90g chocolate chips (1/2 cup)


Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F. gas mark 4.  Spray a nonstick loaf tin (8 1/2 by 4 1/2) well  with low fat cooking spray.  Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, soda and salt.  Set aside.


 Cream the butter and sugar together until well blended.  Beat in the eggs, banana and yogurt, until well blended.  Add the flour mixture, mixing it in only just until moist with no dry streaks.  Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave at 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. 

Remove 210g (1 cup) of the batter from the main bowl to a smaller bowl.  Stir in the melted chocolate chips to combine well.  Spoon the batters alternately into the prepared pan.  Swirl together lightly with a round bladed knife. 

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, prior to removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  Wrap tightly to store. Cut into slices to serve.

The English, especially English men, find a particular comfort in drawing closed the curtains on a leaden afternoon sky, lighting the fire and enjoying some little delicacy that they can toast and butter themselves.  

Afternoon Winter Teas have the capacity to chase away the Winter blues like nothing else can  . . .

makes 18 to 24

What would afternoon tea be without a plate of tasty sandwiches?  (Choose 3 of the below fillings)

12 thin slices of white or wholemeal bread, crusts removed
room temperature butter, for spreading
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper as desired

For the egg and cress filling:
2 TBS good quality mayonnaise
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest from an unwaxed lemon
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
a handful of mustard cress

For the Gentleman's Morsels:
1/4 pound shaved roasted ham
apricot jam, seived
Dijon mustard

For the Roast Beef:
1/4 pound thinly sliced rare roast beef
horseradish mayonnaise
a handful of rocket leaves

For the Parma Ham and Fig filling:
1/4 pound of parma ham
1 ripe fig
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp olive oil
handful of rocket leaves

For the Stilton and Pear filling:
50g of Stilton cheese, thinly sliced (1/4 pound)
1 ripe firm pear

To cut sandwiches, lay your hand on top of the sandwich and lightly press down. Using a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, cut diagonally into quarters or lengthways into 3 fingers.

For the egg and cress sandwiches, thinly butter 4 slices of the bread.  Combine the mayonnaise, lemon zest, egg and season with some black pepper, folding together well.  Spread evenly on half the slices of bread.  Sprinkle with the cress and top with the remaining 2 slices of bread.  Cut as above.

To make the Gentlemen's Morsels., thinly butter 4 slices of the bread.  Spread 2 slices with seived apricot jam.  Spread the other 2 with Dijon mustard.  Lay the ham evenly over top of 2 slices and top with the other 2.  Cut as above.

For the Roast Beef, thinly butter 4 slices of the bread.  Spread 2 slices with the horseradish mayonnaise.  Top with the roast beef and season to taste.  Sprinkle with the rocket and top with the other 2 slices of bread.  Cut as above.

For the Parma Ham and Fig sandwiches, thinly butter 4 slices of bread and fold ham on top of two of them.  Cut the fig into thin wedges, remove and discard the skin and then arrange the wedges on top of the ham.  Whisk the vinegar and oil together.  Season with a bit of salt and pepper.  Drizzle over the figs.  Top with rocket and the remaining slices of buttered bread and cut as above.

To make the Stilton and Pear sandwiches, thinly butter 4 slices of bread.  Arrange the stilton over 2 slices of the bread.  Slice the pear into thin wedges, removing and discarding the core, then arrange on top of the cheese. Season with black pepper, then top with the remaining slices of bread and cut as above.
Note:  If you are not serving these right away, cover and chill in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.  Dust with paprika just prior to serving.

Makes 25

A drop scone or pancake by any other name.  Yummy.

150g of self raising flour (1 cup + 2 TBS)
1 TBS caster sugar
pinch of salt
185ml of milk (3/4 cup)
1 large free range egg
butter to brush the grill

to serve:
softened butter
preserves

Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a bowl.  Beat together the milk and egg.  Add all at once to the dry ingredients and whisk together until smooth.  Heat a large griddle pan, or nonstick frying pan.  Brush with butter.  Drop the batter by tablespoons onto the heated griddle.  Cook until bubbles appear on the surface and the bottom is lightly browned.  Flip over and cook on the other side until golden.  Allow to cool completely and serve with some softened butter and jam for spreading.
Cook in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.  Delicious!

