45 minutes longer than this, but in any case don’t look at it for 4 hours. Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the tin, then remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling. When it’s cold, ‘feed’ the cake by making small holes in the top and bottom with a cocktail stick and spooning in a couple of tablespoons of Armagnac or brandy, then wrap it in parchment-lined foil and store in an airtight tin. You can feed it again at odd intervals up until Christmas. Recipe © Delia Smith 2008, Delia’s Frugal Food, published by Hodder and Stoughton. http://deliaonline.com >Click here for more Delia recipes, cookery school videos, information on bakeware and ingredients.