Using local and seasonal ingredients throughout the year, our tasty soups and scrumptious homemade cakes always keep our participants (and Tutors!) well fueled and full of energy!

A few of our recent recipes are below for you to try at home ... enjoy!

Blueberry and Lime Drizzle Cake

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 225g butter or margarine
• 225g caster sugar
• 4 medium eggs
• Juice and zest of 2 limes
• 250g self-raising flour
• 25g ground almonds
• 8oz blueberries

For the Syrup

• 8 tbsp lime juice (approx 4 limes)
• Zest of 1 lime
• 140g caster sugar

For the Icing

• 3oz icing sugar
• Juice of 2 limes

Butter the base and sides of a 23cm/9in ring tin. Set oven to 180C/Gas 4/fan oven 160C.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little flour towards the end to prevent curdling. Beat in the lime zest, then fold in the flour and almonds. Fold in enough lime juice - about 3 tablespoons - to give you a good dropping consistency (the mixture should drop easily from the spoon when tapped).

Fold in three quarters of the blueberries and turn into the prepared tin. Smooth the surface, then scatter the remaining fruit on top - it will sink as the cake rises.

Bake for about 1 hour (cover with foil if beginning to brown too much), or until firm to a gentle prod in the center. A skewer pushed into the center should be clean when removed.

Meanwhile make the syrup: put the lime juice, zest and sugar in a small saucepan. Put over a gentle heat and stir, without allowing to bubble. The sugar should dissolve a little. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, prick all over with a skewer then spoon the syrup over it. Cool completely and the remove from the tin.

Mix the icing sugar and lime juice together and drizzles over the cake.

Citrus Parsnip Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbs butter
• 2 parsnips (approx 660g/1lb5oz) cubed and cored
• 2 trimmed leeks, sliced
• Juice of 1 orange
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 850ml (1½ pints) veg stock
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the Zingy Topping:

• 15g (1/2oz) toasted pecans, very finely chopped
• Few sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
• Grated zest ½ lemon

Heat the butter in a large saucepan. Add the parsnips and leeks, shake the pan well to coat the vegetables, cover and sweat for 10 minutes.

Stir in the orange and lemon juice together with the stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 30 min until the vegetables are soft.

While the soup is simmering, make the topping by combining all the ingredients together.

Cool the soup slightly before pureeing. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Serve soup piping hot sprinkled with a little topping.

Sticky Chocolate Gingercake

Ingredients

• 75g/3oz stem ginger pieces, plus 4-6tbs syrup from the jar
• 125g/4oz black treacle
• 125g/4oz golden syrup
• 300g/10oz dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 150g/5oz butter or margarine
• 350g/11½ oz plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 eggs
• 50g/ 2oz chocolate chopped into chunks

Grease and line a deep 20cm/8in square cake tin. Thinly slice the stem ginger.

Put the treacle, golden syrup and chocolate in a saucepan and heat gently until the syrup starts to bubble. Remove from heat and stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted. Stir in the butter or margarine.

Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger and add the mixture to the pan with the eggs and half of the stem ginger. Stir until combined, then turn mixture into the tin, spreading it into the corners.

Scatter the remaining ginger slices and chopped chocolate over the top and bake in a pre-heated oven (160ºC/ 325ºF)for 50 mins or until firm to the touch.

Drizzle the ginger syrup over the cake and leave to cool.

Cinnamon, Apple and Pecan Cake

Ingredients

• 150g butter
• 150g light brown muscovado sugar
• 150g self-raising flour
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2tbsp milk
• 2 eating apples
• 100g pecan nuts, broken into pieces
• 75g sultanas
• 1-2tbsp sugar crystals

Preheat the oven to 180oc gas mark 4.
Grease an 18cm round loose-bottomed cake tin and line with baking parchment.
Place softened butter in a large mixing bowl with muscovado sugar and beat together until pale and fluffy.
Sieve the flour and cinnamon into this mixture.
Add the beaten eggs and beat together. Stir in the milk.
Peel the apples, cut into quarters, remove the cores.
Cut each apple quarter in half again lengthways, then slice the pieces widthways.
Reserve a handful of the apple pieces and stir the rest, with the pecans and sultanas into the cake mixture.
Tip into the cake tin and level the surface with the back of a spoon or spatula.
Scatter the reserved apple pieces evenly over the top then sprinkle over the sugar crystals.
Bake for 1hour, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.