Showing posts with label afternoon tea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label afternoon tea. Show all posts
Sometimes you just crave a cookie. I do at any rate . . . and I am a diabetic, so cookies aren't really something I like to keep in the house. They have a habit of getting into my mouth and that's not a good thing. I try hard to be good . . . but sometimes it is just really, really hard to be good.
I know I should have some heart shaped cookies or some such here to show you today as tomorrow is Valentines Day, but I just don't have them . . . sorry about that! I do have some rather tasty Coconut and Cherry Cookies however! I think that a bite of one of these and you will soon forgive me as they are delicious. It's a recipe I got from an Amish Cookery book and we all know how great those Amish Cookers are. I downsized it as the original recipe made twice the cookies and there are only two of us, one of us being a diabetic. 'Nuff Said.
I have to admit that I am particularly fond of the flavour of cinnamon. When I was a child it was a real treat if my mother made us cinnamon toast or cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon just tastes like Home Sweet Home to me. That's why when I saw this recipe for Snickerdoodle Bread I was very much intrigued, but then when I read the ingredients I thought to myself . . . can't make it as we don't have cinnamon chips over here. Sigh . . . but then . . . I put my thinking cap on.
Did you make mud pies when you were a little girl? I did. I can remember sitting by the ditch at the end of our garden with my little bowl and spoon and making mud pies.
I still make mud pies, but these days they are quite edible, delicious. In fact, they are stogged full of lovely chunks of milk chocolate, sweet sticky sultanas and crunchy toasted walnuts!
Very
reminiscent of the mud pies of childhood. These are not made of mud
but are delicious drop scones, stogged full of milk chocolate, toasted
walnuts and sultana raisins! Break out the cold milk, these are
scrumptious!
280g of plain flour (2 cups)
90g soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup, firmly packed)
40g sifted cocoa powder (1/3 cup)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
86g of unsalted butter, chilled (6 TBS)
120ml of milk (1/2 cup)
1 large free range egg
1 tsp vanilla
10 ounces of milk chocolate, broken into bits
75g of sultana raisins (1/2 cup)
55g toasted walnut pieces (1/2 cup)
Icing sugar to dust (optional)
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. LIine a large baking sheet with baking paper and butter the paper. Set aside.
Sift
the flour into a bowl along with the cocoa powder and baking powder.
Stir in the salt and brown sugar. Drop in the butter and rub it in
with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat
together the milk, egg and vanilla. Add all at once to the dry
mixture, stirring to combine. Stir in the chocolate bits, raisins and
nuts. Drop by 1/3 cups, leaving 3 inches in between, onto the prepared
baking sheet.
Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or
until a skewer inserted into the centre of a scone comes out clean.
Remove to a wire rack and allwo to cool on the baking sheet for five
minutes, before scooping off onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or
cool, dusted with icing sugar if desired. Tasty tasty!
Little unappealing lumps of mud and twigs . . . grass and gravel . . . inedible of course to anyone but my imaginary family who really loved them!
I still make mud pies, but these days they are quite edible, delicious. In fact, they are stogged full of lovely chunks of milk chocolate, sweet sticky sultanas and crunchy toasted walnuts!
Deliciousness personified!
They aren't pies really, but a lovely drop scone! So lovely to make and to eat.
I adore scones, and when they are as easy as these are, I love them even more.
Dusted with a sweet drift of icing sugar . . . covering all of their tasty lumps and bumps.
I don't know anything that a light dusting of icing sugar doesn't pretty up. Well, baked goods that it. I doubt it would do much for mac and cheese.
I really wanted to bake something today that wasn't low fat or low sugar. I knew I wouldn't be able eat them myself.
But, then again, I often don't eat what I bake. My husband does or I give it away. I simply get a pleasure out of baking things for others. I do have a tiny taste, but that's all basically.
And my husband . . . well, he is not overly fond of chocolate things. But I really wanted to bake these today.
They were begging me to be baked and so I did. He had one and said it was pretty good as far as chocolate things go . . . I took it as a compliment.
But you know how these things work out. The two Buckley Elders, Singsam and Judd . . . they happened by this afternoon, checking up on me after my experience from yesterday,
So I was able to sit them down with cold glasses of milk and one each of these. And they REALLY enjoyed them.
So much so that they took the remainder of them home with them. I love it when that happens.
*Mud Pies*
Makes 8 or 9
I don't know why, but chocolate things are really difficult to photograph and come out looking tasty, but I did try my best. I hope you'll give them a go!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
I have spent the last month and a half experimenting with baking this, that and the other . . . trying to bake something which is diabetic friendly that is satisfying and toothsome . . . I'm still working on it. So far most of my efforts have been incredibly lacklustre and pretty blah. I find myself yearning for a cooking I can sink my teeth into that actually tastes good. Sigh . . . I feel a bit disheartened at times when I think will I never ever be able to eat a cookie or a cake that tastes good again????
