Pot Cake, mince pies and sausage rolls

A wet cold Sunday afternoon so baking was one way of staying warm indoors. My d.Aisling had a hen/kitchen party recently as she is getting married next Friday to her partner Nigel,her future mother in law Ena gave her a loaf tin among other things and at the time I thought that is a waste as Aisling does not bake apart from some rice krispie cakes. Ena makes a pot cake which is a family tradition and has often passed some on to Aisling which I have sampled.Ena also gave the recipe to her, being very optimistic I thought, but a wet Sunday afternoon did the trick! Aisling made the potcake and it turned out so well the first one was eaten before she thought of taking photos....so she made a second one!

Ena's Potcake
1 mug of fruit
1 mug of water
1/3 mug of sugar
2 oz margarine
1 egg
2 mugs of self raising flour

Put the fruit, sugar, water and margarine into a pot. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for at least 30 mins, stirring often. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add the egg and flour, stir until well mixed. Add mixture to a greased loaf tin. Bake in a cool oven (gas 3) for approx 1 1/2 hrs.

The smell around the kitchen while it is cooking is divine.The cake cooling out of the tin
The finished cake is moist and tasty.We usually spread butter on it to eat it, it could be a cross between a brack or a cake, whatever it is delicious.
I had also started baking in my house and made sausage rolls and my first batch of mince pies this year.I use mince in a jar as I never think of making my own in time to have it for Christmas.I used Catherine's pastry as usual from Dispatches from the Deise
8ozs Self raising flour
4ozs butter/margarine
1oz icing sugar
1egg & enough milk to bind dough
When making savoury recipe as in sausage rolls I leave out the sugar and use a pinch of salt.It is light melt in the mouth pastry
This was all very labour saving baking. I use sausages, I skin them as I was taught in school many moons ago. Slit the skin of the sausage and put into boiling water for a couple of minutes and the skin just peels off.I also use a dried stuffing mix , made up and mixed through the sausage meat.Lay mixture out on a strip of pastry, dampen one long edge with water and roll up with the join underneath.
Cut into whatever size you like, brush with milk or beaten egg and put a couple of slits in the top
I made mince pies using the sweet version of the pastry,I was not partaking in Guinness while baking but I know this pint glass is the ideal size to cut out the pastry bases for this tray!When my late Mother was baking she always used a glass as pastry cutters would have been considered a frivolous waste of money!
The days baking,cooling on the rack.