Yummy feast for mummy

Eventually this tradition came to be associated with domestic servants having a day off to return home to visit their own mother and family.

Eating was an important part of the Mother’s Day celebrations as the Lenten fast was relaxed.

The food most associated with the day was Simnel Cake, a fruit cake with two layers of almond paste, one on top and one in the middle and 11 almond paste balls representing disciples apart from Judas.

These days we are not so strict about fasting during Lent or going to church but Mother’s Day remains a special day for many families and a pretty afternoon tea is an apt way of celebrating it.

A tiered cake made with a simple sponge and decorated with colourful fruit can be a show stopper.

Alternatively meringues work well. They can be served individually or used as building blocks to create a tower to give height and presence to the dish.

For something savoury try making the salmon and dill rolls instead of sausage rolls. The salmon poaches gently inside the crisp pastry crust and tastes delicious but they are best served straight from the oven.

Rhubarb, ginger and lemon cake

Serves 12

Ingredients

170g butter or soft margarine

170g caster sugar

Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

170g self raising flour

30g stem ginger, roughly chopped

For the filling and topping

200g mascarpone cheese

200g whipping cream

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

25g icing sugar

200g pink rhubarb cut into 5cm lengths

30g caster sugar

Other fruit to decorate such as physalis, raspberries or strawberries (optional)

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 190C, gas mark 5. Lightly grease two cake tins (one 16cm and the other 14cm across) and line with baking parchment.

Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat together using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, a little at a time and continue to beat. With the mixer on low gradually add the lemon juice and zest followed by the flour. Finally stir in the chopped ginger with a spoon. The cake mixture should be a dropping consistency and able to fall off the spoon if held over the bowl. Divide the cake mixture between the two prepared tins. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Allow the cake to cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling and topping. Place the mascarpone in a mixing bowl and loosen with a whisk. Add the whipping cream, vanilla essence and icing sugar and whisk until the mixture until it is stiff but still spreadable.

Place the rhubarb in a saucepan with the sugar. Cover with a lid and cook gently on a low heat for 10 minutes or until the rhubarb is soft.

Cut each cake into two. Spread one 16cm half with mascarpone cream and place a spoonful of the cooked rhubarb in the centre. Sandwich with the matching cake half.

Spread the remaining cake halves with cream and rhubarb and layer up to make a four tier cake. Add further fruit or edible flower decorations to the cake such as chocolate leaves, roses, physalis or strawberries.

Raspberry ripple meringues

Makes 20

Ingredients

150g egg whites (about 4 large egg whites)

300g caster sugar

5 drops natural pink food colouring

Filling

200ml whipping cream

1 dsp icing sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

100g raspberries

METHOD

Preheat oven to 110C/ gas mark 1/2. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.

Put the egg whites and sugar into a large bowl over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the base of the bowl does not touch the hot water. Using an electric mixer whisk continuously until the sugar has dissolved. You can test this by dipping two fingers into the mixture and rubbing them together. If you can still feel sugar crystals continue to mix a little longer. When all the sugar crystals have dissolved remove the bowl from the heat and whisk until the meringue is stiff and glossy. Stir in the food colouring at this point to make a ripple effect through the meringue.

Take desert spoons of the meringue mixture and drop them onto the baking sheets allowing one centimetre between meringues.

Bake for one and a half hours, then turn off the heat and allow the meringue to cool completely in the oven.

To make up raspberry ripple meringues:

Whip 200ml double cream and stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla essence and icing sugar to taste. Gently mash 2 or 3 tablespoons fresh raspberries and stir through the cream.

Place a teaspoon of raspberry cream between two meringues and sandwich together. Pile onto a serving plate and scatter with a few raspberries.

Crisp salmon and dill rolls

Makes 24

Ingredients

2 skinless salmon fillets

375g pack ready rolled puff pastry

flour for rolling

salt and black pepper

1 tbsp dill, finely chopped

1 egg lightly beaten

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 7. Cut each piece of salmon in half lengthways to give four roughly equal pieces. Run a finger along the flesh to check for any stray bones and remove.

Roll the pastry to give a rectangle about 35cm by 26cm. Cut in half lengthways. Take one piece of pastry and lay two pieces of salmon end to end, along the long side. Season well and scatter with dill. Roll up like a sausage roll until the edges of the long side overlap slightly.

Brush the seam of the pastry with beaten egg and press gently to secure the join. Repeat with the remaining salmon and pastry.

Place the salmon rolls on a greased baking sheet and score the salmon roll at 10cm intervals. Brush the surface with the remaining beaten egg. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden.

Cut each long roll into 12 sausage roll length pieces along the scored lines.

Serve with sliced hard boiled eggs and rocket, watercress and spinach.

Joan Ransley is a member of the Guild of Food Writers.