I have always wanted to bake Madeleines. I have had a silicone Madeleine pan for quite a while now and had never used it. Today was the day.
Ahhh . . . . Madeleines. That little French butter cake that most (non-French) people think of more as a cookie.
Afternoon Tea Week takes place this year from the 10th to the 16th of August and as a proper English Institution it's only right that afternoon tea should be conducted with only the best ingredients. The English Provender Co. has teamed up with Afternoon Tea Week this year to sponsor the tastiest week of the year for a week of activities, themed menus, exclusive offers and competitions.
I make a lemon cake that we are awfully fond of here in my house . . . a Lemon and Chocolate Chip Cake. It's really good, with a nice lemon flavoured cake and just a hit of chocolate chunks throughout. Lemon and chocolate are actually a very nice flavour combination. It's true.
I am awfully fond of tea breads or cakes as they are also known. Delicious small cakes baked in a loaf tin, perfectly sized to slice and enjoy at your leisure with whichever hot drink you enjoy. In my case it is lemon and ginger tea . . .
I make no secret of my great love of Peanut Butter. It is quite simply one of my favourite things. It is one thing I could not live without and I confess I have at least a tiny bit of it every day. True confessions here. Even if it is only a cracker with a bit of it spread on top.
If you have a jar of jam in the cupboard you have the makings of quite a few things. Delicious Cookies and Tarts . . . Muffins and Cakes . . . and of course that favourite tea time treat . . . . Bread and Jam!
One of my favourite things to make is my Lemon and Jam Slices . . . but I also love making these delicious Strawberry Macaroon Slices!
They have a rich and buttery cake/shortbread type of base . . . and everyone's favourite . . . coconut macaroon topping . . . with sweet strawberry jam baked into the centre.
They have a rich and buttery cake/shortbread type of base . . . and everyone's favourite . . . coconut macaroon topping . . . with sweet strawberry jam baked into the centre.
Altogether they make for a most delightful teatime treat that everyone loves. Perfect for Elevensies . . . for wrapping up and sticking into lunch boxes . . . enjoying during your afternoon break . . . afterschool with a nice cold glass of milk.
There is no time when they won't go down a real treat!
They're super easy to make and store well. You can also freeze them if you don't think you can have them all eaten up within a few days.
Not a problem really . . . as they probably won't last long enough . . . but if you have any worries that they won't get eaten up right away, freeze away!
They are not the easiest things to photograph, but don't hold that against them.
I think you'll find that once baked these will be sure to become a family favourite!
*Strawberry Macaroon Slices*
Makes 16 servings
Makes 16 servings
Whisk together the egg whites, coconut and sugar for the macaroon topping. Dollop evenly over top to cover the jam. I like to just dollop it in small bits and then spread it gently with a fork.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the macaroon topping is golden. Allow to cool completely in the tin before cutting into squares to serve. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week.
I kind of like to pull the stops out at the weekend and bake something special.
These little Queen of Pudding Cakes I am showing you here today are certainly that . . . special, but you will be surprised as just how simple they are to make, and yet at the same time very impressive.
Simple enough that a child could make them with a bit of help or even a husband! The base is a basic one bowl sponge mixture.
Everything just gets tipped into a bowl and beaten together with an electric mixer. Easy peasy. You could also put it together by hand, which is a tiny bit more work, but not very difficult at all.
Simply cream the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon, beat in the eggs, then the custard powder and the flour, until fluffy and well blended. All with the wooden spoon. Easy peasy.
Scrape the batter into a buttered and lined pan and bake. (Don't worry if you are in North America and cannot get the custard powder. Use dry vanilla pudding mix instead.)
Once baked, you let the cake cool in the tin before lifting it out. Spread the top with some jam.
Trim off the edges, top with the store bought mini meringues and cut into squares. Bob's your Uncle! Presto chango! Your cakes are done!
And they are so pretty too, not to mention delicious! And it was all so easy! These would be perfect for a tea party! Enjoy!
*Queen of Pudding Cakes*
Makes 16 squares
Makes 16 squares
16 mini meringues
Preheat the oven to 180*C.350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 inch square baking tin and line it with baking paper. Set aside.
Whisk together the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and custard powder in a bowl, until combined and fluffy, using an electric whisk. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth over the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cook in the tin.
Lift the cake out once completely cooled and carefully remove the baking paper. Spread a layer of jam evenly over top of the cake. (Loosen it with a fork before spreading or warm gently) Trim of any edges with a serrated knife. Cut into 16 evenly sized squares. Top each with a mini meringue to finish, and dust with icing sugar if desired.
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