TO make the frosting, whisk together all ingredients unil smooth and creamy.  If you think it is too soft, chill it for about 1/2 an hour prior to using.  Spread generously on top of the cooled cake and sprinke with chopped nuts, if using.  Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

I Knew then that I wouldn't have time to bake another cake from scratch, so I gave Todd a quick buzz on his mobile and asked him to bring us home a Victorian Sponge from M&S.  It was actually quite good for a store bought cake.  Here is my recipe for one you can bake yourself from scratch and I can tell you that it is very very good.

(If you so wish you can use 170g of butter, or 12 TBS,
but your cake won't be as light in texture)
170g caster sugar (1 cup)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 large free range eggs, beaten
170g self raising flour (a scant 1 1/2 cups)

To finish:
3 TBS raspberry jam
buttercream to fill (optional)
icing sugar or caster sugar to dust the top


Butter and base line two 7 inch sandwich tins.  Set aside.  Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.

Cream the butter, margarine, sugar and vanilla together until light in colour and fluffy.  Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, beating well after each addition.  If the mixture begins to curdle, add a spoonful of the flour.

Fold in the flour with a metal spoon, taking care to use a cutting motion so as not to knock out too much of the air that you have beaten into the batter.  Divide the batter evenly between the two cake tins, leveling off the surface.  Make a slight dip in the centre of each.

Bake on a centre rack of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the sponges have risen well, are golden brown, and spring back when lightly touched.  Allow to cool in the pan for five minutes before running a knife carefully around the edges and turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, place one layer on a cake plate. Spread with raspberry jam and buttercream (if using).  Place the other cake on top, pressing down lightly.  Dust with icing or caster sugar and serve.
It's not really all that hard if you follow a few rules of thumb . . .

1. Use a good quality loose leaf or bagged tea
2. This must be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature
3. Always use freshly drawn boiling water
4. In order to draw the best flavour out of the tea the water must contain oxygen, this is reduced if the water is boiled more than once.
5. Measure the tea carefully
6. Use 1 tea bag or 1 rounded teaspoon of loose tea for each cup to be served, plus one for the pot.
7. Allow the tea to brew for the recommended time before pouring
8. Brewing tea from a bag in a mug? Milk in last is best . 

"Tea! Thou soft,thou sober, sage, and venerable liquid, thou female tongue-running, smile-smoothing, heart-opening, wink-tipping cordial, to whose glorious insipidity I owe the happiest moment of my life, let me fall prostrate!"
Colley Cibber, The Lady's Last Stake, 1708  

And there you have it.  A Winter's day mood brightener for two.   

 

I always try to buy enough bananas so that the Toddster can get his fill of them, and I will have some leftover blackened ones to bake with.  I confess I am not overly fond of eating fresh bananas, but bake them into a muffin, cookie or a bread and I am all over them!








60g coarsely chopped toasted pecans (1/2 cup) 


 Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F. gas mark 6.  Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin and dust it lightly with flour, shaking out any excess.


Combine the mashed banana with the eggs, both sugars ad vanilla in a bowl.  Beat in the buttermilk and butter.  Sift the flour, soda, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.  Add the banana mixture and beat until well blended.  Stir in the chopped nuts.  Spoon into the prepared baking tin, smoothing the top.


Place the tin into the preheated oven and immediately REDUCE the oven temperature to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Bake for one hour and fifteen minutes, or until the top is risen and nicely browned, the loaf is beginning to pull away from the sides of the tin, and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to unmold. Carefully turn over and cool completely before cutting into slices to serve.  As with any teabread like this, letting it stand overnight improves the flavour and helps it to cut neater.


Note - this is really lovely toasted and buttered. Just saying  . . .