English Cuskynoles

-

 Written by McDonald, T.  |  Date 16th of December 2022

Jingle bells, jingle bells… Yes, I am in the mood for Christmas and if you are too, this might be just the thing you were looking for!  It is sweet and fun, which is what people want at Christmas.  These little treats are the precursor to the mince pie.  You can serve them to your friends at your Christmas party and impress them with the history of the English Cuskynoles.

Notes

  • If the mixture for the dough is a bit dry when making it, spry a little extra water onto it.
  • I have used mixed spice in place of mace when I couldn't get any. 

Makes 8 

Time, 40 minutes

Ingredients 

Dough

  • White bread flour x 140 g
  • Caster sugar x 20 g
  • Flax egg x 2 (2 tbsp of ground flaxseed and 6 tbsp of water)
  • Water x 2 tbsp
  • Salt x pinch

Filling 

  • Apple x 1/4
  • Pear x 1/2
  • Dates x 3
  • Sultanas x 30 g
  • Dried figs x 2
  • Almonds x 30 g
  • Ground cinnamon x 1/4 tsp
  • Ground mace x 1/4 tsp

 

Method 

Step 1 – make the dough

  1. Tip the bread flour into a mixing bowl.
  2. Add the salt and sugar.
  3. Add the flax egg and mix until a shaggy dough starts to for.  Now use your hands to bring the dough together.  
  4. Add the water and keep mixing with a wooden spoon.
  5. On a floured surface, knead the dough for about 3 minutes.
  6. Let the dough rest in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Shaggy dough.


Dough ready to roll out.


Step 2 – make the filling

  1. Add the almonds and sultanas to a food processor. 
  2. Cut up the apple, pear, figs, and dates.  Add these to the food processor.
  3. Pulse until you get a very coarse paste. 
  4. Tip into a bowl and add the cinnamon and mace.  Combine with a tablespoon until evenly mixed.

Filling should be course after pulsing.

 

Step 3 – make the cuskynoles

  1. Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape, about 30 cm x 25 cm. 
  2. Cut the dough into 8 smaller rectangles and brush with water or oil. 
  3. Add a teaspoon of the filling to each of the rectangles and fold the dough over. 
  4. Put them back in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. 
  5. Place them in some boiling water for about 90 seconds and then in a preheated oven at 190C for about 10 minutes. 
Roll out into a 30 cm x 25 cm rectangle.


Cut into 8 smaller rectangles.


Boil for about 90 seconds.

Let them dry for a minute before baking in the oven.

 

Results

These turned out better than I expected.  Sweet and tasty. 


 

I hope that you liked this blog and if you do try this recipe, please let me know how you got on and what it turned out like. You can leave a comment in the comments below.

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vegan Stollen

-
Image
Written by McDonald, T.   |  Date 11th of December 2023   This is something I have heard of, but never tried before.  Usually, we have traditional Christmas cake in my house, but last year I wanted to try something different and this was it.  Rest assured, I will be having it again this year too! At first, it seems like a lot of effort, but you will soon see that it is straight forward to make and definitely worth it.  However, it will need proofing and the dried fruit will need soaking, which will all take time, so plan ahead.  Notes I used French Brandy Marzipan and so used brandy to flavour the raisins and cranberries. I used almond milk. A good tip is to dust the soaked fruit with a little flour before adding the dough. You have 3 options with the marzipan:  Roll it out  Chop it up Have a thick bar of it running through the centre I soaked the dried fruit in brandy, but you can make it without the alcohol is you wish or use rum instead. I used a silicon baking sheet to save on the
Read more

Rum And Raisin Loaf

-
Image
Written by McDonald, T.   |  Date 27th of November 2023   Whatever the occasions, this is a great treat to be had.  The rum soaks into the raisins and results in a perfect infusion of flavours. The rum adds flavour to the raisins while the raisins add sweetness to the run.  This beautiful bread as a great bready texture, yet is fruity and warming to the soul. Although it doesn't need it, you can choose to dust it with icing sugar.
Read more

Vegan Ginger Bread

-
Image
Written by McDonald, T.   |  Date 18th of March 2024 You will never believe just how easy this cake bread is. So tasty, so moist and good! The preparation is mega quick because all you have to do is mix it all together and pour the batter in a loaf tin and it is ready to go in the oven. No yeast, so no proofing it is ready so fast and bakes in 45 minutes. The result is a sweet tasting cake that you can cut into slices and eat like bread. Notes Don't beat the batter or it will turn out tough after baking.   If you use Green Ginger Wine, be sure it is vegan.     Ingredients  Dry  300 g of self-raising flour 120 g of dark brown sugar 2 tsp of ground ginger   5 crystallised ginger cut into pieces 30 g of grated fresh ginger 1 tsp of ground cloves 1 tsp of mixed spice 1/4 tsp of salt 1 tsp of baking powder Wet 40 ml of vegetable oil  240 ml of water  150 g (about 4 tbsp) of plan or vanilla vegan yoghurt 50 ml of ginger wine 2 tbsp of dark syrup   Method Add all the dry ingredients to a
Read more