Showing posts sorted by date for query Scones. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query Scones. Sort by relevance Show all posts
A little while back the people at Panasonic sent me one of their combi-ovens to try out for a month to see how I would get on with it. This month I am their guest blogger over in their Ideas Kitchen with my Sunshine Granola Recipe.
I did everything I could with the oven during the month that I had it. I used it to melt butter and chocolate, cook casseroles, make scones . . . baked a cake, pretty much everything I use my regular oven for, with much success. The nicest bit was that during the hottest bit of the summer, I wasn't having to heat my whole kitchen up by having to turn my regular oven on. This combi-oven worked just dandy. (Microwave/grill/convection oven)
I've actually had a combi-oven of my own for quite a while now, since 2009. I had gotten a cake all ready to go into my regular oven and my regular oven gave up the ghost. I needed something quick and so I had gone to the store and picked up a combi-oven to use until they could come and fix the regular one. I had had one way back when yonks and yonks ago in Canada. My first one was a mammoth. That baby was huge! But it worked really well. It did take up a lot of space though. These newer ones are a lot smaller. You couldn't roast a turkey in one of them . . . but they are pretty darned good for everything else.
The recipe which I chose to share in the Panasonic kitchen was a recipe for my favourite all time granola. It's nice and crunchy, and stogged full of fruit and nuts. There are lots of good things in there like maple syrup and orange juice, and flaked coconut.
In short it's a winner. I cut my original recipe in half so that I could make it in the combi oven and it worked a charm. Nice and nutty and golden brown with a beautiful crunch.
Why not hop on over to the Panasonic Kitchen to check out the recipe! It's worth the trip my dears. Absolutely. There's lots of goodies there. I think you'll enjoy!
Remember that cookbook I got the other day, "The Great British Farmhouse Cookbook?" I didn't tell you this at the time, but my copy arrived with a whole bunch of blank pages in it. I contacted the Yeo Valley Family Farm and told them about it and asked could they e-mail me the missing recipes.
They went one better and sent me a whole new cookbook! I was so impressed, considering I hadn't gotten it from them in the first place but from Amazon. I never expected them to mail me a whole new one. I just wanted the missing recipes. Thank you YEO VALLEY! You're the best. (Plus they threw in a money saving coupon for their tasty yogurt. So what else could I do but bake these lovely scones and give them a shout out of thanks!
I have to say, no word of a lie . . . these are the nicest scones I have ever baked. They rose really well. The finished scones were about 4 inches tall!
Flaky and deliciously stogged full of lovely dried sour cherries and white chocolate chunks. I used a bar and a half of Green and Blacks White Chocolate in mine and it was just perfect. I just broke each little rectangular piece of chocolate in half. The perfect little treasure, tucked inside the perfect scone . . .
I baked them for our breakfast the other morning . . . the tasty smell of them baking wafted up the stairs and got the Toddster out of bed lickety split! You got to do your baking early in the morning on these hot and sticky days . . . just sayin' is all . . .
They made the perfect breakfast topped with a dollop of clotted cream and some M&S Turkish Black Cherry Jam with Vanilla. (Oh my goodness I love that stuff! It's my favourite jam!) Oh boy, was that a breakfast made in heaven . . . and in all honesty, they didn't really need the clotted cream and jam because I have been eating one every morning for breakfast ever since, cold, out of the tin with no embellishment whatsoever and they are still fabulous!
Next time I am going to use dried blueberries and a bit of lemon zest along with the white chocolate bits and then serve them with clotted cream and lemon curd. I can't wait!!
*Yogurt, White Chocolate and Sour Cherry Scones*
Makes one dozen
Adapted from the Yeo Valley Farmhouse Cookbook. Deliciously tasty!Makes one dozen
Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead briefly until just smooth. Pat out to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into rounds using a sharp 3 inch cutter and using a direct up and down tap with the cutter, taking care not to twist it, cutting as many as you can from this first cutting. Remove to the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between. Gently re-knead the scraps and pat out, repeating the cutting process, until you have 12 rounds.
