There is also a simple icing sugar glaze which gets spooned over top of the finished muffins. This is the photograph from the book I got the recipe from.
I am still struggling to find good light for my food photography. In the UK I had a specific place that worked very well for this purpose. Here its a lot more difficult, as the windows in my sister’s house are not really facing in the right direction.
Whisk flour, dry milk powder, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Cut shortening into dry ingredients with a pastry cutter, about 1/2 cup at a time, until mixture resembles cornmeal. Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 months.
They refer to these in the cookbook as being muffins. I really think they are more like a cross between a muffin and a biscuit/scone type of pastry.
I would think they are more like the biscuit than the muffin, but you can make your own mind up.
I love recipes with a history and containing a bit of nostalgia. In modern times we have a tendancy to look past these types of things and judge them as being archaic and old fashioned.
Young people today are keen to embrace the new, and I don't blame them. New is good. But I think old is often better. (That is my age speaking I guess!)
It was not always so. I remember gorging myself on some from a neighbours raspberry canes when I was 10 years old. (Very naughty on my part.)
I got a tummy bug combined with being motion sick not too long after the binge. My father was hoovering the seeds from out of the carpeting in the car for years afterwards, and it was a very long time before I could face a raspberry again.
In any case I hope that you will be inspired to want to bake these lush muffins/pastries for your family. I think they are something which everyone will enjoy.
If you are not fond of raspberries I am thinking you could use blackberries or even blueberries! I think toasted flaked almonds would also be very nice baked on top! And if you used almond flavouring in the batter, they would be almost like a Bakewell type of bake! Yum!!
Raspberry Peek-A-Boos
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125g) fresh raspberries, washed and drained
- 4 TBS granulated sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 cups (240g) original bisquick baking mx
- 1/4 cup (60g) butter softened
- 2/3 cup (160ml) milk
- 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- pinch salt
- 1 to 2 TBS milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a 12-cup medium muffin cup really well, or line with paper liners.
- Toss the berries together in a bowl with 2 TBS of the sugar, the lemon juice, nutmeg and cinnamon.
- Combine the bisquick and remaining sugar. Drop in the butter and rub it in with your fingertips to combine. Add the milk all at once, stirring it in just until moistened.
- Spread 1 TBS of the dough into the bottom of each muffin cup. Top each with 1 TBS of the raspberry mixture. Divide the remainder of the dough equally and drop it on top of the raspberry mixture.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Whisk all of the ingredients for the glaze together, adding milk 1 TBS at a time until you have a mixture with a drizzle consistency.
- Drizzle over muffins and allow to set before serving.
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
Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
I also felt however, that it would work well insead of the raisins asked for in these scones. I decided it would add a really festive touch to them.
I was totally right!
It worked perfectly in them. It is a tiny bit spicy and filled with dried vine fruits and candied peel and . . . umm . . . brandy. A bit naughty, but it cooks out.
You only need one cup of dried fruit, so I would use 3/4 cup of raisins (Golden and regular) and then measure out 1/8 cup dried currants and 1/8 cup chopped candied peel.
I think those proportions would work well. I would use 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp each ground cloves and nutmeg. You could also add some grated orange zest.
These are wholesome and hearty because of the oats. I love oats in baked goods.
Do use the old fashioned oats if possible. I think quick oats would not be very suitable and you would get somewhat mixed results.
Again, the biggest challenge I had with these was photographing them. I found myself running around the house like a blue arsed fly trying to find the right spot.
I finally dug out a TV Tray from downstairs and set them up on there. I then carried the tray all over trying to find the right space.
Its not just space either. It is also finding the right time when the light is at its best. I could buy a light box, but then where would I set it up?
I don't know. Its all a matter of guess work at the moment.
I love this plate of my sisters. It is one of her Yard Sale Finds. She sells this stuff on her IG page. The pattern for this is "Check" by J & G Meaken of England.
I might ask her if I can buy them. She has two of them. I really like them and they go well with things like this.
They very much have a "country" feel to them, which I am quite fond of. I love anything rustic and countri-fied.
I used to buy Country Living magazine many years ago and really loved the primitive style of furniture and decor that they shared with their readers.
That's where I first got acquainted with Susan Branch and her artwork. She used to do an illustrated recipe in the magazine each month.
I fell in love with them. The artist in me thought they were just precious. I had a huge collection of the magazine at one time, but they all got destroyed in a move.
Christmas Oat Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tp salt
- 1 cup (80g) old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup (120g) cold butter, cut into cubes
- 1 cup (150g) raisins (I used David Leibowitz's quick mincemeat)
- 1 cup (240ml) butter milk
- buttermilk and granulated sugar to brush
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225*C/425*F/ gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with some baking paper.
