She was a wonderfully kind,warm and loving lady with many culinary skills. Not all molecular and "out there" in your Heston Blumenthall kind of way, but more in the style of good honest home cooking.
Pauline Haines was a wonderful hostess and loved looking after others and keeping them "fed and watered" (her words). In fact she was the Manageress and Head of Staff for many years at Bellamy's - the Dining Room that served the Members of the NZ parliament in Wellington, NZ.
Whenever I visited her we usually enjoyed a slice of her home made fruit cake and often teamed it with (weirdly) a gin and tonic, once I was in my twenties. Sounds odd, I know, but it was a strangely wonderful combination.
This cake reminds me of my youth and the wonderful, close bond I had with my grandmother.
Her original recipe used to include quite a bit of sugar and wheat flour but as I have kept a gluten free kitchen for over 12 years now and am cutting back on sugars in my cooking I have adapted it to suit my more modern diet.
So this deliciously moist fruit cake recipe will suit those with gluten intolerance, as well as diabetics and those who also wish to cut their sugar consumption. It is so easy and it can be made in the saucepan in which you boil the fruit.
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees C
Grease and line a 20 cm round cake tin.
Ingredients:
500 grms of mixed dried fruit
200 grms butter
2 cups of buckwheat flour (and maybe a little bit more)
1 tspn of gluten free baking powder
3 eggs - lightly beaten
Dash of rice/coconut milk1 tablespoon of Agave nectar
2 tspns Coconut crystals ( if you like)
What to do:
Boil the fruit with water to cover for 5 minutes - this will plump up the fruit nicely.
Drain well and then add the chopped up butter pieces into the fruit mix and allow to melt.
Add the already beaten eggs and then add the buckwheat flour, baking powder, agave nectar and the dash of rice or coconut milk.
Mix gently and thoroughly with a wooden spoon and pour into the prepared baking tin.
Bake at 350 degrees C for about 40 minutes.
Sprinkle with coconut crystals to give a bit of crunchy "sugary type" of topping and return to oven and continue cooking at 300 degrees C for a further 30 minutes or so.
Check occasionally to see if the cake is done by inserting a skewer into the cake. If it comes out clean then its pretty well cooked.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes in the tin and then cool further on a wire rack. Try not to be tempted to cut into the cake until it has cooled a bit as it could crack.
This cake will keep for a few days (if not devoured before) or you can slice and wrap in cling film and store in individual portions in the freezer for those moments you fancy a slice of fruit cake with a cuppa (or a gin and tonic!)
Mmmmmm....
