Showing posts with label Baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baking. Show all posts
Later this month, on the 19th May we are all going to be glued to the television screens watching the making of a Fairy Tale come true as we watch Miss Meghan Markle walk down the aisle to her waiting Prince, Prince Harry. What little girl does't dream about one day marrying a Prince?
I am so pleased that today, in thse modern times, this can be a reality, and that our Princes are now allowed to marry for love rather than obligation and duty. Hooray!
With that in mind, I have written a little tongue-in-cheek bit here this morning as the residents of Downton Abbey receive the news of the impending nuptials . . . and yes, there will be scones . . . every fairy tale deserves a happy ending.
Hello? 36410, Downton Abbey, Earle of Grantham speaking. (psst . . . Cora, where the hell is Carson? I shouldn't be answering the phone. Ugh.) What's that you say? Oh golly gosh!
Everyone, heads up! Great news! Dust off the silver Carson and check the wine cellar!!!
There's going to be a Royal Wedding! And soooooon!! More sooner than soon!!
Oh goodie, goodie!!! I do so love a Royal Wedding! Such an occasion! Oh joy, oh joy! Break out the family jewels! Prancing here. Prancing here. I'm a pony, I'm a pony!!
Ummm . . . . but, will there be scones? Please tell me there won't be scones. I am no good at scones. No good at all. They make me all flustered, you hear . . . all flustered. Mine always come out flat.
That's because you don't pay attention Daisy! You never do. Straight up and down. You cut them straight up and down, and you use a light hand.
There will be no heavy handedness when we are talking about scones. Not in MY kitchen! Pull yourself together girl!
Who cares about scones. Will there be dogs? Bracing young courtiers to flutter my eyelashes at??? A whiff of scandalous secrets I can, ahem . . . use to my own advantage??? Cheap black market goods to flog????
I simply must double Cora's "oh goodies". I do so love an occasion, and I hear she is a commoner, and an American at that!
What a cause for celebration!!!! I just love it when the underdog rises to the top! Hooo - ray! Pip pip and all that!
Oh dear me, a Commoner you say? And an American? I suppose that next you will be telling me that she is also divorced. This just isn't done. What is the world coming to . . . this just isn't done. How will they live down the scandal. Dear . . . dear . . . tut . . . tut . . .
Hmmmm . . . . I'm not sure you really want to be doing all of that tut-tutting Violet . . . me-thinks you are forgetting the regrettable Mr. Pamook . . . ahem . . .
Oh yes . . . giggle, giggle . . . the dear Mr. Pamook, let's not forget Mr. Pamook . . . Pamouk . . . PAMOUCK!!!!!
Edith . . . do you really want me to start rattling some skeletons in closets here. Do you? Do you?
Ummm . . . no. Will there be scones?
What??? Scones???? Skeletons in closets you say? Like when our Miss Sybil married the chauffeur????
I was wondering when that was going to come up . . . . lets just let sleeping dogs lie . . . lay . . . lye . . . oh forget it!!
Again with the dog . . . I know nothing about a missing dog . . . honest . . . does this look like a face that would lie tell untruths?
Thomas . . . don't do anything I wouldn't do . . . when in doubt deny everything . . . some things are just best left unsaid. Follow my lead . . .
But . . . um . . . . really . . . all I wanted to know is . . . will there be scones???
Forget the scones!!! Will there be new dresses involved??? Jewels!! Parties??? Dancing perhaps???? Clubbing??? Fun! Fun! Fun!
Just let me check with my friends . . . one minute . . . one minute . . .
Consensus is yes! There WILL be dancing . . . there is nothing like dancing and new dresses and parties. I do love a good party. PAR TAY!
Scandle . . . dogs . . . Pamouk . . . dancing . . . scones. Par . . . tay!!! If they are lucky there won't be any soup.
Ladies . . . pull yourselves together. You must remember who you are. You are the daughters and servants of an Earle . . .
Quite . . .
Am I too late???
Indoubitably . . . somewhat . . .ahem . . .
What about the scones????
There will be scones Carson . . . big fluffy soft scones, preferably filled with something lovely, what do they call it . . . . that fruity stuff . . . and the white stuff that goes with it.
Jam and clotted cream . . . yummy . . . scones and jam and clotted cream.
Yummy indeed . . .
There WILL be scones . . .
Oh goody . . . scones . . .
I also love a good scone and these scones are very befitting of a Royal Wedding Teatime Celebration!
They are delightfully light and flaky, with just the right amount of dried cranberrys and a hint of orange zest.
The best way to cut up the cranberries for these is to put them in a plastic cup and snip them with the kitchen scissors, not to fine, you want some chunks.