- Sift the flour, soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Stir in the oats. Drop in the butter and cut it in with two round bladed knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Stir in the raisins or mincemeat.
- Stir in the buttermilk to make a soft dough. Knead gently a few times to bring it all together.
- Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and pat out to a rectangle about 12 by 10 inches in side.
- Using a sharp knife, cut into 10 squares.
- Place onto the baking sheet, leaving space between each. Brush each with a bit of buttermilk and sprinkle with some sugar.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool slightly.
- Serve warm with butter and jam.
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 Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Before I talk about them however I wanted to tell you about something else. Perhaps you may have noticed the new background beneath my photos here on the blog today.
It is courtesy of the Paper Bag Co. They were so impressed with my IG photos and the photos here on the blog they wanted to send me one of their Instagram Photo Bags. I don't know what was so impressive about my photos, but I am always open to discovering new ways of improving them.
This is what they call their Instagram Bag, the Foodie Bag. It has been created through a collaberation between phone photographer Matt Inwood and Stylist Sophie Purser.
It is designed especially for those who enjoyand have a passion for taking photographs of food specifically for posting them online, ideally on Instagram.
It is acually quite a large bag. The perfect size for holding your photograph taking equipment, making it easier to take along with you.
Included in the bag is a 15-inch photographic reflector and diffuser. This is the tool which all professional photographers have at the top of their kit bag.
It is designed to help you to brighten and enhance both highlights and shadows, and either subtly or dramatically alter the lighting and colour in all of the images you create.
Included are a set of four beautifully crafted papers from Black Velvet Styling, the photographic backdrop company set up by stylist Sophie a couple of years ago. These have been designed to provide affordable backdrops for amateurs and professionals to create mouthwatering images of their food and still life creations.
They are perfect for transforming a plate of food into a gorgeous image
fit for sharing on Instagram and we’ve given you a variety of starter
colours and textures to experiment with. I have used one of them here today as a backdrop for my scones.
Now back to Mary Berry's Cheese Scones. These are THE perfect cheese scone. I have made cheese scones before in the past and they were good, but these are excellent.
Then again, what would you expect from Mary Berry! She is an expert in all things baked and otherwise when it comes to cooking. I trust her judgement explicitly!
I will tell you upfront that I ended up using a bit too much milk in my scones. I misinterpreted how much 1/4 pint actually was in ounces. In otherwords, I got mixed up.
My dough was a bit wetter than it should have been. But I persevered and all credit to Mary, despite my dough being somewhat on the wet side, they still turned out beautifully.
I have made sure that won't happen to you. My measurements in the recipe are exactly what they should be. No worries on that score.
These scones have a mix of beautiful flavours. Dry mustard powder and cayenne powder are both included in the mix.
These are both ingredients that go very well with cheese. I always use them in the sauce for my favourite macaroni and cheese recipe.
It does use self-raising flour. I understand that self-raising flour is no something some of you can get ahold of easily, but don't worry. I have included instructions in the notes on how you can make your own.
Included as well is plenty of grated strong/sharp cheddar cheese. Do use the best cheese that your money can buy.
The better the cheese, the tastier the scone. I used a vintage cheddar from Wyke Farms. One thing I will miss from over here is the cheese.
British cheeses are beautiful and there is such a lovely variety of them. I became a true cheese lover only since moving here to the UK.
Prior to this I only ate processed cheese for the most part. Nobody had ever truly been able to tempt me into trying anything stronger.
Then of course when I worked at the manor I used to cook for a lot of dinner parties. Silver service, multiple courses.
The dinner parties always ended with a cheese course. I need to be able to put together a delicious cheese tray for my employers and their guests. The only way I could do that is if I learn about, to taste and to enjoy the cheese.
Mary Berry's Cheese Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups plus 1 tsp (225g) self-rising flour (See note)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 TBS cold butter
- 1 1/4 cup (150g) grated mature cheddar cheese
- 1 large free-range egg
- milk to the equivalent of 5 fluid ounces (1/4 pint)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Sift the flour into a bowl along with the salt, mustard powder, cayenne pepper and baking powder. Drop in the butter and rub it into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Stir in 2/3 of the cheese.
- Break the egg into a measuring jug and add milk to give you the equivalent of 5 fluid ounces (1/4 pint). Stir this into the dry mixture and mix to a soft but not sticky dough. Turn out onto a floured board and knead lightly for a few turns. Pat out into a 6 inch round.
- Stamp out into rounds using a sharp round (2 1/2 inch) cutter and place onto the baking sheet. Brush the tops with a bit more milk and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until well risen and golden. Slip onto a wire rack to cool. Best eaten on the day.
notes:
You really cannot fault any of Mary Berry's recipes. If you follow them scrupulously, they always turn out and are fail proof! I have never had a failure with any of them!
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 Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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