Eat on the day with lots of soft butter for spreading, dollops of strawberry jam and cups of hot tea, herbal or otherwise!
Now THAT'S a tasty ♥ mouthful ♥ !!
Hooray for Strawberry Season!! My favourite time of year! I know we can get strawberries pretty much all year round here, with berries being flown in from Africa and Spain, but . . .
Let's be honest here though. They are not a touch on the flavour of a freshly picked home-grown English Strawberry.
The warmth of the sun still resting on it's sweet red flesh and pieces of straw still clinging to it's bright green leaves . . . ok, so you will only get that if you pick your own, but still . . .
A berry that has only just been picked and transported a few miles tastes infinitely better than one that's been flown thousands of miles and held in a cold warehouse for days before it reaches the store shelves!
I just can't get enough of them!! I love them fresh and eaten out of hand . . .
sliced and sprinkled with a bit of sugar and then doused in cream, dipped in chocolate, baked into pies and cakes, made into jam, crushed and dolloped on top of fresh scones . . .
oh the possibilities are endless!!!
One of my favourite ways is to bake them into this delicious, moist tea bread.
There is no tea in it, that is just what we call a quick bread over in North America. I reckon that's because they go so well with a cup of tea . . . in my case herbal tea . . . Mint tea is lovely with it!
It smells heavenly when it is baking . . . the cardamom is so sweetly fragrant . . . the lemon drizzle adds just an extra touch of sweetness.
All in all it is a real winner. I guarantee!
*Strawberry Cardamom Bread*
Makes one 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf
Printable Recipe
A deliciously moist bread stogged full of fresh strawberries and glazed with a tangy lemon glaze.
4 ounces unsalted butter ( 1/2 cup)
150g granulated sugar (3/4 cup)
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
280g plain flour, sifted (2 cups)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cardamom
(remove the seeds from green cardamom pods and grind them
with a pestle and mortar or a coffee grinder if you cannot find it already ground)
175g sour cream (1/2 cup) or plain yoghurt
55g toasted walnuts (1/2 cup), coarsley chopped
300g of fresh strawberries, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
For the glaze:
the juice of 1/2 lemon
enough icing sugar to make a drizzable glaze
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter and lightly flour a 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf. Set aside.
Beat the butter until softened. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cardamom together. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix only to combine. Gently fold in the chopped strawberries and the nuts.
Spoon into the prepared and bake for about 1 hour, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let stand in the pan for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack to cool.
Whisk together the lemon juice and enough icing sugar to make a drizzle glaze. Drizzle over the cake. Let set.
Serve warm or at room temperature. This bread also freezes very well.
I wanted to make something special to honor my father on Father's day this year. Although he may be thousands of miles away physically . . . he is never much more than a breath away in my heart. He has always been my biggest fan. He calls me the "Apple of His Eye." He probably says the same thing to my sister and my brother too . . . but that doesn't matter to me. When he says it to me, I feel like the only apple of his eye, and that's what counts . . .
My father taught me many things when I was growing up. He taught me the value of laughter and the value of tears . . . yes, my father was never afraid to show his heart to any of us. I am grateful for that.
I get my love of reading from my father. I have lovely memories of him telling me stories when I was a very small child, and reading to me from my books . . . I am just like him. He is always reading more than one book at a time, and so am I. I am grateful for the gift of the love of reading. If you love reading, you are never alone . . . and there is no end to the places you can go and see in your mind. He taught me that books are your friends.
He also taught me to love music. My father has a deep love of music and plays several musical instruments. When I was a young teen I learned how to play the clarinet and I have many many fond memories of us playing duets together on rainy afternoons. Those were truly special times for us, and I keep them in my heart like the treasures they are.
