Good evening! If you follow me on Instagram then you will know where this blog post has come from - if not, let me explain.

This morning, I shared a photo of the cliffs at Eshaness (below) and explained that it was a stormy day here in Shetland, and that I was stuck at home with two snotty bairns so I planned on baking the Christmas oatcakes - we are massive cheese fans in this house, and Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the bumper annual delivery from pong.com.

My lovely, engaging followers were quick to respond, and to message, asking that I share the recipe on my insta stories (which I did, and saved to my highlights here). As many of my followers are not from the UK, a lot of are unfamiliar with this classic Scottish/Shetland recipe, still a store cupboard staple today.

So, as promised - here it is:

Method:

~ Rub the margarine into the dry ingredients (I used my Kitchen Aid because I'm lazy).
~ Add the beaten egg, and a little milk (just a splash) until the mixture binds together into a dryish consistency.
~ Roll the mix out onto a floured surface to about 1/4" which (or however you personally like them). 
~ Bake for 20 minutes in a moderately high oven.

(For AGA ovens: bake on rack in the foot of the top oven with the cooling tray above to prevent burning).

Allow to cool before enjoying with copious amounts of cheese and butter.

I'm going to run a little competition to see how far this recipe can travel. I will send the winner a peerie present from Shetland. To enter just tag your own oatcakes: #shetlandwithlaurie ​and I will send the winner a prize in the New Year.

You have till the end of the year to get baking and enter!

Happy baking...

Laurie x

War had ravaged Europe and to keep up the morale of troops fighting for King and country, women sent parcels to those fighting on the front line.  These parcels provided a taste of something from home, away from the endless tins of bully beef, Maconchies stew and dry biscuits - a staple of trench food throughout the war years.

Trench cake, a home-made fruit cake has its roots in the kitchens of the First World War.  The recipe, released by the Ministry of Food used ingredients which were readily available.

In order to make a cake, you've got to break eggs... or not, in this case.

I was keen to find out how this cake, baked with love, and sent across the Channel actually tasted and how easy it was to make…

Method:
 
-Rub margarine into the flour.
- Add the dry ingredients.
- Mix well.
- Add the soda, dissolved in vinegar and milk.
- Beat well.
- Turn mixture into a tin.
- Bake in a moderate oven for approximately 2 hours.
(Note: The cake took 1 hour in my oven)

The cake
 
The process was simple enough, the ingredients today, also easy to get – everything it called for was in the cupboard so the whole operation could be done on Saturday morning, in my pyjamas, without having to leave the house - even better.
 
On doing my homework, I discovered that one complaint was that the cake could be a bit dry, however, I found the mix itself to be very wet – in fact I questioned whether it would ever cook! Yet the cake, once cooled was wonderfully moist and the texture and consistency was good.  It was maybe not up to the standards of the Great British Bake Off but I do think that Mary Berry would have given it the seal of approval, and it may have perhaps earned a famous Hollywood handshake (...maybe)!

It is difficult not to become nostalgic when thinking about the past, and how our ancestors lived.  Whilst mixing up the ingredients, I wondered whether Granny Eliza had made trench cake in this bowl and whether Grandmam had also licked the spoon clean as my daughter, Lena (2) did.  Perhaps they too worked together in their busy kitchen in Voe, mixing up cakes as Lena and I did on that rainy Saturday morning in November.

And as I write this, and reflect on the centenary of the First World War, I hope that you, the reader, will also stop for a moment and take a minute out of your busy lives to remember the lives lost, changed and affected by this war, and how our great-grandparents fought in the trenches, and in the kitchens to give us the freedoms we enjoy today.
 
Lest we forget.

Laurie x