Merry Christmas!

Order before 6pm on Sunday 18th November to get 10% off your Christmas baking dried fruit – simply enter promotional code stirsunday in the voucher code box in your shopping cart.

This year we’re adding our Organic Ready to Eat Smyrna Figs, Chilean Prunes and Malatya Apricots to our Christmas bakes and mincemeat fillings for mince pies.

Why not also try Cinnamon-Dusted Cape Cod Cranberries and Jumbo Crimson Raisins for a lovely twist, and for convenience use Chopped Apricots and Chopped Dates from our Ideal Ingredients range.

Don’t forget to let all the family take a stir and make a wish!

Browse through our website for more inspiration, and keep an eye out in Readers Recipes section for some amazing homemade foodie gift ideas to give to family and friends?

Happy Christmas Baking x

We’re giving away 15 pairs of tickets to the fantastic  Foodies Festival at Tatton Park taking place on July 6^th, 7^th and 8^th.

There are some very exciting events taking place over the three days, so you’ll definitely find plenty to entertain you while you’re at the festival.

You’ll be able to head over to the Chef’s Theatre, where local foodies including Steve Smith from Freemasons at Wiswell, Christopher Holland from The Alderley Edge Hotel and Tim Bilton from The Butcher’s Arms will be showing off their famous cuisine. You can even enjoy some Michelin-starred meals created by the chefs, who will be imparting their hints and tips for you!

If you’ve always been keen to learn more about food and drink, you should definitely head over to one of the many masterclasses taking place throughout the festival. There are hourly classes for you to improve your foodie skills and you can indulge in plenty of tastings and samplings along the way too.

And of course, we will be in attendance and would love for you to visit us to say hello – find us in Block B, Stand B46.

Most of our Natural Selection products will be available as show specials for only £1 per bag, or 6 bags for £5 – that’s across the dried fruits, nuts, wholefoods and even some confectionery items!

To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is tell us your favourite Natural Selection product any why. Just comment below, tell us on our Facebook page or tweet us @natselecfoods.

We’ll be picking 15 winners at random when the competition ends at 5pm on Sunday July 1^st. Each winner will receive a pair of tickets which are valid for all three days of the show, any accompanied children under 16 can enter the event for free.

It’s a really fantastic prize and should be a great few days, so we hope to see you at the Tatton Park Foodies Festival!

Full Terms and Conditions:

1. Open to UK residents who are 18 years or over excluding employees and their families of Evolution Foods Limited, its agents or anyone professionally connected with this promotion.
2. Closes for receipt of entries, 1^st July 2012 at 10pm.
3. No purchase necessary.
4. To enter go to www.naturalselectionfoods.co.uk and comment on the blog, head to the www.facebook.com/NaturalSelectionFoods or go to the Natural Selection Twitter page www.twitter.com/natselecfoods.
5. The 15 winners will be picked at random from all the entries which state a Natural Selection product. No correspondence will be entered into regarding the award.
6. The winner will be notified within 2 days of the closing date. In the event the claim for a prize is not received by the promoter within 3 days of such notification, the Promoter reserves the right to withdraw prize entitlement and award the prize to a reserve selected at the same time as the original.
7. The prize is 15 pairs of tickets, one pair per entrant, to the Foodies Festival at Tatton Park and does not include travel expenses, meals, or any other costs of the show. Tickets valid 6^th, 7^th and 8^th July 2012. Accompanied children under 16 years admitted for free.
8. No responsibility can be taken for claims which are lost, delayed, corrupted, damaged, misdirected or incomplete or cannot be delivered for any technical, delivery or other reason. Proof of sending will not be accepted as proof of receipt.
9. The prize is not transferable and cannot be substituted for a cash alternative.

Promoter Evolution Foods Limited, Unit 11, Hortonwood 32, Telford, Shropshire, TF1 7EU

Champagne Victoria Sponge by Stacey Stokes

When tasked with baking a cake to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, for me it could only ever have been a Victoria Sponge. A special, spruced up for a party kind of Victoria Sponge. So I decided to sandwich some homemade strawberry and champagne jam with some champagne flavoured buttercream in between two layers of deliciously light almond sponge.