It's from my father that I get my love of fish and chips, and toasted cheese and bologna sandwiches . . . and the combination of maple and walnuts. We are both nuts about maple and walnuts together (no pun intended). It is our favourite flavour combination, and we will take it any way we can get it, Maple Walnut Ice cream being one of our greatest loves of all . . .
And so . . . in honor of that great love which we share with each other for all things maple walnut, this Father's Day I created a special Maple Walnut Scone for my dad. They are stogged full of maple syrup and toasted walnuts . . . and buttermilk, wholesome oats . . . and love.
Oh, I know . . . he's thousands of miles away and he can't really taste them . . . but I honored him in making them. The Toddster says it's ok that Dad can't eat them from that far away . . . he'll eat his for him. Yep . . . the Toddster loves Maple and Walnuts too . . .
They do say you marry men like your fathers. Happy Father's Day!
*Maple Walnut Scones*
Makes 8 large scones
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
50g of golden caster sugar (1/4 cup)hot water
Chopped toasted walnuts to garnish
Note:
In order to make oat flour, put several cups of old fashioned oats into
the food processor and blitz until finely powdered. Store in an
airtight container in the freezer.
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Set aside.
Measure
the plain and oat flour into a bowl along with the salt, baking powder,
soda, sugar and nuts into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to
combine. Drop in the butter and pulse several times until the mixture
is grainy. Beat the egg, maple syrup, and extracts together in a
measuring cup. Add buttermilk to measure exactly 240ml/1 cup. Add the
wet ingredients slowly while you pulse the machine, mixing only until
the dough begins to come together. Tip out onto a lightly floured
surface. Bring together into a circle 8 inches in diameter. Cut into 8
wedges. Carefully lift the wedges onto the prepared baking sheet. The
dough will be wet, but don't worry about that. Try not to add too much
flour when you are working with it.
Bake the scones for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and firm on top. Remove to a wire rack to cool.To make the glaze whisk the icing sugar together with enough maple syrup, a few drops of maple extract and enough hot water to give you a thick glaze. Spoon over top of the scones and sprinkle with a few toasted walnuts if desired. Store in an airtight container.
Kinda like a muffin.
Kinda like a scone.
A delicious quick bread that is shaped like a muffin and as easy to throw together as a muffin is . . . but has the lovely short texture of a scone.
Light, fluffy and buttery, and oh so scrummily crunchy on the outsides.
These are fabulous served straight from the oven with plenty of cold butter and fruit preserves.
Great for breakfast, lunch and even a wonderful teatime treat!
Easy peasy and yummy scrummy!!
*Buttermilk Scone Muffins*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe
Slightly sweet and as easy to make as stirring together some ingredients and dropping them into muffin cups. They take a bit longer to bake, but you are rewarded at the end with delicious muffin shaped scones that are meltingly tender inside and crisply scrummy on the outsides! Delicious served warm with some cold butter and fruit preserves!
360g of plain flour (2 1/2 cups)
2 TBS caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp of baking soda
10 TBS chilled butter, cut into bits
250ml of buttermilk (1 cup)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 12 cup medium muffin tin well. Set aside.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and soda. Drop in the butter and rub it into the flour mixture until the mixture is mealy. Add the buttermilk and stir it in with a fork, stirring it in until the dough is slightly firm. You may need more buttermilk. You want it stiff, but of dropable consistency.
Drop by dessertspoonfuls into the prepared muffin cups, dividing it equally amongst them.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown and crusty. (Check frequently near the end to make sure they aren't over browing!)
Serve warm
It's still not too late to rustle up a few treats for your family for Easter. Here are some of my favourites which I have shared with you in past years.
Easter Bark
Easter Bunny Cupcakes Sooo cute!
Hot Cross Scones (Soooo good!)
Easter Chocolate Crispy Nests Easy to make and kids love em!
A Simnel Tart Very easy and oh so delish!
Bun and Butter Pudding A great way to use up some of those extra Hot Cross Buns!
Hot Cross Muffins Perfect for breakfast. Tastily fruity too!
