Once again you have refused to believe how easy the cakes I make for you are! Well, here's the Mincemeat Cake recipe! Bon Appetit!
Mincemeat Cake
Serves: 10 - Prep:10min › Cook:2hr
Ingredients
225g (8 oz)
self-raising flour, sifted
140g (5 oz) butter,
softened - this is important as you are going to mix by hand
140g (5 oz) dark soft brown sugar
85g (3 oz) sultanas - or similar
450g (1 lb)
mincemeat - with a good glug of brandy, or similar tipple, stirred in
2 eggs, beaten
Method
1.
Preheat oven to 160 C / gas mark 3,
grease and line a 20cm (8 in) round tin.
2.
Put all ingredients into a bowl and
mix thoroughly.
3.
Turn into prepared tin, bake for 1
and 3/4 hours. (Check with skewer/cocktail stick to ensure it comes away
clean). Leave in tin for about 15 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool
completely.
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The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
In February, we will be reading The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which, before being turned into a play, was a 1969 British film based on the novel by Muriel Spark, and starred Maggie Smith in the title role.
Jean Brodie is a teacher at Marcia Blaine School for Girls in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the 1930s. Brodie is known for her tendency to stray from the school's curriculum, to romanticize fascist leaders like Benito Mussolini and Francisco Franco, and to believe herself to be in the prime of life. Brodie devotes her time and energy to her four special 12-year-old junior school girls, called the Brodie Set: Sandy, Monica, Jenny and Mary.
Characters
Jean Brodie: "She
thinks she is Providence, thought Sandy, she thinks she is the God
of Calvin." In some ways she is: in her prime she draws her chosen few to herself,
much as Calvinists understand God to draw the elect to their
salvation. With regard to religion, Miss Brodie "was not in any doubt, she
let everyone know she was in no doubt, that God was on her side whatever her
course, and so she experienced no difficulty or sense of hypocrisy in worship
while at the same time she went to bed with the singing master."
Sandy: Of the
set, "Miss Brodie fixed on Sandy," taking her as her special
confidante. She is characterised as having "small, almost nonexistent,
eyes" and a peering gaze. Miss Brodie repeatedly reminds Sandy that she
has insight but no instinct.
Jenny: In
contrast to Sandy, Jenny is an attractive blonde with (according to Miss
Brodie) instinct but no insight. Though somewhat undeservedly, Jenny is
"famous for sex", and the art teacher Mr. Lloyd asks her to model for
his paintings.
Mary Macgregor: Dim-witted
and slow, Mary is Brodie's scapegoat. Mary meekly bears the blame for everything
that goes wrong.
Supporting characters
- Monica – one of the set; famous for mathematics and her anger
- Teddy Lloyd – the art master
- Gordon Lowther – the singing master
- Miss Mackay – the headmistress
Intertextuality! Other things to bear in mind - in brief!
La Traviata: An opera about a courtisan that was considered morally corrupt when it was first produced in the mid 19th Century.
The Lady of Shalott: A poem about the cursed effect that the glance of Sir Lancelot has on the Lady of Shalott, imprisoned on an island.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Pre-Raphaelite poet and artist, renown for his affairs with various models and the wives of fellow artists.