Strawberry and Champagne Jam

Ideally the jam should be made at least a day in advance so that it has time to set, however, to save time it can be made even further in advance. The jam will keep in the fridge for 6-8 weeks (if it lasts that long!)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes to 1 hour

Makes two medium sized jars (around 400g)

Ingredients:

300g fresh organic British strawberries

250g jam-making sugar (sugar with added pectin)

1 tbsp unsalted butter

100ml pink champagne

1 tsp lemon juice

1. Place a heavy-based saucepan on the hob on the lowest heat. Wash, hull and chop the strawberries into small pieces, then add these to the pan with the sugar, butter and champagne. Gently stir until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved, then leave the jam to cook on the lowest heat for a while, stirring regularly.
2. Meanwhile, place a saucer into the freezer to use later when it come to test whether or not the jam will set.
3. Once the jam begins to bubble and simmer, add the lemon juice. The liquid should have reduced and thickened slightly. After around 45 minutes, test the jam for set by taking your saucer from the freezer and dropping a teaspoon of jam onto it. After 30 seconds on the saucer the jam should be set – if not add a little more lemon juice and cook for a little longer.
4. Once the jam is ready, remove from heat and pour into sterilised jars. Leave to cool completely before placing in the fridge to set overnight. Removed from the fridge 30 minutes before serving to allow the jam to return to room temperature.

Champagne Victoria Sponge

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 30-35 minutes

Makes 18 slices

Ingredients:

500g margarine

500g caster sugar

5 large free range eggs

50ml milk

A few drops of natural almond extract

400g self raising flour

100g ground almonds

1tsp baking powder

For the filling:

250g unsalted butter

500g icing sugar

1 tbsp milk

A few drops of champagne flavouring (to taste)

4-5 tbsp strawberry and champagne jam

Extra icing sugar for dusting.

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5 / 190 Degrees, and grease and line two 9″ springform cake tins
2. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. In a small bowl or jug, beat together the eggs, milk and almond extract and put to one side. Sift the flour, almonds and baking powder together into another bowl. Beat a third of the wet mixture into the butter and sugar, then fold in a third of the dry mixture. Continue in the order until all of the ingredients have combined to form a smooth batter.
3. Divide the batter between the two prepared cake-tins and level with the back of a spoon. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch. Allow the cakes to cool in their tins for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Whilst the cakes are cooling, prepare the butter cream. Beat the butter, icing sugar and milk together until smooth and creamy, then add a little champagne flavouring at a time until you reach your desired taste. Put the butter cream into a piping bag fitted with a large star shaped nozzle, and place in the fridge until ready to use.
5. Once the cakes have completely cooled, assemble the sponge. Place one of the sponge layers onto a serving plate, and spread the jam over this. Pipe the butter cream on top of the jam in swirls, and then place the second sponge gently on top of this. Dust the cake with icing sugar to finish.

Here at Natural Selection Foods, we want to celebrate all things British to commemorate the 60-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II, whose coronation took place on June 2^nd 1952.

We’re looking for the very best original patriotic bakes around and we’ll be awarding a fantastic prize to the best one that we come across. All you need to do for a chance of winning is to get baking – it doesn’t matter whether it’s sweet or savoury, just as long as it’s as British as possible!

How to get involved

If you’ve been busy baking or cooking for the Jubilee or you’re planning to do it over the coming days, all you need to do is head to our Contact Us page, where you can upload your picture and details of your original recipe. If you are unable to upload your entry, please e-mail it to chris.bennett@finncomms.com.

The winning entry will be chosen by Natural Selection Foods and an independent judge – the criteria for entry is to create a British inspired baked item or food dish. The winner will receive a Natural Selection apron, a rolling pin and a selection of Natural Selection products in a Jubilee-inspired cake tin.

Terms and conditions apply: UK residents only. 18+. Normal exclusions apply. Closes at 5.30pm on Monday 11^th June 2012.

Full Terms and Conditions:

1. Open to UK residents who are 18 years or over excluding employees and their families of Evolution Foods Limited, its agents or anyone professionally connected with this promotion.
2. Closes for receipt of entries, 11^th June 2012.
3. No purchase necessary.
4. To enter go to www.naturalselectionfoods.co.uk and upload your recipe. The work must be your own original recipe.
5. The winning solution will be the answer determined by the panel of judges appointed by the promoter, including at least one independent judge, and the judges’ decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into regarding the award. The criteria for judging is best patriotic bakes/cooking, in the opinion of the judges.
6. All material submitted will remain the copyright of the entrant but they agree to give free usage rights to the Promoter for the duration of the campaign, for any purpose.
7. The winner will be notified via email within 7 days of the closing date. In the event the claim for a prize is not received by the promoter within 28 days of such notification, the Promoter reserves the right to withdraw prize entitlement and award the prize to a reserve selected at the same time as the original.
8. The prize is a Natural Selection apron, a rolling pin and a selection of Natural Selection products in a Jubilee-inspired cake tin.
9. No responsibility can be taken for claims which are lost, delayed, corrupted, damaged, misdirected or incomplete or cannot be delivered for any technical, delivery or other reason. Proof of sending will not be accepted as proof of receipt.
10. No cash alternative.
11. The winner agrees to participate in related publicity. No additional compensation will be awarded for such promotional activities
12. The winner’s name and county will be displayed at www.naturalselectionfoods.co.uk for a period of 2 months following the closing date.