Hot Cross Buns with a Spiced Fruited Butter for spreading.
You could be quite spoiled for choice!
I was recently sent the most delightful book to review. It appealed to several of my loves . . . Illustration, Travel, History and Cookery. I think I fell in love with it as soon as it fell through my letter box. Entitled "Bladkbirds Baked In a Pie, Memories of Rozinante" and written by Eugene Barter and illustrated by Mary Jose.
Eugene Barter was the Senior Secretary of Prime Minister Edward Heath who, at the age of 60, retired to a house in the foothills of the Pyrenees along with her sister and brother-in-law and opened an Auberge, which is a type of restaurant.
This book is a sturdy delightful mix of food for the eyes, the soul and the stomach. I found the little stories and anecdotes perfectly charming and wonderful to read. As someone who has always dreamed of doing the same thing . . . I was quite mesmerized by this aspect of the book.
The first part of the book is filled with delightful tales of drunken neighbours, burglaries of provincial houses, quirky guests and a life well lived. Sharing with the reader the journey from stranger to accepted French status, Eugene's mesmerizing tale flows through years of encounters and experiences, ranging from the initial purchase of the house which became her livelihood. Eugene takes us through the trip of a lifetime and shares with us the lessons which she learnt along the way. Peppered throughout are these fabulous little pen and ink drawings done by Mary Jose, who also did the cover art. All in all I found it to be a fascinating read.
The second part of the book is, of course . . . recipes! In this section you will find tasty selections for everything from Dressings and Sauces to delicious sounding soups, starters, omelettes, pies, fish dishes, salads, game, local dishes, etc. It is just a beautiful selection. I was spoilt for choice when it came to choosing a recipe to illustrate to you the quality of recipes you can expect in this book.
I finally settled on the recipe for the Bakewell Tart, for several reasons. It is a pretty basic recipe and from my experience if you can't get the basic recipes right, there is no hope for you getting the more complicated ones right and let me tell you, this recipe is a winner. It's very simple, using simple wholesome ingredients . . . but the results are fabulous. Delicious and anything but simple. In short, it worked beautifully.
Another reason I chose this recipe to showcase the book is that I have never baked a Bakewell Tart for you on here! I've talked about it a lot . . . and done some really tasty versions of things using the Bakewell Theme . . . ie. steamed puddings, scones, Whoopie Pies, etc. I thought it was about time I actually showed you a Bakewell Tart!
And I can tell you first hand, it's a fabulous tart. A real winner. Just like this delightful book.
The book also contains cookery conversion tables for pan and dish measurements, oven temperatures and liquid and dry measures, which are very handy to have.
*Bakewell Tart*
Makes one 8-inch tart
Printable Recipe
A delicious British traditional tart. Puff pastry, spread with raspberry jam and topped with an almond frangipane topping.
212g packet of Puff Pastry
2 whole free range eggs
2 free range egg yolks
100g of butter, melted (7 TBS)
100g of caster sugar (8 1/2 TBS)
50g ground almonds (generous half cup)
2 TBS raspberry jam
flaked almonds to decorate
Icing Sugar to dust
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F. gas mark 6. Butter an 8 inch pie tin or flan ring.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface into a round large enough to line the tin or flan ring. Beat together the eggs, egg yolks, melted butter, sugar and almonds. Spread the bottom of the the pastry case with jam. Pour the almond mixture over top. Sprinkle some flaked almonds over the surface.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the filling is firm to the touch. Allow to cool before cutting into wedges to serve. Dust with icing sugar before serving. (optional)
If you are looking for a cookbook filled with gorgeous food photography, then this is not your book. There is no food photography included. If you are looking for a delightful read, quirky illustrations and some really fabulous recipes then this is the book for you.
Many thanks to Sunpenny Publishing for sending me this wonderful book to review.
Blackbirds Baked in a Pie, Memories of Rosinante
by Eugene Barter
Illustrated by Mary Jose
305 pages
ISBN 9781907984167
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