I think Meghan would like this, and Harry too . . . in between the Kale shakes. (I know she is a health food nut and these are definitely not health food!)
In any case they went down well here today with some berry jam and clotted cream . . .
I even dug out my best cloth and crystal . . . they were totally worth it.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Drop in the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar, cranberries and orange zest. Make a well in the centre and pour in the cream. Stir in with a fork until you have a soft dough that comes together, adding more cream if necessary. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead gently two or 3 times Press out to a disc which is about 1 1/2 inches thick. Stamp out into rounds with a 3 inch fluted cutter, using a straight up and down motion without twisting the cutter, trying to cut as many out of the first cut as you can. (Subsequent cuts will not be as tender when baked.) Bring the scraps together and pat out again, cutting more until you have used all the dough.
Place well spaced apart on the baking sheet. Bake in the heated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. Scoop onto a wire rack to cool.
Note - You can add an optional glaze if you wish. Just wisk together 65g (1/2 cup) sifted icing sugar with enough milk to make a thin drizzle and flick it over top.
Have you ever craved cake? I do . . . and I shouldn't because I really don't need to be eating cake, but every now and then I just got to have one. I normally only bake goodies at the weekend.
That keeps me from over-indulging if they are only weekend treats. I have spent the week salivating over a variety of Lemon and Elderflower cakes, a flavour which is tipped to be the choice for Meghan and Harry's wedding cake for their impending nuptials.
I had in mind to do a version of one myself. I might still do, not having made up my mind yet, or I may not. In the meantime I am still wanting cake and so . . .
I turned to my trusty copy of the BHG New Cook Book, which was published originally in 1982, to find a recipe. My copy is lovingly well-worn, having been used often over these past 36 years or so.
In fact it is just about falling apart and many of the pages are spattered and splodged . . . the mark of a really good cookbook! I think this was one of the first cookbooks I ever spend dosh on . . .
I never ever thought that one day I would have written one of my own . . . and be working on a second one. Yes, I still pinch myself.
Back to the cake. I didn't want anything too faffy or complicated. I wanted a simple cake. A family cake.
I decided to bake the Chocolate Marble Cake from the book. Its a simple family cake, not too large, not too small and the perfect mix of white and chocolate butter cakes. You cannot beat a chocolate and vanilla cake!
It is one of my favourites and there is just enough white cake in it (2/3) that I knew my husband wouldn't complain too overly much about the chocolate cake bits . . . .
He is not a huge fan of chocolate cake, but, in fact . . . . he thinks this one is just nice. So that makes it perfect.
I can never get the marbling quite right when I do a marble cake. I have tried everything under the sun . . .
They never end up looking quite like the pictures in the book, but no mind . . . its the flavour that counts, right?
And the flavour of this cake is spot on, with just the right mix of both vanilla and chocolate . . .
It gets baked in a loaf tin, so it is very easy to cut and very homely looking. Its a sturdy cake, not flimsy cake and goes really well with drinks . . .
Be they hot cups of tea or coffee, or . . . cold glasses of milk. My favourite.
This ought to keep us contented over the weekend I am sure.
You could put an icing/glaze on it if you wanted to, but I never bother. I just keep it plain and we are quite happy with that. ♥
*Chocolate Marble Cake*
Makes 1 9X5X3 loaf
This fabulous loaf cake is adapted from a recipe which comes from my well-worn copy of the BHG new Cookbook, published in 1982.
245g plain flour (1 3/4 cup)
2 TBS HOT water
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Preheat
the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 X 5 X 3 inch baking
tin and line it with baking paper. Butter the paper. Set aside.
Cream
together the sugar and butter with the vanilla until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute after each.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the creamed
mixture, alternately with the milk, beating well after each addition.
Combine the melted chocolate, hot water and soda. Separate 1/3 of the
cake batter from the rest and stir the chocolate mixture into this.
Spoon
the batters, alternately into the prepared cake tin. I do a thin layer
on the bottom of the loaf tin of plain, and then put in three blobs of
white leaving space to put in 3 blobs of chocolate in between, then I
reverse that on the next layer, putting white batter on top of the
chocolate blobs and chocolate on the white, repeating until I have used
all of both batters. Run a thin spatula through the batter in a zigzag
shape to marbelize, without overdoing it.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minuts. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack before removing from the pan to finish cooling. Ice or not as desired. Cut into slices to serve.
Its the May Bank Holiday here this weekend, with Monday being a bank holiday and the weather s tipped to be one of the warmest and nicest on record. We will see about that! For now the sun is shining and all is well in our little corner of the world. Bonne Weekend! ☺
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