Promoter Evolution Foods Limited, Unit 11, Hortonwood 32, Telford, Shropshire, TF1 7EU

For the cake:

-          20mls ginger wine or Frangelico

-          25g Natural Selection crimson raisins

-          20g Natural Selection crystallised ginger, finely chopped

-          25g Natural Selection dates, cut into quarters

-          25g Natural Selection apricots

-          100g self-raising flour

-          60g ground almonds

-          100g caster sugar

-          50g dark muscavado sugar

-          150g soft butter/margarine

-          3 large eggs at room temperature

-          ½ tsp baking powder

-          1 tsp mixed spice

-          2 tbsp whole/semi skimmed milk

To decorate:

-          150g marzipan

-          3 tbsp apricot jam

-          Either an extra 150g marzipan/a packet of tiny chocolate eggs

-          A little icing sugar for rolling/shaping marzipan

Preheat the oven to Gas 5/190C. Place 12 cupcake cases into a tray. Heat the ginger wine/Frangelico in a small pan together with all the dried fruit until the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Place the remaining cake ingredients into a bowl and mix together with an electric handheld mixer until smooth and creamy. Stir in the soaked fruit and then divide between the cupcake cases. Level with your fingers and bake on the middle rack of the oven for about 20 minutes until slightly brown, well risen and a toothpick comes out of the centre of the middle cupcakes with clean. Cool out of the tin, on a wire rack.

Once cool, brush a little jam onto each cake and then roll and cut out circles of marzipan (using icing sugar to aid rolling and a round cutter) to place on top. Then either add 11 small balls of marzipan to the top of each cake or 11 tiny chocolate eggs. Fix in place with a dab of jam.

This recipe was created exclusively for us by Great British Bake Off finalist Holly Bell. Once you’ve tried out the recipe, head to our Facebook page to let us know how it went!

-          225g self-raising flour

-          1 tsp baking powder

-          1 tsp mixed spice

-          Zest of 1 lemon

-          Zest of 1 orange

-          50g margarine/butter, slightly softened

-          20g slithered almonds

-          40g Natural Selection cranberries

-          10g Natural Selection ginger, finely chopped

-          40g Natural Selection apricots

-          50g Natural Selection crimson raisins

-          150mls whole or semi skimmed milk

Preheat the oven to Gas 7/220C and check the rack is in the centre of the oven. Lightly grease a baking tray with a little butter or margarine.

Mix the flour, baking powder, mixed spice and zests in a large bowl. Rub in the margarine or butter with your finger tips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir the almonds, cranberries, ginger, apricots and raisins in well so they’re all coated in the flour mixture.

Pour the milk over the mixture and pull together with a blunt table knife. Once combined use your hand to pull the scone together. The less handling the better when making scones so don’t mix or knead vigorously.

Place the scone dough on your tray and shape with your hands into a loaf shape about 1 inch thick. Score the top with a sharp knife, about a quarter of the way down, in a zig-zag fashion to make 11 triangles (one for each Apostle to break off easily.)

Bake immediately in your hot oven for between 20 – 25 minutes until golden all over. Dust with icing sugar if you wish. Best eaten slightly warm.

Ingredients:

-          200g marshmallows

-          70g butter, cut into cubes the size of a thumb nail

-          200g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

-          1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

-          Zest of one orange (no pith though!)

-          100g Natural Selection crimson raisins

-          40g Natural Selection crystallised ginger chopped

Place the marshmallows, butter, dark chocolate, ground cinnamon and orange zest into a saucepan. Heat on a low hob until completely dissolved, stirring regularly. Don’t be tempted to hurry it by turning up the heat – the chocolate will burn!

Remove from the heat and add the raisins and ginger, stir well and pour into a tin (approx. 24cm x 24cm) lined with greaseproof paper, then refrigerate for 2 hours. Cut into squares and serve!

This recipe was created by Great British Bake Off finalist Holly Bell exclusively for us! Why not visit our Facebook page to tell us when you’ve tried her recipe?

For exclusive special offers and great competitions follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook….. Read on……..

Love baking? So do we. If you have a favourite creation using Natural Selection products then please share them with us! We’d love to hear from you, send us a picture and your recipe and we’ll add it to our ‘hall of fame’ readers recipes section. We’ll also give you a discount on your next order as a big thank you!

Keep an eye out for fabulous new additions to our range…

Was used in his Ecclefechan tart recipe!